The Rock has long hinted at a career in politics and one of his greatest wrestling foes has advised him to give it a miss.
Dwayne Johnson is arguably one of the biggest stars to ever succeed in the mainstream after making a start in the wild word of professional wrestling.
Debuting in WWE at the tail end of 1996, he was a staple part of the Attitude Era as a brash and cocky bad guy before going on to become one of the most popular performers in history.
His charisma, style and multiple world championship wins only helped further shape his stardom for when Hollywood came calling, with Johnson going on to eventually become one of the highest paid movie actors in the world.
With that considerable clout has come a sizable fan base, too, with Johnson’s loyal following from the wrestling world added to by movie goers captivated by his roles in Moana, Fast and Furious, Jumanji and more.
It’s no illogical leap, then, to assume that a man of his popularity and phenomenal social media reach might one day take a swing at the world of politics.
There has long been support for such a step in some quarters. In 2021, TMZ reported that, from a poll of over 30,000 voters, 46% would have voted for The Rock to become US President in 2024.
Of course, that Presidential race was ran and won by Donald Trump earlier this month with Johnson still sticking to the worlds of movies and wrestling where he is far more established.
For his own good, he’d be well advised to stay there, too, according to one well known wrestling personality who has managed a career in politics.
Former WWE Champion Glenn ‘Kane’ Jacobs has been Mayor of Knox County in Tennessee since 2018 and knows all too well what would await the People’s Champ should he decide to one day make the switch.
“If I were him I wouldn’t,” fired the former Big Red Machine in an interview with Going Ringside.
“Politics is incredibly contentious and toxic right now. Everybody likes Dwayne, no matter where you are in the political spectrum, because he’s a great entertainer, and he’s just a good guy.
“You gotta remember that no matter what you say in politics, fifty percent of the people are just gonna knee-jerk disagree with you, and you’re really gonna tick some folks off.
“I’ve had to deal with that, obviously. So, if I were him, I’d advise him not to do that personally.
“You can still have an impact, and you see folks that do great work through philanthropy… [you can] get into politics behind the scenes.
“That can be just as important as what happens out in the public eye. I would advise him not to, because it’s not one of those things [where it’s like] he’s really famous and everybody’s going to like him. That’s not going to happen.
“What’s going to happen is that you’re going to immediately alienate almost half your fanbase which can be an uncomfortable place to be.”
Much like Rock, Kane’s stardom in WWE began to skyrocket during the late 1990s.
Portrayed as the brother of The Undertaker, Kane first surfaced in 1997 and went on to battle in over a hundred matches involving The Rock up to 2003.
