Kane

Kane made his first television appearance with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Dr. Isaac Yankem, DDS, Jerry Lawler's private dentist, in a vignette on the June 26, 1995 episode of Raw. Placing emphasis on Kane's imposing height and weight, Yankem was portrayed as a monstrous figure whom Lawler had hired for the purpose of ridding the WWF of his longtime nemesis, Bret Hart. His in-ring debut occurred at a Superstars taping on August 15, where he lost to Hart by countout. At SummerSlam, Yankem was disqualified when he hung Hart by twisting him in the top and middle ropes by his neck. He lost to Hart in a steel cage match in the main event of the October 16 episode of Raw, and finally in a tag team match against Hart and Hakushi, in which he was partnered with Lawler, on the November 6 episode of the show. After his initial run with Hart, Yankem's push dwindled. His team was unsuccessful in an elimination match at Survivor Series. He participated in the 1996 Royal Rumble match, but spent the majority of the year as a jobber to the stars, including televised losses to The Undertaker, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Marc Mero and The Ultimate Warrior. Kane sported the Yankem gimmick until September.

Later that month, play-by-play announcer Jim Ross introduced a fake "Razor Ramon" and "Diesel" (Yankem) as part of a storyline mocking the departure of former employees Scott Hall and Kevin Nash respectively, while attempting to portray Ross as a disgruntled employee. The idea proved unpopular and was dropped almost immediately, and despite receiving a WWF Tag Team Championship match against Owen Hart and The British Bulldog at In Your House 12: It's Time, the gimmick's television lifespan lasted only until the 1997 Royal Rumble, where "Diesel" was the second-to-last participant (with the exception of Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was previously eliminated by Bret Hart but the officials did not witness the elimination, so he re-entered the ring). He continued to work live events as "Diesel" through April, but would not make any WWF appearances from then until October, as the character of Kane was gradually introduced.

At April 1997's In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker event, The Undertaker launched a fireball into the face of former manager, Paul Bearer, who had unsuccessfully attempted to assist his protege, Mankind to victory in their WWF Championship match. On the May 12 episode of Raw, Foley reintroduced Bearer, whose face was heavily bandaged due to the burns The Undertaker had inflicted. Prompted by the injury, Bearer attempted to reunite with The Undertaker after a long period of mutual hostility, using the threat of revealing The Undertaker's "biggest secret"; during the cryptic interview, Bearer likened the fire that had burned his face at Revenge of the 'Taker to a fire that had occurred during The Undertaker's childhood. When The Undertaker continually refused to once again become aligned with Bearer week-after-week, Bearer began tormenting him by telling him that his long-lost brother, Kane (later revealed as Bearer's son and the Undertaker's half-brother), was coming to the WWF to challenge him. In the ensuing months, Bearer implied that The Undertaker had killed his family by starting a fire at their funeral home, with the exception of Kane, who was left physically and mentally scarred by the event; The Undertaker claimed that Kane, a pyromaniac, was the one who started the fire and could not possibly have survived (however, during October 1998, this is exposed as a falsehood when the Undertaker shamelessly confessed to burning down the funeral home.

Kane made his first appearance at Badd Blood: In Your House on October 5, 1997, by using Taker's Tombstone Piledriver costing The Undertaker the victory in the first-ever Hell in a Cell match with Shawn Michaels. Kane and The Undertaker feuded with one over another the following year, during which time their history vis-à-vis one another was expounded. Kane won his debut match against Mankind at Survivor Series. In weeks prior on Raw, Kane had randomly attacked other wrestlers including Ahmed Johnson, Road Warrior Hawk, the Hardy Boyz, Flash Funk, and Cactus Jack/Mankind's alter ego, Dude Love. The Undertaker initially refused to face him, saying he would not fight his own "flesh and blood". After a brief partnership, Kane betrayed his brother when he cost him the WWF Championship; he made an interference in The Undertaker's WWF Championship title match with Shawn Michaels at the Royal Rumble. After the match, Kane locked The Undertaker in a casket and set it on fire, though it was later revealed that Undertaker managed to escape the casket without being seen before Kane set it on fire. This provoked The Undertaker into returning to face Kane at WrestleMania on March 29. Kane was defeated by The Undertaker after three Tombstone Piledrivers. After the match Kane and Paul Bearer attacked The Undertaker. They continued to feud until Unforgiven on April 26, when The Undertaker defeated Kane in an Inferno match. In this match, Paul Bearer tried to help Kane by attacking The Undertaker; however, at one point of the match, as Kane was retreating backstage, Vader forced Kane back towards the ring, and The Undertaker attacked them both by jumping over the ring ropes surrounded by fire before setting Kane's right arm on fire.

