Glenn Jacobs (Kane) sits down with VOZ: From WWE star to popular Republican mayor with political ambitions

Glenn Thomas Jacobs was born in April 1967 in Spain, though he was raised outside St. Louis. However, until 2018, very few people in the United States knew him by his first and last name, rather by the name Kane, his persona in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which lifted him to global fame for more than two decades.

Kane, nicknamed the "Big Red Monster" due to his build and attire, wowed wrestling fans from the moment of his debut in 1992, achieving many titles and accolades, which also earned him forays into the film world.

Indeed, he is one of the most popular wrestlers of the 21st century, having headlined dozens of massive events, which earned him induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021.

"Nowadays, what brings me the greatest satisfaction is when someone thanks me for giving them years of entertainment. ... In closing, I'd like you to think about this. Someone like me, a farm boy from Missouri without any exceptional natural gifts or talents other than a good work ethic, determination and the stubbornness to never quit, no matter what the challenges. If someone like me can stumble through life, failing time and time again, before finally discovering something that he was really good at and becoming an internationally known entertainer ... and then finally ending up in the WWE Hall of Fame. If someone like me can do that, just imagine what you can do," he said in his emotional speech at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Jacobs began going by his real name in 2017, when he filed papers to run as a Republican for mayor of Knox County, the third highest populated county in Tennessee. Despite his name recognition, he struggled in the Republican primary, prevailing by a mere 23 votes out of the more than 40,000 cast.

In the general election, he had no trouble prevailing over his Democratic rival and formally becoming the mayor of Knox County, a position he managed to renew in 2022 without major complications.

In a one-on-one with VOZ, Jacobs recalled moments from his wrestling career and his beginnings in politics, criticized the Biden-Harris administration and hinted at his political ambitions for 2026, which are not small.

Glenn Jacobs sits down with VOZ: From the WWE to mayor of Knox County

The former wrestler began by relating precisely how that transition between Kane and Mayor Jacobs went. He recounted his childhood in a rural Missouri county, then confessed that he entered the wrestling world by accident. It turns out he was a great football player, but a serious knee injury forced him to take a step aside. Interestingly enough, that step led him to professional wrestling.

When reflecting on why he decided to enter politics, he did not hesitate to put the focus on his family: "I just had a life which is unbelievable. I've been just so blessed. I've traveled the world and entertained millions of people and provided a life for my family that I wouldn't have thought possible when I was a kid. To me, it's just ensuring that my kids and grandkids have opportunities like I had."

He also added that in the United States, "everyone has a chance," so he works every day to ensure that the next generation has access to "the American dream," he said.

According to Jacobs, his long stint in the WWE gave him many tools to transition into politics, which he described before joking that he doesn't currently apply anything he learned in the ring.

"Any time that you have a group of people working together, there is politics involved. ... I had to learn to negotiate that. There's a lot of politics in WWE. You have a lot of different interests and sometimes different egos, and they're all pushing and trying to go different ways. And how do you convince people or persuade people that your idea is a good deal, a good idea, and kind of get everyone on the same page? That was one of the most important things that I learned, was how to get along with other people. So I believe that those interpersonal skills, sometimes they're called 'soft' skills -- I don't really like that term, I think that they're very, very important. ... It's about being able to influence people and get them on your team," he explained.

'I have some very strong libertarian leanings'

When it came to defining himself ideologically, he assured he has "libertarian leanings," even giving a nod to Argentine President Javier Milei.

About the Republican Party, he said that it is "finding its base once again" after years of involving itself with big government programs, "endless wars overseas" and "inflationary money printing," He also mentioned some members of Congress who he identifies with, such as Rand Paul and Mike Lee.

His relationship with Donald Trump

While Trump has a close relationship with the McMahon family, even participating directly in some Wrestlemania events, the most important event of the year in wrestling, he did not have much dealings with Jacobs in the entertainment world.

However, the two met a couple of times after Trump left the White House. "I've always been struck by just how friendly he is and how [he's] just very gracious to everyone. You know, the media portrays him as some monster or something like that, and he's nothing like that in real life," Jacobs commented.

The Biden administration and Kamala Harris

Jacobs first said he was disappointed by the media's non-coverage of President Joe Biden's cognitive impairment.

"I think an important question for Vice President Harris is what did she know and when did she know it? ... Why did she never talk about that? That has put our country at risk, and really the world at risk. You look at what's happening in the Middle East, and no one knows who's calling the shots at the White House," she continued.

On the November presidential election, the Knox County mayor said the most important question was whether voters are better off today than they were four years ago. "I think that, without exception, every American has to say, 'I'm worse off.' ... If you look at the inflation, I think our economy is going into recession, ... the crisis at our border, all of these things are a result of policies that have been implemented by the Biden administration. And Vice President Harris has to own at least some of that," he explained.

Kane for governor?

Finally, VOZ asked Mayor Jacobs about his political ambitions for 2026. Tennessee's current governor, Bill Lee, will not be able to run for a third term, so the Republican primary is expected to be hotly contested two years from now.

With that in mind, Mayor Jacobs said he is interested in several options, including "at the statewide level," leaving the door more than open for a possible run for governor of the state.

The full interview with Glenn Jacobs