Glenn Thomas Jacobs (born April 26, 1967), also known by his ring name Kane, is an American politician, actor, and professional wrestler. He rose to fame in WWE, where he holds the record for most matches (including dark matches and house shows) in WWE history. He served as the mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, from 2018 to 2026.
Jacobs began his professional wrestling career on the independent circuit in 1992, wrestling in promotions such as Smoky Mountain Wrestling and the United States Wrestling Association before joining the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1995. He played various characters until 1997, when he was repackaged as the masked wrestler Kane, a horror-themed personification of fire and the juggernaut younger half-brother of the Undertaker and son of Paul Bearer.
Kane alternatively feuded and teamed with the Undertaker, the latter as the Brothers of Destruction. Following his WWF debut, he remained a pivotal component of the company's Attitude Era of the late 1990s and early 2000s, defeating top star Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Championship in his first pay-per-view (PPV) main event at King of the Ring in June 1998. He continued to headline PPV cards over the next 20 years, with more PPV appearances than any other performer in WWF/WWE history besides Randy Orton.
In WWE, Kane won numerous championships; he is a three-time world champion (having held the WWF Championship, ECW Championship and World Heavyweight Championship once each), a 12-time world tag team champion (having held the World Tag Team Championship, WCW Tag Team Championship and WWE Tag Team Championship), and a WWE Grand Slam Champion. Kane currently also holds several records at the Royal Rumble, including the record for the most appearances in a Royal Rumble match at 20, the quickest elimination of another competitor at 1.9 seconds and the highest cumulative total eliminations at 46, a record held since the 2015 Royal Rumble match. Kane was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021.
A long-term supporter of libertarian political causes, Jacobs sought and won the mayoral seat of Knox County, Tennessee, in 2018 and was re-elected in 2022. Jacobs also made numerous appearances in film and on television, including the lead role in the 2006 WWE Studios production See No Evil and its 2014 sequel.
Jacobs was born on April 26, 1967, in the Spanish town of Torrejón de Ardoz, to a United States Air Force family that was stationed in Spain at the time of his birth. He grew up in the United States near St. Louis, Missouri, and attended high school in Bowling Green, Missouri, where he excelled in football and basketball.
Jacobs went on to earn a degree in English literature at Northeast Missouri State University, where he played both basketball and football. As a center for the Northeast Missouri State Bulldogs basketball program, he was named honorable-mention all-conference twice. Jacobs became a guard on the football team after his basketball eligibility expired, but suffered a knee injury before the 1990 season that limited him to seven games. Eric Holm, the head football coach for the Bulldogs, described Jacobs as a "diamond in the rough who lacks experience," while NFL draft information coordinator Dave Thomas felt his size made him a better prospect if he switched to defensive line. After not being selected in the 1991 NFL draft, Jacobs attended the Chicago Bears' rookie camp as an undrafted free agent but failed his physical.
Jacobs was trained by Dean Malenko, Ray Candy, and Jeff Bradley. He debuted in 1992 under the ring name "Angus King" for the Central States Wrestling Association in Hannibal, Missouri, which was owned and run by his childhood friend Mark Morton. In December 1992, he joined the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) in Memphis, Tennessee, appearing as the "Christmas Creature," an "evil Christmas character" who wore a garish costume (made by Jacobs' mother) featuring a green mask, candy cane-striped sleeves, and tinsel. The Christmas Creature unsuccessfully challenged Jerry Lawler for the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship before leaving the USWA later that month.
In March 1993, Jacobs made a one-off appearance with World Championship Wrestling, losing to Sting on an episode of WCW Saturday Night filmed in Macon, Georgia, under the ring name Bruiser Mastino. Later that year, he relocated to Tampa, Florida, in order to further his training. During his time in Florida, he wrestled a handful of matches for the International Championship Wrestling Alliance as "Sid Powers". After leaving Florida, he returned to the USWA as "Doomsday." On October 10, 1993, he wrestled in a dark match for the World Wrestling Federation under his real name, defeating Mike Bell at a WWF Superstars taping in Burlington, Vermont. In December 1993, he wrestled in Japan for Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi under his real name.
In 1994, Jacobs began wrestling for Tri-State Wrestling promotion in Central City, Kentucky, and the Indianapolis-based Championship Wrestling as Doomsday, as well as making a handful of further appearances with Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi in Japan. In May 1994, he relocated to Puerto Rico to wrestle for the World Wrestling Council as Doomsday, where he feuded with Invader 1. In November and December 1994, Jacobs wrestled for the Catch Wrestling Association in Germany as "Spartacus", competing in its Catch Cup tournament.
Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1995)
In January 1995, Jacobs was hired by Jim Cornette for his Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) promotion in Morristown, Tennessee, where he was named "Unabomb" (a reference to the Unabomber). He briefly teamed with Eddie Gilbert before forming a tag team with Al Snow named the Dynamic Duo and beginning a feud with the Rock 'n' Roll Express. In April 1995, at the Bluegrass Brawl III event, the Dynamic Duo defeated the Rock 'n' Roll Express in a coal miner's glove match for the SMW Tag Team Championship (Jacobs' first championship). They held the titles until July 1995, when they lost to the Thugs. Later that month, the feud between the Dynamic Duo and the Rock 'n' Roll Express culminated in a street fight at Summer Blast 1995, with the Rock 'n' Roll Express victorious. On August 4, 1995, at the Superbowl of Wrestling event, Jacobs lost to World Wrestling Federation wrestler The Undertaker, who was making a special appearance with SMW. He made his final appearance with SMW at the following month's Fire on the Mountain 1995 event, with the Thugs defeating the Dynamic Duo in a loser leaves town match.
World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
Early years and Fake Diesel (1995–1997)
Jacobs appeared with WWE (then the World Wrestling Federation or WWF) as "Mike Unabomb" at the February 20, 1995 Monday Night Raw taping, defeating Reno Riggins in a dark match. He wrestled intermittently as Unabomb through August.
Jacobs made his first television appearance with the company as "Isaac Yankem, DDS", Jerry Lawler's private dentist, in a vignette on the June 26, 1995, episode of Raw. Placing emphasis on Jacobs' imposing height and weight, Yankem was portrayed as a monstrous figure whom Lawler had hired for the purpose of ridding the WWF of his long-time nemesis, Bret Hart. The character's in-ring debut occurred at a Superstars taping on August 15, where Jacobs lost to Hart by count-out. At that month's SummerSlam event, Yankem was disqualified when he hung Hart by twisting him in the top and middle ropes by his neck. He lost to Hart in a steel cage match in the main event of the October 16 episode of Raw and finally in a tag team match against Hart and Hakushi, in which he was partnered with Lawler on November 6. After his initial run with Hart, Jacobs was part of an unsuccessful team in an elimination match at November's Survivor Series and participated in the 1996 Royal Rumble match in January. The remainder of Yankem's televised run through April included losses to The Undertaker, Jake Roberts, Marc Mero, and Ultimate Warrior. In April 1996, Jacobs was part of the "WWF Champions" tour of Germany. He was used on a series of live events in Kuwait in May as part of the Kuwait Cup tour. In May 1996 at In Your House 8: Beware of Dog, he lost to Bob Holly in a dark match. In September 1996, he took part in a WWF tour of South Africa, after which the Yankem gimmick was retired.