Rhyno executes step one in his plan to toughen up Heath Slater by placing him in a match against Kane, who looks to make short work of The One-Man Rock Band en route to his Triple Threat Match at Royal Rumble against Universal Champion Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman.

Last week, Raw General Manager Kurt Angle told Heath Slater & Rhyno they needed to “toughen up” if they wanted to keep receiving opportunities in Raw’s Tag Team division, which The Man Beast took to mean his partner needed to be put through the ringer a bit. As it turns out, Rhyno’s plan was to send Slater into battle against Kane, which went south in a hurry for the beleaguered One-Man Band.

The going got so tough, so to speak, that Slater tried to bail on the match, but a pep talk from Rhyno gave him something of a second wind … for all of about five seconds until Kane decked him and administered the Chokeslam for three. The Big Red Machine had punishment in mind for Rhyno as well, but The Man Beast threw hands to put Kane on his heels. Even so, The Devil's Favorite Demon would not be denied as he marches toward a Triple Threat Universal Title opportunity at Royal Rumble. Right as Rhyno turned on the jets to administer the Gore, he ran straight into Kane’s gloved grip and received a Chokeslam of his own.