Jack Veneno is a Dominican icon.

To Dominicans he is Brett Farve, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Hulk Hogan rolled into one.  The frequent Dominican Heavyweight Champion even had a major feud with wrestling legend Ric Flair.  The first match ended with Jack as the victor and NWA World Heavyweight Champion.  In the subsequent rematch, Flair was scheduled to win the title back, but decided to throw the match because he feared the crowd would riot if they saw their champion lose.  The NWA doesn’t officially recognize Jack Veneno as ever holding the title, but Dominicans have never forgotten what they saw… a Dominican World Champion.

Recently Jack, whose real name is Rafael Sanchez, campaigned to become Mayor of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.  Interestingly enough, his campaign posters said “Jack Veneno” on them, instead of his real name.