Sins of the father

DALLAS – Locking horns with his brother, The Undertaker, inside the chaotic confines of Hell in a Cell, World Heavyweight Champion Kane emerged from Satan’s Structure with his coveted “holy grail” after Paul Bearer turned on The Phenom. (PHOTOS)

In a pre-match interview with Josh Mathews, the returning “Father of Destruction” explained that he’s been spending the past six years biding his time and “waiting for the perfect moment” to make his presence felt. Indeed, Bearer made an impact at Hell in a Cell – but not in the way The Undertaker had anticipated.

In this epic encounter, which shook the very foundation of Dallas’ American Airlines Center, Kane seemed to gain the upper hand when he successfully reversed The Undertaker’s Tombstone Piledriver into a vicious Tombstone of his own. However, scoring only a two-count, The Big Red Monster went into a rage, knocking out the referee and prompting WWE officials to open the structure and tend to him. Bearer entered the open door during the confusion, and following a brief altercation with Kane, he used the mysterious incandescence of The Undertaker’s urn to weaken The Phenom. Bearer then handed his son the infamous urn, which he then used as a weapon against The Deadman. One ring-rattling chokeslam later, Kane walked out of Hell in a Cell still the World Heavyweight Champion, his devious father by his side.

Kane’s victory inside the Devil’s Playground brings his storied rivalry with his brother full-circle. It was during the very first Hell in a Cell Match at Bad Blood 1997 when Kane – brought into WWE by his father – tore the door off the two-ton steel structure to deliver a history-changing Tombstone to his half-brother. At Hell in a Cell, 13 years later, “The Father of Destruction” and “The Devil’s Favorite Demon” joined forces once again, uniting under a common goal: To decimate The Deadman.

This latest chapter in the saga of The Brothers of Destruction began on Memorial Day weekend, when Kane brutally assaulted The Undertaker and left him in a “vegetative state.” Not content with living in his brother’s shadow, Kane claimed the attack was part of a long-gestating plot to bring about The Phenom’s demise.

Capturing the World Heavyweight Title at Money in the Bank, Kane later affirmed that he was now in possession of his brother’s otherworldly powers – a claim put to the test at SummerSlam when The Phenom resurfaced to challenge his calculating sibling. However, The Undertaker was hardly at 100 percent, and was Tombstoned into oblivion on that scorching August night.

Weeks later, Kane and The Undertaker collided for the World Heavyweight Title at Night of Champions in a No Holds Barred Match. In that harrowing battle, The Big Red Machine would prove the more ruthless Brother of Destruction, dominating The Deadman and once again driving him into the canvas with a devastating Tombstone.

It seemed as though not even The Undertaker could end Kane’s reign of terror, but the winds of change blew coldly on the Sept. 24 edition of SmackDown, when a returning Paul Bearer emerged from a casket, holding The Phenom’s legendary urn aloft. The urn – long believed to be the source of The Undertaker’s power – enlivened the weakened seven-time World Champion. At that instant, Kane was stricken with fear: It seemed his quest to destroy his brother would come to an abrupt and unsuccessful end at Hell in a Cell.

However, Bearer had a quest all his own, making his motivations clear when his treachery secured a tainted victory for "The Devil's Favorite Demon."

Why did “The Father of Destruction” betray The Undertaker? What lies ahead for The Brothers of Destruction? Find out this Friday night on SmackDown at 8/7 CT on Syfy.