Kane: The Devil’s Corporate Demon?

WWE Night of Champions was a hit! It may ultimately be remembered as, “the one with Sting,” but not quite for the reasons you’d think. Seemingly in honor of Sting, every match told a story with emphasis on the more technical aspects of wrestling. Kevin Owens won the Intercontinental title with an eye rake, Nikki Bella worked on Charlotte’s left leg, and Braun Strowman dominated the six man tag match with brute strength. Say what you will but the matches all made sense. How do you end a great night of wrestling? You welcome home the Demon, Kane!

The last time we saw Kane, he was writhing in pain a week before Battleground. He had fallen victim to the Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar. Lesnar was on a revenge tour. Rollins had stolen his title at WrestleMania and The Authority was doing everything they could to keep it in the family. Seth was running his mouth about anyone and everyone, leaving Kane and J&J Security to clean up his mess. This created some friction between Rollins and his cohorts/baby sitters. J&J were able to let bygones be bygones, but Kane took it a bit more personal. Rollins called Kane old, washed up, a relic, and past his prime. Kane reminded him that he wouldn’t have won the Money in the Bank briefcase he would eventually cash in if he hadn’t assisted him. He called him a spoiled brat and the Justin Bieber of the WWE. The WWE Universe found some humor in that and at times would chant, “Jus-tin Bie-ber,” when Seth came out. Good stuff.

Let’s rewind and get back to how Brock Lesnar factors in.

After losing his title at WrestleMania, Lesnar ended up getting himself suspended the next night on RAW. Rollins had cashed in on him but not in traditional fashion. He ran in during Lesnar’s main event title defense against former Shield member, Roman Reigns. Instead of the current match ending in a DQ, Rollins kept his hands to himself and elected to join the match making it a Triple Threat. Rollins then got Lesnar out of the ring, curb stomped (when that was still a thing) Reigns, and pinned him for the three count. Brock was never pinned and had nothing to do with the outcome of the match. The entire WWE staff and locker room was put on notice when Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar walked down to the ring and demanded retribution. When they were denied a rematch, the Vanilla Gorilla went bananas. He started flipping tables and slamming people. He even got ahold of Michael Cole. He gave him an F-5. Stephanie came out and told him that he was suspended and had to leave. Months pass and Rollins needs a challenger for his title. Lesnar had some time to cool off, Rollins felt as if he was better than everyone and began to alienate himself from the people who got him the title and kept it around his waist. Lesnar came back, Rollins felt alone, and went on an apology tour. Seth bought his security team back with a new car, and gave the Director of Operations, Kane, a trip to Hawaii. The band reunited and had some success saving Seth’s hide every week, but one by one, Lesnar eliminated Rollins’ henchmen, ending with Kane and more specifically, Kane’s ankle. Rollins was frustrated seeing his defense system so easily decimated and things were pleasant but not great between he and Kane. So instead of helping Kane, he decided to add insult to injury. He stomped on his injured leg, said a few choice words, and left him there. That was the last time we saw Kane.

Until Night of Champions.

At Night of Champions, Seth Rollins had two matches. Makes sense because he had two titles to defend. What seemed odd was that he had both matches back to back. Not to mention, Sheamus lurking in the background with the Money in the Bank briefcase, so that’s a potential third match. Rollins and Cena had a great match. They usually do. Cena walked away as the WWE United States champ again. Next came Sting. Sting was injured during the match and Seth capitalized. Seth rolled up Sting for the three count and right on cue, Sheamus comes running down the aisle dragging an official behind him. He hits Rollins with a Brogue and as he’s handing over the briefcase, fire hits the stage. A face that’s been absent for months -- one that’s not typically covered, appears. It’s Kane! Not Corporate Kane, the Director of Operations, but the Demon Kane! He rushes down to the ring and Sheamus scurries away. The Demon looks down at Rollins and grabs him by the throat. He delivers a chokeslam to no one’s surprise. Sheamus climbed in and for some reason thought the Demon would, “respect the hawk. “ Wrong! Chokeslam for him too. Kane scooped up Rollins and lands a Tombstone Piledriver. Roll credits.

The next night on RAW, Rollins was visibly rattled. He ran into the office of The Authority looking for a plan to handle the masked Demon Kane, only to find Corporate Kane with a cup of coffee and a smile. He totally baby-faced the whole situation, claiming to know nothing about the previous night. He told Seth that he believed in him and wanted him to get the WWE United States championship back and so a rematch was scheduled for that night. Later, Seth DID find Stephanie and Hunter and they were just as confused as he was. The power couple talked to Kane. They asked him about the night before, the whereabouts of the mask, and his intentions with Seth. Well of course Corporate Kane had no idea what was going on! All smiles from the suddenly bi-polar giant. The rematch between Rollins and Cena was the main event. Cena won clean and retained his title. Corporate Kane showed up on the Titantron with a warning for Seth. The lights went dark and Demon Kane burst up from the bottom of the ring and dragged Seth down under to end the show. On SmackDown, Corporate Kane kicked the night off pandering to the crowd, revealing the matches for the night. Rollins came out confronting Kane and calling him unfit to work in the WWE. Kane played innocent and went on with his day. Rollins had a match with Dean Ambrose to close out the night. After delivering a swift poke to the eyes of Ambrose, Seth was moving in for the finish. The arena went dark with a red hue. Flames erupted on the stage and Rollins got flustered. As Rollins frantically looked high and low for Kane, Ambrose rolled him up for the win. With Corporate Kane watching backstage, Rollins warned Kane about continuing to play mind games. He still is the champ after all.

Looking forward to a new week of bi-polar, multiple personality Kane, the antics won’t stop here. It looks like Kane is gunning for a title shot. His attempt at being the next Mick Foley might be one personality short. Seth is good enough to beat Kane clean -- Corporate OR Demon, and it’s just a matter of time before this match happens. Kane isn’t to be underestimated. A former World champion himself, if he digs deeper into his Demon persona, it may be too much for Rollins to handle. Just ask Daniel Bryan or Pete Rose.