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- [00:02]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
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- [00:33]
Steve Austin
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Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
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Steve Austin
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Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
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- [00:57]
Steve Austin
Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates Price and coverage match Limited by state law
- [01:03]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
the following program is a podcast One.com production from Hollywood, California by way of the Broken Skull Ranch.
- [01:09]
Steve Austin
This is the Steve Austin Show. Give me a Hell yeah. Hell yeah.
- [01:14]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Now here's Steve Austin.
- [01:16]
Steve Austin
All right, everybody. Welcome to Steve Austin Show. I'm coming to you from the broken Skull Ranch 2.0 out here in the Silver State. I am in Nevada. I'm out here in the compound in my shop with my two labs, Callie and Moolah, and they're both sleeping their asses off because I got my tennis ball thrower and tired their little asses out so I could do some work. Hey, if you can hear my voice, I'd like to tell everybody out there Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or whatever it is that you're celebrating for me. Merry Christmas. God dang. If you're out there traveling on the roads, in the skies, in a train, I hope you reach your destination and see your family safely and you make it back home safely as well. Been a great time of and I can't believe 2018 is damn near over. I'm ready to watch some college football, I'm ready for the damn playoffs and I'm ready for the finals. I will be tuning in and I hope everybody else as well. If you're a college football fanatic like I am, you know I'm pulling for Roll Tide, but we'll see how it all shakes out. They got to get by Oklahoma and man, with that Kyler Murray. Holy Smokes. Alabama has always had a problem trying to stop those dual threat quarterbacks going back to the Johnny Football days. But I, I tell you what, Kyler Murray, Heisman Trophy winner, he's going to play professional baseball this coming year. That guy can throw the heck out of that damn ball and he is quick as lightning. So I'll tell you what, Alabama is going to need that stout defense to step up and then we'll see if Tua comes back from that ankle injury or Jalen hurts starts for Alabama. I'm really curious to see about that. So anyway, don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to the Notre Dame Clemson game as well. And I tell you what, Notre Dame had a couple close calls this season. This is going to be the toughest team they've played all year in my opinion. Clemson's on a road. Dabo Sweeney's got Clemson firing on all cylinders. They got that stout ass defensive line. Notre Dame is going to have to fire on every single cylinder they got and they're going to have to play mistake free football to beat Clemson. And don't get me wrong, Clemson can't go out there and screw around, make a bunch of foul ups and fumble the balls and get intercepted much times either. Clemson's really on fire right now and Notre Dame's going to have to play their ass off to beat Clemson. I'm kind of. Clemson definitely has the edge. That Alabama Oklahoma game is going to be an absolute shootout. I'm going Alabama. I'm probably looking at Alabama and Clemson in the final and I'm going for a roll tide to win a national championship. Nick Saban's program. But nonetheless I can't wait to see how it all shakes out. Hey man, I got a hell of a damn guest for you today. I've been wanting to talk to this guy for a long ass time but been wanting to talk to him in and we just never have been lined up all the stars and get everything right so we could have that conversation. But this is a Skype conversation between myself and WWE superstar Kane, also known as Glenn Jacobs. Man, this is one, in my opinion one of the best gimmicks of all time. Shadowing off of Undertaker, who I think is probably the best gimmick or character Persona of all time. And for this guy to come in and play Undertaker's brother. He did a phenomenal job. Big dude. One of the best big men to ever lace up a pair of boots when he first started off with that mask and that black and red suit. It was just an intimidation factor that was off the charts. Glenn Jacobs is probably the most well read damn Superstar that's ever been in a damn locker room. I think that guy's read more books than the whole roster combined. Super smart guy, very laid back, very down to earth, and very professional. We had this Skype conversation. Every now and then Glenn will fade out and then he'll come back in. I hate doing Skype phone calls. I'll never do another one as long as I'm podcasting. Well, I will with Tedfallo361. He's got a pretty good system over there. So our conversation kind of fades in and out a little bit on quality. I know Sean's going to clean up most of that. I'm going to keep this open short because Sean's got a lot of stuff to do as he gets ready for the holiday seasons. But enjoy my conversation with one of my favorite WWE Superstars of all time, Kane the Big Red Machine. Glenn Jacobs, the mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. Just an awesome guy. I hope you enjoy the conversation.
- [05:29]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
This is the Steve Austin show, man.
- [05:33]
Steve Austin
I got a bunch of notes. I just. It's been real hectic. I had my birthday the other day. My wife's birthday is the day after mine. Our anniversary is tomorrow. We did an early Christmas dinner today. We're fighting the LA traffic. I hate to be in Los Angeles this time of year because it is absolutely crazy. But nonetheless, while I was going over an early Christmas dinner, I jotted down just some pages of notes. I thought we'd kind of go over those, answer some questions and fit in what we have time to fit in with. That being said, let's start off with something current that I know you wanted to promote and talk about on the show. The fact that you and Tom Prichard started a wrestling school over there in the Knoxville area. Tell me about this and what made you decide after all of your years in the business, and I want to get to your training with Dean Malenko, who trained you to break into business. Why a wrestling school, Glenn? You're busy being the mayor of Knox County.
- [06:21]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Tom Fritz is one of the top traders in the entire world. I mean, he's just awesome. And it's one of those things where people would always come up to me and how do I get into wrestling business? Well, you know, eventually you're gonna have to go. If you want to get wwe, you're gonna have to go to the Portland, San Antonio, go to Orlando. But, you know, Booker's got a Great school, Booker T. Towns. Great school in Houston Plant. Storm, of course, has a wonderful place out Calgary. Well, those are in Houston and Calgary. And I thought to myself, you know, Tom Pritchard is just sitting here in Knoxville, and again, he's one of the very best in the world. And I'm telling people, you know, and then. And again, if those are guys that I trust, there's some others around. But, you know, specifically those two guys, I'm telling people to go thousands of miles. Why don't we just do it here? You know, I think it's going to be a great partnership. You know, again, you know, Tom's trained people like Kurt Angle and Train the Rock, all these different Superstars. Really, for me at this point, you know, it's about this. Business has been very good to me. You know, sometimes I worry about the pipeline of talent, so I'm sure you do as well. And anything I can do to help people get into it the right way, because a lot of people that aren't going to take you down the right path, you know, and anything I can do to help folks get into it the right way, I think it's beneficial for all of us. And that's really the reason why. I mean, for me, I thought it was really just a waste of Tom's talents not to be doing this. And that was the big motivator for me, really.
- [07:52]
Steve Austin
And I agree, man, I think Tom is one of the top trainers that there is. He took me under his wing when he didn't have to in my USWA days when I was starving to death and dropped a lot of knowledge on me. So I agree with you. I. And yes, Booker T. Lance Storm, I would throw Al Snow in there as well, just because that was another great one. Yeah, so there's a couple. And like you said there in your area. Yeah, there's a need for that. What are you guys going to be doing different than the performance center, say NXT down there in Orlando, or will it kind of be the same program? Because, man, you've been with WWE since, give or take, around 95.
- [08:25]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Well, probably a lot, you know, probably be some of the same stuff to some extent. You know, a lot of it, too, is when you're looking at different schools, you really have to consider, how can these folks help me? It's not only about what you're going to learn next, but how can they help you advance. And I think, of course, Tom and I can do that as well eventually. You know, again, anyone that wants to go to WWE at this point, that's really the path to go through the performance center. So in many ways, I see this as a first step for anyone who would want to get into wwe, you know, to do that, then of course you have people who just want to get into the wrestling business. Great, too. So one nice thing about all the stuff that's going on nowadays on the independent scene is it's really revitalized that independent wrestling. And, you know, that's another pathway to go. But either one, you know, really what we're hoping to do is give folks that are starting out, you know, give them the basics. And that includes, of course, in ring performance promos and that sort of stuff. And really, nowadays, promoting yourself on social media, that's as important as anything. And making a name for yourself on social media. And from there, if you have people that are a little more advanced, helping them polish off so that they can take that next step.
