Kane missed his first Royal Rumble in 21 years

This year’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV), taking place from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, was one of the best in recent memory, at least in this writer’s view. But something felt off at the end of the show, and it took a minute to register exactly what it was.

The absence of Kane.

Indeed, for the first time in 21 years, Kane did not appear at the Royal Rumble event:

• 1996 (Entered as Isaac Yankem)
• 1997 (Entered as Fake Diesel)
• In 1998, he appeared in the main event match to run an angle to build to a match with Undertaker at that year's WrestleMania
• 1999
• 2000
• 2001
• 2002
• 2003
• 2004
• 2005
• 2006
• 2007
• 2008
• 2009
• 2010
• 2011
• In 2012, he competed in a match with John Cena
• 2013
• 2014
• 2015
• 2016

Kane has begun the process of winding his career down and, at 49-years-old, it’s about that time. He appears on SmackDown Live infrequently and doesn’t currently have a creative direction. He hasn’t retired just yet but his missing the Royal Rumble event entirely makes clear we’re getting closer to that becoming a reality.