On May 19, Bearer was revealed to be an employee at the funeral home in Death Valley owned by The Undertaker's parents. When Kane and The Undertaker were children, claimed Bearer, The Undertaker burned down the funeral home, killing their parents and leaving Kane with physical and mental scarring, although The Undertaker thought that Kane had perished in the fire also. During an episode of Raw taped in Long Island, Kane and Bearer ostensibly exhumed the parents' bodies and brought them to the arena. Bearer, who survived the fire, hid Kane in a mental asylum as he grew up and went on to form an alliance with The Undertaker before later betraying him at SummerSlam 96'. After suffering mistreatment at the hands of Undertaker, who had been vindictive and embittered with Bearer ever since SummerSlam, Bearer opted to bring Kane into the WWF in order to gain his own vengeance upon The Undertaker.

After defeating The Undertaker to win a WWF Championship title shot, Kane won the WWF Championship at the King of the Ring tournament, defeating Stone Cold Steve Austin in a First Blood match after being helped by his brother. However, Kane lost the title back to Austin the next night on Raw. He went on to form a tag team with Mankind, with whom he won the WWF World Tag Team Championship twice. After losing the titles and turning on Mankind, Kane formed a short-lived tag team with his brother. The brothers fought one another for the vacant WWF Championship at Judgment Day: In Your House, with the match ending in a no-contest. During the match, The Undertaker betrayed Kane for Paul Bearer turning Kane face and Undertaker heel. Kane went on to take part in the "Deadly Games" tournament for the WWF Championship at Survivor Series but was eliminated by The Undertaker in the quarter-finals. At Rock Bottom: In Your House, Kane interfered in the Buried Alive match between Austin and The Undertaker by giving The Undertaker a Tombstone Piledriver. As a result of this, The Corporation had Kane committed to an insane asylum.

However, on December 21, 1998, Kane joined The Corporation thus turning heel to stay out of the insane asylum. He was later betrayed by The Corporation and thrown out of the alliance thus turning face again. Shortly afterward, Kane formed a tag team with X-Pac and acquired a girlfriend, Tori. While teaming with X-Pac, Kane evolved from being mute to aided speech through an electrolarynx to speaking unaided. He also became associated with D-Generation X, the faction of which X-Pac was a member. His first unaided words were the DX slogan "suck it". The duo won the WWF World Tag Team title twice. The tag team broke apart when X-Pac turned on Kane and rejoined D-Generation X. Kane and X-Pac then were engaged in a lengthy feud against each other. Late in their feud, in early 2000, Tori betrayed Kane and joined X-Pac and D-Generation X, and the former partners' feud eventually ended at WrestleMania 2000, where Kane teamed with Rikishi to face X-Pac and Road Dogg. Kane and Rikishi came out victorious after Kane pinned X-Pac following a Tombstone Piledriver. Shortly after WrestleMania, Kane suffered a hand injury that kept him out of action for a month.

When he returned, it was to help The Undertaker and The Rock fight off the McMahon-Helmsley Faction. His involvement in this feud culminated in a main event match at King of the Ring against Vince and Shane McMahon, and then-champion Triple H. The Undertaker and Kane's rivalry resurfaced during the match, but they patched their relationship up soon after. Kane assaulted the Undertaker, leading to a match between the two at SummerSlam. The match ended when The Undertaker removed Kane's mask, causing him to flee the ring, covering his exposed face. Kane stayed in contention for the WWF Championship for the remainder of the year and ended 2000 in a feud with Chris Jericho; he ultimately lost a Last Man Standing match to him at Armageddon.

Kane turned face when he reformed his alliance with The Undertaker immediately before the Royal Rumble, in which he eliminated a record number of 11 wrestlers which included Raven, Al Snow, Perry Saturn, Steve Blackman, Grand Master Sexay, The Honky Tonk Man, The Rock, Tazz, Albert, Crash Holly, and Scotty 2 Hotty, and was the runner-up, after being eliminated by Steve Austin. In early 2001, Kane competed for the Hardcore Championship, defeating Raven for the title at WrestleMania X-Seven in a match that also featured Big Show. Kane and The Undertaker began teaming as the "Brothers of Destruction" and had lengthy feuds. In the course of the year, they feuded with Edge and Christian, Rikishi and Haku, and The Two-Man Power Trip. While feuding with The Two-Man Power Trip, Austin and Triple H broke Kane's left arm. At Judgment Day, Kane defeated Triple H to win the Intercontinental Championship. He would become the third Grand Slam Champion, and the first person to win the Grand Slam championship by winning the WWF, Intercontinental, Tag Team, and Hardcore Championships. He later lost the title to Albert on an episode of SmackDown! following interference from Diamond Dallas Page.

