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“This is better than I could have ever imagined,” said Kane backstage after his appearance last night on Raw. “The ovation was just awesome. It kept getting louder and louder.”
Few Superstars have the kind of rabid fan following enjoyed by Kane. His legions of loyal supporters were sorely disappointed several months ago when the mysterious Superstar was sidelined with an injury and suddenly disappeared from WWE broadcasts. But his absence came to a shocking end last night when he cleared house on the Un-Americans before a very appreciative Madison Square Garden crowd.
“I’ve been working on getting healthy, getting back in shape, working out,” Kane said, explaining what he’s been up to all these months. “As a great icon of sports-entertainment used to say, I’m training, saying my prayers and taking my vitamins.”
The forced sabbatical from the ring came as a result of a torn bicep tendon that occurred while Kane was lifting weights at a gym in Abilene, Texas. Tendon tears are common in most sports, but the real problem was the fact that it was a distal tear, running down the length of the tendon instead of straight across it. This tear caused the tendon to separate from the ulna, the forearm bone that connects to the elbow.
Like most other performers who wind up on the disabled list, Kane had to find ways to combat boredom and keep himself occupied while away from the ring.
“I’m a big techno-geek,” he confessed. “I just got a new computer system, so I’ve been busy learning how to use it. I’m also into paintball as a hobby, so once my arm was healthy enough I started doing a little of that to help get my competitive juices flowing. Of course, I’ve also been watching WWE on TV, keeping up with what everyone else has been doing.”
The fans were abuzz last night thanks in part to Kane’s new look. The streamlined mask and costume represent an ongoing evolution of the Kane persona that has been going on for the past half-decade. In talking about his new getup, the Masked One had this to say:
“It’s a lot more modern, a lot more cutting edge. Darker. The new mask makes it easier to talk and to breathe. There was also the ‘stench factor’ with the older mask—even though I always have more than one mask on hand, unlike Mick Foley, who used the same sweaty mask all those years!”
Despite being sidelined just at the moment that his following seemed to be growing more than ever before, Kane remains optimistic about his future in WWE.
He certainly seems ready to make an impact once again, although he also has his share of doubts and anxiety.
“I’m definitely excited,” he said. “But apprehensive, which happens with anyone who’s coming off an injury. What we do is very demanding. The standard we set is very high, and there’s a certain amount of pressure to maintain that level. I haven’t done this in a while, and I’ve been watching everyone on TV and seeing how hard they’re working. You just wanna get back in there and make an impact. And that’s what I’m gonna do, starting now.”
Of course, we just had to ask Kane about the infamous “Kane-arooni”, which brought the Garden house down and had Superstars and fans alike in stitches.
“I think I just saw Hell freeze over and a pig fly by,” Kane joked. “I might be putting the ‘Kane-arooni’ back in the vault, but you never can tell. It may come back one day, but I have a feeling one may be all I can pull off!”
For his growing army of “Kane-anites” out there, Kane had a very special message:
“A lot of you have been wishing me well. I’ve been getting a lot of fan mail. I want to thank everyone for that, and reinforce what an honor and a privilege it is to be in this business at this specific time and see how much we’re able to entertain the people. Now I’m back, and I promise to be bigger and better than ever.”