WWE Hall of Famer Glenn “Kane” Jacobs has reflected on portraying the company’s version of Diesel, saying he believes the concept was stronger than many fans gave it credit for.
Speaking on WWE Photo Shoot, Kane looked back on the short-lived storyline that saw him portray Diesel after Kevin Nash departed WWE for WCW in 1996. Rick Bogner took on the role of Razor Ramon, with both characters introduced by a villainous Jim Ross.
Recalling how the opportunity came about, Jacobs explained that he received the call shortly after finishing his run as Isaac Yankem, DDS.
“So this is right after Isaac Yankem, DDS. I was in South Africa. Jerry Brisco came to me and said, ‘When you get back to the States, you need to call Vince.’ And they had this idea. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall had recently gone to WCW in Atlanta. The gist of it was that JR had found some replacements. It was Rick Bogner and me; he was in ECW, and he had a character which parodied Razor Ramon and did it really well. So they brought us in.”
Although the storyline has often been criticised in the years since, Jacobs said he never believed the idea itself was the problem.
“A lot of people thought that the faux Diesel and Razor Ramon was fatally flawed. I actually didn’t think so. I thought it was a good concept. But the thing was that Jim Ross is never gonna be a bad guy to our audience, especially at that time.”
Kane Believes His Fake Diesel Character Played An Important Part In His Wrestling Development
Despite the storyline’s reception, Kane believes the experience played an important role in his development as a performer.
“But ultimately, the positive aspect was the fact that it allowed me to get experience. I started in the wrestling business in 1991, and four years later, I was in WWE. Frankly, I wasn’t prepared. My work wasn’t really good enough when I was Isaac Yankem. So I made a lot of adjustments, and I felt that with the Diesel character, my work was good enough. It’s just the character was something that the audience didn’t gravitate to. But I knew then that I belonged in WWE. And I knew that I could be a top-flight performer. I learned that working through this character.”
Jacobs would later debut the Kane character in 1997, a role that became one of the most iconic gimmicks in WWE history and earned him a place in the WWE Hall of Fame.
