The Bizarre History Of Undertaker & Kane's Family In WWE, Explained
Sebastian Wright
Published Mar 27, 2026
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Not many people have ever accused professional wrestling of being logical. It's a sport where suspension of disbelief is required, especially in the 80s and 90s when fans were willing to believe anything put in front of them. However, that's what makes it so fun. That's what makes people keep coming back. They want to see the nonsense, craziness, and straight up stupidity. It doesn't get much more nonsensical, crazy, or stupid than the story of how Kane and The Undertaker came to be. They are two of the greatest of all time, but their history remains an interesting piece of storytelling.
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Kane And The Undertaker Have A Bizarre Childhood Backstory
The story starts at Death Valley. Kane and The Undertaker were brothers who lived with their parents at the family owned funeral home and mortuary. The Undertaker and his brother were very close as kids, but with Taker being the elder brother, he wanted to toughen up his little bro. He did that by instructing Kane to put his hand over a flame, and then seeing how long he could hold it there. Kane would never be able to last very long. Like any little brother, though, all he wanted to do is impress his older sibling, so Kane would practice at night while The Undertaker was sleeping. One night, The Undertaker caught Kane doing this. He got angry and started screaming at his brother. This woke up their parents who ordered them to promise to never fight again. They both agreed and made the promise which they truly intended to fulfill.
On one faithful night, Kane accidentally burned the funeral home to the ground with The Undertaker being the only survivor. He was adopted by long time family friend and employee, Paul Bearer. Bearer soon found out about The Undertaker's strength and ability. He met up with "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, who offered a lot of money to Bearer for The Undertaker's services. This would lead to the debut of The Undertaker as a WWE superstar.
Paul Bearer Introduced His Son Kane To WWE
With the help of Paul Bearer, The Undertaker conquered WWE in the 90s. He would become a multiple time world champion, start his legendary WrestleMania undefeated streak, and strike fear into opponents. However, his allegiance to Paul Bearer was beginning to wear thin. Taker no longer wanted to be controlled. He only went along with what Bearer wanted to honor his family whose ashes were held in the urn that Bearer carried. Bearer, realizing he was losing his vice grip on The Undertaker, betrayed him. Taker wouldn't let that go so easily though. He vowed revenge on Paul Bearer, who threatened to reveal what really happened at the funeral home all those years ago. The Undertaker took the risk and Bearer revealed that Kane was still alive.
Paul Bearer claimed that he and The Undertaker's mother had an affair, and that Kane was actually his son. He secretly saved him from the fire and kept him in a mental asylum where Kane was made to believe he suffered terrible burns and scars from the fire, which was why he wore a mask. He bounced around to different foster homes until Paul Bearer came back into his life with an opportunity to get revenge on his brother.
The Undertaker refused to believe it. He was certain that his brother died in the inferno. Unfortunately, he was wrong. At Badd Blood 1997, in the first ever Hell in a Cell match, the lights when out, the iconic organ started playing, and the seven-foot monster slowly walked to the ring as The Undertaker was the one looking on in fear. It's gotta be Kane! Kane ripped the cell door off its hinges and cost The Undertaker his match with Shawn Michaels. Kane would terrorize The Undertaker for months, but Taker refused to fight his little brother to keep the promise he made to his parents. After a slight grace period where Kane actually helped his brother, it all come to a breaking point at the 1998 Royal Rumble. Kane would cost The Undertaker his title match, lock him in a casket, and set it on fire. When the fire was put out and the casket was opened, The Undertaker wasn't there. A few weeks later, The Undertaker returned and finally decided to fight his brother.
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Kane And The Undertaker Were Both Friends And Enemies Over The Years
After the brothers feuded throughout the summer of 1998, they reconciled for a little bit. They were on civil terms until The Undertaker became the one to turn on his brother. He realigned with Paul Bearer, and The Undertaker revealed that he was actually the one who burned their house down because he felt Kane was weak, and he didn't deserve to be his brother. Kane loosely aligned with DX while The Undertaker created a cult, but weirdly wasn't the leader of it. After The Undertaker suffered an injury and DX turned on Kane, they both became just a little and a lot more human with Kane no longer using a voice box to speak and The Undertaker transforming into the American Badass.
After legendary careers filled with pyromania, mental asylums, cult leaders, arson, and casually confessing to first degree murder, the brothers would feud and team up, on and off, with each other for the rest of their careers, until they both decided to call it quits. It may not have been all rainbows and unicorns, as Katie Vick, Crown Jewel 2018, and burying Paul Bearer in cement come to mind, but they will forever be seared onto the hearts and minds of every wrestling fan.
