10 Things You Didn't Know About Paul Ellering

3. He Dabbled In Politics

Paul Ellering
WWE

Paul Ellering has been largely out of the public eye since 1999, but he's kept busy - among other endeavors, "Precious" Paul actually embarked on a bid for a Minnesota Legislature seat.

In 2002, Ellering sought and received the Independence Party of Minnesota's nomination for a state representative position in District 13A. He ultimately only received 11 percent of the vote, falling behind both of the major party candidates up for the spot.

If Ellering's path to politics sounds familiar, it's because his old enemy Jesse "The Body" Ventura had a similar - albeit more successful - road to office. In 1998, the former WWE superstar ran as the Reform Party's candidate for governor of Minnesota and won an upset victory, making mainstream headlines all over the U.S. During his four-year term, Ventura broke ties with the Reform Party and joined the Independence Party of Minnesota.

Ellering's own political ambitions went unrealised, and the 2002 election was his sole attempt at winning public office.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried. *Best Crowd of the Year, 2013