Former WWE Champion Kane was recently interviewed on Busted Open Radio to discuss several professional wrestling topics.
Here are the highlights:
Using his fame from WWE in his mayoral campaign:
We tried to use it to help us with my campaign. And when I say ‘we’ I [mean] me and my advisors — my campaign manager and other advisors. We knew we couldn’t run from it, and why would I want to run from it? I mean, I am proud of what I did. And anytime that you are able to get to the level of WWE and stay there for a long time, I mean, you’re good at what you do and you should be proud of that.
The rise of wrestling helping him:
I think what has happened is the unfortunate stigma and stereotype that has surrounded pro wrestling for a long time, I think that’s starting to dissipate. And a lot of it’s due to things like this where you’re actually able to talk to people and pull the curtain back and [say], you know, ‘We’re people too.’ And in some cases you have people who are very smart and talented in wrestling. So I knew I couldn’t hide from it, I was proud of it.
But I also didn’t want it to define who I was. It was a part of my life that we tried to have fun with and tried to utilize to open the door. And again, if I tried to ignore it, it wouldn’t have worked, right? So we tried to use it to open the door, but then also we need to have substance, so that when people actually — I can get people to listen because of the wrestling thing. But I also had to make sure that I keep them listening because of what I was saying had substance.
Vince McMahon supporting his mayoral run:
Absolutely. He was one of the first people I talked to about it, because I had to have his support because of course, I was still with WWE. But he was very supportive. And here’s the thing. Vince wants people to be successful, whether it’s in WWE or outside WWE. Because it helps his company.
And also, you know, we’ve had a long relationship so in my case of course, I think he wanted me to be happy in doing what I was doing. So yeah, he got a big grin when I talked to him about it. And he is as supportive as anyone can possibly be.
The biggest misconception about Vince McMahon:
I think [the misconception] is that Vince is this heartless person that takes advantage of everyone, and uses people until they are all used up and then discards the husk of the human being that he has pulled all of the talent and energy out of. And that is frankly not the case at all. Does Vince McMahon make business decisions? Yes. But — and one time I told him this to his face. I was like, ‘The one thing that you are bad at as a businessman is that you give people too many chances.
They stab you in the back and then you turn around and bring them back.’ And in some cases, it’s because he feels that he can make money off of them. But in other cases, he just has some sort of emotional bond or something like that. It’s loyalty, it really is. And almost to a fault with him, so that is the biggest misconception. He is a business guy and has to make decisions based upon what he believes will lead to greater health of the company, whether we agree with it or not.
And in some cases I haven’t. But he is making business decisions on that. But it’s also not like some inhuman devil that just wants to take advantage of people, that is truly not the case.
Also Read: VIDEO: Kane Thinks he Deserves Consideration for the WWE Hall of Fame
H/T 411Mania for the transcriptions
