Kane on why his character wouldn’t work today, his longevity in WWE and more
WWE Hall of Famer Kane goes into detail about the early years of his career, why the character wouldn’t work today, taking pride in putting people over, and more.
Last October amazingly marked 25 years since Kane’s unforgettable arrival in WWE, which is still regarded by many to be the greatest pro wrestling debut of all-time.
This Sunday’s episode of “Biography: WWE Legends” on A&E will be honoring that milestone and the rest of Kane’s decorated career in a brand-new documentary featuring The Big Red Monster himself.
A tell-all, out-of-character, retrospective look back at his biggest matches and moments would have been unfathomable years ago. However, we’ve officially entered an age where this sort of stuff that gives fans more and more of a peak behind the curtain is both expected and inevitable.
Glenn “Kane” Jacobs is no exception to this, especially now that he’s far removed from the ring and is currently serving as the mayor of Knox County, Tennessee.
The internet still being in its infancy at the dawn of the Attitude Era automatically added more mystique to the Kane character, simply because it wasn’t as easy to look up his identity and discover that he and The Undertaker were, in fact, not actual brothers.
“On one hand, I’m not a huge fan of what we see on the internet with the spoilers and that sort of stuff because it spoils the show in many cases,” Kane told Daily DDT. “Nevertheless, it is cool to go back and see what really happened and what this person’s thoughts were on that. I think the fans enjoy it because they get answers to the questions they’ve had for almost 30 years in my case.”
The rise of social media has played a pivotal role in “kayfabe” being killed, though it does have his fair share of positives. One of those positives, according to Kane, is WWE being able to strengthen its bond with the audience.
Breaking that barrier between the fans and the wrestlers has led to some amazing interactions and also given fans more of an appreciation for what the wrestlers put their bodies through.
Then again, had Twitter been around in 1997 when Kane first showed up on the scene, it would have been much easier for fans to figure out that he was once Issac Yankem D.D.S., or portrayed the fake Diesel at one point.
“We did have an advantage because we didn’t have all that stuff back then,” he said. “Kane was a mystery because unless you really wanted to dig and find out who Kane was, it wasn’t just there at your fingertips. I’m really fortunate to experience that in my career because it was a much purer form of entertainment than what we might have now.”
Consequently, Jacobs feels the Kane character wouldn’t work as well today, or at the very least would have to be done differently. The story being about two brothers with a dark history and there being a mythological aspect to it made it both engaging and easy to follow.
Being paired with The Undertaker heading into WrestleMania 14 put him in a prominent position from the get-go, but the key was in the follow-up. The Brothers of Destruction continued to cross paths in the years that followed, but it was his extended stay at the top of the card and ability to connect with the audience as a larger-than-life performer that established him as a relevant.
He also attests his longevity in WWE to his willingness to work hard, put over others and do whatever was asked of him, even when it didn’t always make the most sense on paper.
“I just showed up every day and worked hard,” Kane said. “I also wasn’t selfish. People would say, ‘Why is Kane putting this person over?’ The reason is because it’s good for the company. You always need new people coming along and in the end, I stayed there for a long time because of that. I understood it wasn’t about me, it was about the success of the company and if the company’s successful, I was going to be successful.”
That was a continuous trend throughout his career, regardless of whether he was masked or unmasked. He’s done everything from reigning as WWE champion for a day to winning the ECW Championship in record time at WrestleMania 24.
Toward the end of his run as a full-time competitor in the 2010s, Kane essentially served as a stepping stone for the likes of Bray Wyatt, Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns in order to elevate them to the next level.
One of the biggest examples of that came at Royal Rumble 2015. The idea was for him and Big Show to put over Reigns by having him eliminate them both from the Rumble match to win the whole thing, though the execution wasn’t exactly ideal.
Prior to each of their eliminations, Kane and Show took turns dumping out some of the most popular babyfaces in the matchup including Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler and Ryback, only to showcase the one guy fans didn’t want to see win in Reigns.
“It was interesting because the original concept was a little different than that and then it changed because there was a lot more show biz involved and we all just felt like it’d be better if it was just wrestling as opposed to a lot of the bells and whistles,” Kane recalled. “Remember with Rock? He starts and people hated him. Eventually, he’s a huge Superstar and it was the same with Roman. You could tell at some point, because of his talent and charisma, that was all going to change and it has now, obviously. But you have to get there.”
Kane remained a utility player in the remainder of his run while simultaneously pursuing politics. In 2018, he successfully ran for mayor of his hometown, a position he has held since.
Had he come up short and continued to compete inside the squared circle, he believes his career would have taken him in a different direction, primarily a backstage role where he could act as an ambassador for the company.
“I assume I would’ve done something with WWE unless it’s either in-ring or behind the scenes or a probably a combination of both,” Kane said. “I’ve had the two greatest jobs anyone could ever want: I’ve been a WWE Superstar and mayor of my hometown, so I’m incredibly fortunate. Even if I hadn’t been elected, I could always have been okay in WWE. It would have just been a matter of how I can contribute to the company and what would be the best way to do that. I would’ve carried on in some capacity. I don’t think I would’ve pursued politics anymore because I would’ve figured that it wasn’t for me.”
Being able to contribute to his community and striving to make it a better place in addition to bringing attention to his community because of his background in WWE has given him a lot to be grateful for. He’s used to being in the spotlight from his time in wrestling and thus that hasn’t fazed him in the slightest.
Many people of Knox County, both young and old, still refer to him as Mayor Kane and it’s a title he’ll be forever proud of.
“It’s cool to go out and meet wrestling fans and hear the stories,” he said. “Almost everybody is super cool and just wants to tell you their stories and how much you meant to them in their childhood. If you’re not in my shoes, it’s something you can’t understand and it’s incredibly rewarding.”
Kane was immortalized as a member of the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021, with his last match to date occurring mere months beforehand at the Royal Rumble 2021. Although he maintains “never say never” mindset regarding one more match, he looks back at his career fondly, calling the Corporate Kane and Team Hell No periods as two of his favorite incarnations of the character.
“Corporate Kane wasn’t everyone’s favorite incarnation of Kane, but it was shocking and surprising and it was different,” he said. “It’s always cool to step outside the confines of the character. One of my favorite parts of my career was with Daniel Bryan and the Team Hell No stuff because if you look back at 1998 and fast forward 20 years and Kane is going to be the comedic element on the show? No way. It was cool to do that and destroy people’s preconceived notion of what you can do.”