If you are an avid fan of WWE then you must be aware of the various gimmicks the many wrestlers have had over the years. Wrestlers often turn to popular characters from fantasy to film to seek inspiration for their acts, so that fans can find their gimmicks appealing and battle the high competition.
This could not have been more true for one WWE Hall of Famer, Glenn Jacobs, whose character Kane was inspired by Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise. Although Jacobs carried the name to fame, it was Jim Cornette who was the mastermind behind the character.
Michael Myers Inspired One of the Most Evil Gimmicks in WWE
There have been countless horror movies and many villains throughout the history of cinema, yet Nick Castle‘s portrayal of Michael Myers in the Halloween franchise has stood out. Counted among the greatest horror movie villains (see Entertainment Weekly), Myers’ character is among the most ruthless characters on screen for he even killed his own sister while just a child!
And so to establish Glenn Jacobs as the Undertaker‘s evil brother, Jim Cornette came up with the gimmick Kane, that made Jacobs a well-deserved WWE Hall of Famer. While on the Inside The Ropes radio show back in 2014, Cornette revealed how he came up with Kane.
“Glenn Jacobs, Kane, was a special talent. I knew he had a great upside and potential when Dutch Mantell called me one time in Knoxville in 1995… just right as they were about to fire him they said ‘hey you know we’ve got this idea, Undertaker’s evil brother’ And I ran with that because Glenn deserved it and was a great talent… my favourite horror movie was Halloween, Michael Myers and that was my original vision for Kane when I was told that Kane would be the Undertaker’s evil brother who’s existed all this time.”
Thanks to the mastermind of Jim Cornette, Glenn Jacobs after going through many failed gimmicks, was able to bring the character of Kane to life and cement his legacy as a WWE champion.
Reason Why Kane Became Famous in WWE
While talking on the radio show, Jim Cornette revealed how Glenn Jacobs was actually about to be fired for not many believed him to be a worthy contender to The Undertaker. That was until Jim Cornette came up with the moniker and character of Kane.
He then added what really made Kane appeal to the masses despite being inspired by the psycho character of Michael Myers.
“The thing that put Kane over the top is that he didn’t just appeal to the wrestling fan, he appealed to a mass audience… I thought what if he was like Michael Myers, the main character in Halloween, what if he was like the embodiment of evil. That’s the flavour that not just wrestling fans but everyone watching the show, they got.”
Cornette further added,
“This guy is the embodiment of evil, he’s somewhat inhuman,he doesn’t feel pain, he doesn’t feel remorse. That was the thing that kicked Kane off and then later on we did the dipsy doodles with him but first and foremost it was that this is Michael Myers from Halloween come to life and everyone can identify with a spooky mother f**ker that doesn’t feel pain and just seeks to destroy people.”
True that it was Cornette who made Glenn Jacobs’ Kane famous, it was actually Nick Castle’s psychotic and ruthless portrayal of the menacing villain Michael Myers that eventually made him a living legend in the WWE world.
The Halloween franchise can be rented on Apple TV or Vudu.
