A look at WWE wrestler Kane before he was a star provided by Dutch Mantel (excerpt from his forthcoming book)

Former TNA creative team member Dutch Mantel updated his blog with an excerpt from his forthcoming book "The World According to Dutch." The second excerpt focusses on WWE wrestler Kane (a/k/a Glenn Jacobs) before he became a star.

"Even though I had never heard of the guy, I was amazed that a guy that stood 6'9" could move the way he did," Dutch recalls. "Glenn had a natural flow to his movements that reminded me of Mark Calaway (a/k/a Undertaker). I found out later that one thing that Mark and Glenn shared was the sport they excelled in, basketball. I've always found that basketball players to be better wrestlers than football players. Why? Basketball players have to perfect the art of balance and finesse whereas football players just beat the living crap out of each other which tends to be a big no no in wrestling.

After the match, I spoke with Glenn backstage. I was impressed that Glenn, being such a HUGE guy, was as humble as he was. Glenn was a very intelligent man and easy to be around. He had the size, the ability and the temperament to handle the wrestling business and I knew he was going to be a star someday. All this kid needed was experience and direction. In a lot of ways, Glenn could have been Mark Calaway number 2." To read the full excerpt, visit Dutch's TheWorldAccordingToDutch.blogspot.com.

Powell's POV: Dutch's site features a 1994 photo of him with Kane, who was then known as Doomsday. There's a second classic photo with Kane sporting blonde hair. Another great article. Once you finish reading the Kane excerpt on Dutch's site, scroll down and you'll find his previous post on working closely with Undertaker before he was a star.