Hardcore fans of Glenn Jacobs know it took the WWE Hall of Famer a few gimmicks before he caught lighting in a bottle as Kane and etched himself into pro wrestling history. Of his many pre-Kane gimmicks, “Dr. Isaac Yankem” is often cited as one of the more ridiculous, and even Jacobs looked back on it recently and explained why the character didn’t work.
“So much of it’s timing, and the wrestling dentist thing, Dr. Isaac Yankem DDS, you know, that was really in an era of WWE where everything was super PG and it was really cartoonish, actually,” Jacobs explained during an interview with “Mostly Sports With Mark Titus and Brandon Walker,” adding that many gimmicks at the time were centered around professions as well.
Jacobs then admitted that another reason the Yankem character failed was because he personally couldn’t get into it. “Whereas, like the Undertaker was made for Mark Calaway, you know?” he pointed out, adding that Mark Calaway as the Undertaker was always believable, even in his earliest iteration, while the Yankem character simply wasn’t. “If you think about it, this guy is supposed to be a dead dude … it’s ridiculous, but it was all in the execution … same with Kane! You had this guy that’s, you know, sort of supernatural and can summon fire and all of this, but so much of it’s execution and how it’s presented.”
Jacobs claims he had no idea he would end his career as Kane and never could have predicted how long the gimmick would last. “I was surprised, after like ten years, I’m like: wow, I’m still going!” he admitted.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Mostly Sports With Mark Titus and Brandon Walker,” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
