Travis Dorman | Knoxville News Sentinel

Angela M. Gosnell, Knoxville News Sentinel

Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel,

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Glenn Jacobs, the conservative small business owner best known as the professional wrestler Kane, defeated Democratic nominee Linda Haney in the Knox County mayoral race on Thursday, according to unofficial returns.

Speaking to attendees of his watch party at Crowne Plaza in downtown Knoxville, Jacobs said he doesn't normally use wrestling analogies for a campaign.

"But this professional wrestler got into a no-holds-barred, last-man-standing match, and when the bell rung, he was victorious," he said. "We were victorious."

Jacobs' second victory in the political ring was more decisive than his first.

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Glenn Jacobs at the GOP watch party on election night

The 6-foot-8, 300-pound WWE wrestler sparked worldwide buzz when he eked out the Republican nomination in May. He bested Knox County Commissioner Brad Anders by just 23 votes after a chaotic election night marked by questions about provisional ballots and a cyberattack that crashed the county's website for displaying election results.

Haney faced an uphill battle in the heavily Republican Knox County, which President Donald Trump carried by 24 percentage points in 2016. The only Democrat to fill the county's top job, Tommy Schumpert, served as county executive from 1994 to 2002, before the position was called mayor.

From monster to mayor

Jacobs, 50, grew up in Missouri, where he earned an English degree at Truman State University. An injury turned his attention from a possible career in professional football toward one in professional wrestling.

His character Kane is the demonic half-brother of WWE staple The Undertaker. Also known as The Big Red Monster, Kane often dons a red mask to conceal "hideous burns from a fire supposedly started by Undertaker years before," reads a profile on the WWE's website. The two alternately feud and team up to defeat other large foes on national TV.

Jacobs has called East Tennessee home since 1995. He and his wife, Crystal, own and operate an insurance and real estate company in Knox County. They have two daughters, who are nurses, and two grandchildren.

Politically, Jacobs favors limited government and opposes tax increases. From 2007 to 2014, he wrote occasionally for LewRockwell.com, a libertarian blog that bills itself as "anti-state, anti-war, pro-market."

In his posts, he railed against the National Security Agency's practice of surveilling citizens, expressed concerns about the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, and criticized proposed legislation — supported by Tennessee Republicans — that would allow states to force internet retailers to collect sales taxes from customers.

"The idea that the government can protect us is patently absurd," Jacobs wrote in a blog post about the NSA. "All the government can do is to destroy our liberties while promoting the illusion of safety."

Saul Young/News Sentinel

In and out of the ring

After announcing his candidacy, Jacobs toned down his rhetoric and leveraged his celebrity to attract out-of-town donations, national headlines, and high-profile endorsements — including from his fellow WWE stars and from one of the most prominent libertarians in the country, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul. The Kentucky Republican lauded Jacobs for his "small government and pro-liberty philosophy of government."

Jacobs' name recognition likely benefited from word of mouth, and he communicated well on Twitter, where he has nearly 52,000 followers, and on Instagram, where he has more than 57,000.

Sporadically during the campaign, Jacobs' masked counterpart appeared in the wrestling ring to dish out punishment. When WWE's "Monday Night Raw" came to Knoxville in November, Kane walked out to chants of "Kane for Mayor." He performed at least twice last month, which drew criticism from Haney. Jacobs said he was just doing his job.

Jacobs painted himself as a political outsider and ran a campaign that was at times light on specific policy details. He said he won't raise taxes, yet he aims to find funding to improve infrastructure and increase salaries for teachers and sheriff's deputies. The opioid crisis, he said, will not be alleviated by the government alone but by a community-wide effort focusing on education and rehabilitation.

"We have to build coalitions to combat this horrible epidemic. When we look at our justice system of course, we need to preemptively get in there with drug courts and try to get people off that path before they get on it," Jacobs said in an interview with Fox Business. He added that people who get out of jail need a support system in place so they don't go back or overdose.

In May, Jacobs expressed his approval of President Trump in an in-person interview with Fox News, saying he's "done a very good job, especially with the economy. You know, we see he’s cut regulation. I think the tax cuts really helped spur some growth."

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Glenn Jacobs through the years

Jacobs isn't the first pro wrestler to trade his tights for a suit. WWE Hall of Famer Jesse “The Body” Ventura became the mayor of a town in Minnesota before he won the election to serve as the state's governor in 1998.

Ventura provoked some controversy by participating in WWE events while holding public office.

As for Jacobs, he has said he wouldn't rule out a special appearance in the ring. He is set to take office Sept. 1.

Reach Travis Dorman at travis.dorman@knoxnews.com or on Twitter @travdorman.