Playing with Fire: Kane as WWE World Heavyweight Champion?

According to Joshua Gibbs, WWE involving Kane in the World Title picture is a good thing and should lead to a title win for the Big Red Machine. 

“Some say the world will end in fire. Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire. I hold with those who favor fire.” — Robert Frost, “Fire and Ice”

Although I don’t advocate the use of the word “duh” very often, it remains the best way to respond to anyone who was surprised when Stephanie McMahon recently announced a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Seth Rollins and Kane for the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view. Mr. Jacobs’ loyalty to the company is being rewarded with this title match and it will not shock me when he wins.

The reasons are two-fold and both work within his overall narrative.

First, it was Kane who launched Seth Rollins onto his championship trajectory. His interference helped Rollins win his Money in the Bank contract which would eventually be cashed in at WrestleMania 31. I’m more than happy to see Kane be the one who finally humbles The Architect.

Kane giveth and Kane taketh away.

Second, despite numerous attempts, Kane hasn’t held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship since 2010. In fact, he hasn’t held a championship of any kind in over 2 years since he and Daniel Bryan (as Team Hell No) lost their WWE Tag Team Championships to… drumroll please… Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.

Whether or not WWE will acknowledge this factoid remains to be seen, but it would be a wasted opportunity to ignore these motivations for the Big Red Machine. It will come down to whether or not WWE wants to remind people that they used to hate Daniel Bryan and used to love Seth Rollins.

Oh, how times have changed.

I’ve heard rumblings in the “Twitterverse” that some people are unhappy with the Corporate Kane vs. Demon Kane character(s) being played off against each other. In the past few weeks, we’ve seen antics such as:

• Corporate Kane being completely aloof with both Rollins and the Authority about the actions (or even existence) of Demon Kane.
• Naughty Kane breaking through the ring and dragging Captain Crossfit to the dark depths with smoke pouring from the hellmouth.
• Men’s Wearhouse Kane being injured by Seth Rollins, carted off in an ambulance and then emerging amidst smoke and red lights as American Horror Story Kane. Bonus points are awarded for Kane stomping his foot (complete with added sound effect of a crunch), so as to infer that he just re-set a broken bone by smashing it into the ground.

If WWE wants me to keep buying into the assumption that Jacob Goodnight is a merciless monster directly from H-E-double hockey sticks, then these sorts of campy shenanigans need to keep happening. That’s right… I love them. On its face, the Jekyll and Hyde game being showcased is completely ludicrous. There is no mystery about what is happening nor has there been any attempt to make it seem as if one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing. Some WWE purists or even new viewers may not been keen on the literal smoke and mirrors being used to push Kane into the title picture. But for those of us old enough to remember his introduction, it’s a welcome return to the storytelling of old where the WWE literally wanted us to believe this man was the Harvey Dent to Undertaker‘s Batman.

When he was re-invented in 1997, (no longer languishing as Jerry Lawler‘s private dentist), Kane quickly became one of my favorite characters. I liked his origin because he was given enough meat and mystery to make the story of parricide and revenge extremely juicy. I was most intrigued by his entire image representing everything opposite of his “brother”, The Undertaker. In contrast to those brooding cloaks and dark shadows, Kane wore a fire-red outfit and was announced with a loud boom and spires of bright flames. He was the yang to Undertaker’s yin and his size made him a formidable adversary. When you saw these two men stand face-to-face, you believed that Kane could win.

If nothing else, Kane is bringing some excitement to the stale run of Seth Rollins. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Rollins has been a bad champion; he simply suffers from brand apathy. When the WWE suits don’t know what to do with a champion, yet said champion is still drawing the heat they want, the default is to leave them with the belt until a better option comes along. Rollins is great on the mic, even better in the ring and generates the reactions WWE expects of him.

I know this may be a pipe dream, and I have little faith that WWE writers are this brazen, but what if Kane defeating Seth Rollins is the precursor to something bigger? Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar is the main event at Hell in a Cell this month, which means the Kane/Rollins match will have already been decided by the time it takes place. What if Kane – as your NEEEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion – interferes in the Taker/Lesnar match, costing Brock the victory and simultaneously reuniting the Brothers of Destruction?

This not only breathes some air into the gasping Taker/Lesnar rivalry, but opens up new possibilities for both tag and singles matches for all four men as we march down the road to WrestleMania.

Paul Heyman already stated that when his client, BARAWK LESNAR, beats the Undertaker it will mark the end of their feud. An interference by the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion will allow this rivalry to keep going, albeit in another form.

I hold with those who favor fire.

Follow @PWPNation