Tomorrow evening marks a momentous occasion that will reverberate through history, one way or another. Sam, Chris, Pat, and I are gearing up to record the 25th episode of Violent People Radio. Oh yeah and, the United States of America will elect a president. I went with the VPR joke rather than some quip about the election being a bigger circus than wrestling. In a world where a WWE Hall of Famer has occupied the highest office in the land, the links between professional wrestling and politics are so glaring that pointing them out feels almost redundant. Nevertheless, I’ve got a slew of wrestling slash political stories I felt like sharing in quick rapid fire fashion. Also, I don’t know if you heard, but the Hackenschmidt footage I’ve been yapping about for months is finally online, making Violent People go viral—not just in the usual medical way. So better write some stuff while we’re relevant!

• This is the main reason for me writing this whole thing. This news clipping was shared by Lavie Margolin, author of ‘TrumpMania: Vince McMahon, WWE and the Making of America’s 45th President,’ FOUR YEARS AGO. I completely missed it at the time. It may not seem like a big deal now, but in 2000 WWF seemed committed to the lie that Smackdown Your Vote was non-partisan. The Rock did speak at the Republican National Convention, but he was also at the DNC. They made a lot of hay just wanting to “get out the vote.” Here in an on the record interview the WWF vice president of corporate communications admits, the not so trivial goal, was to “curry favor” with Republicans. Wild. No idea how this didn’t become a thing.

• Here’s a fun one: Booker T announced his candidacy for mayor YEARS in advance, casually mentioning it over the next few years, only to miss the filing deadline and drop it entirely without a word.

• Now, I can’t claim to be an expert on Japanese politics, but Onita seems to be as awesome in the Parliament as much as he is in the ring. In 2003, he attempted to break up a fight, only to find himself on the receiving end of a few jabs from Representative Hiroko Mori during the melee. In a real wrestling twist, they ended up becoming friends, with Onita lending his support to Mori’s campaign efforts. Onita even ended up lending his support to Mori’s campaign efforts.

• In 2013, the International Olympic Committee shocked the world by voting to drop wrestling from the Summer Olympics. Meanwhile, Jim Ross’ favorite wrestler, Danny Hodge, at 80 years old, crushed an apple with his bare hands on the floor of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Fast forward a few months, and wrestling is reinstated. Coincidence? Who can say?

• Tor Johnson, the pro wrestler known for his role in the cult classic Plan 9 from Outer Space, and one of my favorite films, Bride of the  Monster, has received write-in votes in numerous elections—not just from me!

• Then there’s the Blair Bitch Project. This one is much less fun. Brian Blair, part of the WWF tag team The Killer Bees, was elected as County Commissioner for Hillsborough County, Florida, He’s also a hateful bigot. In addition to publicly opposing students participating in the annual “Day of Silence,” as a county commission, he  “allegedly” beat his two minor children on FATHER’S DAY.  Luckily for Florida, he would never hold elected office again. Though this being wrestling, he is the current president of The Cauliflower Alley Club.

• I just want to mention Ian D. Riccaboni is a member of Salisbury Township School District school board. It’s worth mentioning because in all likelihood Ian is the entirety of the center of a Venn Diagram, of good people involved in both wrestling and politics.

• I don’t currently have the time nor the writing ability to properly cover Antonio Inoki’s political career. It is, if possible, even more insane than his professional wrestling career. The man went on unauthorized trips to North Korea leading to his suspension. He went to Iraq before the Gulf War to negotiate the release of hostages. 

• It may surprise you to learn that the first WWE Hall of Famer/sexual predator/racist/weirdo to make the jump to politics is not Donald Trump. Less than a decade after being chargers with the statutory rape and sodomy of a 15-year-old girl Lawler ran for mayor. He actually ran for mayor multiple times. Despite running against more than one former mayor that had issued official declarations making it Jerry Lawler day he was very critical of the city he calls home. He may be the king of Memphis, but he’s never finished better than a distant third place.

• Speaking just for myself here, if you’re reading this and are a U.S. citizen of voting age, you should absolutely cast your ballot. If you choose to vote for Donald Trump, well, I’m disappointed and you might find yourself off my Christmas list—except for one notable exception: