WWE legend Glenn Jacobs, better known as Kane, was the latest guest on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling show to discuss his work as the Issac Yankem Character, as well as sharing some memories of the late Pat Patterson. Highlights are below.
On frustrations with the Issac Yankem character:
“I’ll never forget, I was going into JJ Dillon’s office and Vince comes in and we’re talking. He lays out the Issac Yankem thing for me, and I was literally deflated and not trying to show how deflated I was. I was trying to think of how I’m gonna make this thing work and realizing that I didn’t like it from the beginning and wasn’t gonna be able to work. It probably isn’t good when you make that decision as soon as something is presented to you. A lot of the failure of that character is really due to me and the fact that I just couldn’t get into it. Nevertheless, as things progressed, I did not have the best of attitudes at times.
How he still gave the character everything he had because it did get his foot in the door:
“I remember one day, the Undertaker taking me aside and telling me I better basically get myself in gear because if I didn’t, I wasn’t gonna have a job there. He said he liked me, Vince liked me, and all that stuff, but I had to prove that I belonged. At that time, I decided that I didn’t necessarily have what I wanted, but if I kept moping around, I was never gonna get what I wanted. So, I had to do the best with what I had, and that’s what I tried to do. Even though it was initially not my dream character by any stretch of the imagination, it allowed me to get my foot in the door and give myself a chance.”
Discusses memories of Pat Patterson:
“I was very fortunate to know Pat. Of course, he was influential in my career as a booker and as a mentor, even some in-ring stuff when he and Gerald Brisco were together which was always a lot of fun. Pat really is a legend. I think sometimes we use that term a little too loosely, but definitely in case, it certainly applies. WWE and professional wrestling wouldn’t but what it is and none of us would’ve had the enjoyment of the years in WWE if it hadn’t been for Pat Patterson.
(Thanks to 411 Mania for the transcription)