During WWE's recent tour of the United Kingdom, Kane was interviewed by TopRopePress.com. Kane talked about his longevity in the business, brand split, retirement and more.
Glenn Jacobs has portrayed Kane since 1997, but has been in the WWE, in one form or another, since 1995, wrestling as Dr. Isaac Yankem DDS and also as Fake Diesel. That's a long time in the business, and the significance isn't lost on the big man. "I think the key to the longevity is being able to reinvent yourself and to adopt and incorporate different things into your character," he said. "If you look at guys like Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Undertaker; the reason why they are around so long is because they keep things interesting and hopefully I have been able to do it as well. A lot of it is because of being open to change. I think sometimes we put blinders on and define our personas very narrowly and are afraid to step outside the comfort zone; something I've never been afraid to do. Especially if you see the Team Hell No stuff I did with Daniel Bryan, it's a significant departure from when I first started. And now, I'm sort of back to where I am now. "
After the draft, Kane wound up on Smackdown, something that he's definitely happy about. "I think the great thing about the WWE universe is that they just love to see us perform," he said. "People have been very receptive to it. Especially, when you look at the SmackDown show now, before that it always made Raw the flagship show of the brand. I think what's happening with the brand split has really helped SmackDown."
A complaint commonly lodged by Raw viewers is that the show is too long. It's three hours, as opposed to two for Smackdown Live. The fans might be happy to know that Kane shares that view: "I like the two hour format much better than the three hour format. I think it's incredibly hard to produce that sort of content every week." Kane added, "I think Raw has a disadvantage being a three hour show as opposed to SmackDown. In that respect, SmackDown is going places where it was not able to go in the earlier years."
Some have speculated that Kane, nearing 50, might decide to hang it up soon, but he has different plans. "As long as I'm still performing at the top level, as long as I'm still having fun and as long as I feel that I'm giving the audience their money's worth. That's always been my benchmark for going on. It's rewarding for me now with some of the other guys coming up and seeing what they are going to be capable of doing in the future. And seeing them mature and I'm happy to be part of this process."
Kane is not on the card for Survivor Series this Sunday in Toronto, but he appears to be locked in a feud with Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton that doesn't show any signs of fading away.