During The Invasion, Kane and The Undertaker feuded with DDP and Chris Kanyon after Page began stalking The Undertaker's wife Sara. The feud culminated at SummerSlam, when Kane and The Undertaker defeated Page and Kanyon in a Steel Cage match, resulting in them holding both the WWF World Tag Team Championships and the WWE Tag Team Championship. Kane and The Undertaker went on to defeat KroniK at Unforgiven, and both participated in the ten-man Winner-Takes-All match at Survivor Series as members of "Team WWF".

In 2002, Kane began a small feud with Big Show, after Kane single handedly eliminated him at the Royal Rumble. On the January 28 episode of Raw, Kane displayed his true power by scoop-slamming and chokeslamming the 500-pound Big Show, who he defeated that night. Kane then began feuding with Kurt Angle, to whom he lost at WrestleMania X8. On March 25, the WWF was divided into two brands, Raw and SmackDown!, with Kane being drafted to Raw. Kane went on to feud with the New World Order until tearing his biceps. Kane returned to the renamed WWE as part of the Raw roster in the Summer of 2002, with a new half-mask.

In 2002, Kane won the World Tag Team Championship with The Hurricane on the September 23 episode of Raw from Lance Storm and Christian. On October 7, Kane successfully single-handedly defended the World Tag Team Championship in a four-team Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, as The Hurricane had been attacked earlier that evening by Triple H and Ric Flair and was thus unable to compete. That match was later nominated WWE 2002 "Match of the Year". They would hold on to the titles until the October 14 episode of Raw, where they lost them to Christian and Chris Jericho. On September 30, Kane won the Intercontinental Championship from Chris Jericho despite interference from Triple H and Ric Flair.

In October 2002, Kane began feuding with Triple H, leading to a match at No Mercy on October 20 in which both Kane's Intercontinental Championship and Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship were at stake. Triple H went on to defeat Kane at No Mercy; due to Triple H cheating with Ric Flair, unifying the two titles.

Kane then formed a tag team with Rob Van Dam, with the duo eventually winning the World Tag Team Championship. After they lost their World Tag Team Championship to La Résistance at Bad Blood, Triple H offered Kane a spot in his stable Evolution. Raw co-general manager Stone Cold Steve Austin offered Kane the opportunity to face Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship if he rejected Triple H's offer; however, co-general manager Eric Bischoff insisted that if Kane lost the match, he would unmask. Kane accepted Austin's offer and went to challenge Triple H the following week in Madison Square Garden. Triple H won the match following interference from his stablemates, and on the June 23, 2003 episode of Raw, Kane removed his mask. He then chokeslamed Rob Van Dam (turning heel again) and went on to defeat him at SummerSlam. In an interview with Jim Ross at Conseco Fieldhouse, it became apparent that Kane's facial scars were actually mental scars. At the end of this interview, Kane, believing that he was being mocked, attacked Ross and set him on fire. The unmasking rendered Kane emotionally unstable, on one occasion drove him to Tombstone Piledriver Linda McMahon on the Raw stage. This action sparked a feud between Kane and Linda's son, Shane, with Kane defeating Shane in a Last Man Standing match at Unforgiven and an ambulance match at Survivor Series. During the latter event, Kane interfered in a Buried Alive match between Vince McMahon and The Undertaker, helping McMahon bury The Undertaker and win the match. The following month at Armageddon, Kane competed in a Triple-Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H and defending champion Bill Goldberg, a match which Triple H won.

In January 2004, Kane took part in the Royal Rumble match. He was eliminated when he heard the bell toll from The Undertaker's entrance music, distracting and distressing Kane and enabling Booker T to eliminate him. Shortly afterward, Spike Dudley appeared as a participant in the match, but Kane, assuming Dudley had distracted him with the gong of Undertaker's music, chokeslammed him on the stage ramp, rendering Dudley physically unable to compete. Over the following weeks, Kane repeatedly insisted that The Undertaker was "dead", only to be met with various paranormal incidents such as a rainstorm localized over the ring in which he stood. The Undertaker finally returned at WrestleMania XX (again sporting his "Deadman" persona) with Paul Bearer at his side, defeating Kane.

