One of the absolute staples of WWE is two big bulls colliding in the squared circle. At No Way Out of Texas in 1998, the Undertaker’s brother Kane fought ‘The Mastodon’ Vader in one of the top matches on the card that added to the mystique and lore of Kane.

The Background: Kane debuted in the World Wrestling Federation at Badd Blood, ripping the door off the Hell in a Cell but his arrival had been heralded by Paul Bearer long before. Wanting to reposition himself as the Undertaker’s manager, Bearer held a dark secret over the head of the Deadman. When the Undertaker lost the WWF Championship at SummerSlam, Bearer unveiled the story of the Undertaker’s family fire. Kane trapped the Undertaker in a casket at the ’98 Royal Rumble and lit it ablaze. With the Undertaker gone, many felt that the 400-pound Vader was the only man who could physically stand up to Kane. Vader was fresh off a feud with Goldust and say what you will about Vince Russo, his finish of a Vader Bomb with Luna Vachon on his back was certainly memorable at the Rumble. The rivalry made sense considering that Vader followed the Mankind path of a former Bearer client who experienced success against the Deadman – most notably at the ’97 Rumble, Kane had previously defeated Mankind at Survivor Series.

The Action: Jerry Lawler likens this bout to Götterdämmerung as Vader makes his entrance following a video package putting over the Rocky Mountain Monster. Vader gets a good reaction and Kane’s presentation is so fresh that he captures the imagination. Lawler and Jim Ross put over Vader, which is such a benefit to building up Kane before the Undertaker returns. The first thing about this match is that there isn’t a lot of selling, or certainly not in the conventional sense. It’s two monsters throwing hands and tossing each other around. Vader doesn’t even let Kane blow up the turnbuckles. Kane is heavily protected, taking the shots from Vader but coming back each time. The crowd chant for Vader as Kane beats him down leading to a great exchange on commentary between ‘The King’ and JR; “Much to that hideous Paul Bearer’s chagrin.” “What do you mean hideous?” “Well, look at him. He’s a morbid human being.” “You’re no Tom Cruise yourself.” “I’m not talking about his appearance. Talking about his attitude, his outlook, the way he treats other people.” Vader puts up more offence against Kane than anybody else has including Mankind as Kane displays his athleticism in leaping over the top rope. DDT by Kane. Kane looks for a chokeslam, Vader goes downstairs with a low blow. Big splash followed by a moonsault. Kane sits up. Vader gets thrown into the steps and comes out with a fire extinguisher. Powerbomb but again Kane is up on his feet. Chokeslam. Tombstone. Three count. Kane grabs a gimmicked wrench and nails Vader between the eyes.

The Aftermath: A bolt of lightning would signal the return of the Undertaker a couple of weeks later on Raw, leading to Kane versus Undertaker at WrestleMania XIV in one of the most anticipated WWF matches for some time. Vader would not be seen until Unforgiven, when he interfered in the Inferno Match between the brothers. Vader and Kane met in a Mask versus Mask match at Over the Edge ’98, Kane prevailed and presented Vader’s mask to Paul Bearer as a trophy. Kane defeated ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin at the King of the Ring to become – briefly – WWF Champion.