Kane: One Mans Journey Through Hell Fire and Brimstone

 Hello everyone. As always, I would like to thank you for spending a few moments with me today.

Throughout my many years of watching pro wrestling I have seen many big men come and go. There have only been a few that would truly make an impact over the last 20 years.

The one I am here to talk about is probably my favorite big man of all time. It is a man we all know as “the Big Red Machine” Kane.

Over the last two decades Kane has gone on to become one of the best big men of all time. His intimidating appearance and power has left its mark on many people. He would redefine what the modern big wrestler could do in the ring.

Sadly when I watch Kane it feels more like I am watching a ghost. He has a lost a few steps as most wrestlers often do. Many also feel that because of all the jobbing over the years and the loss of the mask he just isn’t the same.

The Kane that I remembered and loved was an absolute monster in the ring. He had the strength of a truck, the speed of a cruiserweight, and could fly like a bird. If you doubt my words, all you have to do is watch some of his old matches.

There is another side to Kane that a lot of people don’t hear about though.

Outside of the ring Kane is known as Glenn Jacobs. He is a kind loving family man with a wife and two stepdaughters. He has a passion for helping the mentally challenged, and is actively involved in politics.

In this article I will not only explore his in ring career. I will also talk about the softer side of Kane that most people aren’t aware of. You will see a side of Kane that will bring a newfound respect for the big guy.

Glenn Jacobs was born on a military base in Madrid, Spain in 1967. As a child Jacobs would move around a lot due to his father’s military life. His father’s beliefs and morals would be a major influence throughout his life.

As Jacobs got older he would soon discover the advantages of being tall. In high school he was a standout basketball player. After high school he would make his way over to Northeast Missouri state university on a full Basketball scholarship.

As a collage ball player Jacobs would go on to become the career leader in field goal percentage for his school. He would also become a NCAA all star. Despite his success in basketball he wasn’t happy.

Jacobs quit the basketball team to pursue a career in football. He surpassed his expectations when he earned the all-conference honors. Later he would even get a chance to play for the Chicago bears.

As luck would have thought he would severely injure his knee. This would ultimately cost him his shot to make it in the NFL.

Jacobs would now have to find a new way to make a living, and he would soon find him self-taking on new challenges. He would try to pursue a career as an English teacher. Jacobs would learn the hard way that this was no easy task.

He was later asked about his stint as a junior high teacher, he had this to say about it. "After doing that, teachers have my respect; that's a pretty tough profession... So if I wasn't wrestling, I don't think I'd be teaching."                                                 Glenn Jacobs

As much as Jacobs enjoyed teaching he would soon find himself at the crossroads again. The school he was teaching couldn’t give him more than substitute work. This financial burden would be too much for Jacobs to overcome.

He would wind up quitting his job as a teacher to pursue other career paths. He soon found work at a mental hospital working with handicapped adults.

This would spark a passion for helping handicapped people throughout his whole life. Over Jacobs Career he has donated a lot of time and money to handicap foundations.

It was also at this job where he would first be introduced to the world of pro wrestling. It was a co-worker who would convince Jacobs to give pro wrestling a try.  He would lose his first match in front of 150 people at a banquet hall.

When Jacobs was asked about his debut match He told the reporter, "I was a little nervous at my first match, but I think I did OK. I went home after the match and watched the tape of it over and over. I wanted to do it again."                            Glenn Jacobs

He would continue working at the group home and wrestle on weekends under the name "Doomsday." Soon his bookings increased, he would eventually quit his job and start up in the wrestling circuit.

A short time later Jacobs would soon find himself traveling worldwide he was wrestling over in Japan, Puerto Rico, and in the Dominican Republic. His travels though wouldn’t often be pleasant ones.

"My first few years," he says, "I'd make maybe $10 for a match. Sometimes I wouldn't even get paid at all, but we were all in it because we loved it. “

"The worst was when ... this promoter flew me to the Dominican Republic, and he didn't show up. It was my first time in a foreign country, and I was nervous. I didn't even get paid. We had to fend for ourselves. On that one, I almost gave up altogether."       Glenn Jacobs

Jacobs wouldn’t really catch his break in wrestling until the early 90s. It was then he would meet Jim Cornette and start wrestling for Smoky Mountain Wrestling. He wrestled under the gimmick “Unibomb” and would have some success there.

He and all snow would even go on to take the tag belts while together. It was also at Smoky Mountain where Jacobs would meet his soon to be wife Maurisa.  His luck would only get better when Cornette would take Jacobs with him to the WWE.

