Eric Bischoff Credits Glenn Jacobs For His Intelligence And Understanding Of World Events

On a recent episode of "83 Weeks," Eric Bischoff reflected on the metamorphosis of Glenn Jacobs, AKA WWE Hall of Famer Kane, and praised the versatility of the retired wrestler to portray various characters throughout his WWE career. 

Bischoff recalled Kane unmasking himself for the first time on WWE TV in June 2003, which led to an unhinged "Big Red Machine" setting Jim Ross on fire and later attacking Linda McMahon to set up his feud with Shane McMahon. Bischoff — WWE's on-screen general manager at the time — is still amazed at how easily Kane pulled off the unmasking, suggesting that fans could have rejected the storyline if not for Kane's acting skills.

"It was a natural progression of the story, it kinda made sense and there was a lot at stake there — creatively speaking," Bischoff said of Kane's unmasking. Bischoff argued that since it was already established that the Kane character had been horribly disfigured as a child, the unmasking had to be done in a way that repelled WWE fans, something WWE pulled off with the aid of cosmetics. "They had to make it believable when he became unmasked — I thought they [WWE creative] did a great job, and even Kane did a great job."

Bischoff proceeded to praise Jacobs for being "a classy dude" and one of the nicest people he has ever shared a locker room with. "One of the smartest people, just in terms of his understanding of history, his knowledge of world events — he is very, very, well read ... a very intelligent guy. We used to have some great conversations."

Jacobs, currently in his second term as the Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, last appeared on WWE programming at the 2022 SummerSlam to announce the attendance for the show held in Nashville, Tennessee. Last June, Jacobs drew the ire of the wrestling world for his comments on the United States Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, with the likes of Sean Waltman, Taya Valkyrie, Kip Sabian, Britt Baker, and Saraya publicly blasting the wrestler-turned-politician.