- [09:41]
Steve Austin
Hey, man, you went to college at Northeast Missouri State, and you got a BA in English literature, am I correct?
- [09:49]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Yes, sir.
- [09:50]
Steve Austin
What were you planning on doing with that degree? Because you jumped right into business of pro wrestling, and I applaud you for getting a college degree.
- [09:57]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
I was thinking about teaching and what happened with me, I'd always been a fan of wrestling, you know, ever since I was a little kid. Sort of fell off in high school. We lived out in the country. We didn't have cable tv. It's one of those things, if the wind was blowing right on a Saturday night, I could watch All Star Wrestling out of Kansas City, catch people like Bulldog Bob Brown and Ray Candy and every once in a while, Harley race. But that was really about it. Got to high school and go to my friend's house and we watch, you know, get to watch NWA and WWF at the time. But I wanted to play. I wanted to play basketball. I went to college in the basketball scholarship, and I did lift weights in high school. So was a skinny kid when I graduated. Started lifting weights between my senior year of high school, my first year of college, my freshman year of college, you know, I put on 30 pounds, I think, over the summer, and I just kept on putting it on weight. So by the time I was a, you know, senior in college, I went up and down basketball court. I weigh 290 pounds. Jesus. Football coach. Yeah. The football coach comes to me like, what are you doing? What are you doing, man? You know, you need to play for me. I'm in. It's a Division 2 school. It's a small school, you know, I Had I still had some eligibility left, I could play football. And, you know, I started playing football, man, I was not to toot my own horn, but I was a great football player because I had all those years of playing basketball. You know, the athleticism I had, the strength and the size and everything. I'm getting looks from NFL teams. I thought I was going to play in the NFL. Then I blew my knee out first practice of game week. And that pretty much ended my football career. And I was thinking, well, you know, what else could I do? I'd always been a fan of wrestling and this was, I mean, Hogan was super hot, you know, and I thought that I'd give that a try. And, you know, I thought I could be good at it. And that's how I got into the, into the world of professional wrestling.
- [11:52]
Steve Austin
What is your shoe height and weight?
- [11:55]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
I'm six eight and I weigh right now weigh about 290, 295. The heaviest I've ever been is about 320.
- [12:02]
Steve Austin
You've always pretty much maintained your physique the entire time I've known you. I mean, and I've never really crossed paths with you in the gym because you normally. We traveled in different circles and I was kind of running with the drinking crowd. I trained here and there. But you were obviously a little bit more serious about it than I was. What does your training consist of? I know how football players train. But once you got into the business, was it basic bodybuilding style training? Because you've always had that impressive physique that as we'll go through a couple of gimmicks, but that really made you the perfect person to be the Monster Cane.
- [12:36]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Well, I appreciate that. Thanks. But I actually always, until my body revolted, I always followed a football, you know, I always did football training, man. My strength coach in college was world class powerlifter. He was actually, I believe, the first guy to break Bill Kashmeier's overall total in the bench press, squat and deadlift at 2400 pounds. You know, so he was a monster. And we just concentrated all these. It was, it was squat, deadlift and bench, you know, and my motto was go heavy or go home. And I did that for years and years and years and years and years. And then like I said, you know, my body just started saying, I can't do that anymore. So I backed off the heavy stuff. I still lift weight. I do a lot more cardio now. But yeah, for years, man, that's if I figured out I was going to go to the gym. I just lift as heavy weights that I possibly could.
- [13:26]
Steve Austin
Who was the guy that you just, you didn't drop his name. But that beat the 2,400 pound total.
- [13:32]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
It was a guy's name, John Ware.
- [13:34]
Steve Austin
Okay. Yeah, I'm aware, no pun intended, of that guy.
- [13:37]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Yeah, that was my strength coach, my position coach in college.
- [13:40]
Steve Austin
Give me three basic numbers, what you would probably total your best left squat, bench and deadlift.
- [13:46]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
I was never a great squatter. Deadlifter I was okay. I could squat probably about 600, deadlift about 550. I was a good bench. My best bench was 525. That was, that was straight, like no, you know, no bench press suit or anything like that. That was just a raw, raw bench.
- [14:04]
Steve Austin
Dude, those are great numbers.
- [14:06]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Yeah, think about it is being so tall, not like I have a power lifter body or anything like that, you know. So. Yeah, but again that was just the result. I mean that's what we did, you know, all the time how we trained.
- [14:23]
Steve Austin
So you've got this college degree, all of a sudden you've been watching wrestling your entire life. How in the world did you hook up with a Dean Malenko to train you in the business of pro wrestling? Because Dean Malenko is, first of all, I consider him an awesome, awesome talent. True scientific wrestler, great technician. And you're a big guy, more of a brawler. You're not really going to wrestle people on the mat. So how did you hook up with Dean Malenko and how did this go? Because there's a big difference stylistically here.
- [14:52]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Sure. Well, I was working independence around St. Louis, Missouri and you know, just picking up what I could here or there and I just felt like I was going to get serious about it. I had to be trained properly. And Dean's father was the great Boris Malenko. Larry Simon is his real name. Dave McCauley had the great Malenko's Wrestling Academy in Tampa, Florida. And I ended up relocating from St. Louis to Tampa. You know, just like all of us held whatever job that I could, bouncing at bars or, you know, whatever, so I could go to wrestling school. It wasn't just Dean that was there, it was also Joe Malinko, Dean's brother. Just tremendous. You know, he worked with Carl Gotch and lived with Gotch for a while. So Jody was tremendous shooter, submission wrestler. And that was the nice thing about going there is you got actually got trade in both styles. And my first real gig in professional wrestling was working for Fujiwaragumi in Japan in submission style wrestling. I would Go over about once a month, you know, and their matches were, gosh, it was like, I guess the old, the old UWF in Japan, I think, you know, where you had guys like, like Fujiwara and it was a different style, but this was straight submission wrestling. That was what I did initially through my training at Malinkos, and then I was actually ended up going to Puerto Rico for nine months working for Carlos, and then came to Smoky Mountain Wrestling with Cornette. And at the time Smoky Mountain was really a door into wwf. They had like, you know, Cornet was working with the Heavenly Bodies and they were doing stuff on WWF TV with the Rock and Roll Express. And I was fortunate enough to work with Ricky Robert and some of the other great performers with Cornet.
- [16:51]
Steve Austin
Okay, you're working over in Japan, you're doing some very interesting type stuff there. And then with the submission game, all of a sudden your big ass goes down to Smoky Mountain. And you know, I love Jim Cornette. He's one of my favorite managers of all time. He's probably got one of the brightest minds in the history of the business. So all of a sudden this 6, 8, 300 pound guy, you shows up down there. I'm looking at a list of names. Which one of these names did he drop on you? Was this the Mike Unabomb Guinea?
- [17:21]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Yeah, it was just Unabom. Just Unabomb.
- [17:25]
Steve Austin
You left off the ER because you didn't want to do any gimmick infringement.
- [17:28]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Exactly. That's. That was all Cornet. He just thought it was a cool name.
- [17:33]
Steve Austin
Well, give me your first impressions of Jim, because I mean, as much as I love him, you know, he's out there, I mean creatively and like I said, I just love a guy to death. But I mean, all of a sudden, man, this guy, if he takes you under his wing, some serious learnings could be had there.
- [17:47]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
The thing I remember the most about Jim was the first time I saw his template, which is legendary at this point. But I'll preface the story a little bit. I'd been in Puerto Rico and Dutch Mantel had taken me to Puerto Rico. I owe a lot to Dutch throughout my career.
- [18:03]
Steve Austin
Me too.
