Glenn Jacobs, who played a masked demonic character in the WWE named Kane, announced Tuesday that he’ll be running for mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. The 49-year-old Jacobs, a noted libertarian, will be running as a Republican.
“This is a great place to work, live and raise a family,” Jacobs said at his campaign launch broadcast on Facebook Live. “I want to do my part to make sure it remains a great place and that our future is as bright as ever.” Jacobs has lived in Eastern Tennessee since 1995; outside of his professional wrestling career, Jacobs and his wife run an insurance business. Even in his campaign slogan—“Lighting the way for our future”—Jacobs alludes to his wrestling persona:
After debuting in 1995 in the then-WWF as an evil dentist named Isaac Yankem, Jacobs re-emerged in 1997 as Kane, whose character was the half-brother of The Undertaker. Kane’s ring entrances featured flames shooting from the stage and ring posts, and he wrestled for much career beneath a mask—supposedly because his face was burned in a fire set by The Undertaker. Jacobs, while in costume as Kane, also won a WWE edition of NBC’s The Weakest Link in 2002.
Jacobs joins a number of professional wresting characters-turned-politicians: Jesse “The Body” Ventura most notably became governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003. Linda McMahon, who currently serves as administrator of the Small Business Council, was WWE’s former CEO. Antonio Inoki, perhaps Japan’s most famous pro wrestler, currently serves in his country’s House of Councillors, the legislative equivalent of the U.S. Senate. Terrance Gerin, who goes by Rhyno in the WWE, lost his bid to serve on the Michigan House of Representatives in November. And of course, there’s our 45th president, Donald Trump, who’s spent enough time inside the squared circle to earn a place in the WWE Hall of Fame.