Kane had one of the biggest nights of his WWE career when he captured his first world championship, but even he knows that night belongs to Mick Foley in the minds of most fans.
While speaking on WWE’s Photo Shoot YouTube series, Kane looked back at winning the WWF Championship and admitted the moment still comes with a little frustration. The problem was not the title win itself. The problem was that Mick Foley, as Mankind, had one of the wildest nights in WWE history on the exact same show. Kane made it clear that he still has not fully let that one go, because Foley’s Hell in a Cell fall became the moment everyone remembers.
“My first world championship. The winner of this bout. And New World Wrestling Federation Champion! Kane! Unfortunately, and I’m still upset about this to this day. Mick Foley overshadowed me that night because that was also the night that Mick Foley as Mankind went flying off the top of the cell and then flying through the cell, so no one probably ever remembers that I also won the world championship that night.”
That is a brutal spot to be in. Kane won the top title in WWE, but Foley getting thrown off the cell and then crashing through it became an all-time wrestling moment. It is hard to compete with that, even with a world championship in your hands. Kane also addressed the fact that his title reign only lasted one night. He lost the championship back to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin the next night on Monday Night Raw in Cleveland, Ohio, but Kane does not see that as something fans should laugh off.
“I lost it the next day in Cleveland, Ohio on Monday Night Raw back to ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and, you know, folks will say well you only held it for a night.”
Kane then fired back with a pretty simple point. A short reign is still a reign, and not many people ever get to say they won WWE’s top championship at all.
“Well, I mean, so did Andre the Giant. You know, how many people actually win a championship throughout their career? Not that many. So that really was confirmation that I could be one of the top superstars in WWE.”
Kane’s first world title win may not get talked about as much as Foley’s Hell in a Cell moment, but it still mattered. For Kane, that win proved he was not just The Undertaker’s storyline brother or another monster in WWE. It showed he could stand at the top of the company.
Mick Foley’s fall may have stolen the headlines that night, but Kane walked away with the championship. That is still a massive piece of WWE history, even if fans usually remember the broken table before they remember the title change.
Do you think Kane’s first WWE Championship win deserves more respect, or was Mick Foley’s Hell in a Cell moment just impossible to top? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments section below.