- [18:04]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
He got me into Puerto Rico, then he got me a job with Cornet, but in Puerto Rico, Eddie Gilbert was with me as well in Puerto Rico and we were going to go to Cornet as a tax. And then what happened was we did one TV taping, which is three weeks of tv, and Eddie Dutch had left Puerto Rico, said he got the job. Looking back to Puerto Rico. He went back to Puerto Rico. So that's when Al Snow came down and I ended up being the tag team of Al Snow. But anyway, Al Snow and George south have a TV match. This is Al's debut on Smoky Mountain Wrestling. So they go out and Jim told him, you know, 10 minute match to off the high spots. And you know Al is going to beat George with his finish like a leg lariat off the top rope or something like that. Well, they go out and, and they, they did the handshake spot for like five minutes, you know, where the heel is going to shake y'. All. And Cornett, you know, Cornett sitting there watching it and, and he's like, that's the thing about Al, he's, he's a great wrestler but he's, you know, he's not used to TV having lots of action in that. So they come back, you know, and Jim tells George now they, well, not exactly what I wanted guys, you know. So George is probably the first time in history of the business that a baby face actually called out a heel like this. But you know, he sends George back out and says Alice know I can't, they, you can't beat me twice in one night. And they're supposed to do a couple high spots, you know. And then Al just rolls George up or whatever. So they go back out and they did one high spot and one, one thing and then Owl rolls Georgia and Coronet just, he was like a volcano. He slowly starts cursing everybody else. Everybody's, everybody's leaving the room and I'm sitting there like what is going on here? All of a sudden his face starts changing all these shades of red and finally just purple. And he's throwing stuff and going off and I'm like what in the world is going on man? And then here come Alan, Alan, George and Jimmy just, he just sort of like swallows and looks at him and says guys, that wasn't exactly what I want, but I'll make it work, man. That's what I knew. I stepped into a bit of a different world than what I was used to.
- [20:16]
Steve Austin
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- [20:54]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
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- [20:55]
Steve Austin
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- [21:03]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
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- [21:03]
Steve Austin
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- [21:17]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
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- [21:21]
Steve Austin
Afrobecha los de vault deals and looks. Selecto ademas LLE bagratis una batteria additional de vault de veinte voltios h? Ocho emperos ora al compra una sierra ingletadora Compuesta de vault de double Vicente. I'm Kiana, and I leveled up my business with Shopify.
- [21:53]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Once I figured out that Shopify was a thing, I never turned back.
- [21:58]
Steve Austin
I can create a site with my eyes closed. Shopify thinks ahead of us, you know, and it thinks about the customer more than anything.
- [22:07]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Every day I'm thinking about some other
- [22:08]
Steve Austin
new business, but Shopify is doing it to me because it's so easy to use.
- [22:12]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
It's like, I can't stop. I'm addicted. Start your free trial@shopify.com.
- [22:19]
Steve Austin
you got into the WWF at the time, now WWE and what, mid 1995.
- [22:26]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Yeah. Yep. Okay. August of 1995.
- [22:29]
Steve Austin
Okay. And you also got married in 1995.
- [22:34]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Yeah, about the same time.
- [22:35]
Steve Austin
And you are still currently married to your wife from 1995. Okay. Now, she's known you. You'd been in the business since 92. Y' all get married in 95. All of a sudden, little Smoky Mountain and boom, you're away to the big show. You're going to New York, and that's the big time. So what has been your wife's take on all this as long as this lasted? And I didn't even notice you guys sold insurance on the side down there and now you're a mayor. But what was her take on the business way back in the day when all of a sudden, I mean, because, dude, it's hard to stay married in this business. What is your wife's take on the business of pro wrestling?
- [23:12]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Well, she's just very grounded and, you know, she never got involved in any of the drama, which I tried to avoid as well, you know, because that's really. I think what does it right is we all have to remember that we're Just people doing a job, you know, at the end of the day. And a lot of times the guys talk about how hard it is to be on the road and it is be away from family, but it's just as hard on your family. And you know, I've been very fortunate because Crystal is, she's very strong and like I said, she's just grounded. I mean, you know, she's not afraid to just tell you something's B.S. you know, and she understands all that stuff. Right? So, you know, she just, she just never bought into any of, you know, any of the, the things that kind of go along with stuff. I think that, you know, when people start thinking that, I don't know if that they're bigger than the business or, you know, that the whatever defines them, you know, they're a superstar. Crystal never bought into any of that stuff. That's probably why I never did either because she wouldn't let me, you know, frankly. And you know, it's, it's. That's why, you know, and also, you know, I just made a commitment and you know, no matter what, you know, that our relationship has always been the most important thing. More than, more than my career, more than anything else. Even though it's hard at times, but it has been.
- [24:42]
Steve Austin
Hey, man, tell me about your debut or tell me about the phone call or the meeting in person. Because when you started that Isaac income DDS gimmick, I mean, and Mr. I've had a bad gimmick or two. I got a phone call from Vince McMahon and he pitched me the ringmaster. And I had a mortgage and I had some kids and I needed a job. So I went up there, but I didn't want to go up there, but I knew I needed to, to pay my bills and not go bankrupt. You're there before I am. And I remember watching, I'm thinking to myself, man, who is this big ass guy? I mean, because he's got a great look, he's very intimidating. But this gimmick, not so much.
- [25:24]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
He's a dentist.
- [25:26]
Steve Austin
Yeah. And this is kind of when, you know, kind of on the back end of those hokey days, you know, because a year or two before this, you know, I remember a guy slipping on banana peels, literally really slipping on banana peels and finishes. And this is when I was in wcw and of course I knew WWF was the big leagues, but when I was watching some of those finishes, I was like, oh, man, I would be embarrassed to be doing that. So real gimmick heavy here. And so you go in as Isaac Yankum, and all of a sudden, I mean, you're in the big leagues. This is a great opportunity. But tell me what you were thinking when they pitched you that or tell me it was your idea.
- [26:02]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
It wasn't my idea. No, man, I was, you know, another guy that I owe a lot to is, of course, Jim Ross. And Jim Ross was on hiatus from wwe, but going back, but he was working as Corvette's commentary, you know, announcer. I mean, within a month or two, of course, I'm a big guy, so jr, you know, likes big guys. And, you know, immediately he got me a trial with. With New York, with wwe. So I was super excited, man, you know, and had to had my trial match with Reno Reagan's and of course, Reno, great worker, maybe, you know, fantastic. And within, within literally a couple days, Cornet talks to me and he's like, man, you know, they, they're going to sign you. They, you know, they want you and everything. So I'm like, awesome. This is, you know, this is, this is, this is exactly what I want to do. So I get a call and, you know, they want me to come meet with Vince and time JJ Dylan was head of town relations. So I fly from McGee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, Tennessee, flats of LaGuardia, and I'm a country boy. I had never been in a limousine before. So I'm thinking to myself, I have made it. I am a WWE Superstar. It don't get no better than this. Take me to the office here in Stanford, Connecticut. I'm sitting in the room talking with J.J. vince Watson. When you hear all this stuff about Vince, you know, like he's an evil genius, and he's going to get in your mind and, you know, figure out what you're thinking and all these stories that you hear about Vince. So we're sitting there, there's some small talk, of course, everything's going well. And then Vince asked me, like, Glenn, if you ever been afraid to go to the dentist? And I think this is one of these things where he's like, I'm going through a personality test or something. So. Right. So I'm like, well, no, sir. And he's like, you know, I've always had this idea for a wrestling dentist, Isaac Yankum. I yank him, and then he starts doing the Vince laugh, right? And I'm. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And I'm looking at it, man. This individual in this business that I am trying to, you know, like you said, to break into the big leagues. And I'm sitting at him and I just have, I guess I'm blank faced, I'm not trying not to react. And then he looks at me like, think you'll be great for it? And then he walks out. And I'm sitting there, man, and I went from like on top of the world feeling like the world had just fallen on top of me, you know, because I'm like a wrestling dentist and how am I going to pull this off? And I get home and I told you, I talked to Cornette. I'm like, man, I just don't know about this whole dentist thing. He's like, oh, it'll be fine. That's just his first thought, you know, they'll come up with something cool. About two months later, I talked with Cornette, you know, and by this time he's working with creative and wwe. He's like, you know, the good news is you're going to be coming up real soon. The bad news is it's the dentist. And I'm just like, oh, man. But I'm just like you, you know, it's. What was I gonna do? I mean, if I had, you know, if I wanted to advance my career, basically I had, I had to take the shot, you know, and it just got worse. I mean, I had, I had to put paint on my teeth to make my teeth look decayed. And everybody else had this cool music. I got a dentist drill and I'm just like, golly, man. And frankly, also, I wasn't ready to do it. Here I am watching guys on TV like the Undertaker in the ring with them, you know, and business was a little different back then too, you know, Undertaker is one of the few guys that would, you know, that sort of took me under his wing and helped me along. And a lot of the other guys, it was all about them. It wasn't the best of experience, let me put it that way. And now they've made an action figure of it. I can't even forget about it.
