For some reason, after retiring from the ring, a large number of professional wrestlers make attempts to get involved in politics. Even stranger, many of them end up being quite successful at it! It turns out, there have been former wrestlers in nearly every level of government, from local to federal, with many others still who have tried and failed. What is it about politics that seems to attract people who made their living in a shady business that takes pride in deceiving their customers for profit? We haven’t a clue, but for some of the following wrestlers, their battles in the political arena may have been more fierce than those they faced inside the squared circle!
10. Abraham Lincoln
Okay, so professional wrestling didn’t truly exist back in the 1800’s, but the concept of shoot wrestling as an entertainment option did exist, as well as the idea of purposely throwing fights in order to make some money and avoid injury. And there is documentation to show that the man who would become the 16th President of the United States did enjoy a successful career as a wrestler in his youth. In fact, his proficiency as a wrestler was used as part of his political campaign, giving him a reputation both as a fighter and a man of the people. In the modern era of wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance would claim that their World Title (which was briefly unified with the WCW World Title) had a lineage back to a title held by Lincoln, which wasn’t entirely true (actually, it was almost completely false), but at least it sounded good.
http://lyp.passionconnect.in/abraham-lincoln/ Source: lyp.passionconnect.in