Last month, Glenn Jacobs—famously known as WWE Superstar “Kane”—won the Republican primary in his bid to become the next mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. Like the “Big Red Machine” himself, Jacobs’ country is also deep red, where the chances of his Democratic challenger defeating him in August are very slim.
Bottom line: Get ready for Mayor Glenn Jacobs.
But will he still wrestle? What about Kane?
In an interview with Pro Wrestling Sheet Monday, Jacobs said that even after he likely becomes mayor, he’s not exactly sure he’s ready to hang up his boots quite yet.
“I never rule anything out,” Jacobs told PWS, chuckling at the idea of performing in a WWE ring as an active mayor.
Jacobs then described the ideal scenario in which this could happen,
“I think it would be great to have a PPV here in Knoxville. We haven’t had one in forever. If there’s a PPV, it would be an honor for me to take part in that.”
A pro wrestler turned politician continuing to perform after an election is not unprecedented.
In 1999, former WWF star Jesse “The Body” Ventura made national headlines when he announced that he would be the special guest referee at SummerSlam 1999.
The announcement caused a great deal of controversy in Ventura’s home state of Minnesota—where he was governor at the time.
But Ventura did not believe being governor should exclude him from taking part in professional wrestling. “The perception is that people need to be professional politicians and that therefore being a politician is your entire life,” Ventura said in a radio interview in 1999 addressing his involvement with WWE.
“Well, it’s not Jesse Ventura’s entire life and I think I was elected upon the fact that I came from being a private citizen.”
Similar to Ventura, Jacobs also campaigned on not being a professional politician but a private citizen who wants to improve his community.
Glenn Jacobs Isn’t The First The Wrestler-Legislator
Ventura refereed the main event at SummerSlam in which Mankind defeated both the WWE Champion “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and HHH to win the title. “I never thought I would ever see the day that my name would be next to the World Wrestling Federation again,” Ventura said at the PPV press conference. He even cut a promo on Vince McMahon, who introduced him. “I’m bigger than you, McMahon, I’m more powerful than you, I’m more powerful than the World Wrestling Federation.”
“As long as you’re in this state, you hold no power here,” Ventura would add. “It’s very simple. It’s ‘The Body’ rules, it’s my rules, or the highway.”
Jacobs made his WWE fame a significant part of his mayoral campaign. Some of pro wrestling’s most famous legends traveled to Knoxville to help fundraise—The “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, The Undertaker, Mick Foley, Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, the “Big Show,”Arn Anderson, Ricky Morton—to name a few. “Good Ol’ JR” Jim Ross announced on his most recent podcast that he would be traveling to Knoxville for an appearance in support of Jacobs in July.
Jacobs told PWS that some during his campaign did tend to look down on him for his WWE career, not taking seriously as a candidate and sometimes dismissing him “just a wrestler.”
But Jacobs said his primary victory and overall political success has given him the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong. “That gives me a lot of satisfaction,” Jacobs said. “Hopefully, I’ve done my little bit to destroy that unfortunate stereotype.”
Who knows—maybe if anyone else has a beef with “Mayor Kane” the next time WWE rolls into Knoxville, they might have to take it up with him in the ring?
(Disclosure: Glenn Jacobs is a longtime personal friend of the author).
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