- [29:49]
Steve Austin
Well, it's interesting that Undertaker would take you under his wing back then and because, I mean, I mean, that was foreshadowing a year or two. You were about to become his brother. But before we get to the Undertaker, I know you got a chance to work several times with Breath of Hitman Hart. What were your thoughts on working with him and him as a person? Because he did a lot for my career. How did you find him in the ring?
- [30:14]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Well, the thing about the Isaac Engan character was, despite the fact that I never considered it a success, it was A success. And it got my foot in the door, you know, and showed Vince I had a work ethic. I wanted to do this. It just wasn't the character for me, you know, the gimmick just wasn't something that I felt comfortable doing. But I had the opportunity of working with people like Brett Hart, you know, legitimately. One of the best of all time.
- [30:40]
Steve Austin
Yeah.
- [30:41]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
In fact, my first. My first match was at SummerSlam and it was against Brett. We're at a semi main event at SummerSlam, and it doesn't get any bigger than that, frankly. You know, that was accused people, you know, and Brett's been good to me. Luckily, I think later I had much more success with the Kane character, you know, and I think looking back on that now, I mean, gosh, you know, the thing is that I wish I'd been doing Kane when Bret Hart was still wwe. I think we would have had some killer matches and done some really great things. But, yeah, he was always great to me, and working with him was a tremendous learning experience, that's for sure.
- [31:22]
Steve Austin
I would say the same thing. He's such a great storyteller. Before you cashed in or finished that gimmick, did you not go to Kuwait and South Africa? Yeah, most two tours. Were you there as Isaac Yankham?
- [31:35]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Yes.
- [31:35]
Steve Austin
And if you remember, dude, those were two pretty crazy trips. And I don't think you've ever been a drinker. But when we went to Kuwait, couldn't have any alcohol. A lot of the boys cave vape alcohol over there. And then we went to South Africa. It was rib city. Everybody was wearing ribs. I think I was. Everybody was playing ribs on each other. I think one time I was working with Shawn Michaels and I taped up my arms with pink tape like the ultimate Warrior would have worn. And my arms weren't near the size of his, but there was just a bunch of ribs going on. Do you remember those two trips? Anything stand out?
- [32:08]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
I do, I do. And did we go to Kuwait more than once?
- [32:12]
Steve Austin
I can only remember being there one time.
- [32:14]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Yeah, man, I can't remember. I remember like in Kuwait, you know, the Royal family, I guess, had set up and we're staying in this hotel on the beach, and the Royal family had actually set up, like weights out on the beach or something like that for us to work out with. And then, of course, you had, you know, the matches. I remember you. I remember you. That's when you did a splash off the top rope, but you jumped off the top rope, landed on your feet and did a Buddy, hop into like least impactful splash of all time. And that's the matches went. And remember the big test of strength with Taker.
- [32:47]
Steve Austin
Yeah.
- [32:48]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
You know. Yeah, yeah. And everybody's in the ring with with taker and everybody joins hands. It's like a battle royals or something like that, you know. And yeah, it was like an eight
- [33:00]
Steve Austin
man test of strength and you had to bring to jump in. And it was the most ridiculous to sing in the history of the.
- [33:06]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
It was awful.
- [33:06]
Steve Austin
And I, I, I don't remember really going back because I believe that was one of the times we were trying to kill the territory.
- [33:12]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
I say that in jest, but. And then South. I remember South Africa, man, that we got to say that Sun City Resort. And that was pretty awesome, actually. I remember going to the water park there and also to this golf course and it was me and Justin. Yeah, Aldo Montoya, I remember he and I are out playing golf and I don't play golf, you know, it was awful. But anyway, we're out playing golf and you like hit it into the bunker, except the bunker was like this pit filled with literally alligators. And that was everywhere throughout the course.
- [33:47]
Steve Austin
I'll never forget, we were on a safari in South Africa. I think everybody went. Or if you signed up for it, you went. So anyway, I signed up for it. And we're out there and we're driving around, we're still seeing all these cool animals. And then we stop at a water hole and you know, I'm Mr. South Texas Hunter, I know everything there is. So I'm out there walking around the water hole, checking everything out, and the guy comes up to me and he goes, hey. He goes, you might not want to be right there by the water hole. And so, you know, me knowing everything, said, dude, what's up? Why? He goes, well, you know, it's feeding time and a lot of times when these animals come to get a drink at the water hole, the lions or the alligators or the crocodiles will jump on them. And I was like, that's a good reason to get away from the water hole. Hey, man, I want to shift your attention to the curtain call in Madison Square Garden. Were you on that card?
- [34:36]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
I was not, actually.
- [34:37]
Steve Austin
This was before kayfabe had really been broken on a scale like that. Sure, there had been the exposes and all the other stuff, but no one had ever hugged each other inside the squared circle, much less a cage. And Kevin Nash, Scott hall, those guys were going down south. Shawn Michaels and Triple H would stay. And in 1996, you became the fake Diesel, and then Rick Bogner became the fake Razor. So when they pull you into the room and Big Ted has written this, guaranteed. And that was an interesting dynamic that those guys had went down south because that was the first time, in theory, Marc Merrill might have been first. There was actually guaranteed money, big guaranteed money in the business of pro wrestling. So all of a sudden you've been Isaac Yankum. You know, that's not a great gimmick. But you do have your foot in the door, you're in a good place, and all of a sudden they want you to be the fake Diesel. And I'll say, dude, you pulled it off as well as could be done. It was awesome, actually. But you were the fake Diesel. How did you feel about that?
- [35:37]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Ironically, I think Jerry Briscoe told me while we were in either South Africa or Kuwait, and I can't remember which one it was. Anyway, he said that Vince wanted to talk to me when I got home. He came home from overseas and Vince explains to me what they want to do. And, yeah, I'm going to be the fake Diesel. Now, the concept of the storyline was excellent, actually, because what had happened was JR was turned heel and he was going to prove that he was actually the creative mind behind WWF success and he could replicate it with anybody. And it was going to be me and the fake Razor. The problem is, JR is not really a heel character. People like him. And that didn't work very well. And the whole thing was another thing. A lot of times, I think when we're looking at storylines and you have the concept, it's great, but it just doesn't work in reality because so much of what we do is based on. Does the audience accept that? And they didn't really accept this whole thing. I mean, no matter what, you know, it's still the fake Diesel and the fake Razor. At least I wasn't a dentist anymore.
- [36:50]
Steve Austin
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- [37:20]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
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- [37:21]
Steve Austin
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- [37:28]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
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- [37:32]
Steve Austin
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Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
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Steve Austin
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- [38:00]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
It was 5k to pay the bill for my son and I need only 22 hours. It was amazing. People really trust on GoFundMe.
- [38:09]
Steve Austin
How did Juan raise $5,000 in less than a day? He posted a short video on GoFundMe telling his story in 30 seconds.
- [38:16]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
30 seconds. Be specific. Be quick and tell what are you going to be using the first funds for. I was nervous to do it because
- [38:25]
Steve Austin
it doesn't feel okay to ask money.
