Glenn Jacobs ends eight years as mayor of Knox County, Tennessee on Tuesday, closing the second act of a career that started in wrestling rings and ran through one of the state’s largest county governments.
Republican Betsy Henderson is sworn in as his successor at the Tennessee Theatre on September 1, becoming the first woman to hold the office. Jacobs was term limited and could not seek a third term after winning in 2018 and again in 2022.
In an exit interview with WATE’s Jack Ziskin, Jacobs judged the run by one standard.
“Ultimately, the measure of a mayor is ‘did you leave your community in a better place than when you started?’ Overall, I feel that is what has happened here,” Jacobs said. “Thank you for allowing me the privilege to be a small part of that. Until we meet again, be blessed.”
The Farm, The Knee, And The Big Red Machine
Jacobs grew up on a small farm in Missouri, five miles outside a town of 350 people, the son of a veteran, farmer and factory worker. Money was tight, and sports looked like the way out.
“My family didn’t really have a whole lot,” he said. “And if an unexpected expense came along, a car broke down, or something like that. Things get real tight.”
A knee injury in college football ended the NFL plan. Wrestling became the alternative, and Jacobs said the job transferred directly into government.
“The things that I took away from my experience in sports and in wrestling were teamwork. It’s leadership,” he said. “It’s how you treat people. It’s putting the organization above yourself.”
The Ring Returns And A Last Fight Over Cameras
The pandemic pulled him back to WWE. Jacobs entered the 2021 Royal Rumble at No. 18, eliminated Ricochet and Dolph Ziggler, and was tossed by Damian Priest inside two minutes. He donated the appearance fee to the Knox County Mayor’s Applied Technology Scholarship Fund for TCAT Knoxville.
“So it was really cool to go back and, you know, get back in the ring, have some fun, but also then be able to support some worthy cause,” Jacobs said. Money from those returns also went to the Knoxville Public Safety Fund and Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital.
His final weeks in office were spent on Flock Safety, the license plate reader vendor whose 2020 contract with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office he challenged in an August 12 letter. County commissioners voted on August 31 to order all cameras removed within 30 days, with implementation falling to Henderson’s administration.
Jacobs tied that fight back to the one that defined his first term. “There are a lot of similarities between COVID and Flock. Both of them were presented to us as a binary choice, safety or freedom,” he said. “That’s really a false choice.”
What comes next is unsettled. Jacobs said any statewide run would have to be right for his family, and he questioned whether running one county prepares anyone to represent all 95 in Tennessee. He has not wrestled since the 2021 Rumble and told Busted Open Radio last year that the window for a farewell match has likely closed. He has also warned Dwayne Johnson off entering politics at all.
