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The latest ‘WWE Untold’ documentary on the WWE Network provided an in-depth look into the real-life story behind the introduction of the Kane character in October 1997.
In the months leading up to Badd Blood: In Your House, which was headlined by The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels in the first Hell In A Cell match, Paul Bearer tormented Undertaker by revealing that his long-lost brother, who had been presumed dead as a child following a fire at the family home, was still alive and he was coming to WWE.
After months of anticipation, Kane finally debuted at the Badd Blood event and immediately targeted his storyline brother, tearing the door off the cell structure before hitting “The Deadman” with a tombstone.
The long-term rivalry is widely considered to be one of the best of all time, hence why The Undertaker, Kane, Shawn Michaels and WWE producer Bruce Prichard gave their take on the iconic storyline on the latest episode of the ‘WWE Untold’ series.
In this article, let’s take a look at five of the most interesting backstage stories that were revealed in the documentary.
#5 Real-life tension between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels
Nowadays, Shawn Michaels plays an integral role in the development of WWE’s up-and-coming Superstars in the NXT and NXT UK systems, and his legacy as one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time is well and truly intact.
However, back in the 1990s, it is no secret that the Hall of Famer was hard to deal with backstage. So much so, in fact, that the first part of this documentary largely focused on Michaels’ behaviour and how he often frustrated The Undertaker and Bruce Prichard.
Speaking candidly about what he really thought of Michaels during the Attitude Era, ‘Taker acknowledged that his on-screen rival was “something special” as a performer but he did not get along with him outside of a WWE ring.
"Where Shawn Michaels and I are today and where we were at back then on a personal level... it's taken a complete 360. If Shawn Michaels back then was on fire, I probably wouldn't p*** on him to put him out. That being said, there is no one that I would rather be in the ring with than Shawn Michaels."
#4 The Undertaker’s opinion of his own character
Seven years before Kane arrived on the WWE scene, The Undertaker made his debut at Survivor Series 1990 when he teamed with The Honky Tonk Man, Ted DiBiase and Greg Valentine to defeat Bret Hart, Dusty Rhodes, Koko B.Ware and Jim Neidhart in a traditional 4-on-4 elimination match.
“The Deadman” showed no emotion on his face as his funeral music played and he slowly made his way to the ring. Meanwhile, WWE’s cameras zoomed in on the faces of fans, who looked genuinely scared by the unknown giant that stood before them.
In recent years, we have heard the man behind the Undertaker gimmick, Mark Calaway, speak in various out-of-character interviews about topics ranging from religion to his interest in sports. However, he rarely gives his opinion on what he really thinks about his own persona, which is one of the most iconic in WWE history.
In this documentary, he gave an insight into the dark side of his personality that he was able to portray in his WWE character.
“Obviously when I first came in, I was this scary monster that everyone was terrified of. I remember vividly making my entrance and looking and seeing kids crying. I think everybody has a little bit of darkness in them anyway, and I think I tapped in on that and it kind of became cool to have that dark element to your personality.”
#3 Vince McMahon did not want The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
From The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan to John Cena vs. The Undertaker, every dream match that WWE fans have seen over the last few decades has ultimately been approved by Vince McMahon.
Between 1990 and 1997, McMahon had the opportunity to book a dream encounter between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. However, although the two men often competed as tag team partners and opponents in dark matches and at live events, their first one-on-one match on television did not take place until September 1997 at In Your House: Ground Zero.
Why? Well, according to WWE Producer Bruce Prichard, both characters were so strong in that era and it was difficult to book a storyline where either of them could lose and emerge with their reputation enhanced.
Michaels elaborated on this by confirming that it was McMahon who never wanted to see him face The Undertaker.
“Prior to this storyline between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, there had been times over the years when people within the WWE had presented, ‘How about Shawn Michaels, the Heartbreak Kid, against The Undertaker?’ and, of course, at the time, Vince McMahon was very emphatic about, ‘Those two will never be in the ring with each other’.”
#2 The Undertaker’s opinion of Kane at the start
The Undertaker repeatedly said throughout the documentary that the man behind the Kane character, Glenn Jacobs, is a “great human being”.
But, as Bruce Prichard often says, there is such a thing as being “too nice” in the wrestling business, and that is the problem that Kane had in the 1990s after he found himself without any direction as a character following his short-lived stints as Dr. Isaac Yankem and Fake Diesel.
Kane was happy to portray any character that was given to him in the early stages of his career – something that The Undertaker felt held him back.
“Glenn was a really nice guy, scary, could rip your head off without blinking an eye, probably, but a genuinely nice human being. That’s great but sometimes in this business, and especially in that era, you had to be able to stand up for yourself and you had to have a bit of a**hole in you. By the time that Kane came along, I think he had realised that and he knew that it was his last chance.”
‘Taker also mentioned that Vince McMahon tried to unleash Kane’s aggressive side by telling him that he needed to be more of an “a**hole”.
#1 WWE wanted to call Kane a different name
Although long-term WWE fans previously knew Glenn Jacobs as Dr. Isaac Yankem and Fake Diesel, it is difficult to imagine his current character having any other name than Kane.
Reflecting on his incredible 1997 debut, Kane revealed that WWE’s decision-makers originally pitched an idea where his character would have the name ‘Inferno’.
As it turned out, Bruce Prichard – the mastermind behind the introduction of the Kane storyline and gimmick – was a big fan of ‘Kane’ and later gave that name to his son in 1999.
“I remember initially they wanted to name the character ‘Inferno’, which I was like, ‘Inferno? That ain’t good at all’ but Bruce Prichard had always been a fan of the name ‘Kane’. In fact, Undertaker was originally a man named Kane and Bruce’s son is named Kane.”
Prichard even revealed that the first picture that was ever taken of his son, Kane, is of him wearing a Kane mask.
That picture, along with plenty of other stories about The Undertaker and Kane, can be found on the latest 'WWE Untold' episode on the WWE Network.
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