- [38:27]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
But you shouldn't be nervous. Sometimes you just have to do it and see the results. We were able to save my son's life thanks to gofundme that we still have my son with us.
- [38:40]
Steve Austin
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- [38:52]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
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- [39:32]
Steve Austin
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- [39:50]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
This is the Steve Austin show heading
- [39:53]
Steve Austin
into give or take 97 98. All of a sudden you are bestowed upon the gimmick of Cain. So what was that conversation like? Who came up with the idea of Cain creatively, yeah.
- [40:07]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
I'm not sure exactly who it was because so much everything that we do is a collaborative effort, right? The story, as I understand it, is this. This is right after the Kuwait trip that Big Van Bader was arrested. He was detained in Kuwait, and Undertaker needed an opponent. And they're panicking because who's Mark gonna work with at the next Pay per View or whatever it was? And, you know, so they come up with this idea of Kane, which was. It wasn't even called Cane yet. It was called Inferno with the. With the character's original name. And, you know, but basically, they were going to hotshot it, and they were going to use me because they could put, you know, physically, I matched Mark Zeiss, you know, put me under the hood. No one thought about the other characters. But then Vince really liked the idea. The story's great, right? You have these two brothers that are almost mythical creatures. The other one tries to kill them in the fire. And, you know, all this backstory they had going into that, right? And then that's where they came up with the character Kane. I think, you know, Bruce Prichard always loved the name Kane. In fact, he has a son named Kane. But Bruce and I were talking, and I pitched that too. I was like, you know, inferno sounds like a cartoon name. You know, Cain. You know, Cain and Abel and all that stuff. And then when Taker was first debuted in at Survivor series in 91, I think he was Kane, the Undertaker. And he was Kane, the Undertaker for, like, two weeks. And then they dropped the Kane part, just made him the Undertaker. Right. But, you know, then you have the backstory. Was. Was Taker's original name. Was that an homage to his brother and all this stuff, you know, and of course, I'm. I'm thrilled because I'm gonna get to work with. Undertake.
- [41:55]
Steve Austin
Oh, yeah, man, You're. You're stepping in one of the best spots ever. And here's the thing, going back to
- [42:00]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
what you were saying, not getting better than that, right?
- [42:02]
Steve Austin
I consider the Undertaker to probably be the greatest character ever created in the history of the wrestling business. You know, I love Ric Flair, the Hulk Hogans, the Macho Mans. They have Stone Cold or whatever, and Kane as well. But the Undertaker, one of the heaviest duty gimmicks of all time. And there's probably no one better than Mark to pull it off. How was he on signing off on this? And it's different for guys of your size, Mark's size, because, hey, man, on one hand, it's Great. You're probably not going to take as many bumps as everybody else, but on the other hand, man, you've got to have a dancing partner that can match your physicality to really draw money. And so I'm sure that, yeah, for the Undertaker, yeah, finally I get a chance to work with a guy my size so we can have 50, 50 matches and he doesn't have to sell upright all the time. And, you know, he'll sell for anybody, but you got to stay on top of Hunter Decker's ass. So, anyway, tell me about the working relationship, because there's got to be a lot of trust in this for you to play his brother. And the chemistry you guys had in the ring was tremendous. But how did that relationship. I know he'd already taken you under his wing, but then all of a sudden, you guys got to become pretty close because you're dancing together damn near every night of the week and drawing big money.
- [43:22]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Yep. Well, again, you know, going back to what Dutch Mantel told me, at the time I was working, I was working for Lawler in uswa. I was still on the contract with wwf, but, you know, they weren't. They weren't doing anything with me. And so then they fired me out to Lawler. I'm talking with Dutch about it, and Dutch is like, well, you know, if it's going to be successful, because Mark is going to make it successful. Right. And that's exactly what happened. I mean, he'd always been a huge advocate of mine. In fact, my first match with Undertaker was actually in Smoking Mop wrestling. He and Shawn Michaels came down and did a show, I think it's called Super Ball for Cornet. And as you say, he saw a big guy that, you know, I think that he felt that he could draw money with. You know, the thing about being big guy in our business is, again, yeah, you don't have to take as many bumps and all that, but anything that you do has to look extremely believable because everything is exaggerated when. When you're bigger. I mean, people just expect that. Right. So that's sort of the drawback of it. And, yes, you have to know how. You have to know how to be vulnerable. You have to know how to sell in the right way or to register the right way and all those. All those things. But I was very fortunate because Mark was all about the whole thing, you know, and just tremendously helpful. You know, in fact, it's one of those things where, as it got to rolling, you know, you'd have egos at play every once in a while, right? And someone would maybe not want to do something that they needed to do. And basically I would tell them, look, you can either do this or we can talk to Taker about it. And inevitably, they did what they were. They did what I was asking them to do. It was also. Mark understood too, you know, that success in this business, when you're in the ring, it takes. It is like a dance. I mean, it takes two people, you know, to succeed. And, you know, he's. He was always all about it. And as much as anything, the plate or the table was set for me. Dude, you know, I'm going to go in there with the Undertaker. Paul Bear had been talking about Kane for months before Kane ever came out. You know, all this stuff that was just set up that Kane was going to be successful. I mean, you know, and I was fortunate enough to be, you know, the guy that. That was in that position. And then to go out there with, you know, Taker. First match in Hell in a cell, Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, which had never happened before. I'm involved with that. It was just one of those things that I couldn't have written. I couldn't have written a better story than that.
- [46:15]
Steve Austin
I know you'd already been working the submission stuff. You've been going over Japan, so obviously, and like you were just saying as far as selling, registering, there's different levels. But then all of a sudden, when you turn into Cane and you're working with the Undertaker, Undertaker, did he pull you aside because even though you were a big guy then, you weren't really a big guy with stroke. Now you're working with a made guy who's the Undertaker. And there's been probably no one that's been more professional or cool than that guy and a respected guy in the locker room because of his cool and calmness and just the way he thinks about the business, his whole approach, did he just say, okay, dude, you've been doing great, but now you're my brother, you're working with me. There's that rub there, which you've got to hold up year end of that, or what you're going to be doing with Mark is not going to matter? Did he have that conversation to you as far as selling and how to conduct business with smaller guys?
- [47:15]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
We already had that conversation about two years ago when I was Isaac Yanko. And that's a lot of the reason that when I got the Fake Diesel character, it was a lot more successful because I realized what I had to do. And it was, you know, because Mark. Mark had already had a conversation. But yes, after, you know, the Kane deal, it wasn't like he never sat down, said it, but, you know, I understood. And a lot of times, again, I messed something up and feel bad about him. The reason I felt bad about Stephen, I let him down, you know, and he had invested so much into the care. I mean, you know, my first night, I dropped him. I mean, I tombstone pile drive the Undertaker, and that never happens. That made me right off the bat, you know, and anything that I would do to mess that up hurt him because he had done that for me. But I would go to him every once in a while and say, hey, so and so wants to do this. And it was just continental counseling that, well, you know, tell me, like, do whatever you want to do, but I wouldn't do that if I was in your spot. Right? Yeah. So, you know, that was awesome for me. But, yeah. And then Sean, I remember, you know, right before we did the deal at Royal rumble, I guess, 98, you know, taker and Sean had a casket match, and we had actually teased unification of Kane and the Undertaker right before that, leading into that casket.
- [48:42]
Steve Austin
As you had morphed into Cain and started doing business at a high level. How did your working relationship with Vince McMahon change? Because obviously I always tell people this and, you know, from your first meeting in there, you go in there, you meet the guy, you've heard all the stories. He's a third generation promoter. He's an evil genius. He can take someone with some problems, spin them around, and they think they've got all the problem solved and walk out and think, hey, man, I didn't really get a chance to settle what I wanted to settle. He's just a master of psychology. And so I learned from my ringmaster days to when I turned into Stone Cold. And then as I started getting hot, my relationship with a man became much closer, not only on a professional level, but a personal level. And I've always told people I've learned more from working from Vince McMahon than I did in five years of college. So how did your relationship grow with Vince? Because he can be a very intimidating figure.
