WWE: 7 Innovations Jim Cornette Did That Changed Wrestling

2. He Was Responsible For Making Kane Awesome

Cornette was a big part of the WWE creative process in 1997 when WWE was starting to turn the corner and build up a lot of their future stars. That's when the likes of Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, Mankind, Kane and others really stepped up their games to the point that they became talents that the company could really count on in the future. Speaking of Kane, he was a Jim Cornette creation. In a 2014 interview with the Inside the Ropes radio show, Cornette talked about how he came up with the Kane character after seeing a lot of potential in Glenn Jacobs, who has portrayed Kane since his debut in 1997. "The thing that put Kane over the top is that he didn't just appeal to the wrestling fan, he appealed to a mass audience. My favorite horror movie was Halloween, Michael Myers and that was my original vision for Kane when I was told that Kane would be the Undertaker's evil brother who's existed all this time. I thought what if he was like Michael Myers, the main character in Halloween, what if he was like the embodiment of evil. That's the flavor that not just wrestling fans but everyone watching the show, they got. This guy is the embodiment of evil, he's somewhat inhuman, he doesn't feel pain and he doesn't feel remorse. That was the thing that kicked Kane off and then later on we did the dipsy doodles with him, but first and foremost it was that this is Michael Myers from Halloween come to life and everyone can identify with a spooky m-----------r that doesn't feel pain and just seeks to destroy people. That was what I gave to him and everything else he's done, there's been some good creative, some bad creative but he's a great f--king guy, he's a great talent and he's made the most of what he's had to work with. But originally, it was that this guy is the star of Halloween, he's a monster, he's spooky and nobody knows quite how he got these powers. That was something that could appeal to everybody." What's amazing is that over the years, WWE has kept Kane true to his character for the most part. Sure, they've done comedy bits and love angles with the guy, but we're here in 2014, he's still a main event level player and him putting his mask back on is still a big deal. The original concept that Cornette came up with has worked tremendously well.