The crossover between WWE and Politics is nothing new. As the list of WWE stars trying their hand at politics grows, we wanted to take a look at which pro wrestlers have thrown their hat in the (political) ring through the years. It may seem far-fetched but there are a lot of similarities between politicians and wrestlers. You need a larger-than-life personality, charisma, and the ability to get the people cheering for you. Also, some may argue that, like wrestling, politics is mostly fake “pre-determined.” And WWE Superstars aren’t the only ones running for office – this phenomenon has gone global! Here are a few standout names that have tried to slam the body politic:
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Kane
Kane (real name: Glenn Jacobs) announced his run for mayor of Knox County, Tennessee in April of 2017. The wrestling behemoth has been hailed as a libertarian thinker and avid philanthropist in the media. His campaign made an announcement via a Facebook live video that he’ll be running as a Republican in the 2018 election. He easily won the primary and will be elected mayor in November of 2018.
Donald Trump
Before he became President, Trump was involved in a “battle of billionaires” vs. Vince McMahon. He was later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. This is definitely a WWE and political fan favorite!
Jesse “The Body” Ventura:
Ventura ran for Governor of Minnesota as a total political outsider and won! He served one term and worked on education and tax reform. We credit Jess with the most successful fusion of WWE and Politics (so far)!
Up NEXT learn about how The King wanted to get a real kingdom of his own.
Jerry “The King” Lawler
Lawler is probably the biggest name in Memphis besides Elvis himself. That inspired the King to run for Mayor of the Birthplace of Rock n Roll. He came in a distant fourth in the election.
Rhyno
ECW Champion and Innovator of the GORE (totally different from the spear) ran for State Legislature in his hometown of Flint, Michigan.
Bob Backlund
The former WWF champion ran for Congress in 2000 in Connecticut.
Linda McMahon
This one counts because Linda ran WWE and was involved in one of the more wild angles in wrestling history. She unsuccessfully ran for Senate in Connecticut twice before being named Small Business Administrator by Donald Trump.
Antonio Inoki
Political ambition extends beyond just WWE. The Japanese wrestling legend served in the Diet (Japanese Congress) and worked to patch up relations with North Korea, even holding a massive wrestling show there featuring Ric Flair.
The Great Sasuke
The Japanese innovator of high-flying served in a regional legislature in Japan and even addressed the body in his mask.
The Rock?
There are rumors that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is exploring a run for President in 2020. He would be the most high-profile wrestler to run for the most high-profile office. He has the charisma and speaking ability to do it, too. If the People’s Champ could pull it off, this would take WWE and Politics into the stratosphere! Will he have the people behind him?