Following his defeat at WrestleMania XX, Kane fell in love with Lita, but was spurned. This led to him kidnapping Lita in May and asking her an unknown question, to which she replied in the affirmative later that month. On the same night, Kane won a twenty-man battle royal to receive a World Heavyweight Championship title shot against Chris Benoit at Bad Blood. Lita later announced that she was pregnant, with Matt Hardy her then-boyfriend both on- and off- screen, assuming that he was the child's father. On 21 June, episode of Raw, Kane claimed that he was the father. The following week, Kane explained that he had impregnated Lita in order to continue his legacy and justified a vicious attack on Shawn Michaels several weeks earlier by claiming that Michaels had stood in the way of him winning the World Heavyweight Championship. In order to appease Kane, General Manager Eric Bischoff gave Kane a rematch with Benoit, instructing Benoit that he could only win by submission, whereas Kane could win the title by any means. Despite dominating much of the match, Kane again lost to Benoit. Following the match, Lita came to the ring and low-blowed Kane, who initially went to chokeslam her in revenge but stopped when he realized that she was trying to force him to cause her to miscarry their child.

Kane and Matt Hardy faced one another in a "Till Death Do Us Part" match at SummerSlam, with Lita obliged to wed the victor. Kane defeated Hardy, and "married" Lita on the August 23 episode of Raw. Although he was attacked by Hardy during the ceremony, he gained the upper hand and ultimately chokeslammed Hardy off the stage (in reality, Hardy needed time off because of a knee injury and later a staph infection). On the September 13 episode of Raw, Kane accidentally fell on Lita during a match with the debuting Gene Snitsky, who hit him on the back with a steel chair, ostensibly causing Lita to miscarry. Kane turned face after he sought revenge against Snitsky for causing the death of his child. He lost to Snitsky in a steel chain match at Taboo Tuesday, and he was sidelined for several months after Snitsky crushed his larynx with a chair following the match. This attack was a repeat performance of the storyline where Kane "injured" Michaels in the same exact manner. The "injury" gave Kane time to complete his starring role in the film, See No Evil. Kane returned in January 2005, defeating Snitsky at New Year's Revolution. After WrestleMania 21, Kane and Lita reconciled with one another and began antagonizing Lita's rival Trish Stratus. This led to a match between Kane and Stratus' hired bodyguard Viscera at Backlash that was won by Kane.

Lita later turned on Kane and sided with Edge, leading to a feud between Kane and Edge. Kane was able to defeat Edge at Vengeance, despite interference from Snitsky. The feud ended when Edge defeated Kane in a Stretcher match on the July 25 episode of Raw, which resulted after the match in Kane throwing Edge at the titantron wall and a Tombstone Piledriver on Lita. Lita's allegiance with Edge resulted from the couple's real-life affair while she was still romantically involved with Matt Hardy. Hardy was later rehired and Kane was dropped from the angle, with Matt and Edge having a feud over Lita.

Kane returned to WWE television on October 17, 2005, winning an eighteen-man battle royal.[52] As a result of his victory, he, along with Big Show and Shawn Michaels, was featured in an Internet poll to decide who would receive a shot at the WWE Championship at Taboo Tuesday. In the weeks before Taboo Tuesday, Kane and Big Show teamed together on several occasions. The poll was won by Michaels, and Kane and Big Show teamed together to face Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch, defeating them for the World Tag Team Championship. The duo successfully retained their championship throughout the remainder of 2005, during which time they engaged in an inter-promotional feud with members of the SmackDown! brand. He and Big Show feuded with Carlito and Chris Masters throughout early 2006, culminating in a successful title defense at WrestleMania 22 on April 2. The following evening, Kane and the Big Show lost the World Tag Team Championship to Spirit Squad members Kenny and Mikey. One week later, Kane and Big Show faced Spirit Squad members Johnny and Nicky in a rematch for the title, but were disqualified after Kane "snapped", ostensibly due to "voices in his head".

