Kane doesn’t immediately strike you as the amicable type, after all, his iconic mask is responsible for more than a fair share of 90s childhood nightmares.
However, Glenn Jacobs – the man behind the Big Red Machine – can look back on his career with a smile, but it’s not over yet.
Jacobs – who now sits in office as the real-life Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee – spoke exclusively to RadioTimes.com as he features in WWE Network documentary series, The Last Ride, documenting the stunning career of his fellow Brother of Destruction, The Undertaker.
He opened up on his career and motivation for climbing into the ring each week: “The last time I got into the ring I came out with the 24/7 Championship. It’s a great feeling to go out in front of a ring full of people and get the rush from the crowd and that’s something that never gets old.
“It’s the crowd, it’s the people you work with, it’s being part of being part of that company. You’re part of the team and beyond the on-air personalities there are so many people who work behind the scenes with families.
“In the end, what we do on screen really has an impact of their lives. Now that I’ve gotten older I realise the impact we had. That’s the best part, when you can sign a picture, say hello, make someone’s day. That’s a gift not many people get to have.”
Jacobs recalls one of the highlights of his career being a star-studded WrestleMania showdown with The Undertaker himself.
“It was WrestleMania 14. It was the culmination of our storyline when Kane had debuted in October in 1997 and then moving forward to the spring of 1998 in Boston.
“Just being there at WrestleMania, having the Undertaker as my opponent and the storyline we told up to that point was just amazing.”
Despite the worldwide fanbase and many appeals of the job, he maintains one major regret when looking back at his heyday.
“Yeah, that I didn’t enjoy it more.
“Everything was moving so quickly in a competitive environment. There was a tonne of pressure and if we didn’t win, we could lose our jobs!
“Also, when you’re a lot younger and you don’t realise this is really cool, this is part of history and you just take it for granted. That’s the one thing. I wish that while I was there, I had savoured it more and appreciated where I was and the things happening.
“I do now. I kind of relive it in my mind sometimes. Now I wish I had then.”
Jacobs hasn’t officially retired from the ring, however. As mentioned earlier, he returned to the ring for a cameo appearance in the WWE 24/7 Championship under his real name persona – and won.
He hopes he can be part of the company for the rest of his life, and is proud of what WWE has achieved during the lockdown period in partiuclar.
“I still like to do stuff. The hard part is the day-to-day grind so its cool that I don’t have to work so much, work here everyday, but I can be able to pop in every now and then and it’s really cool and novel.
“I never want to completely leave because it’s a great product and it’s my family. I will be there in some capacity probably for the rest of my life, at least that’s what I hope.
“WWE has made the best of a terrible situation and I’m glad their programming is still going on. It’s very important because so much of our attention is taking by doom and gloom and ‘hold the news’ and it’s nice to get a distraction from that, to take your mind off it for a little.
“I’ve always been proud that the WWE show always goes on. We were the first gathering in the US for entertainment after 9/11. The show always goes on.
Undertaker – The Last Ride is available on the WWE Network. Chapter 4 streams on Sunday, 14th June.
from Radio Times https://ift.tt/3dmhMrC
