10 Best Years of Kane's Career, Ranked
Originally making his WWF/WWE debut in 1996, Glenn Jacobs has enjoyed a longer career in the squared circle than most. While it wouldn’t be until 1997 that he settled on the Kane persona, that character would go on to endure more than 20 years in the main event scene. He hasn't earned a documentary yet, but we're confident that will change.
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While Jacobs’ career with WWE is largely on hold currently, due to outside ambitions in politics, his legacy is still fondly remembered. Across his two decades with WWE, here are his ten best years, ranked from bottom to top. You won’t find his waning years in this list, nor the excellent character work from Corporate Kane, but you will find a mix of factors contributing.
10 2002
2002 should have been a great year by all accounts for Kane. His earliest feud was with the NOW as part of the Invasion storyline. Later in August, Kane debuted a new attire with a revised mask, then in September he picked up the World Tag Team Championship with The Hurricane.
Given that Kane would pick up the Intercontinental Championship one week after the Tag Titles, it seems that 2002 should have been legendary in his career. Unfortunately, it’s often the last look that we remember most. 2002 would end with Kane and Triple H involved in a feud that centered around the infamously terrible Katie Vick angle.
9 2015
While we said there wouldn’t be any Corporate Kane or any of Kane’s waning years, that wasn’t 100% accurate. 2015 began with Kane firmly holding his on-screen Director of Operations role. If would also be one of his last years that could be considered mostly active.
That said, you can’t ignore the tensions within The Authority caused by Kane and Seth Rollins. There were some amazing moments on television between the two, and their feud took some very personal directions which not only led to Kane taking back his mask, but also being fired from his Corporate role. The year would end with a Brothers of Destruction reunion against The Wyatt Family.
8 2011
This one might turn some heads. 2011 was an underrated year for Kane, and this was mostly due to how it started. The year kicked off with Kane losing a rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship on the January 7th edition of SmackDown. From there, he had a lackluster showing in the Royal Rumble and formed an alliance with Big Show.
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That last one is actually a point in his favor. Both were well past their prime and still managed to get over with fans and tally a WWE Tag Team Championship run. Later in the year, Kane was sidelined for five months before returning in December with a new Demon persona which breathed new life into his character.
7 2003
On the heels of Katie Vick, Kane left singles competition for a short time in early 2003. Teaming with Rob Van Dam, the two would take the World Tag Team Championship on March 31. Their reign would last until June of that year when Kane would once again enter contention with Triple H.
After declining an invitation to join Evolution, Kane entered a feud with Triple H, with The Game’s World Heavyweight Championship and Kane’s mask on the line. Kane lost, removing his mask on the 6/21 edition of Raw. Though Kane’s appearance was less monstrous, he would go on a rampage after this with victims including Jim Ross, Linda McMahon, The Undertaker, Shane McMahon, and more.
6 1999
1999 was the final year of Kane’s debut push. We don’t mean that he went downhill after this necessarily, just that his character began to evolve more and more from this point forward. As an example, Kane began to speak in 1999 and moved from associations focused around The Undertaker and the Corporation to working alongside DX.
The biggest difference between 1999 and previous years (or the years which followed) is that he had a female manager, Tori. Teaming with X-Pac, Kane would pick up two WWF Tag Team Championship runs before eventually turning on one another in 2000.
5 2012
As mentioned earlier, Kane’s return at the end of 2011 was a welcomed evolution of his character. That evolution was fleshed out over 2012. Kane didn’t find overwhelming success initially, only really beating jobbers in the ring. By August, Kane, Daniel Bryan, and CM Punk had been involved in a rather lengthy feud which saw Punk emerge victorious.
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This is where Kane saw his biggest shift into a humorous character. Kane and Bryan were enrolled into anger management classes which culminated in a union of the two, known as Team Hell No. Kane and Bryan weren’t only successful in the ring, but their promo segments were absolutely hilarious.
4 2001
If 1999 was the beginning of Kane’s transformation, 2001 was where he solidified his character’s direction independently. While he would begin the year reunited with The Undertaker, he never seemed to be in The Phenom’s shadow. In addition to the duo obtaining the WWF and WCW Tag Team Championships during 2001, Kane won both the Hardcore and Intercontinental Championships on his own.
Kane’s biggest accomplishment of 2001 was setting the record for most Royal Rumble eliminations in a single event at 11 in one of the most impressive Royal Rumble performances of his career. This record would stand for 13 years before Roman Reigns earned 12 eliminations in the 2014 Royal Rumble event.
3 1997
Kane’s debut was miraculous. Hyped up for months beforehand as The Undertaker’s younger brother who he had almost killed, the bar was set extremely high leading up to his debut. When he finally appeared in October, he surpassed all expectations.
What made Kane the most impressive was how masterfully he employed Taker’s signature moves while still maintaining his own unique in-ring identity. With The Phenom’s refusal to fight his brother, Kane spent most of this time engaged in feuds with Mankind, eventually allying with his on-screen older brother and setting a foundation for the rest of his career.
2 1998
The spark Kane ignited upon his debut was amplified over 1998. For starters, Kane saw his first rivalry with The Undertaker following an interference at the annual Royal Rumble event. The two were involved in various rivalries and alliances over the year as Kane’s character developed. Given his association with Paul Bearer, Mankind was often involved in these storylines as well.
The most confusing and prolific of these storylines came during the 1998 King of the Ring pay-per-view where Kane defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Championship only eight months after his initial debut. Kane certainly deserved to be in the main event scene, but interference from Undertaker and Mankind sullied this performance, and Kane would lose the title back to Stone Cold the following night on Raw.
1 2010
While it may seem hard to beat his debut success, Kane’s legacy has one year which stands above all the rest in terms of accomplishment: 2010.
13 years into his run as The Big Red Machine, Kane began 2010 like most others. He was in the main event scene, looked strong in matches, and repeatedly fell short of any measurable success. That changed in July when Kane competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match during the PPV of the same name.
After Kane captured the briefcase, Rey Mysterio defeated Jack Swagger for the World Heavyweight Championship. Afterward, 47 minutes after earning the opportunity, Kane cashed in his Money in the Bank contract successfully to earn his lone run with the top title. The remainder of 2010 would see Kane defending his title before losing it to Edge in December.