In subsequent weeks, Kane began attacking anyone who mentioned the date May 19. During the match between Kane and Big Show at Backlash, Kane's voice began echoing throughout the arena saying "May 19", "It's happening again" and "They're all going to know" leaving Kane visibly shaken. Big Show then struck Kane with a chair, resulting in a no contest. On May 19, Kane appeared on SmackDown! as John "Bradshaw" Layfield's hand-picked opponent for Rey Mysterio. After both the aforementioned voices and mask video began playing, Kane chokeslammed both Layfield and Mysterio before leaving the ring. On the following episode of Raw, he claimed that May 19 was the date on which his mother and adopted family were killed in a fire. The voices continued on to the May 29 episode of Raw, when Kane was confronted by the source of the voice, an impostor Kane, wearing Kane's old mask and ring attire, he chokeslammed Kane during his match against Shelton Benjamin for the Intercontinental Championship. Kane and the look-alike continued to fight one another in subsequent weeks, leading to a match between the two being scheduled for Vengeance, in which the real Kane lost to the impostor. On the June 26 episode of Raw, Kane threw the impostor out of the arena and removed his mask, saying "I believe that this is mine." Kane was absent from WWE television for several weeks thereafter. Upon his return, he faced his former partner Big Show for the ECW Championship in a losing effort. When he returned to Raw, he engaged in a major feud with Umaga that concluded on October 9 in a "Loser Leaves Raw" match, which Kane lost.

On October 13, Kane moved to SmackDown for the first time since the 2002 brand extension. On November 3, Kane reunited with The Undertaker as The Brothers of Destruction to defeat Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) and Mr. Kennedy. Kane continued a feud with MVP competing in several gimmick matches. The end result of the feud was an Inferno match at Armageddon; Kane won by setting MVP's back on fire which resulted in first degree burns. Kane continued to have matches throughout the year with MVP. On the SmackDown! before the Royal Rumble, Kane was involved in a six-man elimination over-the-top-rope battle royal, with King Booker, MVP, The Miz, Chris Benoit and Finlay. This match went to a no contest as The Undertaker interrupted after Kane had been eliminated and punished by the remaining opponents. At the Royal Rumble, Kane eliminated King Booker, but Booker re-entered the ring and eliminated Kane. A couple weeks later on SmackDown!, while receiving the key to the city in his hometown of Houston, Booker was attacked by Kane starting a feud between the two. At No Way Out, Kane defeated King Booker. On February 23, Kane lost to King Booker in a Falls Count Anywhere Money in the Bank Qualifying match after interference from The Great Khali, sparking a feud between the two. Prior to WrestleMania 23, Kane started to walk around with a hook. At the event, Kane was defeated by Khali. During the match, in homage to Hulk Hogan slamming André the Giant twenty years earlier at WrestleMania III, Kane picked up Khali for the first time and body-slammed him to the mat. After WrestleMania, he began to feud with William Regal and Dave Taylor. The Boogeyman then joined the feud, teaming up with Kane. On the May 4 episode of SmackDown!, Kane competed in a number one contender's match for the United States Championship held by MVP. Kane lost due to interference by Regal and Taylor. On the May 25 episode of SmackDown!, Kane competed in a fatal four-way number one contender's match for the World Heavyweight Championship which was won by Batista. Kane then entered a short feud with Mark Henry. Kane was defeated by Henry in a Lumberjack match at One Night Stand due to interference from lumberjacks Kenny Dykstra and Chavo Guerrero and then took a short hiatus.

On the July 6 episode of SmackDown!, General Manager Theodore Long announced that Kane would face Edge for his World Heavyweight Championship at The Great American Bash. After Edge was attacked and injured by Kane and the title was vacated, Batista faced Kane in a number one contender's match. During the match, new World Heavyweight Champion The Great Khali interfered by attacking Batista; the match was ruled a no contest and both men were ruled the number one contenders, and were scheduled to face Batista in a triple threat match at the Great American Bash. Khali retained the title after pinning Kane for the win. Kane later teamed up with Batista on the August 18 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event to defeat Khali and Finlay. Kane then entered a storyline with Finlay, which led to a match at SummerSlam, which Kane won after chokeslamming Finlay. They continued to feud on SmackDown, which included Kane losing to Finlay and Kane in a number one contender's tournament after interference from Hornswoggle.

