The Undertaker and Kane are absolutely two of the greatest big men in WWE history. Taker has been a fixture in WWE from 1990 as an instant star to 2017 as he retired in the main event of WrestleMania 33 against Roman Reigns. Every other WWE star has come in and out of the company in that time frame with Undertaker being the one man to be the consistent veteran. Undertaker also served as a locker room leader to help the company in many other ways outside of the ring. WWE valued him as much as any other performer in their history.
Kane was introduced as the evil brother of The Undertaker coming in to feud with him. This feud could have easily flopped but Kane did such a good job in the role that he has been around for two decades. We had Kane change masks, lose the mask, change hairstyles and alternate between different characters. Much like The Undertaker, Kane’s consistency is the most impressive thing about his WWE career. Both men did tremendous work against each other in feuds and together as a tag team. We'll take a look at the wrestlers to form strong relationships with them through the years. These are fifteen wrestlers you didn’t realize were close to the Brothers of Destruction.
15 15. JBL
Both The Undertaker and Kane are close friends of JBL. All three men had lengthy careers in WWE spanning from the 90s into the 2000s. Bradshaw and Undertaker frequently had fun together in "Wrestlers Court" as they laid down the law on other wrestlers they felt would cross the line. It was no coincidence that SmackDown Live’s JBL was on commentary for Undertaker’s final match at WrestleMania 33 against Raw’s Roman Reigns.
Kane also formed a close relationship with JBL over the years. JBL’s connections with Fox News have allowed Kane to appear on the network to discuss his political beliefs. The Brothers of Destruction are both fond of JBL despite the controversy associated with his name. They fought together during the days of the Monday Night Wars and all still have good relationships with WWE.
14 14. Daniel Bryan
No one would have predicted Daniel Bryan and Kane would become close friends in the WWE. Kane and Bryan formed a relationship when the duo became a tag team. WWE wanted them to be an odd couple for humorous television and they delivered. Bryan often names Kane as the best friend he made in WWE in various interviews and in his autobiography.
The retirement speech of Bryan did not see him name many wrestlers by name when wanting to thank those he worked with. Kane was one of the few to get referenced and Bryan considers their tag team to be his favorite time frame in WWE. While winning the WWE World Championship was a more memorable moment, Bryan personally had more fun working with Kane every night.
13 13. Henry Godwinn
An unlikely friendship of The Undertaker's came in the 90s when he worked with Henry Godwinn. The Undertaker formed a backstage faction known as the Bone Street Krew to oppose the Kliq. One of the wrestlers that was a part of that group was Godwinn. Undertaker and Godwinn had a shared love of motorcycles that likely brought them together as friends.
Godwinn was released from WWE back in 1999. The forgotten wrestler received a few tryouts as a veteran and actually signed a developmental contract in 2006. Rumors circulated that Undertaker and Triple H were the two wrestlers that put in a good word for him to get another opportunity. Godwinn would be released shortly after but Undertaker’s friendship definitely proved to be valuable enough to land a developmental job.
12 12. The Godfather
Another wrestler that linked up with The Undertaker in the Bone Street Krew was The Godfather. WWE employed Godfather for many years with various different characters. Undertaker shared mutual interests with him and they become pals. Godfather and Undertaker were both known as two of the tougher guys in the locker room. They both loved watching boxing and mixed martial arts.
During the Godfather’s prior years as Kama Mustafa in the Million Dollar Corporation, he worked a short feud with Undertaker. It never led to a big money match but they clearly had chemistry. Godfather would spend many more years in WWE and entered the Hall of Fame. A friendship with Undertaker doesn’t hurt when it comes to having a strong career and getting a few perks in WWE.
11 11. Michelle McCool
Everyone knows Michelle McCool is close with The Undertaker considering they're married, but she is also a close friend of Kane. McCool worked with both Undertaker and Kane on the SmackDown brand during the prior brand split. Various interviews of McCool have seen her deliver high praise for Kane as both a performer and as a human being.
Michelle stated Kane was one of the kindest and most intelligent people she worked with. The fact that Kane and Undertaker is likely each other’s best friend in the wrestling business makes it likely that McCool and Undertaker spent time with Kane and his wife. Friendship usually will lead to significant others becoming friends as well. Kane and Michelle both being close to Undertaker led to them becoming close.
10 10. Mark Henry
Another veteran to spend a lot of time in the locker room with The Undertaker and Kane was Mark Henry. WWE aired an episode of Table For 3 with Kane, Henry and Big Show discussing their time together from the mid-90s into the current era. Henry claimed that Kane helped teach him a lot of the knowledge needed to find success in the wrestling business.
Undertaker and Henry also have a good relationship and mutual respect. WWE gave Henry one of the greatest honors of his career at WrestleMania 22 against Undertaker during the latter’s undefeated streak. Undertaker was big enough at the time to pick and choose his opponents at such a big stage. Henry’s hard work and long tenure in WWE made him a friend of the Brothers of Destruction.
9 9. Big Show
Similar to Mark Henry, Big Show entered WWE and learned from the Brothers of Destruction. Big Show found success in WCW but rarely had the opportunity to improve given the lack of interest by the wrestlers there. The Undertaker and Kane both helped teach him the WWE ways and allowed him to become a better worker. Big Show credits Undertaker for giving him tough love during his early WWE days.
As Undertaker started to take a relaxed schedule, Kane and Big Show remained as the full-time big men. They often wrestled each other in feuds and actually teamed together for a short time period. Kane and Big Show are two of the few veterans still under WWE contract as the last big men. Both Kane and Undertaker are among Big Show’s best friends in wrestling.
