The Common Denominator: Politics and Professional Wrestling

Posted by Jason Easley on 01.08.2007

This column asks can the skills that a person learns in professional wrestling translate to a career in politics? Are wrestling and politics really that different? I'll look at these two questions, plus I will try and predict how 10 wrestlers from the past and present would do in politics.

I like wrestling. I have since I was in the 4th grade, which was some 25 years ago, but I love politics. Lately the question has crossed my mind, are politics and wrestling similar? This would have been a ludicrous thought before the evolution of the WWF and sports entertainment, but now that pro wrestling is less about wrestling and more about talking, it seems reasonable to ask can a career in professional wrestling train a performer for a future in politics?

They both tell stories

Professional wrestling at heart is the basic hero's journey storyline. In politics the heroes and villains are never clearly defined, and often politicians are both the hero and the villain at the same time. However, both wrestling and politics do have storylines. In wrestling storylines are built from pay per view to pay per view, usually with the big conclusion coming at Wrestlemania. In politics, the storylines are political issues. The president attempts to establish the agenda or storylines each January in his State of the Union Address. It is here, through setting the legislative agenda that the president attempts to set the storylines and book the show for the coming year.

In wrestling the person who books the show can count on cooperation from the performers. This is far from the case in politics. A president can't count on members of his own party to cooperate with him, much less a hostile opposition. We have all heard the stories of performers who refuse to lose to someone that they consider beneath them. These veteran performers are often said to have their own political agenda. Now imagine if the entire WWE roster had the power to say no to their boss, or if McMahon had to bargain for their cooperation at every step. This is what it is often like for the president.

The storytelling in both politics and wrestling can be influenced by unanticipated events. In politics unexpected events can be things like a terrorist attack or a natural disaster. Sadly, in wrestling, an unexpected event is most often the death of a performer. These unanticipated events often result in changes to in both storytelling and overall policy. The war in Iraq came out of 9/11. The Bush administration shifted from an agenda of tax cutting to a global war on terrorism. The death of Eddie Guerrero did not lead to changes in the way the WWE tells its stories, but it did lead to the adoption of a wellness policy.

Wrestling and politics are both driven by public support. If the WWE does not give their fans a product they like, then they may stop spending their money and quit watching. Unfortunately for citizens, if they are unhappy with their government, they can't quit paying taxes. Citizens do have a much more powerful recourse. They can register to vote and fire politicians who they think are out of step with their interests. This is exactly what happened in the November 2006 elections. Wrestlers and politicians can be made and destroyed based on the success or failure of storylines and issues. If the public rejects a storyline or issue, this represents failure in both fields.

They both play characters

It is often said that the best wrestling characters are those that contain a part of the performer's personality. The same can be said for politicians. Politicians spend millions of dollars each election cycle on consultants and advertising, which are designed to do nothing more than magnify an element of a candidate's personality. Candidates rarely portray themselves. They spend their time and dollars crafting a public image that voters will like. In both wrestling and politics, connecting with your audience equals success.

The modern sports entertainer has several skills that are needed in politics. They are used to speaking in front of television cameras and live audiences. If you don't think this is valuable go back and watch any televised appearance by Al Gore during the 2000 campaign. Wrestlers must also be comfortable working with a script, or winging it when necessary. Some politicians are horrible with a script and even more dangerous when they speak off the cuff. (I am looking at you, George W. Bush). So now that we have established some of what wrestling and politics have in common, let's look at how 10 of the top names, past and present, in wrestling would fare in the political arena.

10 wrestlers in politics

1). Vince McMahon The self styled king of wrestling would do horribly in politics. McMahon isn't used to hearing the word no, and watching people ignore his orders. This would be his daily lot in life in the political world. McMahon has also shown himself to be thin skinned and unable to take criticism, combine these traits with his temper, and you have a disaster waiting to happen. Businessmen in general don't grasp the differences between the public and private sector, and as a group, they make for lousy politicians.

2). Jerry "The King" Lawler- If I remember correctly, Jerry once ran for the office of mayor in Memphis and did pretty well. Lawler is charismatic, personable, and a pretty smart guy, but Lawler made his run before the Mark Foley scandal. Substitute underage girls for boys and you have the Memphis version of Mark Foley. The King could do well if he stuck to local politics in Memphis, where is a deserved legend, anything else would get ugly.

3). JBL- This is the most obvious choice on the list. If there is one current person who seems to be following the Jesse Ventura model for getting into politics, it is JBL. Here is a man who has gone from wrestling to commentating, he already appears on Fox News every week, and hosts his own weekend conservative radio show. This man is a Republican candidate waiting to happen. I could see him make the transition and running for governor or senator someday soon. This isn't an if for him, but a when.

4). Hulk Hogan- Ok, there is no good reason for Hogan to run for anything ever. The Hulkster seems like a good dad, but I don't think politics is his game. Just because Ventura was successful at it, doesn't mean that you will be too, Hulk.

5). Mick Foley- Mick has already proven that he can do anything he sets his mind to. His self depreciating sense of humor would be a huge hit in political circles. He is an intelligent person and an excellent public speaker. I get a sense that he might not transition well to national politics, but I could see him running for his state or U.S. House seat. I would not underestimate Foley, but I am sure that his political opponents would.

6). The Current WWE Heavyweight Champions- Yes, I lumped Cena, Batista, and Lashley together. They are each young, and in some ways still green and unknown. I will say that thus far none of the three have exhibited the natural charisma that it takes to make the successful transition from wrestling to politics. I can see Cena being in the movies full time someday, and I think Lashley and Batista are probably going to stay in wrestling. I really have not seen enough from any of them to make a firm judgment, so I will give them an incomplete.

7). The Entire TNA Promotion- Until Vince Russo took it over and decided that what the show needed was less wrestling; TNA was my favorite promotion to watch. That being said, I can not think of a single wrestler on the TNA roster that I could see giving politics a try. I think that this speaks volumes about the lack of a crossover breakout star in the promotion. What TNA does have is a roster of talented wrestlers, which is why there should be less talky-talky and more actual in ring product on their program. I don't see a single younger star in TNA that could catch the attention of the mainstream media and the public at large.

8). The Ultimate Warrior- Good God, this would be fun. It would be worth any amount of money to see people like Tim Russert and Chris Matthews try to make sense out of the Warrior's comments during a political debate. Warrior is living proof that in the wrong hands a thesaurus can be a dangerous thing. My only question is, would he wear face paint on the campaign trail?

9). Triple H- In politics, Triple H would be the worst of all worlds. He has George W. Bush's inability to verbalize, combined will being long winded like Bill Clinton, and is as charisma challenged as Al Gore and John Kerry. Being that he is poised to someday inherit a big chunk of the McMahon Empire, there is no way that he would ever consider taking a pay cut and going into politics.

10). The Undertaker- The man himself would not be a good fit in politics, but can you imagine if he ran in character as The Undertaker? His campaign music would be the funeral march. He would enter the hall, bring the lights up, stand in front of the microphone and say, "On November 7th, my opponent will rest…in…peace." The best part of it all is that if he loses the election he can challenge his opponent to a casket match. That would certainly spice things up a bit.

The End

I hope you enjoyed this column, and please feel free to send me your feedback and thoughts. If you guys liked this column, maybe next time I'll turn things upside down and we'll talk about how politicians would do in wrestling. Catch you later.