- [49:40]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Well, I feel the same way that you, you know, you just said it's the same for me. You know, a lot of what I've done, even outside of WWE and outside of wrestling, you know, and some success that I've had in other areas is because things that I've learned from him just by, you know, watching how he does things and Approaches business. We got to think about Vint is you really have to be at that level, okay? And you have to act like you were at that level with him, you know, and to get him, you know, he. I think he always values people's input, but you have to be confident, I guess. And like with the Isaac Aam character, I wasn't. You know, I was still. But I've learned with Vince, the more that I'm. That I'm confident about what I'm talking about or that I want to feel strongly about something, the more he respects my opinion, that's a good spot to be. He does listen to his talent. A lot of times, like you said, what happens is you walk in and, you know, you think you accomplished something. You walk out and you're like, well, I just came out and I'm doing the same thing I didn't want to do when I went in, you know. Yeah. I mean, he's the master doing that. But, you know, a lot of times I have been able to, you know, be like, this is. You know, this is why this is not a good idea, or, this is why this is a good idea. And he does end up listening to you, you know, because he trusts you. Especially longer you've been there, he realized, especially the guy like me, he realized I'm not in there just, you know, just for me, I'm in there because I may have a different perspective than what he does, but it's still the best interest of his company. You know, I'm not in there just trying to try to do something for myself. But it does change over time, you know, because you work with someone for long enough. You know, the other thing about Vince is, man, he just. He's. He's super loyal. You know, if you're loyal to him, he's going to be loyal to you.
- [51:27]
Steve Austin
He's a businessman. Like anybody, he wants everybody to get over. But the more serious you take the business, the more you're putting into it, the more that you can. And the higher up you are, and the longer you're there, the more you can develop that relationship. But in my opinion, Vince does not like pushovers. He likes a challenge. Now, does he want a diva or does he want someone to buck the promotion every time? No, that's not what he wants. But he does something. He enjoys people to challenge him, and he enjoys challenging people because he always says, steve, I give people here opportunities. And that's the truth. And so, that being said, as many yes men as he's had surrounded him for a long time. He likes the guys that will say, well, hey, what about this? And the higher level the business is, the more serious it is. And that's serious money. And that's just business. I want to take you to a time. This is just give or take some time. You were running real hot as cane and you still had that mystique. I don't think the mask had come off. Before I get to this, let me ask you, what was it like coming from the other gimmicks? Going into the Cane gimmick with the mask and that red and black outfit was total intimidation. How did that change how you felt when you worked the crowd or performed? Because, man, this was just. To me, it was on the same. Well, let's go back to when Undertaker debuted at Survivor Series. Whatever year it was when it showed the crowd, that camera panned the crowd, there were kids that were literally scared to death. I think he dropped Snuka right on his head. Pile drive him. It was a complete working. Snuka was okay. But that gimmick scared people. And taker pulled it off like a charm. So all of a sudden, you've had these other gimmicks. Now you have this power Persona, this. This burnt guy, Undertaker's brother. How did that make you feel? Did it change your energy when you went out there?
- [53:21]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
I mean, absolutely, because, you know, not only am I in a great spot, like you said, I have this awesome gimmick that. And people bought into it, I mean, from the very beginning. And, you know, it wasn't one of those things where you have even this baby face or heel thing. It was just cool, right? And, you know, it was awesome. And, yeah, it did change. Change my energy, and it changed my outlook as a performer because, you know, you always have that. That part of you that kind of has to buy into things to be able, you know, be able to pull it off, right?
- [53:54]
Steve Austin
Yeah.
- [53:54]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Yeah. And I was able to buy into this, man.
- [53:56]
Steve Austin
Hey. One of my favorite angles that I got a chance to work, we were in Austin, Texas, at the Frank Irwin center, and we had started doing business. And chronologically I'll get things, you know, out of order, but we're getting the back end of this podcast anyway. So I'm out there cutting a promo, and we're going to have a first blood match. And you come out there and I've been talking trash, and you come out on the stage, you put your hands up in the air or whatever, put them down, and, man, from the ceiling. I guess about 100 gallons of red syrup coated my ass. And I was just. I wore a white shirt on purpose because I knew what was going to happen. And I'm standing there and I'm just a bloody mess of blood. Of syrup, candy syrup. And the crowd can't believe what they've just seen. And, man, you put this little gimmick thing to your voice and you said something like, austin, next Sunday, the blood will be yours. Do you remember that night? Because that was one of my favorite angles that I ever shot.
- [54:56]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Absolutely. Because, you know, okay, what I said was, if I didn't. If I didn't beat you, I was gonna set myself on fire.
- [55:05]
Steve Austin
Yep.
- [55:05]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
You know? Yeah. And then that whole thing, and I mean, that was. That was the. That was just the great stuff, right? I mean, you know, we were doing really edgy, really cool stuff. And that was like straight out of the movie Carrie, you know, with. When she gets soaked with the pig blood and all that, you know, and it was the same thing, except it was. It was live on, you know, live tv. And it was awesome, man. You know, And I remember, too, I mean, just the whole thing. And we had Taker intertwined with that and Mankind intertwined with that. And of course, Paul Bearer. That was some of me, too. That's the most fun stuff I've ever done.
- [55:41]
Steve Austin
And the thing about it was, before we got into that first blood match, I guess I had been working with Mick Foley. I remember we headlined the Houston Summit. There's about 18,000 people there. There was, man, everywhere we went, every single night of the week was sold out. I was working with Mick Foley. This was one of the few times my mother and my father came to a match to see me wrestle. They just weren't really into the wrestling thing, but they always supported me whatever I did. And when I came out of the ring with Mick, I just had the chills. I couldn't stop shaking, and hell, I had a staph infection in my right arm. So they take me to Herman Hospital, and basically I'm laying there in the hospital for three and a half days getting antibiotics. And the next time I work, that's with you. In the first blood match, there's a problem because I'm looking forward to working with you, but when I'm working with a guy who's 6, 8 build a 7 foot and 300 pounds, and who wears a mask, it's going to be hard for me to bust this guy open. So I'm going to say, okay, work the back of his head. Do something. But here's the problem. We were the main event. I always loved to be the main event. Just happens to be in the semi main was two cats named Mick Foley and the Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match. And those guys absolutely ripped the roof off the building. Not only the building, but the history of the business. That was one of the greatest, craziest matches of all time and completely stole the show. And so they go out there, all this physicality, all those bumps, all the thumbtacks, everything. And then you and me go out there for our first blood match. And, dude, we worked our asses off. We tried real hard. The crowd got into the match, but after what they had seen, you know, it's. Sometimes it's just one of those nights at the office where you can't top at semi main or whatever was in front of you. Do you remember how hard that night was or what was was your take on it? Because you might have been like a kid in a candy store. I thought it was really, really hard.
