How WWE Completely Botched Kane’s Unmasking In 2003 

In 2003, one of the biggest turning points in Kane’s entire WWE career took place. After years of being a masked monster, working both as a scary and dominant heel and a comedic babyface at times too, he was finally forced to take his mask off. In the aftermath of this, WWE could have had a completely fresh start with Kane, and could have built him up as a huge deal in the months following. However, pretty much everything about Kane’s booking after this moment was bad, with WWE botching what could have been a successful run for his unmasked character.

Kane Unmasked After A Loss To Triple H

There was something about masked Kane up until 2003 that just felt different to when he was unmasked. He felt more unpredictable, scary, and menacing with a mask, though that being said, he was in need for something fresh. During a feud with Triple H, the pair battled for the World Heavyweight Championship on an episode of Monday Night Raw, with the stipulation stating that if Kane lost, he would have to remove his mask for the very first time.

RELATED: 10 Things WWE Fans Should Know About The DX Vs. Kane Rivalry

After shenanigans involving Evolution, Triple H retained the title and defeated Kane. Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff emerged on the stage to tell Kane to take his mask off. Kane obliged, revealing a dirty and disgusting face, which was reacted upon with horror from commentary. Kane would then go on to attack his former ally, RVD, who was in the ring by this point too. At first, Kane without a mask looked terrifying, and it felt as though he would become ten times more dangerous now that his shell had been removed. This could have prompted a big push for him. However, that didn’t happen.

Kane Should Have Been A Sympathetic Yet Dangerous Babyface Monster

The following week, Kane was left dejected, covering his head with a towel and sitting backstage. Despite an attack on RVD, Kane did look somewhat like a sympathetic babyface. It would have been easy to build up support for him if he went back to target those in Evolution following this. Although monster powerhouses can make good heels, fans have been known to enjoy watching monsters wreak havoc but as a babyface, much like Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, and more. Kane could have been exactly like that.

RELATED: Kane's First 10 WWE RAW Matches, Ranked Worst To Best

In fact, it seemed as this was the direction that WWE was set to go in. On the aforementioned episode of Raw, Bischoff was annoying Kane backstage, prompting him to cheer up and go out to greet those on Raw, and he even threatened to fire Kane if he didn’t oblige. At the end of the show, Kane came out and attacked Bischoff, chokeslamming him off the stage in a fantastic moment that the Montreal crowd popped hard for. They loved seeing Kane attack the crooked General Manager and this could have been the start of a babyface push. For whatever reason, WWE ignored this reaction.

WWE Made Kane’s Character Stupid, And Ruined Chances Of A Babyface Push

Kane’s battles with his own appearance were brought into the storyline, and it led to him wanting to quit. It got to the point where Steve Austin brought him to the ring to hype him up, stating that the fans don’t care what he looks like, but instead enjoy it when he’s throwing bodies around. Instead of listening to Austin, Kane thought he was making fun of him, looking incredibly dumb in the process. Kane would then attack Austin, only to then get countered and laid out by Austin anyway, making him look even worse than he already did.

RELATED: D-Generation X Vs Undertaker & Kane: The Story Behind WWE's Worst Ever "Dream" Match, Explained

From there, Kane descended more and more into heel territory, even though it was clear that the fans were willing and ready to get on board with him. In Austin’s promo, they responded with cheers to Kane, however WWE only had eyes on making him a bad guy. The next week, Kane had an interview with Jim Ross, and proceeded to pull out some gasoline. Ross tried to also get through to Kane, telling him to ignore those who made fun of him, but this fell on deaf ears.

Kane would then set fire to Ross in an infamous Raw moment, and then tombstone Linda McMahon the following week. All of these crazy acts could have still helped him become an unpredictable and unhinged babyface, but his character was booked so badly and backwards that there was always two steps back any time something positive happened. He was a fully blown heel before long, and it made the whole thing feel like a big missed opportunity. The unmasking of Kane was a big moment, but it was wasted.