Top 3 comedy babyface greatest moments (in NO particular order):
A) Kane & Hurricane: Okay, come on, work with me here. Kane up to that point had been scary as all hell and then, he teamed with HURRICANE HELMS of all people and ended up defeating Lance Storm & Christian for the tag titles. This was a similar tag team to when Kane teamed up with X-Pac (in the unlikeliest tag team probably EVER... at that time). And it was GREAT. That was right before Kane would unmask for the first time (which we'll get to a bit later on). There's no specific promos or moments from this angle I'd like to highlight, because I enjoyed the whole thing.
B) KANEINITES!!!! This. Was. Amazing. Kane was set to team with Dwayne and Hulk Hogan versus Kevin Nash, Scott Hall & X-Pac on Smackdown. Kane enters the locker room, and just when everyone expects him to be serious... Kane tells Dwayne IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU'RE READY, starts imitating Hulk Hogan (even calling his fans 20,000 screaming KANEINITES), down to doing the Hogan poses and saying WHATCHA GONNA DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO? I busted out laughing, the crowd popped HUGE, even the announcers are heard laughing. I remember watching this segment for the first time like it was yesterday, and it is one of my all time favorite Kane moments ever.
Top 3 heel moments (in NO particular order):
A) Setting Jim Ross on fire: Okay, so personal story here: I was 13 at the time Kane unmasked. I knew by that point that wrestling was staged, and stuff didn't really bother as much as it used to when I was “younger”, or so I thought. Then Kane did an interview with Jim Ross right after he unmasked. From the black towel over his head, to the present Kane gave JR (which ended up being gasoline, and Kane threatened that if he was made fun of during the interview he would set JR on fire)... and then just the eerie calm during the interview, I was freaked. And then, JR tells Kane that he doesn't think Kane is scarred in any way. Kane gets pissed, attacks JR AND ACTUALLY SETS HIM THE FUCK ON FIRE. I was traumatized. I had nightmares for a week straight about Kane after that, and at 13 years old covered my eyes the next time he appeared on Raw. That moment legitimately scared the fuck out of me, and still gives me chills when I watch it now. (And yes, I'm aware JR wasn't REALLY set on fire. Doesn't matter. Still scary.)
C) Money in the Bank 2010, and the 2008 heel turn: I know what everyone's thinking right now: WHAT THE FLYING FUCK? Just hear me out. Kane electrocuting Shane's testicles was funny. His monster heel turn took a turn for the worse after the initial scare wore off, and that was pretty quick. The original Kane was already covered. The “I hate John Cena's Rise Above Hate” message Kane was just boring. His 2008 heel turn? Woah. Keep in mind, Kane hadn't been a heel since 2005, and he turned on an episode of Raw where he lost a #1 contenders match for the World Heavyweight Championship to Batista and decided to take out his frustrations by attacking the timekeeper, a camera man, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler. He kept asking “is he alive or dead?” Of course, nobody knew what that meant at the time. But this heel turn would lead to something monumental 2 years later: Kane would win Money in the Bank, and be the first (and still the only) man to cash it in on the very same night and win the World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Rey Mysterio. This would lead to Kane's only legitimate reign as a world champion and, despite the lengthy promos with the creepy music in the background, is not a highlight of Kane's illustrious career. It did however prove that Kane could be a fantastic heel champion.
Is Kane misused & underrated?
Misused? No. Underrated? Absofuckingloutely. Sure, you could contend that Kane deserved a few more world title runs, and I'd 100% agree with you. But you can't tell me that Kane has been misused since that character debuted in 1997. He's had so many face and heel turns that you'd lose count trying to remember them all. He's done it all: Tag team champion, hardcore champion, Intercontinental champion, world champion, ECW champion, WCW tag team champion, slammy award winner, comedy babyface, monster heel, tweener. Kane is also the 3rd Grand Slam champion in WWE history. The rest of the guys on that list: HBK, HHH, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, RVD, Booker T, JBL, Jeff Hardy, Christian & Big Show. Notice a lot of Hall of Famers on that list? Me too. Kane is one of the most decorated champions of all time, as well as one of the most versatile performers WWE has ever had. At 46 years of age, Kane still has good-great matches, flies around the ring like he's 30, and rarely gets injured. He does house shows, he does Raw, he does PPV's. The guy in my eyes is a surefire Hall of Fame candidate whenever he decides to hang up his boots.
In conclusion, appreciate Kane while he's still around. You may not see another performer like him again. Now, excuse me while I go have nightmares about Jim Ross being set on fire. HAPPY MAY 19TH!!!!