8 pictures of Kane that you probably haven’t seen before
Kane, real name Glenn Jacobs, has been with the WWE for 20 years now. He made his debut in 1997 at In Your House: Badd Blood by impressively ripping the door off the Hell in a Cell structure. His persona has undergone multiple changes since then.
He has made it his life’s work to terrorise the roster for his entire tenure and he’s been extremely adept at doing so. We’ve seen him with a mask, without a mask, with a towel, with championships, on fire, you name it.
An imposing figure, whether he’s posing for a photo or when he is in action in the ring, Kane is an impressive athlete and good pictures of him are really not hard to find. WWE’s cameras have captured a lot of pictures of the Big Red Machine over the years and you’ve probably seen quite a lot of them.
But, I have discovered 8 photos that you’ve probably never seen before. There are a few hidden gems in here including candid pictures of the Devil’s favourite Demon both masked and unmasked. You will see Kane as you’ve never seen him before.
So without further ado, sit back, relax and enjoy the trip down memory lane! or not, as the case may be!
#1 WWF Champion
At King of the Ring 1998, Kane became WWF Champion by beating Stone Cold Steve Austin in a first blood match. It was a match that wasn’t without controversy as Mankind and The Undertaker both interfered, despite competing earlier in the night in the infamous Hell in a Cell match.
The Undertaker levelled Austin with a chair accidentally and the Rattlesnake was busted wide open.
The referee did not see the interference and awarded Kane the win and the WWF Championship. Even if the referee would have seen that The Undertaker busted Austin open, I’m not sure there wasn’t anything he could have done about it as there are no disqualifications in a first blood match.
Kane would only hold on to the top title for a day as he would lose it back to Stone Cold Steve Austin the next night on Raw.
Due to Kane’s reign lasting less than 24 hours, there aren’t many pictures of the Devil’s favourite Demon with the Championship in hand and most of them are just Kane on his own or with Paul Bearer, but I stumbled upon this rare little beauty of Kane, Mankind and Paul Bearer all posing with the title.
The quality isn’t great but the rarity makes up for it. Father, son and the deranged maniac.
#2 Kane outside
I don’t know a great deal about the background behind this photo but you have to admit that it’s awfully strange to see Kane swanning about outside without a care in the world.
When I was growing up and didn’t know any better, I always wondered how Kane would look amongst the general public. Going about his daily business with a mask to cover his scars. This is the closest I’ll probably come to seeing what that looks like.
I have found no other photo like it and it’s strange to see the suit and mask without the atmosphere created by the lighting in the arena, or the pyrotechnics that add that an otherworldly dimension to his character.
Normal Kane. Very strange.
#3 Kane is stitched up
This picture is taken straight from WWE.com, though it lacks a description so I am unsure as to when or why Kane would have needed stitching up. However, judging from the attire, one would have to assume that it is taken from around 1998.
It would make a lot of sense if this picture actually followed the 1998 King of the Ring, but based on the hair, I am not 100% sure I am right. If any of you eagle-eyed readers out there have any more clues on when this rare photo might have been taken then I’m all ears!
One thing this picture does go to show is that even if you wear a leather mask, in the WWE, injuries can still occur. Kane must have taken one mighty knock to the head, just above the protection of the mask, to incur such a horrific gash on his forehead.
You know things are bad when WWE are forced to use the black and white filter.
Just for the insatiably curious among you, I found a colour photo, which I’ll post below!
#4 The strongest link
Kane appeared on The Weakest link back in the early 2000s. Not only did he make an appearance, but he actually went on to defeat Bubba Ray Dudley in the final round to become the strongest link!
Kane went up against possibly the only person that is scarier than he is, Anne Robinson, and came out on top! He saw off some stiff competition, although I think if I’d have been on the same show as he was, I would have avoided voting him off for fear of what he might do to me.
He did set Jim Ross on fire after all…
It’s a good job Kane had learnt how to talk by this point, to be honest with you, or I don’t think he’d have gotten very far. However, I think the episode would have been more interesting if he’d have had to use his voice box throughout.
I still find it weird that he wore his wrestling attire while everyone else was in normal clothes. Maybe he wore it just in case Anne deserved a chokeslam. Who knows?
The video of his triumphant win is below. Enjoy.