"Now it's more serious than ever" - 4 WWE Superstars who could become the next U.S. President
Wrestling fans may one day see a WWE Superstar become United States President.
Over the years, several celebrities have served as United States Presidents. Hollywood star Ronald Reagan, for example, assumed office in 1981 and spent eight years in the White House. Media personality and businessman Donald Trump is also a former U.S. President.
Some WWE performers may have the potential to join the list of presidents in the future. A few former superstars have already addressed the possibility of them running for the presidency in 2024.
Here are four WWE Superstars who could become the upcoming United States President.
#4. WWE Hall of Famer Jesse Ventura
After retiring from in-ring action in the mid-1980s, Jesse Ventura pursued a career in politics. In 1991, the United States Navy veteran was elected Mayor of Brooklyn Park. He spent four years in office before Grace Arbogast succeeded him.
In 1999, the WWE Hall of Famer became Governor of Minnesota, succeeding Arne Carlson. He served as governor for four years before leaving office in 2003.
Ventura has addressed the possibility of running for President of the United States several times. Although he stated in his autobiography, "I Ain't Got Time to Bleed," that he was not planning to take that step, the former Mayor of Brooklyn Park did not rule it out.
In 2020, Ventura expressed interest in running for the presidency under the Green Party banner. Despite taking a few steps towards his goal, the former governor later announced that he had ditched the idea due to health reasons. Nevertheless, the Green Party of Alaska still nominated Ventura for president and Cynthia McKinney for vice president. They received only 0.7% of the Alaska popular vote.
In a recent interview with the Talk Is Jericho podcast, Ventura disclosed that he might run for the White House in 2024 as a member of the soon-to-be-formed Forward Party.
“I tell them, 'Look, if you want the key to whether I'm going to run for office [Presidential campaign], look at what my hair is doing cause I said, 'If I'm gonna run, you're going to see me get a haircut," Ventura said. "Now it's more serious than ever...I've been communicating and working very close now with Andrew Yang, and Andrew Yang is the real deal and Andrew Yang is forming what's going to be called the Forward Party." [H/T Wrestling Inc]
In addition to his navy, WWE, and political careers, Ventura has also worked as an actor. The 71-year-old's last movie appearance came in 2014 when he played the role of Governor Littleton in The Drunk.
#3. WWE Hall of Famer Kane
In 1995, Kane joined Vince McMahon's company. Over the next 12 years, The Big Red Monster won several titles and became a Grand Slam and Triple Crown Champion. However, he has made only a few sporadic WWE appearances in the past few years.
Outside the company, Kane pursued a career in politics. In March 2017, he ran for the mayoral seat of Knox County, Tennessee, representing the Republican Party. After winning the general election, the WWE legend became mayor of Knox County.
In an interview with Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw last year, The Big Red Monster addressed the possibility of running for the highest office in the United States.
''I'm just really concentrating on doing the best that I can, getting re-elected and hopefully having a successful second term,'' Kane said. "After that, I don't know what I'm going to do. I do feel like I have a positive impact on my community, which is really what it's all about. There's no way I'm ever going to go to Washington D.C., I'm not interested in that. I would be maybe interested in doing something at the state level."
Although Kane now does not seem interested in becoming United States President, there are no constants in politics. Hence, The Big Red Monster could later change his mind.
#2. Linda McMahon
Between 1980 and 2009, Linda McMahon held a few positions in WWE, including president and CEO. She then decided to pursue a career in politics, running for the United States Senate as a member of the Republican party in Connecticut. However, she lost to the Democratic candidate Richard Blumenthal in the 2010 general election.
Two years later, the former WWE CEO ran for Connecticut's other Senate seat in Connecticut. However, she lost again to Democrat Chris Murphy.
Former United States President Donald Trump later nominated McMahon to become Administrator of the Small Business Administration, which the Senate approved in 2017. She spent two years in office before stepping down to assume responsibilities within Trump's re-election campaign.
Linda McMahon has been one of the names linked to the 2024 presidential election. In an interview with Wrestling Inc., Lavie Margolin, author of "TrumpMania," addressed the possibility of the former WWE CEO running for the White House.
"It's something that I've been thinking about. I think as long as she's willing to continue to open her wallet, she'll be an important figure in politics, at least from a donor perspective. You could have as many PACs as you want. If you give her her own PAC and she doesn't do that well, she's gonna give you 5, 10, 15, 20 million dollars. You're very happy as a politician, but what does she want? Political aspirations have been her thing for quite a while, but she has a couple other elements to her that helped her define herself outside of wrestling. One of them was small business and supporting, at least outwardly, small business owners, and she actually did from all accounts really with the SBA," he said
Margolin added that WWE's focus on women's leadership and empowerment could help McMahon get deeper into politics.
“She's liking everything about Women's Leadership and Empowerment, and they have initiatives at WWE that focus on women's leadership and growth. Mom and daughter seem to be aligned in that area as well, but for Linda, both of those things might have been a thing to sort of get deeper into politics. Would she run herself again? That's an interesting question. When you have a confidence to run twice already, you're more well-known now nationally, but what do people think of you? Well, that's the question," he explained.
The former WWE CEO is currently the chairwoman of the pro-Trump Super PAC, America First Action.
#1. Dwayne Johnson (The Rock)
Between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s, Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) was one of the most popular superstars in WWE. His popularity later increased across the United States and the world when he left Vince McMahon's company in 2004 to become a Hollywood megastar.
Over the past few years, many of Johnson's fans have expressed their desire to see him run for President of the United States. During an appearance on The Ellen Show, the 50-year-old stated that he was seriously considering running for office.
In an interview with USA Today last year, The Great One disclosed that he is open to a presidential run in the future.
"I would consider a presidential run in the future if that's what the people wanted," Johnson said. "Truly I mean that, and I'm not flippant in any way with my answer. That would be up to the people...So I would wait, and I would listen. I would have my finger on the pulse, my ear to the ground."
In April 2021, a poll released by Piplsay suggested that at least 46% of Americans would support a presidential run from Johnson. The poll was conducted among over 30 thousand adults over two days.
The WWE legend commented on the poll's results in a tweet, stating that it would be his honor to serve the people if he ever became president.
"Not sure our Founding Fathers ever envisioned a six-four, bald, tattooed, half-Black, half-Samoan, tequila drinking, pick up truck driving, fanny pack wearing guy joining their club - but if it ever happens it’d be my honor to serve the people," he wrote.
Johnson last competed in WWE in 2016, when he defeated Erick Rowan at WrestleMania 32. Several rumors suggest he might return to the ring at WrestleMania 39 to face Roman Reigns.