Lately, I’ve been thinking about Kane and I‘m not 100% sure why.

 I have never held an opinion about Kane one way or the other--a remarkable feat, considering he’s been active in WWE for over a decade (*) and has been involved in virtually every possible story line from the intense to the intensely ridiculous (**). There’s no question he’s been one of the federation’s most consistent performers.

   Not only that, he’s taken a gimmick that I thought would last about as long as it took for Undertaker to finish with him at Wrestlemania 14 and turned it into a steady paycheck. In a ruthless business where names come, go, and are wished well on their future endeavors at the drop of a foam finger, I tip my hat to the Big Red Machine.

And yet…

When you think of iconic WWE moments, how many of them involve Kane? His very first appearance was the inaugural Hell in a Cell match between Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker. It’s one of the most revered matches in wrestling history and exactly zero percent of that reverence is aimed at Kane’s Big Reveal. If anything Kane’s appearance felt like an afterthought. I’ve watched this match dozens of times and every time I shut it off as soon as Kane’s music hits.

So is Kane good or bad? For over a decade he’s been one of the E’s most consistent performers. But nothing he’s ever done has ever rated above “mildly interesting.” So where do you rate him?

Kane is the wrestling equivalent of Patrick Ewing. He’s better than most guys, and if you look at his popularity and career numbers, he’s a Hall of Fame candidate. You may even have some personal favorite moments about the guy. But when you think of iconic moments in the sport, there’s nothing there.

That’s not a knock on Kane. The ugly truth is, most wrestling is stunningly mediocre. To read the internet you would think the WWE is in a creative death spiral. In actual fact, wrestling today is no worse than it was five, ten, or fifteen, or even twenty years ago (which is far back as I go). Nope. It’s always been this way. Being a fan means panning through rivers of mud to see a few moments of gold.

But those moments, they take your breath away.

Those moments are why I love this business.

For me personally, Kane hasn’t had a lot of those moments. But he hasn’t wasted too much of my time either. He’s done the best he can with what he’s been given, and in wrestling--as in life--that’s pretty much the most you can ask for.

(*) Longer if you include his stints as Isaac Yankem and Fake Diesel.

(**) Undertaker's brother! Lita's baby daddy! The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance! Okay, one of those, I made up.