"I was intimidated when I started with WWF," Jacobs says. "I would see all these people I used to watch on TV, and I thought, 'Wow! Look at them.'"                    Glenn Jacobs

Jacobs's first stint in the WWE would be as a crazy dentist Dr. Isaac Yankem. His biggest matches as “Isaac Yankem” were with Bret Hart.  This gimmick wouldn’t last more than a year though.

His next gimmick would be just as bad. In 1996 they would bring Jacobs in as the fake Diesel. Needles to say it didn’t fly to well and the idea was scratched. It wasn’t until 1997 Jacobs would take on his new persona Kane. 

"Kane was an idea presented to me," he says. "It was the idea of a (WWF) committee," which included the boss man himself, Vince McMahon, whom Jacobs calls "a very easy guy to work for."                                                                                                                           Glenn Jacobs

 Kane would be introduced as the brother of the Undertaker. Kane somehow survived a house fire that was started by the Undertaker. Not only did this house fire kill his parents, it also left his younger brother Kane scarred and unable to talk.

Kane and the undertaker would continue this brutal, blood thirsty, feud for over a year. It would be this feud that would make Kane a household name in the WWE. It was Kane’s brutal style in the ring that would make him a star though.

In 1998 Kane would win the WWF title for the first and only time in his career. He would fight stone cold in a first blood match. The catch was though Kane wears a mask so the ref couldn’t tell if he was bleeding.

This title run wouldn’t last very long though. The very next night he would have to wrestle Stone cold again and defend the title. It was a sad day for Kane fans that night because Stone Cold would recapture the title.

Since that fate full night in 1998 Kane has yet to see another heavyweight title run with the WWE title.

Over the next few years Kane would spend most of his time as an upper mid carder. He would win the tag titles a couple times. He would always fall short when it came to the heavyweight title.

The WWE would also start to push the envelope with Kane so they could do more with him. He would be thrown into an insane asylum, learn to talk, and even get Torri as his girlfriend.

Even with all the crazy story lines people still loved Kane. One of the main reasons being he was always top notch in the ring. He would go on to have some great matches with guys like Jericho, HHH, and the Undertaker.

In 2001 Kane would go on to have a much better year. He would team up with the Undertaker to form the "Brothers of destruction". These two would become an instant fan favorite as they ran thru the tag division.

The "Brothers of Destruction" would win the WWE and WCW tag titles and unify the belts.

Kane would also make history for himself by capturing the IC title from HHH at judgment day. That win would make Kane the third grand slam champion in WWE history.

In 2002 Kane would be involved with one of the most tasteless and horrendous story lines ever written by the WWE. They would run the ever so lovely Katie Vick story line. It was not only offensive but it was just stupid.

Incase all of you aren’t familiar with this Gem of a story let me refresh your memory. In this lovely tale they basically try to imply that Kane was a murder and necromaniac.

 The WWE would even go as far as to have HHH wear a Kane mask and pretend to have sex with a corpse. It is safe to say that it wasn’t one of Vince’s finest moments.

Sadly this wouldn’t be the last of Kane’s awful angles. He would later do one in 2004 where he supposedly was the father of Lita's child.

In 2002 they would also try to reinvent Kane's image by having him finally remove the mask. Vince felt that Kane’s character was getting stale so he decided that removing the mask was the right move to make.

In some ways it would work and in others it didn’t. After Kane was damasked he became a new insanely demented Kane that we never saw before. The fall back was that over the years they would tell us Kane was scared.

So when Kane finally did remove the mask the WWE had to eat a whole lot crow over it. This would liven up his character though. He would go on a rampage that would never be seen again from the big red machine.

The push still wouldn’t be enough for Kane to win the heavyweight title. Over the next few years Kane would be pushed to mid card status. More times than not, he was putting over the new guys coming up in the business.

He would have a few more moments of glory though. Kane would get a few more shots at the belt and put on some good matches in the late 2000's. He would also go on to win the ECW title.

If you ask most Kane fans though, that was more like a booby prize.

Kane may never win the big one, I accepted it years ago. That doesn’t cheapen this great athlete’s career though. He has always been a great wrestler that has respected the business.

It seems like these days he is more of a guy just used to put others over. If that is the case, I have to thank Kane for the good memories and learn to appreciate them.

Glenn Jacobs has accomplished many things over his life time.

As far as athletic career he has been a great wrestler, and basketball and football player.

He has also been a teacher, good husband and father. He is very active in the political scene and does countless charity work.

He truly is a unique person that anyone can look up to.

Thanks for spending a few moments with me today.

As always have great night and god bless.