Kane

Kane was one of WWE’s most intimidating characters. He was a giant in red and black who hid behind a burned mask, walked through smoke under a haunting red light, and watched fire shoot from the ring posts.

When his dark, church-style organ theme music hit, there was always a feeling that something bad was about to happen. And during the Attitude Era, that sound, the look, and his overall aura helped make him one of wrestling’s most defining monsters.

For more than twenty years, the “Big Red Machine” took on many roles, including monster, tragic brother, reluctant comic partner, and strict corporate enforcer.

But before any of those characters existed, he was Glenn Jacobs. His story began far from the arenas where he became famous. Jacobs was born on a U.S. Air Force base in Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain, and spent most of his childhood near St. Louis in a military family that stressed discipline and effort.

He grew into a tall, strong athlete who played both basketball and football at Bowling Green High School and later at Northeast Missouri State University, where he earned a degree in English.

A serious knee injury ended any realistic shot at a higher-level football career, but his size and movement made him a natural fit for professional wrestling, so he pursued training after college.

In Tampa, Florida, he learned under Dean Malenko, Ray Candy, and Jeff Bradley, trainers known for drilling strong basics. He had his first matches in 1992 for the Central States Wrestling Association (CSWA) in Missouri, under the name Angus King.

Later that year, he moved to the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) in Memphis and became the Christmas Creature, which was a tall, green-suited “evil Christmas” character. During this time, he would even challenge Jerry Lawler for the local championship before leaving the territory.

In early 1993, he made his national television debut by wrestling in a singles match for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Bruiser Mastino, where he lost to Sting during an episode of WCW Saturday Night.

After that, he returned to smaller groups, spent more time in Florida, and briefly wrestled as Sid Powers, then circled back to the USWA under the name Doomsday. Through 1993 and 1994, he also wrestled in Japan for Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi and in other independent promotions in the United States, gaining experience in different match styles and ring environments.

In early 1995, he moved to Jim Cornette’s Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) territory in Tennessee and finally found some steady footing. Wrestling under the name Unabomb, he first teamed with Eddie Gilbert, then formed The Dynamic Duo with Al Snow. The pair feuded with the Rock ’n’ Roll Express and won the SMW Tag Team Championship at the Bluegrass Brawl event in April 1995, which was Jacobs’ first major title run.

They dropped the belts that summer and soon left the promotion, but Cornette’s relationship with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) opened the door to a bigger stage.

Jacobs joined the WWF full-time later in 1995 and took on the role of Dr. Isaac Yankem, DDS. This was a nightmarish dentist gimmick brought in by Jerry Lawler to attack Bret Hart. The character leaned heavily on dental jokes and a menacing grin with rotten-looking teeth. It didn’t catch on with fans, and after a year of losses to top names, the company quietly moved on.

In 1996, he was recast again. This time as a replacement version of Diesel after Kevin Nash left the company. It was a move that drew heavy criticism and never gained real support from the audience. By 1997, it seemed as though his WWF run might end unless something very different happened.

That change arrived in October 1997. During the first Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels at Badd Blood, the lights went out, and Paul Bearer walked out with a huge, masked figure in red and black. Kane made his introduction by ripping the cell door off its hinges, tombstoning Undertaker, and giving Michaels the win.

The story claimed Kane was Undertaker’s scarred, younger half-brother, thought to be dead in a fire. Over the next year, he beat Mankind, battled his “brother” at WrestleMania XIV, and, in June 1998, defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin in a First Blood match at King of the Ring to win the WWF Championship, even though Austin took it back the next night on Raw.

Through the rest of the Attitude Era, Kane moved between fighting The Undertaker and teaming with him as the Brothers of Destruction. Together, they held several tag titles, and in 2001, they beat Diamond Dallas Page and Chris Kanyon in a steel cage at SummerSlam to unify the WWF and WCW tag team championships.

Kane also collected the Intercontinental and Hardcore championships, as well as other tag titles, and became known as a Royal Rumble force, piling up records for appearances and total eliminations.

In 2003, after losing a title vs. mask match on Raw to Triple H with the World Heavyweight Championship on the line, he was forced to remove his mask and reveal himself to the world. He then spent the next few years as a wild, unhinged villain in feuds with Rob Van Dam and Shane McMahon, and in a controversial angle with Lita and Matt Hardy.

The mid-2000s saw him move in and out of tag teams and title pictures. In 2005, he teamed with Big Show to win the World Tag Team Championship, creating a bruising powerhouse duo. In 2008, he won a battle royal before WrestleMania XXIV, then appeared from under the ring to challenge ECW title holder Chavo Guerrero and pinned him in seconds to capture the ECW Championship.

Two years later, at the first Money in the Bank pay-per-view in July 2010, he won the SmackDown ladder match for the briefcase and cashed in that same night on Rey Mysterio to become World Heavyweight Champion. This was one of his longer title runs built around vengeance for an attack on The Undertaker.

In 2012, fans saw a different side of Kane. A story sent him and Daniel Bryan to anger-management classes, where their constant arguing somehow turned into an effective tag team.

As Team Hell No, they became one of WWE’s funniest acts while still winning the WWE Tag Team Championship at Night of Champions that September. Their “hug it out” segments and therapy skits made fans see Kane as more than just a horror figure, even though he’d still chokeslam people when needed.

In late 2013, he handed his mask to Stephanie McMahon and became Corporate Kane, a suited authority figure and “Director of Operations” who wrestled in big multi-man matches while serving as muscle for The Authority on television.

By the middle of the 2010s, his schedule had slowed as he prepared for life beyond wrestling, and from 2017 on, he moved into a more part-time role, returning to the ring mainly for short runs and special matches.

In 2018, Jacobs ran for mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, won the election, but still kept a loose connection to WWE. That same year, he returned to the mask at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, teaming with The Undertaker in a match against D-Generation X.

One of his most talked-about late appearances came in September 2019, when he showed up on Raw as Mayor Glenn Jacobs, then changed into the Kane gear to briefly win and lose the 24/7 Championship in a lighthearted segment.

After 2019, he essentially retired from regular competition, making only occasional appearances into the early 2020s as final curtain calls.

He made one more major in-ring appearance at the 2021 Royal Rumble, entering as a surprise, delivering a few chokeslams, and sharing a short reunion moment with Daniel Bryan that called back to Team Hell No.

WWE acknowledged his long career in 2021 by inducting him into the company’s Hall of Fame, honoring his long run as WWF Champion, World Heavyweight Champion, and ECW Champion, as well as his many tag and secondary titles.

In the ring, Kane was known for his high, driving chokeslam, a tombstone piledriver, and a jumping clothesline from the top rope that looked surprising coming from someone of his size. His pacing was simple but effective, with heavy uppercuts, big boots, and powerbombs used to keep opponents down while his slow walk and bursts of fire did the rest.

Jacobs was re-elected as mayor of Knox County in 2022, where he continues to focus on his duties, yet the lasting image is still the masked giant who tore the Hell in a Cell door from its hinges in 1997 and became one of the most enduring characters the company has ever seen.