He then made an appearance on the October 16 episode of ECW as the hand-chosen partner of ECW Champion CM Punk, helping him defeat John Morrison, The Miz, and Big Daddy V in a three-on-two handicap match. In retaliation, Big Daddy V attacked Kane on the October 19 SmackDown, igniting a feud between the two. The two continued to battle in following weeks. Kane was voted to face the defending champion MVP for his United States Championship at Cyber Sunday, which Kane won by countout and thus did not win the title. After this, he continued to feud with Big Daddy V, with the two ending up on opposite teams at Survivor Series, where Kane's team won. Big Daddy V eventually began to team with Mark Henry, while Kane teamed with CM Punk. The feud concluded at Armageddon, where Kane and Punk lost to Big Daddy V and Henry after Big Daddy V pinned CM Punk.

In a battle royal before WrestleMania XXIV, Kane won by last eliminating former rival Mark Henry, earning a match for the ECW Championship against Chavo Guerrero later that night. Kane defeated Guerrero in the fastest-ever WrestleMania match with a record-setting eight seconds to win the ECW Championship. Shortly after winning the championship, Kane officially joined the ECW roster. At Backlash, Kane successfully defended the ECW Championship against Guerrero. He then continued teaming with CM Punk to earn a WWE Tag Team Championship match at Judgment Day, which the duo did not win. As part of the 2008 WWE Draft, Kane moved to the Raw brand, making the ECW Championship exclusive to Raw. Kane lost the ECW Championship to Mark Henry at Night of Champions in a triple threat match that also involved Big Show.

On the July 7 episode of Raw, Kane was denied a World Heavyweight Championship match at The Great American Bash leading him to attack commentators Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler turning heel in the process. At The Great American Bash, Kane interfered and attacked both the champion CM Punk and the challenger Batista. In September 2008, Kane began a feud with Rey Mysterio that lasted through Survivor Series 2008. On the March 2 episode of Raw, Kane pinned Mike Knox in a triple threat match, also involving Rey Mysterio, to earn a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXV, a match ultimately won by CM Punk.

During the 2009 Draft Kane beat The Brian Kendrick for a draft pick and, later in the night, was drafted back to SmackDown. There, Kane feuded with CM Punk and defeated him to cap it off at Backlash. He then took a break to tour India and also heal injuries, returning at The Bash to assist Dolph Ziggler in his match with The Great Khali by hitting Khali with a steel chair, allowing Ziggler to win. This started a feud with Khali, whom he defeated at SummerSlam and in a Singapore Cane match at WWE Breaking Point. Alongside Chris Jericho, Kane was co-captain for the victorious Team SmackDown at Bragging Rights turning face in the process. Kane then faced Jericho in a number one contender's match for an opportunity to face World Heavyweight Champion The Undertaker and Big Show in a triple threat match at Survivor Series, but lost. In 2010, at WrestleMania XXVI during the Money in the Bank ladder match, Kane was unsuccessful in claiming the briefcase. Over the next few months, Kane was involved in sporadic singles matches on episodes of SmackDown!. On the May 28 episode of SmackDown, he lost to CM Punk in a qualifying match for the World Heavyweight Championship match for the WWE Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view event. The following week on SmackDown, Kane stated he had found his brother The Undertaker in a "vegetative state" over Memorial Day weekend and vowed revenge on whoever was responsible. Due to The Undertaker's injury, a battle royal was held to determine his replacement for Fatal 4-Way, which Rey Mysterio won by last eliminating Kane.

Kane participated in his fourth Money in the Bank ladder match at its first eponymous pay-per-view. He won the match, and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract later that night and defeated Rey Mysterio (who had just defeated Jack Swagger) to win the World Heavyweight Championship. He became the only wrestler to cash in the Money in the Bank contract on the same night it was won. On the next SmackDown! on July 23, Kane accused Mysterio of putting The Undertaker in a vegetative state; Mysterio countered the accusations, claiming that Kane himself was the perpetrator turning heel again in the process. At SummerSlam, Kane retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Mysterio, and following their match, The Undertaker appeared. Kane was revealed as The Undertaker's attacker, reigniting their feud. He successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker, in a No Holds Barred match at Night of Champions. On the following episode of Smackdown!, a casket was brought to ringside by druids to reveal the return of Paul Bearer, supporting The Undertaker. At Hell in a Cell, Bearer turned on The Undertaker, and allied himself with Kane, who retained the World Heavyweight Championship with Bearer's help. At Bragging Rights, Kane defeated Undertaker in a Buried Alive Match to retain the title again after help from The Nexus.

