MR. TITO: Why Are Most Wrestlers Conservatives or Supporters of the Republican Party?

Right now, it seems that many professional wrestlers tend to lean more conservative in their political bias. You have the likes of the Undertaker, Kane, Chris Jericho, Hulk Hogan, much of the Vince McMahon family, the Young Bucks, and the Khan family. On the record, the McMahons, Undertaker, Jericho, and the Khans have donated to Donald Trump’s campaign in the past. NOW, I’m not here to ridicule their political leanings, but I’m here to explain WHY many wrestlers, in particular, may lean conservative or supporters of the Republican Party.

All I have to do is this… Compare political leanings of the MLB, NHL, NBA & WNBA, and NFL with the WWE and NASCAR.

So what does WWE and NASCAR have that those other leagues don’t? Actually, it’s the other way around… What doesn’t WWE or NASCAR have?

WWE and NASCAR don’t have UNIONS.

If you watched the Vince McMahon documentary on Netflix, you heard the tale of Jesse “the Body” Ventura trying to unionize the wrestlers just before Wrestlemania 2. This plan was thwarted because Hulk Hogan, the snitch, went to Vince McMahon immediately after Jesse’s meeting with the wrestlers. With Vince confidently having Hulk Hogan in his back pocket for Wrestlemania 2, he went to every other wrestler and threatened them if the dared to form a union. If they did, Vince could invoke the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 where he didn’t have to work with a closed unionized shop (how about that for some knowledge?) and effectively do Wrestlemania 2 with just Hulk Hogan and other wrestlers willing to work.

With the WWE not forming a labor union and then slaughtering any of its competition, who wouldn’t be able to form a labor union, it set the standard for how professional wrestling would operate. Thus, the Independent Contractor status of professional wrestlers would remain, even though WWE’s contracts somehow make you exclusive to WWE only.

The players of the NFL, NHL, MLB, and NBA & WNBA lean more Democratic, left, or liberal because they are beholden to their players’ unions. The party who fights to keep the idea of labor unions in tact is, in fact, the Democratic Party. Especially now, as many Red States (heavy Republican voting states) are pressing to become Right-to-Work states that essentially block unions from even happening. Then, you have states like mine here in Ohio who tried to become a Right-to-Work state but voters rejected that by forcing a state constitutional amendment to repudiate what the state’s house/senate voted on and what the governor signed into law.

And I say mostly… What makes WWE Hall of Famer Donald Trump unique is that he has appeal with particular unions, notably Coal Miner unions along with a few others here in the Midwest (Steel and Auto). In my view, what caused Hillary Clinton to lose during 2016 was her LACK of appeal to unionized workers and their families across the “blue wall” that Trump won with Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Joe Biden regained that confidence and as you can see with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, they are fighting to retain that confidence. If Dems win these 3 states, they win the election. If Trump wins Pennsylvania and holds North Carolina and Georgia, he wins.

It’s that LACK of being a union which causes wrestlers to steer more towards the Republican Party and thus lean conservative… No union, no allegiance to being a Democrat.

BUT let me take it another way…

With the wrestlers being Independent Contractors, they receive their payments in lump sums. WWE’s human resources department is NOT making any withdraws such as Income Taxes (Federal, State, Local), Healthcare, 401K/Retirement, and FICA taxes for Social Security and Medicare. That’s right, WWE isn’t contributing to Social Security or Medicare, which is a pain for any wrestler if/when they get older and need assistance.

Here’s my theory on anyone… Instead of allowing your employer to conveniently make withdrawals and process tax and healthcare payments for you, try doing it yourself.

If you witnessed the amount of taxation being ripped out of your account by the government or how much anti-trust protected health insurance companies are allowed to price gouge you, you’d react and take it personal.

THAT is exactly why I believe pro wrestlers lean towards the Republican Party. They are very sensitive to taxation because they deal with it directly rather than their employers removing it before they receive their paychecks via direct deposits. Nobody looks at their payment stubs any more, but wrestlers still have to pay taxes even if they are Independent Contractors.

Out of their own pockets, WWE wrestlers have to hire accountants or other tax experts to still pay Income Taxes. That, or some try it on their own… Either way, if you meet with your accountant regularly or you see and pay the taxes for yourself, you’ll know it.

On a Federal Level for the past 40 years, who has cut Taxes more as a President? Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump, all 3 of which were Republicans. Who raised taxes? George HW Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden (Obama and Biden let their predecessor’s tax cuts expire). That said, the GOP have incurred higher deficits as Presidents historically and much of what Clinton, Obama, and Biden had to do was to get deficits back down after years of high spending. BUT managing spending is not as sexy of a headline versus cutting taxes.

