Jack Swagger
Growing up, Swagger was enamored with sports-entertainment greats Danny Hodge and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, both of whom would personally help the Superstar on his career path. First becoming involved in competition at age five and attending a high school that boasted several state wrestling championships, he quickly developed into an outstanding amateur grappler, becoming a two-time high school heavyweight state champion. In true American fashion, he earned a full scholarship to a Division I school in both wrestling and football.
Swagger's tremendous amateur background carried him into the world of WWE, in a manner reminiscent of such legends as Bob Backlund and WWE Hall of Famers Jack and Gerald Brisco. His defined technique brought a completely different competitive style to ECW, and the WWE Universe took notice of his impressive combination of strength, ability and squared circle acumen, all complementing his physique and charisma.
At WrestleMania XXVI, Swagger reached a new level of greatness when he overcame nine other Superstars to win the spectacular Money in the Bank briefcase on The Grandest Stage of Them All. Just five days later, Swagger stunned the WWE Universe by cashing in his title opportunity against Chris Jericho to become the new World Heavyweight Champion.
After a three-month losing streak, Swagger announced in September 2012 that he would be taking some extended time off. Five months later, he returned to WWE looking re-energized and even more aggressive. He appeared with Zeb Colter, who had some controversial words about what it means to be a "Real American," like himself and Swagger. After WrestleMania 29 in April 2013, they joined forces with Cesaro to form The Real Americans and spread their "We The People!" message across the WWE Universe.
As a tag team, their success was up and down and sometimes tense. After Cesaro shockingly proclaimed his allegiance to Paul Heyman, Swagger destroyed the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal trophy Cesaro won at WrestleMania 30, and soon after their tag team partnership was history.
Swagger lost via count-out to Rusev at Battleground. Their rivalry continued all the way to SummerSlam where they competed in a Flag Match, where The Real American passed out rather than tap-out to the Accolade. At Survivor Series 2014 Kickoff, Swagger successfully stood up to Cesaro, who Swagger forced to tap out to The Patriot Lock. The Real American's rivalry with Rusev reignited after The Super Athlete assaulted Zeb Colter. Swagger vowed to break his Russian foe's ankle, but found himself trapped in the Accolade once again, with no choice but to submit at WWE TLC 2014.
Kane
At 7-feet tall and weighing in at more than 300 pounds, Kane is a monstrous abomination that seems to have been extracted directly from your childhood nightmares.
The Devil’s Favorite Demon has tormented WWE since his debut at Badd Blood in October 1997, when he tore off the cage door and unleashed hell during the first-ever Hell in a Cell Match between Shawn Michaels and his half-brother, The Undertaker.
Kane is consumed by an infernal desire to set ablaze the lives of his fellow Superstars, leaving a scorched path of destruction behind his fiery footsteps. Some of The Big Red Monster’s more demented acts have included setting a WWE Hall of Famer on fire, hitting a WWE executive with a Tombstone, kidnapping too many Superstars to mention and forcing a WWE Diva to marry him. No one is safe from his twisted desires and demonic impulses. Least of all, it would seem, Kane himself.
For years, the sadistic Superstar wore a ghoulish face mask designed to conceal hideous burns from a fire supposedly started by Undertaker years before. But WWE fans received a shock on one of the most infamous nights of Kane’s career when, after losing a Mask vs. Championship Match on Raw, the tortured soul was forced to unmask and reveal his face to the world.
Kane’s career has been marked by some stellar and brutally woeful contests in the ring against some of the biggest names in WWE, including The Undertaker, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Edge and others. He has also pioneered some of the most vicious stipulations of all time, including First Blood, Inferno, Stretcher and even Till Death Do Us Part Matches. Like his sibling, Kane wields a highly decorated mantle of WWE glory, including reigns as WWE Champion, World Heavyweight Champion and ECW Champion. He has shown near-unprecedented versatility in the tag team ranks as well, finding championship success with a litany of partners such as X-Pac, Big Show and even twice with The Deadman.
Kane tapped into his inner administrator in 2014 when The Authority named him WWE’s sinister Director of Operations. Though he lost the position when Triple H & Stephanie McMahon were ousted from power at Survivor Series, Kane was promptly reinstated on the first Raw of 2015 when The Authority returned to the helm.
On the Feb. 9 edition of Raw, Kane was picked by The Authority to join Big Show, Seth Rollins and J&J Security in a 5-on-2 Handicap Match against Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan. Looking to assist the outnumbered Superstars, fan favorites Ryback, Dolph Ziggler and Erick Rowan intervened, driving Kane, Big Show and Rollins away from the ring in a chaotic brawl.
Still, whether in a suit or a mask, one thing is clear: The fire still burns in Kane.
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