Kane then rekindled his feud with Edge, who, on the October 28 episode of SmackDown!, was named the new challenger to Kane's World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series. On the November 12 episode of SmackDown, Edge kidnapped Bearer and started to play mind games with Kane, trying to psychologically wear him down before their title match. At Survivor Series, Kane retained his title after the referee determined the match a draw due to both men pinning each other at the same time. As Edge still had Bearer in his captivity, Kane agreed to a rematch at the next pay-per-view. On December 3, Edge defeated Kane in a non-title match to win the right to determine the stipulation for the title match; Edge chose a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. The following week, Kane accidentally injured Bearer, believing it to be another hoax by Edge, and Bearer was written out of the storyline. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Kane lost the championship to Edge, in a four-way Tables, Ladders and Chairs match, also involving Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio. Kane received his rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship on the January 7, 2011 episode of SmackDown in a Last Man Standing match, but was unsuccessful. Kane competed in the 2011 Royal Rumble match, and was the last person to enter the match, but was eliminated by Mysterio. Kane competed in the 2011 Elimination Chamber match, eliminating Drew McIntyre and the Big Show before being eliminated by Edge.

The following month, Kane reunited with The Big Show against a common enemy, turning face in the process: The Corre. Kane and Big Show challenged them for the tag team title and saving other wrestlers from their attacks. At WrestleMania XXVII, Big Show and Kane teamed with Santino Marella and Kofi Kingston to beat The Corre. The next week, a rematch took place, under two of three falls rules, which Kane's team won. On the April 22 episode of SmackDown, the duo defeated Corre members Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater to win the WWE Tag Team Championship, their second championship as a team. Big Show and Kane then started feuding with the New Nexus. After defending the titles against CM Punk and Mason Ryan at Over the Limit, Kane and Big Show lost the championship to Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga on the following day on Raw. The team disbanded after the match, as Big Show suffered an injury. Kane participated in the second annual SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match but the match was won by Daniel Bryan. On the July 22, episode of SmackDown, Kane was attacked by Mark Henry, who injured his leg with a steel chair. WWE reported the attack had fractured Kane's fibula, likely to sideline him for five months.

Beginning in November 2011, WWE began airing vignettes featuring Kane and a burning red mask, no longer showing his identity and each promo ending with the words Kane Resurrected appearing on screen. After more than four months of inactivity, Kane returned on the December 12 episode of Raw wearing a metallic mask and new ring attire inspired by the incisions of a postmortem human body after an autopsy. He interrupted the main event between Mark Henry and John Cena, attacking Cena before removing the metallic mask to reveal a new red mask. Kane continued to attack Cena in the following weeks, claiming he wanted Cena to "embrace the hate" from Cena's detractors, rather than try to "Rise Above Hate", as Cena's t-shirt proclaimed. Kane also attacked and injured Cena's ally Zack Ryder. Kane and John Cena fought to a double countout at the Royal Rumble. On February 19 at Elimination Chamber, Cena defeated Kane in an Ambulance Match to end the feud. In March, Kane iniated a feud with Randy Orton by attacking him. Kane later explained that he needed to feel like a monster again, and believed that defeating Orton would allow him to do that. Orton retaliated in following weeks, leading to a match at WrestleMania XXVIII, which Kane won. In a rematch on the following SmackDown, Orton defeated Kane in a No Disqualification match. After Kane attacked Orton and his father, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, the pair faced off at Extreme Rules, in a Falls Count Anywhere match, which Orton won by utilizing a steel chair.

Kane would then engage in a three-way feud with WWE Champion CM Punk and Daniel Bryan after Bryan interfered in a non-title match between Kane and Punk to frame Punk for attacking Kane with a steel chair. On the June 1 episode of SmackDown, a WWE Championship match between Kane and Punk ended in a double disqualification after Bryan attacked both men. Meanwhile, Bryan's jilted ex-girlfriend AJ turned her affections to both Punk and Kane. The feud culminated in a triple threat match at No Way Out, where Punk retained the WWE Championship after AJ distracted Kane. At Raw 1000, Kane turned face, when he was saved by his brother Undertaker from a attack by Jinder Mahal, Drew McIntyre, Tyler Reks, Curt Hawkings, Hunico and Camacho.