- [57:42]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
I always tell Mick he has tremendous heat with me because I won my first World championship that night. But all anybody remembers is him flying off a cage twice. And I'm like, I won my first World Championship. I'll never forget, man. I'm standing back at the monitor, and this is before we had the big, huge, nice field position we have now, basically you have Vince is sitting there across the table with monitor and Briscoe, you know, sitting at a monitor a calling times. So Mick goes off the cage the first time, and everybody's like, good Lord, you know, he's gonna. He's gonna kill himself. And then he goes through the cage, which, of course, that's another story. But anyhow, man, Vince looks at me, okay, I'm still kind of new in the business. I mean, I've only been in for a few years. And I'm gonna go out and work with you. And, you know, you're the hottest thing going. And Mick is supposed to come out at the end, Taker's supposed to come out, you know, and the deal was, you know, taker swings a chair, make and think he misses and hits you or whatever happened. But in any case, so they're supposed to come back out. And Vince looks at me and he goes, if he can't make it back out there, you're gonna have to figure out what to do. And I'm like, me, how am I gonna figure out what to do? Are you crazy? You know, and yeah, it was hard because no matter what we did. I mean, how do you top all that? You know? And I think we did get him by the end, but still, I mean, it was, you know, it was. It was. It was a hard night for us. I mean, it was. It was a night that redefined our business, you know, because of what Mick had done. But it was a hard night for us. But I'll tell you, man, I won my first world championship that night. But the night that actually stands out in my mind was the next night in Collegiate when it was you and me again. We have a rematch, you come down to the ring, you know, and you basically, you know, insult me and talk me into to a rematch, which Vince is standing there, you know, Mr. McMahon, and he doesn't want me to do it, and finally I agree to it, man. If you remember, that was the most electric crowd I have ever been in front of in my entire life. I mean, it was gund arena, packed to the rafters, and it was just like, electric, you know? And that. That was a truly amazing night. When people say we only have the championship for one day, I'm like, it doesn't matter, because it was the next night. It was losing the championship, which actually stands to me a lot more than I did when I won, you know, because that was just. That was a phenomenal night. And, you know, everybody was. Everybody was there to see you beat me, to see you win the championship back, and it was just a phenomenal night. So really, I remember, for me, I remember the night in Cleveland, which is night after Pittsburgh, much more clearly than I do the Pittsburgh night, dude.
- [60:32]
Steve Austin
I just remember that being a hot, hot crowd. It was unbelievable business.
- [60:37]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
It was unbelievable.
- [60:38]
Steve Austin
And then I caught some. I think I was on YouTube. I was watching a couple clips of us, and I guess I got a few of them out of the chronological order. I guess people think, well, why did they. Why was Kane the world champion for just one night? It's like, well, hey, man, things were so hot. That's just what we did. I didn't really care who was the champion. It was cool for me to have the belt, but whatever. That was a booking decision. I remember going back to that match after the. After taker and Mick had done all that stuff and Mick had fell on his head. I know he was concussed. He was lucky he could even walk. And then Taker had obviously been through the ringer as well. And then here he comes down there. I think I hit him with a stunner or something in the match. And then, of course, I roll out of the ring. As I'm rolling back in the ring, it's a timing issue with me and the taker and I'm picking up my chair. He swings his chair, which is a perfect shot. Double percussion, boom. Color. I've got a face full of blood. You go over. So the rematch, I win the belt back. But I'd been watching. Someone sent me a clip on my email and this is from Joe Lois Arena. When I drove the Zamboni to the ring, Vince was about to present you. What title was that? Was that the same storyline?
- [61:57]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
No, that was a little on further down the line. And it was a match where it was like a triple threat. Me, you and taker. And it was like in Hamilton.
- [62:06]
Steve Austin
That's right, that's right.
- [62:07]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Yeah. And we'd end up like double pinning you and we were co champions or something like that. Something strange. And sure enough, yeah, Vince is about to present us with the belt. Here you come rolling out in the Zamboni machine. Hit the ring, the whole ring moves and you jump over the top rope and do the fez press on the Vince. It was just awesome, dude. It was great.
- [62:29]
Steve Austin
My question is, I had to rewatch that. And as I'm rewatching him because I've forgotten so much of my career, it's been a long time. And I said, hey, wait a minute, there's Kane in the ring. And so like I put it out of order. But so my question, everybody's like, why didn't Kane attack Austin? Why didn't Kane attack Austin? Well, it wasn't in the storyline. But what are you thinking? Because sometimes creatively they have a way to make you disappear. And I've disappeared plenty of times myself when the spotlight wasn't on me. You just walk up the ramp and they don't shoot you because you walk out of frame.
- [63:04]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
I think what happened was there were just so many people in the ring. I don't remember why we didn't jump you. Frankly, I think it was because there were just so many people in the ring that security grabbed you and pulled you off or something, you know, But I'm not exactly sure why we did. Plus, everybody likes to see Vince get beat up. So that probably, oh, he had the
- [63:23]
Steve Austin
greatest reactions in the world. Hey, couple of questions. We're going to wrap up this podcast. Kane and your illustrious career. And I know you still wrestle occasionally, but what's the worst injury? What is the worst injury you've ever suffered?
- [63:38]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
I have been very fortunate. The worst thing I've Ever done is broke my hand in the ring. You know, I had an injury coming in, hurt my back, you know, a couple times, but nothing that put me out for a long period of time. But. And, you know, just one of those things, man, I was jumping off the top rope, doing my clothes on, off the top. D Von Dudley was my target. So I always blame it on D Von, although it wasn't his fault at all, but I still say that he did it. But as I was rolling through, I got my finger stuck in the mat, bent backwards, broke my hand. And that led. That was actually leading into the week before WrestleMania. That was WrestleMania 2000, which was in Anaheim. I broke my hand, got a cast put on it, flew out to Anaheim, did the show in Anaheim and worked with a broken hand. Then I got to take a couple months off and let that heal. But that was really about the worst thing that's ever happened. I've been very, very lucky.
- [64:31]
Steve Austin
Do you think the business is harder or easier these days to get in first and just to get over second?
- [64:39]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
That's always a mixed bag. Probably easier to get in, frankly, because, you know, everything used to be Kay saved and, you know, you would literally go to train and people would beat you up, you know, so it was very hard. It was very protective. It was very difficult to get in. Now it's. That's not so much, you know, but now I think. I think it's. I think it is harder to get over. Fan base is a lot more sophisticated now. You know, frankly, when I look, when I go back and watch stuff that I watched as a kid, it's terrible. But when you're watching it from a technical perspective, it wasn't very good. And now you have a very sophisticated audience, and a lot of people are extremely critical of everything. So I think that makes it more difficult. On the other hand, you can promote yourself through social media, which you didn't have the ability to do before. That helps if you're fortunate enough to get into wwe. It's hard because nowadays the guys don't have. They don't have as much freedom as we used to have to be able to go out there and just do things on their own. And the reason for that is it's a TV product. And also a lot of the guys that come up don't have the experience to be able to do that, you know, so they're not given that leash. We always say, well, you know, you have to take a risk, you have to take a chance. But it's just very Difficult to do that.
- [65:57]
Steve Austin
And last question, any advice you would tell someone coming up in the business, they're already in the business, maybe they got a year or two under their belt. General advice that you give somebody, well,
- [66:08]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
you know, the Jacob Strictures Wrestling Academy is there for the finishing school. If they need that. Certainly can give us a call. But it's a good plug. On a serious note, who you take on as mentors and who you listen to is extremely important. That can make or break your career. And the thing is, you're always going to be learning. I still learn stuff all the time when I'm active and wrestling. I think the most important thing is you make sure that you try to find quality people to work with and quality people to learn from. I can't tell you how important that's been for me in my own life. I mean, if I hadn't had people like Dutch Mantel, like Dean Malenko and the folks at his school and Jim Ross, Jim Cornette and then so many others throughout my career, Undertaker, I would have never gone anywhere, you know, and I think that's the most important thing is just building up that network of trusted people that you, that you can listen to and learn from and, you know, then that'll give you the best chance you possibly have.
- [67:18]
Steve Austin
I'd agree with that. I'd tell you to watch every match on the card and don't be afraid to experiment with your gimmick, stretch, push envelope. Not in a way that we used to have the freedom to back in, in our days, because you could, but just to not be afraid to change. Because what you're starting with might not be what you end up with, but to end the podcast. Man, if we ever get a chance to cross paths in person, I'd love to sit down because we just glossed over a few things on Skype. But I want to ask you a lot more. Last chance to plug anything on the podcast is talk about your school where people can find you on social media. And good luck with everything else you got. So go ahead.
