Kane’s iconic mask was one of the most recognizable visuals in WWE history, but according to Glenn Jacobs, the decision to remove it in 2003 didn’t come from WWE creative. Instead, Jacobs says he personally pushed Vince McMahon to make the change.
During a recent Going Ringside panel discussion, Jacobs explained that while the masked version of Kane remained popular, he felt the character was limiting his ability to grow as a performer. That realization led him to approach McMahon about evolving the character.
“It was my idea. I talked to Vince about it. Vince liked it, not probably for the reasons so much from my perspective. My perspective was as a performer and yeah I felt that being under the mask — I don’t want to say run its course because it was a really cool character and it still worked — but there were constraints and limitations that that put on me.”
Jacobs said one of the biggest frustrations was not being able to connect with the audience through facial expressions, which he believes are essential to storytelling in wrestling.
“Obviously the biggest one is I couldn’t use my face to show people emotion, which is one of the most important things. As well as, you know, I just didn’t talk.”
He also explained that the Kane character required a specific in-ring style that limited what he could physically do during matches.
“I just felt that I could do more and I felt that I was kind of being stifled. If you talk to Mark, it’s the same thing. People would say Kane wasn’t a great worker because he didn’t do all that stuff. I couldn’t do all that stuff because then I wouldn’t be Kane.”
Jacobs compared the situation to The Undertaker, noting that Mark Calaway also had to adjust his athletic ability to fit the character’s presentation.
“He could do all kinds of stuff. But he had to work things into the context of the character.”
Once Jacobs pitched the idea, McMahon took the concept even further by dramatically altering Kane’s look.
“Vince was the one that wanted to cut my hair, make me bald and do all that stuff to make the character really sinister and a complete departure from what it was before.”
Kane’s unmasking became one of the most memorable character shifts of the early 2000s and allowed the Big Red Machine to evolve into a darker and more unpredictable version of the character.
Do you think Kane should have stayed masked longer, or was removing the mask the right move for the character?
