That One Time in 2008 When The Presidential Candidates Appeared on WWE Television

One magical Monday evening in the spring of 2008, Presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain recorded messages to be aired on WWE's flagship show, Monday Night Raw. Each candidate threw out their best attempts to appeal to wrestling fans by borrowing their lingo and altering famous wrestling catchphrases. It's as cringe worthy as hearing your parents say "Netflix and Chill." So here are those promos ranked:

Barack Obama

Only three wrestling references and they bookend his actual campaign stance. Remember that this is the 2008 Obama who didn't have the need to be on every podcast, talk show, or web series. This is the hope and change Obama with all the right charisma to end with, "Do you smell what Barack is cooking?" 

Hillary Clinton

Hillary references King of the Ring and Last Man Standing to play on the fact that she was the only woman running. She sprinkles in some generic phrases like "opening bell" and "go to the mat" to get her point across but then reaches when she talks about dropping The People's Elbow if needed.

John McCain

This one is just sad and has the most total references. John McCain tries his hand at The Rock's "Finally..." intro, as though people were really excited for the return of McCain. Then McCain borrows Ric Flair's, "To be the man, you gotta beat the man." Not even halfway into his promo does he coin the term "McCainiacs" a la Hulkamaniacs. He goes off the deep end and says that he'll put The Undertaker to beat down Osama Bin Laden. Finally, he screws up The Rock's "Do you smell..." with "Can you smell..." and closes with Stone Cold Steve Austin's "That's The Bottom Line..."

The Donkeys of Justice

There are two people who are essentially on the same team. They're competing against each other for fans and the top prize with one is expected victor due to support from the establishment. They have the look and the characteristics that makes them seem like the right person for the role. The other looks disheveled and is a little bit different but has garnered some of the loudest support. Right now the quest for a spot on the ballot for the Democrats in November's Presidential election is like the quest for members of the former WWE faction The Shield to headline Wrestlemania.

It's almost certain that Roman Reigns will be headlining Wrestlemania in the same way that it is almost certain that Hillary Clinton will be on the ballot. Both have strong family ties to their position, Clinton serving as first lady and Reigns coming from the same wrestling lineage as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. They have the look. They have the talent. But when it comes to the acceptance of the loudest voices on the internet, both are being rejected and seen as part of the establishment. Both are seen as having had their chance with Clinton having lost the bid in 2008 to Barack Obama and Reigns having headlined Wrestlemania last year and booked to lose as a way to appease the fans who booed his inevitable rise to the top. For the internet crowds they already had their shot and should move aside for their less conventional counterparts. 

The internet community is rallying behind Bernie Sanders the same way they're wrestling fan counterparts are rallying behind Dean Ambrose. Sanders and Ambrose represent the anti-establishment. They are easy to root for underdogs who represent a change from the status quo. They receive the same critiques about their appearance and notions that they may be a little crazy from their opposition. As the days advance it becomes more and more apparent that they are not going to be the ones on top. There are glimmers of hope like Sanders' margin of victory in Vermont or Ambrose getting a championship match in the last major card before Wrestlemania. There's enough hope to not give up on cheering. 

All the while some are clamoring for the unlikely situation of someone on the shelf to make a surprise run. Vice President Joe Biden elected not to run for president after dealing with the loss of his son. The third former member of The Shield is Seth Rollins, who left last year's Wrestlemania as the surprise champion and forfeited his title after suffering a torn MCL and ACL injury this past fall. Both are unavailable but it hasn't stopped the occasional pondering of what if. 

The cynical viewpoint of it all is that politics and wrestling feel like the outcomes are predetermined. Both people and wrestling fans want to feel like their voices matter but that donations and booking committees have created a disparity. The optimist view is that there is a democracy in play that allows people to cast a vote for candidates and for crowds to show the booking committees who they like through cheers and merchandise sales. 

The only thing to do is just keep watching. They may have to team up to defeat a mega heel in Donald Trump.