5 WWE backstage stories we learned this week: Brock Lesnar, Vince McMahon, Kane, and more

#3 Kane almost had a different name

As every WWE fan knows, being a successful in-ring talent will only get a Superstar so far. To really connect with the audience, performers need the full package: wrestling ability, charisma, an intriguing character, meaningful storylines and, just as importantly, a good name.

In Glenn Jacobs’ case, he worked as various different personas in the early days of his career, from The Christmas Creature and Unabomb to Isaac Yankem and Fake Diesel, but he did not get his big break in the wrestling industry until he debuted as the Kane character at In Your House: Badd Blood in 1997.

Speaking in a new documentary on the WWE Network (‘That’s Gotta Be Kane!’), Jacobs revealed that people within WWE originally wanted to play into the backstory of Kane’s childhood traumas by calling the character ‘Inferno’.

However, WWE Producer Bruce Prichard always liked the name ‘Kane’ – so much so that his son is called Kane – and the ‘Inferno’ idea was scrapped.

“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.”