- [67:58]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Yeah, sure. The, the wrestling school is actually @jpw865 on Twitter. The website is jprrestlingacademy.com My personal Twitter is Glenn with two N's. Jacobs TN on Twitter. I've had a great time, you know, again, you know, this is wrestling business and professional wrestling business. I think it's the greatest business in the world. And it has been just very good to me and I've had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people. The best thing. And seriously, the best thing now is when someone comes up to me and just shakes my hand and says thank you for all the years you've entertained. And I can't tell you what that means to me. And this is, I think this is the only business that you get to experience that. So it's a wonderful business and I'm just glad I've had it in my life for so long.
- [68:54]
Steve Austin
Well, hey man, it was awesome talking to you on a podcast. It took me five years to do it, but next time we do it, it must be in person.
- [69:01]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
That sounds good, my brother. Thank you, Glenn.
- [69:03]
Steve Austin
Take care and good luck to you and Tom with the rest of school. I know you guys are going to crank out some great talent and obviously probably between the two of you, 60 or 70 years of experience.
- [69:12]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Thanks man.
- [69:13]
Steve Austin
I appreciate it.
- [69:13]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Peace.
- [69:16]
Steve Austin
Hey, let's give a quick shout out to my man Diamond Dallas Page in DDP Yoga. DDP Yoga has transformed the lives of legends such as Mick Foley and Chris Jericho, who's still going strong at 47, as well as having rehab injuries for WWE Superstars like Bobby Fish, Drew McIntyre and the Phenomenal One AJ Styles. DDP yoga can work for all ages, all weights, all fitness levels. By using the DDP Yoga app each week, I can tell you there's a ton in there to keep you on track. DDP himself is there on the app to keep you focused on your goals and maps out the workouts that you can do. The best part is how easy it makes keeping track of everything. All you got to do is just connect a Bluetooth heart rate monitor and it logs all your workout data and calories burned just for listen to the Steve Austin Show. And just in time for the holiday season, DDPY is offering its biggest discount ever with 30% off of DDPY workouts in the DDP Yoga now app. With these savings, there is no excuse for you to not start the new year off right. And remember, this offer is only available@ddpyoga.com Austin and check this out. DDP's upcoming book positively Unstoppable the Art of Owning it is now available for pre order. Filled with lessons from Paige's life that share his own struggle to find his calling. Overcoming one obstacle after another, Positively Unstoppable is a bible for anyone who needs to be re inspired to follow their dreams and take real action toward the things that matter most to them. Positively Unstoppable will be released January 15, 2019 and is available for pre order anywhere books are sold. All right Everybody give me the go home. Cue some wrap up the podcast ride off in the sunset. Before I do that, I want to thank Kane Glenn Jacobs coming on the show today. Check out the information he dropped for probably the absolute best wrestling school in that area, conducted by himself and Dr. Tom Prichard, a guy who mentored me and took me under his wing and gave me a lot of 411 man to do. Helped me out a whole lot. So this is going to be in my opinion, there's only a few outstanding schools in the United States of America. This is going to be one of them. Check it out. Don't forget Steve Austin show is going to be going on a hiatus starting next week, Tuesday. I'll be gone for a while while I recharge my batteries and hit the reset button. In the meantime, continue tuning in each week as we bring you the classic episodes from the Steve Austin Show Archives. The best damn IPA on the planet is Broken Skull IPA at El Segundo Brewing Company. You can get Broken Skull IPA at Whole Foods and Total Wines if you live in California. If you ain't in California, you're probably shit out of luck. And if you're looking to get a badass pocket knife, the Cold steel Broken Skull knife or the Cold steel Working Man's knife, you can find them at my Amazon store. Amazon's got the best price on both knives. Just go to Amazon.com shop steveaustin I want to say one more thank you to all the finest sponsors of the Steve Austin show, especially Truecar, Roman, espn, DDP Yoga and Geico. That's how I'm able to do this podcast for you twice a week for free. Please support them because they support us. If you need more info on my sponsors, check out the show description to this episode for details. Folks, I am on social media, Twitter and Instagram, eveaustin, bsr. Folks, Merry Christmas to you all wherever you are, all over the world. Until next time, my name is Steve Austin and I will catch your ass down the road. Have a kick ass holiday. This has been a Podcast one production. Download new episodes of the Steve Austin show every Tuesday@podcastone.com that's podcastone.com. Before we ride off, quick message from our friends at geico. Go to geico.com and in 15 minutes you could be saving 15% or more on car insurance. That's right, save hundreds of dollars on car insurance@geico.com extra money in your pocket. It may just be the most rewarding thing you do today. At first I didn't think it was real. I woke up to this blinding light. I was transported to another place. Pluto tv. Then I heard a voice. Come with me if you want to live. There were thousands of movies and shows, and they were all free. The truth is that it's just so Beautiful on Pluto TV. Free streaming of Terminator 2, Fringe Arrow, the 100, and the X Files may cause excitement, loss of sleep, and sudden belief in extraterrestrials. No credit cards or alien encounters necessary. Pluto TV Stream Now Pay Never have you ever thought, ugh, this water is too wet. This beach is too sandy. Welcome to Beach Too Sandy. Water Too Wet. The podcast where we do dramatic, dramatic readings of the most wild and off the wall reviews on the Internet. We read real reviews about everything from
- [73:57]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Vegas, weddings, matchmaking services and Trader Joe's
- [74:00]
Steve Austin
to caves, toddler beds, and Spirit Halloween.
- [74:03]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
You won't believe the things people think
- [74:04]
Steve Austin
Absolutely must be said on the Internet. How else would everyone know that some caves don't have WI fi? We hear about the good, like the
- [74:10]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
time a couple was happily married in a Vegas Denny's.
- [74:13]
Steve Austin
And the bad, like who knew people stole from pet cemeteries? And the ugly, because when there's soggy lettuce in the Chuck E. Cheese salad
- [74:21]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
bar, it can get pretty ugly.
- [74:23]
Steve Austin
Join us every Wednesday wherever you listen to your podcasts. I feel targeted by that pet cemetery's comment. I know.
- [74:28]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
I was about to say, wasn't that you?
- [74:29]
Steve Austin
That was me, yeah. There's nothing like the American Express Platinum Card. Find out your welcome offer after you apply, which could be as high as 175,000 points. Learn more and find out your offer@americanexpress.com Explore Platinum terms apply if you're a therapist listening, you already know your work doesn't magically end when the session does. There's scheduling, notes, billing, insurance, follow ups, all of the admin that happens before and after the work you actually care about. That's where SimplePractice comes in. SimplePractice is an all in one EHR built specifically for therapists with HIPAA compliant tools and HITRUST certification. No juggling systems or cutting corners. Just to keep things moving. Scheduling, documentation, billing, insurance, client communication, even automated appointment reminders. It all lives in one place. And if you're starting or growing a practice, Simple Practice also offers a credentialing service that helps simplify insurance enrollment, which can be a huge lift alone. Right now, SimplePractice is celebrating mental Health Provider Day with an exclusive offer up to 70% off for one year. Yes, up to 70% off for 1 year. But hurry. Offer ends May 15th@simplepractice.com simplepractice.com what is that? Oh, yeah, it's a World cup holder.
- [75:52]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Like the soccer tournament.
- [75:53]
Steve Austin
World cup holder for the world.
- [75:55]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Fits every car, holds every cup. It has a Carvana logo.
- [75:58]
Steve Austin
Carvana mix made it.
- [75:59]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
They buy and sell cars, so they made a car cup holder. So.
- [76:04]
Steve Austin
Got any good cups lately?
- [76:06]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
Used to.
- [76:07]
Steve Austin
Just couldn't figure out where in the world to put them. The World Cup Holder brought to you by Carvana. Proud sponsors of the World cup holder, sign up today to win yours@cup holder2026.com. Not authorized or endorsed by FIFA. Not a real product for parity and
- [76:18]
Glenn Jacobs (Kane)
fair use purposes only.