WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan def. Kane (Extreme Rules Match)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The smell of charred human flesh hung heavy in the air of the Izod Center in the moments after the Extreme Rules Match between WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan and Kane ended. Everyone had expected the former tag partners to put each other through hell in this bout. Few took those words literally.

However, it was the fires of hell that proved to be the deciding factor in this punishing encounter as The Devil’s Favorite Demon tumbled into the inferno of a flaming table — one which he had personally set ablaze — before being put down by Bryan’s running knee.

The horrifying sight of crew members running towards Kane’s flaming body with fire extinguishers defined the high drama of this vicious brawl, but it was an ugly scene from the very beginning. Aching to get his hands on The Demon who attacked his wife and attempted to end his career, Bryan ran up the entryway and laid into Kane as soon as he emerged from the back. It was an admirable display of guts from the defending champion, but it was also misguided.

Targeting the vulnerable neck of his opponent — an injury sustained when Kane nailed him with three Tombstones on Raw, including one on the steel steps — the twisted Superstar laid Bryan out with a series of targeted strikes before beating on him with a kendo stick.

It was all Kane from the get-go with Bryan occasionally rallying — with a top rope Frankensteiner here, a suicide dive there — only to have his legs cut out from under him repeatedly by his onetime ally. The Demon took slow pleasure in assaulting the champion, slamming him onto steel chairs and slapping him with a kendo stick with sadistic glee. At times, it seemed as though Kane wasn’t so much interested in winning the WWE World Heavyweight Title as he was in brutalizing Bryan.

Of course, quit is not a word in the autocorrect of the “Yes!” Man’s cell phone, so he fought back every time he found an opportunity. He slammed into his opponent with a suicide dive and blistered him with the top of the announce table. The champion even fought off an attempted chokeslam through the announce table and scored with a tornado DDT on the arena floor, but nothing Bryan did could stop The Demon. Kane hadn’t seemed this indestructible since he first emerged in WWE to terrorize his brother, The Undertaker.

When The Demon attempted to Tombstone Bryan on the steel steps, Bryan fought him off and began to blister him with a kendo stick as the WWE Universe chanted “Yes!” with every swing. The brawl spilled into the bowels of the Izod Center from there with Kane pinballing Bryan against the jagged edges of tables and into the unforgiving steel of parked cars. It was here that the WWE World Heavyweight Champion got his hands on a tire iron, which he used to knock The Demon out cold.

Now tasked with moving the lifeless body of a 300-pound monster, Bryan ingeniously moved his opponent onto the front of a forklift and drove the machine back towards the ring. After expertly depositing Kane back onto the canvas — Home Depot must occupy a place on Bryan’s resume — WWE’s “Yes!” Man climbed on top of the forklift and launched himself onto his fallen challenger with a blistering head butt.

Kane kicked out, but the exhilaration of the maneuver inspired something in Bryan. He threw himself at the big man with scary intensity, but Kane snatched him out of the air and chokeslammed him to the mat. Bryan powered out of the pin attempt and avoided another Tombstone before obliterating The Demon with 10 chair shots and applying a “Yes!” Lock with the aided pressure of a kendo stick.

The Demon from Death Valley escaped the hold and ended up on the outside of the ring where he again grabbed Bryan in midair and chokeslammed him through the announce table. At this point, Kane pulled a second table out from under the ring, covered it in gasoline and set the table on fire. It’s horrifying to think what may have happened had The Demon succeeded in depositing the champion onto the searing flames, but Kane’s plan failed. Bryan managed to fend the monster off and send him falling backwards off the apron into the inferno.

Crewmembers rushed toward the flaming body of Kane with fire extinguishers as he writhed in the fire. Lost and seemingly panicked in the white plumes of the extinguishers, The Demon found himself turned around in the ring where he met the brunt of Bryan’s running knee. That, as it turned out, was enough to put Kane down for the three count.

Bryan had survived his encounter with The Demon — flourished even — but there was little time for a chorus of “Yes!” chants. By the time the champion made it up the aisle with his two titles, walls of flames blocked his exit as the haunting organ of Kane’s entrance theme piped up. The Demon had already made it to his feet in the ring with his flesh still simmering. Bryan stared back at the ring, horrified, as he locked eyes with the monster he’d just conquered. It was a brief moment, but the message was unmistakable.

For Kane, this fight is far from over.  

