Legendary WWE superstar Kane believes The Undertaker ‘doesn’t get enough credit’ for being the reason WWE survived in the mid-90s.
In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, Glenn Jacobs – the man behind the mask of Kane – spoke of his respect for The Undertaker and believes he is the greatest character in WWE history.
Jacobs features in a new WWE Network documentary, The Last Ride, which revolves around The Undertaker’s iconic career and whether he’ll ever truly hang up the hat.
He said: “When I came to WWE in 1995, things were terrible, frankly. He was the the guy who was leading the charge into the Attitude Era and [Steve] Austin came along, The Rock came along, Undertaker was still in the mix.
“We see Austin and The Rock as highs, but the reason the company survived to reach those highs was because of a guy like The Undertaker and he probably doesn’t get enough credit for that.”
When asked to consider some of the all-time biggest stars in WWE history, Jacobs believes his in-show half-brother is truly the greatest of them all.
“That is a hard question because at different times, WWE has changed, and I hate that question, no offence!
“It’s hard because you have different generations. I think The Undertaker character is the greatest character in WWE history. When you talk about the biggest superstars he’s in the top five, but as far as the actual character goes, by far, it’s him.
“He was influential on my career from the very start. He was my role model in the ring.
“I was a huge fan of the character, and also Mark Calaway as a performer and an athlete, he can do stuff a person that size had never done before.
“We often forget that because the character is so cool, we forget that part of the Undertaker, this guy who is 6ft 8, 6ft 9, 300lbs and could move like a cat and do all this amazingly athletic stuff. People that big just shouldn’t be able to do that.
“That to me is really what made the Undertaker special. A lot of people could have done the character maybe, not as well as he did, but no-one except him could have brought the athleticism to the character that he did.
Jacobs looks back fondly at his peak in WWE as Kane – The Undertaker’s half brother – and believes the pair pushed each other on to fulfil their potential.
He said: “When I first came to WWE in 1995 I was struggling and he was the guy that took me to the side and said ‘if you want to stay here you better get into gear’ and that really helped me.
“I think we had a friendly rivalry over the years, he has a tremendous worth ethic and I believe I did too and that pushed both of us further.”
Now at the age of 55 – two years older than Jacobs – The Undertaker continues to put on a spectacle with his impressive cinematic Boneyard match at WrestleMania 36 wowing fans as they watched from home.
But the end must come some time, right? And Jacobs laid out how he’d love to see The Undertaker leave the ring for the final time.
“The guy’s had a legendary career and he’s still able to go out and have great matches.
“He has the legacy and has validated his place in WWE and pop culture. The guy can do anything he wants to do.
“It’s one more match, perhaps at WrestleMania and perhaps winning the WWE Championship or World Championship and then being able to get on his Harley and drive off into the sunset.”
Undertaker – The Last Ride is available on the WWE Network. Chapter 4 streams on Sunday 14th June.
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