If you’ve been tuning into Monday Night RAW lately, then you’ll know that the red brand’s two biggest monsters are intent on destroying each other. The Monster Among Men, Braun Strowman, has been walking through everyone and everything in his path all year. But that path of destruction has put him directly in the crosshairs of WWE’s original monster, the Big Red Machine, Kane.
However, while it’s clear that the purpose of this rivalry is to establish Strowman as a dominant monster, the feud suffers from one major problem – continuity. Within weeks, one of these seemingly unstoppable entities refuses to follow through on his demonic promises, and that is hurting his own character and this entire feud.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at why Kane’s booking is having such a negative impact on this storyline.
Why Would Kane Fear Strowman?
Braun Strowman may be the baddest monster in WWE today, but Kane has made a career out of destroying people. In the past two decades, the legendary superstar has set his foes on fire, electrocuted Shane McMahon and even buried his own demonic brother alive (twice!). Moreover, he has destroyed the likes of Big Show, The Undertaker, Great Khali and Kevin Nash, while besting legends like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and of course, the Undertaker. Simply put, the monstrous Kane has tortured everybody who’s anybody in WWE – and sometimes, he was even the smaller man in those altercations.
So, when looking back at his illustrious career, it’s clear to see why Kane’s current booking is rather confusing.
Yes, Kane kickstarted this program with Strowman in convincing fashion when he attacked the giant at TLC, and the Monster Among Men fired back with effect when he returned. But in a matter of weeks, Kane has gone from squashing RAW talent to suddenly begging off and backing away from the taller man. This week’s installment of RAW highlighted this when Kane retreated into the corner after Strowman copied his vintage ‘sit-up’ trick. For some reason, there was fear in the veteran’s eyes.
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Not only does this make the Big Red Monster seem less monstrous, it makes the entire feud seem redundant. Kane’s pleading could be viewed like a submission of sorts from the Big Red Machine, as though he’s admitting that Strowman is the worse monster – and this is much worse than simply losing a match via pinfall.
So if Kane is no longer perceived as a threat, then it gives Strowman nothing to overcome, and it diminishes the eventual pinfall victory he might score over the Devil’s Favorite Demon. After all, why would a pinfall matter when he had Kane practically submitting before him.
In addition, the storyline definitely isn’t doing Kane any favors either. He may be involved in RAW’s biggest rivalry, but the booking is once again portraying the WWE Legend as the lesser of two evils. And we all know that this is most certainly not the case. Granted, in today’s pyro-less PG era, it’s hard to make Kane the same fire-breathing monster he was in the late ‘90s, but that doesn’t mean that he should back down from anyone. This is a fight that the Big Red Monster started, and whether he wins or loses, it’s only fair to him that he sees it through in his own monstrous way.
In order to make us fully buy this story between these two monsters, both Kane and Braun Strowman need to be portrayed as unstoppable forces. Not only will it highlight Kane in the monstrous fashion that he deserves, it will solidify Strowman to an even greater extent should he defeat the Big Red Machine after a hard-fought match.
This monstrous war isn’t over yet, so it would be in WWE’s best interests to stop making Kane back down. None of us want to watch a battle when the war has already been won.
Would you like to see Kane be even more monstrous when facing Braun Strowman? Let us know in the comments below!
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