From Beneath the Mask, Kane Dispels the Myths and Misconceptions

Speak softly and carry a big stick. For more that four years, Kane has lived by this mantra and carved his own path of destruction across the sports-entertainment landscape. He's won five different championships, including the coveted World Wrestling Federation Championship, and headlined many Federation pay-per-view events. Yet, he remains an enigma.

Because he rarely speaks, and because he wrestles under a mask, there is a mysterious aura surrounding this seven-foot giant. What does Kane do away from the ring? How does he feel about those who have betrayed him? How does he feel when people call him stupid or naive? Does he have a sense of humor?

A few weeks ago, World Wrestling Federation Magazine was lucky enough to catch the normally guarded Kane in one of his rare talkative moods. While there is much about the Big Red Machine that we may never know or understand, his candid answers to our questions do shed some light on the man behind the mask.

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: How is your relationship with Undertaker going these days?
KANE: It's going well; we're getting along better than we ever have. Our relationship is based on the credo "I'll watch your back, you watch mine." As long as we are watching each other's backs, then all's fine.

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: It's been a while since you were romantically involved with anyone and that didn't work out to well. Is there someone else pulling on Kane's heart-strings these days?
KANE: No.

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: You have had a lot of people turn on you in your life. Are you particularly cautious of that happening again?
KANE: That's what I'm talking about. You can never tell where other people's loyalties lie. So even though I'm trusting, I'm wary of other people's actions.

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: Will the fans ever see you wrestle without your mask?
KANE: I don't think so. I might put guys like Mel Gibson out of business.

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: Do you have many masks? Or do you always wear the same one? If you only have one, how often do you wash it?
KANE: I've got a couple that I rotate. I don't like myself to begin with. If I only had one and didn't wash it, I'd like myself even less.

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: Who's the toughest opponent you've ever faced?
KANE: I'd have to say my brother 'Taker because he's relentless; he doesn't stop. He's got a great competitive heart. You can hurt him, you can beat him down, but you better finish the job, because he's always coming back for more.

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: What are your goals for 2002?
KANE: I think like everyone else in the Federation, I'd like to be WWF Champion again. That's the pinnacle of this sport. I'd also like to further my tag team career with Undertaker. I enjoy wrestling with him.

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: Speaking of tag teams, you and Undertaker have done very well. It seems to come very easily to you both. Is it too easy for you, and has it lost its luster?
KANE: No, it hasn't lost it's luster. I think in all seriousness, we are a dominant team. We're both around seven feet tall and more than 300 pounds. We're both very skilled. You don't find that very often. It's still interesting because most of our opponents have found that the best way to compete with us is to try and divide and conquer, separating us into our own issues. If people look back, that's the only way we've ever lost the tag team titles.

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: What will it take for you to become Federation Champion again?
KANE: Just like everything else in life, it takes breaks. There are a lot of guys who are very talented and very gifted wrestlers. Sometimes, it's just a matter of luck. It's certainly not all luck, but it's a matter of taking advantage of opportunities when they arise.

Some guys, unfortunately, never get the opportunity, and others never take advantage of it when they get it. Hopefully, I'll get an opportunity and be able to take advantage of it then it arises.

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: What do you do away from the ring? What are some of your hobbies?
KANE: I was definitely a child of the computer-game generation, so I play a lot of video games. I didn't have too many friends as a kid and didn't know too many people, so I read a lot and tried to improve and educate myself, since I didn't get to see as much of the world as other kids did. I still try to do a lot of educational things. I'm always trying to become more well-rounded; I'm taking some ballet classes right now. (Chuckles).

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: What is the most misunderstood thing about you?
KANE: Because Kane is seen as a monster in a lot of ways, some think that I'm stupid and a big dummy.

Sometimes I may be a bit naïve, as evidenced by the debacle with X-Pac. I'm also a trusting soul and maybe my naïveté is a result of that. Maybe I don't have the street smarts or am not as ruthless as other people.

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: Are you too kind for your own good?
KANE: Sometimes, yes. Although, I certainly wouldn't want to be the person on the other end when I'm not feeling kind.

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: Do you ever play possum, making people think you're foolish and then making them pay for their foolishness?
KANE: I don't know. That's for others to find out. But the main point is that I'm a lot smarter than most people think I am.

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: Do you care whether the fans are booing or cheering you?
KANE: I think during the years that I was misunderstood--growing up the way I did--I didn't care at first. But the first time I started hearing the cheers and knew that they were for me, that made me feel pretty good.

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: Is there anybody you really hate or despise in the Federation?
KANE: There's a few in the WWF, but I really despise the Alliance. The Thing I hated about them in general--not to take anything away from them because there were a lot of talented people in that group--is that they walked around like they were the new big thing and they weren't. I hated them because a lot of hard work was done by the Superstars of the WWF, myself included. A lot of people forget that.

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: Do you have any contact with your father, Paul Bearer?
KANE: Yes, we still talk to each other on a fairly regular basis.

World Wrestling Federation Magazine: And finally, you and 'Taker are both seven-feet tall, and we know that your father is nowhere near that tall. How tall was your mother?
KANE: As a matter of fact, she wasn't a very tall lady. I think the size skipped a generation. Our grandparents were huge.

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