At SummerSlam, Kane was defeated by Daniel Bryan after Bryan pinned him with a roll-up. After the match, Kane attacked backstage interviewer Josh Mathews while looking for Bryan. As a result of Bryan and Kane's issues, AJ enrolled them in anger management classes hosted by Dr. Shelby and they were later forced to compete in a "Hug it Out" match. At the arrangement of Dr. Shelby and AJ, the two adversaries formed a team whose constant bickering and infighting even during matches inadvertently resulted in them defeating The Prime Time Players (Titus O'Neil and Darren Young) to become the number one contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championship on the September 10 episode of Raw, and defeating champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth to win the championship at Night of Champions. Kane and Bryan made their first successful title defense the following night on Raw, defeating the former champions in a rematch. The following week on Raw, "Team Hell No" was chosen as the official team name via a Twitter poll. Team Hell No entered a feud with Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow), ans successfully defended the championship against them on multiple occasions.

On the November 26 episode of Raw, after Kane lost to WWE Champion CM Punk in a non-title match, both Kane and Bryan were assaulted by The Shield (Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns). This attack had the effect of uniting Bryan and Kane, and after the Shield and Team Hell No, along with Ryback, attacked each other on the December 3 episode of Raw, all six men were faced each other at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, where the Shield was victorious. Further successful title defenses against Team Rhodes Scholars and 3MB (Drew McIntyre and Heath Slater) followed throughout December 2012 and January 2013. On the February 11 episode of Raw, Kane defeated Dolph Ziggler to earn the final spot in the number one contender Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship, but was the second man eliminated from the match by Mark Henry at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. On April 7 at WrestleMania 29, Team Hell No defeated Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston in another successful title defense.

The following night on Raw, Team Hell No rekindled their rivalry with The Shield after they saved The Undertaker from an attack by them. On the April 22 episode of Raw, Team Hell No and The Undertaker were defeated by the Shield in a six-man tag team match. Kane and Bryan then faced members of the stable in both tag team and singles competition, but were mainly unsuccessful. On May 19 at Extreme Rules, Kane and Bryan lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Shield members Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, ending their reign at 245 days. Team Hell No lost their rematch against Reigns and Rollins on the May 27 episode of Raw. In the aftermath of the championship loss, Bryan formed a team with Randy Orton to face the Shield, while Kane was left on his own. On the June 14 episode of SmackDown, Kane teamed with Bryan and Orton to end the Shield's unpinned/unsubmitted streak in televised six-man tag matches. Kane unsuccessfully challenged Dean Ambrose for the WWE United States Championship three days later at WWE Payback and the following night on Raw.

On the July 8 episode of Raw, Kane was attacked and injured by the debuting Wyatt Family, thus removing him from his scheduled WWE Championship Money in the Bank ladder match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. During Kane's absence, the Wyatt Family sent out a messages to Kane by attacking other superstars and telling him to "follow the buzzards". Kane returned on the July 29 episode of Raw, losing to his former partner Daniel Bryan. After the match, Kane would attack Bryan, officially ending Team Hell No, soon after Kane was then attacked by The Wyatt Family. On the August 5 Raw, after The Wyatt Family finished off Tons of Funk, Kane appeared on the titantron, challenging Bray Wyatt to a "Ring of Fire" match at SummerSlam. On August 18 at the pay-per-view, Kane was defeated by Wyatt in the Ring of Fire match, following interference from Erick Rowan and Luke Harper. After the match, Rowan and Harper again attacked Kane and threw the steel steps onto his head whilst Wyatt watched from his rocking chair.

At Hell in a Cell, he returned by attacking the Wyatt family and followed by delivering a chokeslam to the Miz. The next night on Raw, Kane defeated The Miz in a squash match, then called out Stephanie McMahon. Although he began to criticize her abuse of power, he would then declare his allegiance to her by removing his mask and exiting with her, turning heel once again in the process. As part of his character change, he appeared unmasked and wore a suit and tie to fit in with the corporate ideology of The Authority. Kane took part in the 2014 WWE Royal Rumble event. He was eliminated early in the match by CM Punk, though would later return and eliminate Punk before chokeslamming him through the Spanish announce table. This tied the record for most eliminations in the Royal Rumble, however, his thirteen-year-old record for most eliminations in a single Rumble was broken by Roman Reigns. Kane then began a feud with Daniel Bryan attacking him along with WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Randy Orton on the January 28, Raw. Bryan would attack Kane the following week. On the February 17 episode of Raw, after Bryan suffered an injured shoulder against Christian, Kane booked himself against him losing but injuring his shoulder even further. At Elimination Chamber, while escorting The Wyatt Family out of the Elimination Chamber match, Bryan attacked Kane. Kane then attacked Bryan leading for him to be pinned by Randy Orton.