As Kane's career winds down, the WWE fan's natural tendency is to take him for granted.
After all, there are fresher faces charging up the ranks. Other stars have flashier moves, younger legs and a future lined with promise.
As Kane proved again Thursday night, though, he's an invaluable piece of the WWE puzzle. He's a steady hand, a go-to veteran and, at this point, a wrestler used to elevate others. Fans saw that all on display in an entertaining Casket match against Daniel Bryan.
Going with Bryan vs. Kane yet again was far from a thrilling choice. Not only have we seen those rivals clash more often than Jerry Lawlermakes a "dad joke," but we have watched Kane wrestle in WWE for 20 years now.
Of course, he is slower, older and certainly not as intimidating after trading his mask for business slacks. That hasn't stopped him from being one of the company's most dependable performers.
WWE has a wealth of programming each week, from Raw toSmackDown, Main Event to Superstars. It needs healthy, experienced men to compete night in and night out. Kane has done that and continues to do that despite drawing closer to 50 years old.
Since 1999, there have only been two years where he has not competed in at least 100 matches. He just missed that mark, too. In 2002, he appeared in 97 bouts. In 2011, he was a part of 96 matches.
That pace hasn't slowed in his mid-40s either. He has averaged 153 matches a year over the last three years. In 2014, WWE called on him 137 times.
Even at 47, he outworked a number of big names with that match total.
Total matches in 2014:
- The Miz: 133
- Big Show: 130
- Sin Cara: 129
- Randy Orton: 125
- Mark Henry: 72
One of Kane's biggest contributions now is that he is the wrestling equivalent of a baseball pitcher who eats innings. Management knows it can plug him in time and time again to round out the card.
Surprisingly, his body is holding up better than many of his younger peers, even with all that work.
Kane does not miss big chunks of time with injuries. He is far less familiar with the surgeon's table than men 15 years younger than him.
Take last year for example. In addition to CM Punk and Alberto Del Rio not being around, WWE had to make up for the fact that Roman Reigns was out after hernia surgery. He was far from alone, though.
The list of men who sat on the disabled list in 2014 is lengthy: Bo Dallas, Ryback, Darren Young, Sheamus, Mark Henry, Zack Ryder, Fernando, Santino Marella, Bad News Barrett and Bryan.
That's a lot of ring time to make up. And Kane helped do that by being the constant presence that he has been for years.
Credit: WWE.com
Dolph Ziggler squares off with Kane.
WWE also needs him to put guys over. Fans saw that in action most recently on Thursday's SmackDown.
Bryan needed a big win. The company had to want to give him a heroic moment after the backlash over him not winning the Royal Rumble.WWE called upon Kane again.
Kane is certainly someone whom Bryan has defeated in the past, but knocking off a former world champion and future Hall of Famer still has weight. How many of those does WWE have lying around?
And it's not as if the company is going to ask Cena or Triple H to lie down for Bryan's sake, not on an episode of SmackDown. WWEneeded Kane to fill that role and he did, but not with his name alone.
Credit: WWE.com
Kane attacks Daniel Bryan in their Casket match.
He and Bryan put on a quality bout. It teemed with suspense as both men teetered at the casket's open mouth.
After some fun back-and-forth action, Bryan won, moving on to whatever WWE has planned for him.
Add that to a long list of good bouts. As we saw on SmackDown, Kane is still producing after all these years.