 

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The smell of charred human flesh hung heavy in the air of the IZOD Center moments after the Extreme Rules Match between WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan and Kane ended. Everyone had expected the former tag team partners to put each other through hell in this bout. Few took those words literally.

Check out photos from this vicious brawl

However, it was the fires of hell that proved to be the deciding factor in this punishing encounter as The Devil’s Favorite Demon tumbled into the inferno of a flaming table — one which he had personally set ablaze — before being put down by Bryan’s running knee.

The horrifying sight of crew members running towards Kane’s flaming body with fire extinguishers defined the high drama of this vicious brawl, but it was an ugly scene from the very beginning. Aching to get his hands on The Demon who attacked his wife and attempted to end his career, Bryan ran up the entryway and laid into Kane as soon as he emerged from the back. It was an admirable display of guts from the defending champion, but it was also misguided.

Full Extreme Rules 2014 results

Targeting the vulnerable neck of his opponent — an injury sustained when Kane himself spiked him with three Tombstones on Raw, including one on the steel steps — the twisted Superstar laid Bryan out with a series of targeted strikes before beating on him with a kendo stick.

Watch exclusive backstage videos from Extreme Rules 2014

It was all Kane from the get-go with Bryan occasionally rallying — a top rope Frankensteiner here, a suicide dive there — only to have his legs cut out from under him repeatedly by his onetime ally. The Demon took slow pleasure in assaulting the champion, slamming him onto steel chairs and smashing him with a kendo stick with sadistic glee. At times, it seemed as though Kane wasn’t so much interested in winning the WWE World Heavyweight Title as he was in brutalizing Bryan.

 

Of course, quit is not a word in the autocorrect of the “Yes!” Man’s cell phone, so he fought back every time he found an opportunity. He slammed into his opponent with a suicide dive and blistered him with the top of the announce table. The champion even fought off an attempted chokeslam through the announce table and countered with a tornado DDT on the arena floor, but nothing Bryan did could stop The Demon. Kane hadn’t seemed this indestructible since he first emerged in WWE to terrorize his brother, The Undertaker.

Watch The Brothers of Destruction at their most dominant

When The Demon attempted to Tombstone Bryan on the steel steps again, Bryan fought him off and began to blister him with a kendo stick as the WWE Universe chanted “Yes!” with every swing. The brawl spilled into the bowels of the IZOD Center with Kane pinballing Bryan against the jagged edges of tables and into the unforgiving frames of parked cars. It was here that the WWE World Heavyweight Champion got his hands on a tire iron, which he used to knock The Demon out cold!

Now tasked with moving the motionless body of a 300-pound monster, Bryan ingeniously moved his opponent onto the front of a forklift, then drove the machine back into the arena and toward the ring. After expertly dumping Kane onto the canvas , WWE’s “Yes!” Man climbed on top of the forklift and launched himself onto his fallen challenger with a blistering head butt.

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Kane kicked out, but the exhilaration of the maneuver inspired something in Bryan. He threw himself at the big man with scary intensity, but Kane snatched him out of the air and chokeslammed him to the mat. Bryan powered out of the pin attempt and avoided another Tombstone before obliterating The Demon with 10 chair shots and applying a “Yes!” Lock with the aided pressure of a kendo stick.

 

The Demon escaped the hold and ended up on the outside of the ring where he again grabbed Bryan in midair and chokeslammed him through the announce table. At this point, Kane pulled a second table out from under the ring, covered it in gasoline and set the table on fire. It’s horrifying to think what might have happened had The Demon succeeded in depositing the champion onto the searing flames, but Kane’s plan failed. Bryan managed to fend the monster off and send him falling backwards off the apron into the inferno.

See our list of the 20 most insane table moments in history

Crewmembers rushed toward Kane’sflaming body with extinguishers as he writhed in the fire. Lost and seemingly panicked in the white plumes of the extinguishers, The Demon found himself turned around in the ring where he met the brunt of Bryan’s running knee. That, as it turned out, was enough to put Kane down for the three-count.

Bryan had survived his encounter with The Demon — flourished even — but there was little time for a chorus of “Yes!” chants. By the time the champion made it up the aisle with his two titles, walls of flames blocked his exit as the haunting organ of Kane’s entrance theme piped up. The Demon had already made it to his feet in the ring with his flesh still simmering. Bryan stared back at the ring, horrified, as he locked eyes with the monster he had just conquered. It was a brief moment, but the message was unmistakable.

For Kane, this war is far from over.