10 Wrestlers Who Ran For Public Office
7. Atsushi Onita
Atsushi Onita isn't just a Japanese wrestling legend, he's also a cultural icon. Basically the nation's version of Terry Funk, Onita started out as a fresh-faced athletic star, but in late '80s, he became the face of the hardcore wrestling movement, starting Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and popularizing deathmatches in the country.
In 2001, Onita won a seat in the House of Councillors, the upper house of the Japanese Diet. Representing Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (a conservative party, despite the connotations the name has in the west), Onita led a humanitarian mission to Afghanistan, performing wrestling matches for children.
The end of Onita's political career came with typical pro-wrestling drama. He was ousted from his job after it was revealed that he used government accommodations to host a menage a trois with a porn star and a member of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation. He then returned to wrestling, which he still does today.