KANE  

Prior to donning the character that made him a household name, Glenn Jacobs wrestled in small territories with the hopes of making it to the WWE. His luck would change when Paul Bearer and The Undertaker would take a trip down to Smokey Mountain Wrestling and saw [Jacobs] in the ring performing as Unabomb. Upon questioning [Jacobs] on their impact on him getting to the big time with the WWE, [Jacobs] says,

"Absolutely! Also, Jim Ross was our color commentator in Smokey Mountain Wrestling. He helped set some things up for me. Everything turned out good from there!"

Things did turn out good for [Jacobs] in the WWE. And, it wasn't long after he was brought to the WWE that he truly made a name for himself. First, he was an evil dentist known as Isacc Yankem DDS. But then, he donned the character that launched him to super stardom. That character, of course, is Kane.

When asked what made Kane so special, [Jacobs] says, "I think the mystery of the character. He was behind the mask and you couldn't tell what his motivation was for doing what he was doing. With the other superstars, you pretty much know why they are doing what you're doing because you can see it. But with Kane, he never told you why he did what he did. He just did it. It almost made him interactive with the audience in that respect because you could almost decide why he was doing what he was doing."

Under the mask, Kane was a menacing force in the WWE that climbed so high, he actually captured the WWE title, short though the reign may have been. But, times and things change. With it went the Kane character as the mask was removed.

"I think it was time. We had gone as far as we could go with the character under the mask. I actually felt the mask was limiting my ability to do some things... For years, to portray emotion I had to do it with my body. I never could do it with my face as the other superstars were able to. So, it added another dimension."

The unmasking was met with mixed reactions. This did not escape [Jacobs'] notice as he states in a giggle, "There were a lot of people who weren't fans of it but those that were were the ones that counted."

Many were shocked that when the mask came off, so did the long locks that became a trademark of the Kane character. Shockingly, the question of "Did you have long hair" was one of the most pressed by the audience for this interview. [Jacobs], laughing, answers by saying, "I had long hair for a while." But the shock of seeing the hair attached to the wig was a shock to many.

"That was a coup, man. Nobody knew anything about that, actually. That was one of the best kept secrets in our industry."

Being in the WWE for many years, [Jacobs] has had occasion to wrestle many of the top superstars of all time. In fact, he's stood across the ring from stars such as Bret 'The Hitman' Hart to Chris Benoit. So, who ranks as some of his favorites?

"Undertaker was always one of my favorites because I have a lot of respect for him because of all the things he's done and done to help me. Chris Benoit is a lot of fun because he's a great guy. Of course, guys like Austin and The Rock because no matter what you did with those guys, you're going to get a reaction from the people. They always make it easy."

Throughout his career, [Jacobs] has managed to stay fresh on the mind of wrestling fans.

"I've been fortunate because I've managed to stay relatively injury free. I've only had a couple of major injuries and that's been my good fortune. Also, I'm a professional. I do what it takes to get it done and people I work with know that. They can depend on me to come through. That's what I do and that's what I've always done."

It is surprising to think a man who has played with fire for so many years has escaped major injury. But, of the dangerous stunts such as playing with fire, which ones stand out in [Jacobs'] mind as his favorite? [Jacobs] has a few in mind.

"The one where I set the guy on fire, his whole body. The one when I shot the lightning bolt. That was in Tucson, Arizona actually. That was pretty funny!"

Another fun thing Kane did in the local Arizona area was when he, in his words, "took care of the Phoenix Suns Gorilla." [Jacobs] adds, "Now that WAS fun, let me tell you!" That's not the only time [Jacobs] had a run in with a sports figure. Lets not forget the numerous times he tombstoned Pete Rose only to induct him into the WWE Hall of Fame a few years later.

Nearly 8 years since the inception of the Kane character, people still have unanswered questions about what makes the infamous "Big Red Machine" tick. A great read for fans of that character is the new book, "Journey Into Darkness, The Unauthorized History of Kane." [Jacobs] describes the book,

"It's pretty cool, actually. It's not only a rehashing of Kane's career but also is early history of his childhood through his time in the WWE. We talked a little bit before about the justification behind what Kane does. This book will answer a lot of those questions."

"The Big Red Machine" has been missing from the WWE's flagship Monday Night broadcast which is heading back to the USA network starting October 3. But, you never know when he might come charging back on the RAW scene.

"It could be any time soon or it could be a while off. You'll just have to watch and see." 

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