Top 5 Brothers of Destruction Moments

While they may not actually be brothers by birth, and their kayfabe lineage has undergone all manner of revision and retconning over the years, a simple fact remains: The Brothers of Destruction are one of the most legendary duos in WWE lore. The two top-tier stars are both big, imposing stars for sure, but are also talents with remarkable longevity and remarkably complex mythologies behind them. Since Kane’s debut in 1997 at the end of the original Hell in a Cell Match, the kayfabe brothers have had their WWE destinies thoroughly intertwined, and it is both a partnership and a rivalry the company has revisited time and again. Their story includes two featured bouts against one another at WrestleManias (14 and 20), in addition to working shows like SummerSlam and Survivor Series as a tag team alongside one another.

The fact that each man is a star in his own right has only furthered their legacy. Both men are multiple time former world champions, each of whom has been a part of the bedrock for WWE dating back to the Monday Night War era, demonstrating tremendous longevity and loyalty to their employer and the fans.

The latest chapter in the brothers’ story saw Kane stand in The Undertaker’s match with Triple H at the Australian Super Show-Down, only to become heavily involved in the action. In the aftermath of the match, Kane and The Undertaker teamed up to take out Triple H and Shawn Michaels with a Tombstone and a chokeslam through a table, respectively, setting up a dream tag team match.

This article takes a look across the last 20 plus years to revisit five of the best moments of all time for The Brothers of Destruction.

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#5 Destroying DDP and Kanyon

The Brothers of Destruction lived up to their name against DDP and Kanyon.

A lot of WCW fans knock WWE’s use of Diamond Dallas Page, specifically for plugging him into a relatively generic stalker gimmick that stripped him of his signature personality, en route to an oddball motivational speaker character. Despite these limitations, one of the saving graces for the angle was getting to see DDP and Kanyon get their comeuppance from The Brothers of Destruction.

After an extended stretch of Page antagonizing The Dead Man, specifically through his wife, their issue reached its climax when the Brothers worked together to get a steel cage tag team match against the heel duo at SummerSlam 2001. What followed was a good old-fashioned face revenge match, in which the big men dominated their opponents in explosive fashion.

Sure, DDP and Kanyon were the worse for wear after this program, and particularly after losing this match in such decisive fashion, but the moment, in isolation, was a pleasure to watch.

#4 Raw 1000

The Undertaker and Kane took no prisoners on the thousandth episode of Raw.

The 1000th episode of Raw saw a number of moments that played off of nostalgia, and not least among them was a momentary reunion for The Brothers of Destruction. In a bit of a meta-moment, a number of heel talents who had trouble getting much TV time those days came to the ring to cut off Kane and launch an attack on The Big Red Machine—ostensibly for being a veteran who hogged the spotlight.

The whole scene was a set up for The Undertaker arrive and stand by his brother in taking out a collection of minor stars that included Jinder Mahal, Tyler Reks, Curt Hawkins, and Hunico and Camacho. This was a fun moment to garner a nostalgia pop without just cutting a promo, besides the fact that it completely fit the Brothers of Destruction ethos for the duo to lay waste to a bevy of men despite going into the situation badly outnumbered.

#3 Kane Saves The Undertaker from Snitsky and Heidenreich

The Undertaker and Kane joined forces against Heidenreich and Snitsky.

There came a point when Kane and The Undertaker found themselves in analogous situations in the upper mid card while WWE tried to keep them strong, despite neither being in the world title picture nor having any meaningful plans for advancement. On Raw, Kane was at odds with Snitsky, who had in kayfabe caused Kane’s kayfabe wife Lita to miscarry. Meanwhile, on SmackDown, Heidenreich was a crazed big man coming after The Undertaker.

Neither program was especially good, but WWE ultimately made the best of what was around in merging the two angles for a crossover story. While not the most logical bridge, Snitsky showed up to help Heidenreich in his match with The Dead Man. Little did he know that Kane was lurking, too. He emerged from a casket and came to his brother’s aid for a fun reunion.

#2 Kane’s Debut

Kane's debut was unforgettable.

Most entries on this list focus on The Undertaker and Kane working together as an overwhelming force of a duo. We’d be remiss not to touch upon one of their great moments as rivals, too, that was inextricably linked to the two of them being brothers.

After months of Paul Bearer cryptically teasing that The Undertaker a) had a brother, b) that brother was still alive, and c) that was very bad news for The Phenom, we, at last, arrived at our first actual citing of Kane. The Big Red Machine stormed the very first Hell in a Cell Match, tore the door off the cage, planted The Dead Man with a Tombstone, and cost him his grudge match with The Undertaker. This was one of the most startling and overwhelmingly successful spectacles of a debut WWE has ever offered up. It successfully transitioned The Undertaker a step away from his blood feud with Michaels and charted a course for his next major program with his brother.

#1 Both Kneeling

When The Undertaker and Kane both knelt for the first time, it suggested a bond.

On a January 1998 episode of Raw, we caught our first glimpse of what The Brothers of Destruction really might become. After Kane had haunted his big brother for months, and The Dead Man had demurred from fighting his own kin, we got a look at what the two might accomplish together when Kane saved his brother from an attack by D-Generation X.

In the most powerful moment of the segment, after the brothers had cleared the ring, Kane knelt down, his hand outstretched, in one of The Undertaker’s signature poses. The Phenom responded in kind, demonstrating some suggestion of a profound brotherly bond between the two.

Like many moments from the Attitude Era, the feel-good moment wouldn’t necessarily stick, as it turned out Kane was lulling his brother into a false sense of security before betraying him en route to their eventual WrestleMania match. In the short term, though, this was an electric and borderline touching moment for the iconic pair.