8 8. Mideon
The Undertaker had one of his biggest pushes as a heel when leading the Ministry of Darkness faction. WWE went all the way with Undertaker playing an evil and terrifying heel leading his own cult. The first person to join the group was Mideon. Undertaker kidnapped him and used his power to turn Mideon into one of his followers.
Mideon has stated that Undertaker specifically wanted him in the faction as they were good friends and he had nothing going on. The WWE career of Mideon lasted longer than Henry Godwinn after their tag team ended. Undertaker giving Mideon the spot in the Ministry was the main reason he had another few years in WWE making great money in the Attitude Era. It's unknown if they're still friends, but they were definitely tight during the 90s.
7 7. Paul Heyman
One of The Undertaker’s first supporters in wrestling happened to be Paul Heyman. WCW placed Heyman as Undertaker’s manager during the Mean Mark tenure. Sadly, WCW didn’t see anything special in the big man and cut him loose. Heyman has stated that he loved working with Undertaker and knew he would find success in the wrestling business.
Undertaker was one of the few people in WWE locker room over a decade a later that welcomed Heyman with open arms following the end of ECW. The two worked together on a few occasions. Heyman and Undertaker feuded with each other back in 2004. The return of Brock Lesnar with Heyman as his manager saw them work together again. Heyman being ringside when Undertaker’s streak ended was fitting since the two are close.
6 6. Kevin Nash
The Undertaker absolutely despised The Kliq during the 90s for their egotistical attitudes and their desire to take over WWE. One member of the backstage group that wasn’t on Undertaker’s bad side was Kevin Nash. The two big men enjoyed working together during their feud at WrestleMania XII. Nash has shared stories through the years claiming that they would visit strip clubs together after shows once in a while.
All of the members of The Kliq have matured through the years to have good relationships with Undertaker today. Nash apparently has the most fun seeing Undertaker at WrestleMania every year. The personalities of Nash and Undertaker appear to be polar opposites but they ended up forming a friendship. You never know who you’ll end up becoming friends with.
5 5. Jim Ross
The legendary commentary work of Jim Ross has seen him call some of the greatest matches in wrestling history. All of the top wrestlers respected Ross for his ability to help tell their stories to add to the overall match. Both Undertaker and Kane had great relationships with JR. The Ross Report podcast has allowed Ross to share his appreciation of both performers.
One of Kane’s most memorable segments featured him setting JR on fire. Two people have to trust each other to put together such a stunt. Undertaker and Ross are even closer considering how pivotal both were to the Attitude Era during the Monday Night Wars. The shocking return of JR saw him do commentary for the main event of WrestleMania 33 with Undertaker requesting the legend call his final match.
4 4. X-Pac
The heel character of Kane was perfect in the presentation similar to a horror movie villain. WWE tried to turn him face and it wasn’t an easy task. It did not work until he teamed with X-Pac after Triple H and Chyna spurned them both at WrestleMania XV. X-Pac and Kane worked together for a few months as a highly popular tag team. They worked perfectly together and Kane ended up getting love from the fans as a result.
The Undertaker is also a friend of X-Pac with the two sharing laughs and conversation during WrestleMania weekend. X-Pac has revealed on his podcast the Undertaker is one of the guys happiest to see him when he visits backstage. There was even a picture of Undertaker circulating backstage wearing a DX shirt with X-Pac and the New Age Outlaws.
3 3. Shane Helms
Shane Helms earned the respect of the WWE locker room when he attacked Buff Bagwell during a workout. The WWE wrestlers despised Bagwell and adopted Helms as one of their own when the story broke. That led to The Undertaker helping out Helms on numerous occasions with advice. Helms has stated Undertaker often went out of his way to make sure Helms didn’t make any backstage mistakes as he made the jump from WCW to WWE.
Kane formed a close working relationship with Helms when the two masked characters became a tag team. They won the World Tag Team Championship together and had great chemistry as a humorous team. Helms definitely had two great friends in his corner with the Brothers of Destruction helping his career both in the ring and in the locker room.
2 2. Shane McMahon
We all know Vince McMahon is close to both The Undertaker and Kane. Vince’s son Shane McMahon is also quite close to the Brothers of Destruction. Shane worked his way up the rankings in WWE during the 90s working various roles and becoming one of the boys. Kane and Shane worked together back in 2003 with a few hardcore matches leading to dangerous stunts. Both men trusted each other and ended up having memorable matches.
The Undertaker also formed a good relationship with Shane. One of the reasons Shane made the decision to come back to WWE in 2016 for a WrestleMania 32 bout with Undertaker was due to 'Taker giving him a personal call asking him to come back. The two friends wanted to work together in front of the biggest crowd in professional wrestling history.
1 1. Edge
Edge was a young wrestler joining WWE during the time The Undertaker and Kane started their feud. The progression of Edge through the years not only made him a huge star and legendary figure, but he earned the respect of his peers. Edge achieved the ultimate honor in the mid-2000s working a long feud with Undertaker. The two had numerous PPV matches spanning from a WrestleMania main event to a TLC Match to a Hell in a Cell Match. Undertaker and Edge had a shared respect that led to great content.
Kane is also a good friend of Edge with the two working together countless times through the years. Edge and Christian’s new podcast saw Kane come on as a guest. Kane made an extremely rare podcast appearance due to his friendship with the two, especially Edge. The feelings of Edge are the same naming both Brothers of Destruction among his favorite opponents.