Pro wrestlers see the tax rates that are being charged to their incomes because they have to deal with them directly as Independent Contractors.

BUT wrestlers are also in the higher tax bracket thanks to payments received as wrestlers. Thus, guys like the Undertaker and Kane, who are probably making millions per year, are in the upper level of the Income Tax bracket.

Take a look at the IRS’s 2024 Tax Bracket. If you’re filing individually on $578,000 or more, your tax rate is 37%. Let’s assume they make $1,000,000 total, per year, from the WWE. $370,000 is instantly gone and going to the Federal Government, alone. The rest, $630,000 must cover everything else which includes State Income taxes which would be heavy depending on the state they live in.

Gee, why do most wrestlers live in Florida and Texas these days?

Right now, these states do NOT have State Income Taxes: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming

Compare that to other states, such as New York (up to 10%) and California (12%). If you live in those states, you’re giving away HALF of your income.

Instead of living near WWE’s headquarters in Connecticut (with taxes up to 7%), wrestlers find it CHEAPER to live in another state and just pay for their travel (which WWE pays for, partially). When traveling by plane, WWE wrestlers accumulate lots of travel miles which helps them fly cheaper. They are likely saving a TON of money living elsewhere and travelling versus having to pay like 10% income taxes.

Remember, this is all before you decide to take a Health Insurance plan out for you and your family. That’s right, go buy your own health insurance plan from an anti-trust exempt insurer. Wrestlers aren’t able to purchase insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act because they make well in excess of 138% of the federal poverty line which is $15,060 ($35,842.80). So you’re going to tell a pro wrestler, who has to pay 37% of their Income Tax that helps pay for the Affordable Care Act, that they cannot participate in the program at all? Gee, wonder they they support the Republican Party who wants to dismantle the Affordable Care Act’s program.

Then you look at All Elite Wrestling… Headquartered in Florida and most of the wrestlers live nearby. What a coincidence!

I think people like Vince McMahon love New York City and the many people living there along with it being the “media capital of the world”. But the amount of taxation paid, yet little rate of return their way (being spread to other states with much lower tax revenue), they become bitter at those who are setting the tax rates. Thus, that part of business matters and why Vince McMahon and his family have leaned towards the Republican Party.

Conversely, because Vince McMahon operated in Connecticut and New York with higher tax rates along with paying federal taxes, he offsets that by being cheap elsewhere. Who suffers from that? Well, the wrestlers always have. For the amount of work and physical bumps taken inside the ring, I’d strongly argue that wrestlers are underpaid and due lots of overtime hours, too… But Vince McMahon can easily counter that with “look how much I’m paying in Federal and State governments“… And then the wrestlers hear it and instead of blaming Vince McMahon, they blame the Federal and State governments, too… They especially see it when they have to painfully pay taxes on their own as Independent Contractors.

It’s literally that simple…

(1) WWE and AEW are non-union shops

(2) Independent contractors don’t have taxes withheld, so they have to see the taxes themselves and pay it themselves.

(3) Become bitter about health insurance because they are paying a higher rate there for their families.

(4) Wrestlers are in the highest Federal and State Income Tax brackets and are giving away nearly half of their salary to the government.

Ironically, I think they blame the lack of benefits and health insurance on the government even though it’s Vince McMahon holding that iron fist to ensure that WWE performers remain as Independent Contractors.

Now, what about Batista? Heck, what about the Rock endorsing Joe Biden during 2020 (recanted it for 2024)? Look at someone like Jesse “the Body” Ventura, too, who is his own bird but he’s supporting Kamala Harris. Why are those 3 so different? Well, each belong to the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) as SUCCESSFUL ACTORS… That’s the key, SUCCESSFUL ACTORS and they are quite prominent in their labor union with other actors. Hulk Hogan wasn’t a successful actor and is quite low on the totem pole. Hence why he lacks any loyalty to SAG and can sway to the GOP instead whereas Batista, Rock, and Ventura still have a lot of skin in the game for SAG.

Certainly, you have other exceptions such as Mick Foley and Jim Cornette who are outspoken Democrats and left leaning. Cornette’s family, for example, were Democrats and were heavily involved in local politics. Foley seemed to really dislike the Parental Television Council (PTC) stuff that attacked the WWE, as heavily discussed in his 2nd book.

But majority of wrestlers are non-union, tax seeing independent contractors, within the highest tax brackets, and they all live in states without state income taxes. Gee, wonder why they have their political beliefs?

Everyone becomes a product of their own culture…

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