The Blog Of Kane #2: No Way Out Of Texas 1998

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The Blog Of Kane #1: Survivor Series 1997

Hey everyone, this is D.C. Wood bringing you the second article of the ‘Blog of Kane’. I hope you enjoyed the first article.

Today we move on to 1998, as Kane goes to war against Vader at No Way Out of Texas: In Your House. Enjoy!

KANE VS. VADER

The Story

After dominating Mankind at Survivor Series 1997, Kane continued his rampage and torment of the Undertaker, who refused to fight his own flesh & blood. In a surprise twist, the two seemingly made peace to fend off attacks from D-Generation X and a roster of wrestlers who Kane had destroyed since his arrival.

Alas, it was just a ruse on Kane & Paul Bearer’s part, who again cost the Undertaker his revenge against WWF Champion Shawn Michaels. They locked him in a casket and set it ablaze (Don’t worry, Taker teleported to safety as usual!), writing the Phenom off telly in preparation for WrestleMania 14. And then Kane targeted Vader with a Tombstone Piledriver. A week later, Vader would retaliate by dousing Kane with a fire extinguisher; taunting his burns and trying to blind his remaining eye. Setting up this grudge-match between the two terrifying giants.

The Match Itself

After Kane enters the ring, Vader gets right into Kane’s face and the two behemoths stare each other down as the audience cheers in excitement. They come to blows, the bell rings, the red-lighting dissipates, and the fight is on! The two batter each other with vicious, brutal strikes before Kane knocks the Mastadon down with a big clothesline. Vader rolls out of the ring, Kane pursues, and the two continue to exchange almighty blows. The crowd chants loudly for Vader (the clear fan-favourite!) as Kane now has Vader defenceless on the ring apron. Kane leaps off the apron onto a prone Vader with a diving blow, sending the four-hundred-pounder rolling out of the ring onto the floor.

Kane smacks Vader face-first into the ring steps twice before getting them both back into the ring, then Vader proceeds to mercilessly potato Kane in the back of the head (THOSE SHOTS ARE SO STIFF!) before dumping him out of the ring. The two continue their slugfest until the action goes back to the ring, where Kane flies from the top rope to deliver his wicked flying clothesline!

Paul Bearer roots Kane on as the Big Red Machine now has Vader on the ropes. Kane continues to pummel the Masterdon down as the Vader chants start up again. Then Kane delivers a MASSIVE suplex on Vader as Paul Bearer laughs triumphantly (another reason why he was one of the greatest managers of all time!). Kane then delivers a big elbow on the fallen Vader, has him on the ropes, before setting him up on the ring apron. Kane delivers another flying attack from the top rope to bring Vader back into the ring. “DESTROY HIM!” yells Paul on cue! (Then politely tells referee Tim White to shut up).

Kane soon floors Vader again with another clothesline, and continues to dominate. Vader tries to fight back, but Kane shuts him down again (Paul continues to laugh maniacally! Regular as clockwork!). Thunderous bodyslam by Kane! Vader is weary now as Kane leaps from inside the ring to the floor to hangman Vader’s throat. As Kane gets back into the ring, Vader collides into him with a massive Avalanche! He clotheslines the Big Red Machine out of the ring to buy himself some time, but Kane lands on his feet and quickly gets back in. Kane DDTs Vader and then pummels poor Leon some more, until he finally strikes back. Another Avalanche, which Kane responds with an attempted chokeslam…I THINK Vader goes low to stop it (the ref didn’t notice, so why should I?), and then he gives Kane a clothesline which FINALLY puts him on his back!

The crowd cheers! Vader gives Kane a big splash to Paul’s despair, and with Kane down, Vader takes his chance to go to the top and deliver the most amazing moonsault in all wrestling history! SERIOUSLY, how was a 400LB GIANT like Leon White able to do a move like that regularly?! ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! The crowd cheers!

OH, NO! KANE COMES BACK TO LIFE!!! Looking a little miffed, he attacks again and the fighting soon spills out back to ringside where Vader whips out the fire-extinguisher again and blasts Kane again good and proper!

(COME ON, Tim White! SURELY you must have noticed this!) Kane’s disorientated, and that leaves Vader able to deliver a devastating Jackknife power bomb! Paul climbs up to the ring-apron only to be greeted by a clubbing blow from Vader. Kane gets up in a flash while Vader’s distracted to deliver a thunderous chokeslam! Vader manages to get back up, only to walk into a HUGE Tombstone Piledriver! Kane gets the pin at 10:57.

As the ref checks on Vader, Kane summons his pyro and the red light bathes the arena. Kane exits the ring, and then picks up the fire extinguisher Vader used. He angrily tosses it aside then picks up a wrench from under the ring. Vader has gotten back to his feet only to be greeted with a sickening strike from the wrench-wielding Kane! The crowd gasps in horror! A proud Paul Bearer orders Kane out of the ring as he laughs. Monster and manager leave, as referees, medics and officials tend to the motionless Vader. The audience silent as the Masterdon is put on a gurney and wheeled out of the arena.

Verdict

On paper, this was a bout that excited me and it didn’t disappoint. Vader was the most terrifying monster you could behold on WCW Worldwide. He scared me so much when I was a kid, and to book him against this newer, more terrifying force in Kane…it was logical.

In terms of wrestling, the bout was iffy in places. One too many restholds for a bout of this nature, and some slow-pacing let things down. However, to see these two fierce leviathans viciously batter each other is worth seeing. The sheer strength & power, the amazing agility from both legends was staggering! It formed a great slugfest overall.

Vader did Kane a MASSIVE favour here, putting him over in both bout and aftermath, with JR and King selling how monstrous Kane was and how Vader had come the closest to truly challenging the Big Red Machine. Alas, this was the final nail in the coffin for Vader’s time in the WWF. After losing to Shawn at SummerSlam 1996, Taker at Canadian Stampede and ultimately the feud with Kane, Vader’s fall to jobber status was cemented. He’d never recover in the WWF and left in October 1998. The man should’ve been WWF Champion at least once in his career.

Having said that, this was one of Vader’s biggest matches in WWF and it was very good indeed. As for Kane…he was now truly ready for his WrestleMania 14 showdown with the Undertaker. Which is next in the Blog of Kane!

OVERALL RATING

• 7/10

Check out the match here:

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The Blog Of Kane #3: WrestleMania XIV

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