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Let's Explain Jesse Ventura's Confusing Relationship With WWE [1]

['Benjamin Vieira']

Date: 2024-09-11 15:00:12+00:00

On July 29, 2024, WWE posted a video of Jesse Ventura appearing at a show and meeting with CM Punk and Triple H. It was a moment that not many saw coming. Under the Vince McMahon regime, Ventura had a very sour relationship with the promotion. He had been involved with various legal issues with them, and it seemed like it was a bridge that was always going to be burned between the two. Ventura has never been one to mince words on what he thinks about anything, whatever the topic may be, but when it comes to his current relationship with WWE, it is one that has been through a lot of healing. And that has proved to be something of benefit to both.

Jesse Ventura Was A Wrestler In WWE

Jesse Ventura Was Known As "The Body" In His Wrestling Days

Jesse Ventura and Adrian Adonis were former AWA World Tag Team Champions.

Ventura competed in the NWA, CWA, PNW, and more.

"The Body" challenged for the WWE Championship on occasion.

Related 10 Wrestling Legends We Want In WWE 2K25 The WWE 2K series needs to continue adding to their already stacked roster with these legends!

Ventura has had a long relationship with WWE. After spending years in the AWA, Ventura moved to the WWE in the early 1980s. He was a member of the East-West Connection with Adrian Adonis and was being managed by Freddie Blassie. Ventura, who was known as “The Body”, also embarked on his own singles run. However, his time in the ring was cut short due to blood clots in his lungs due to his exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

While he was retired from in-ring competition, Ventura did remain with WWE for quite a while. He was an acclaimed commentator who would do work with McMahon and Gorilla Monsoon. He was a heel on commentary, but the fans loved his work. However, Ventura’s relationship with the backstage internal politics of WWE was something that led to his broken relationship with the company. Despite a couple of appearances here and there, Ventura was done with the WWE under McMahon.

WWE Did Jesse Ventura Dirty More Than Once

Jesse Ventura Had Many Problems With Backstage Politics In WWE

Jesse Ventura's efforts to form a union were ended by Hogan and McMahon.

Ventura successfully sued WWE.

Jesse Ventura was the 38th Governor of Minnesota.

Related The Wrestling Legacy Of Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Explained Jesse "The Body" Ventura went from a wrestler to one of WWE's greatest commentators, before becoming an actor and finding success in politics.

There were two major cases that led to Ventura’s declining relationship with WWE. Firstly, he had attempted to form a union in the 1980s, something that had never happened in professional wrestling before. He wanted to get professional wrestlers the benefits and rights that they deserved. However, Hulk Hogan told McMahon, shutting the whole thing down. Ventura told MSNBC:

“I was in an elevator and ran into Gene Upshaw, the great guard from the Oakland Raiders. Big Gene raised his finger up and looked at me and said, 'You boys need to form a union.' I tried to do it and it was Hulk Hogan that ratted me out to Vince McMahon and subsequently I was fired and lost my job” (h/t Fightful)

Another issue that caused major problems between Ventura and WWE was a court case over unpaid royalty fees. When he signed a new WWE contract in 1987, he was told that performers got no royalties for videotapes. However, this ended up not being true. Ventura learned that a number of celebrities, and Hogan, were getting paid. Ventura sued WWE, with the case making it all the way to Minnesota state court. In the end, Ventura won the case and got over $800,000 from WWE. This issue, however, led to Ventura’s departure from WWE.

All of these legal issues played a major role in the broken relationship between Jesse Ventura and the WWE. Ventura went on to explore other career ventures. He became a very successful actor and starred in big-name films such as Predator. In addition, he ventured into politics and was elected the 38th Governor of Minnesota. However, many fans still remembered him fondly from his time in professional wrestling. 2024 saw a major thaw in the relationship between Ventura and WWE.

Vince McMahon Being Gone Allowed Jesse Ventura To Return

Jesse Ventura Will Be Back In WWE

via huffingtonpost.com

Related Jesse "The Body" Ventura Shockingly Meets Triple H And CM Punk Before WWE Raw Jesse "The Body" Ventura hasn't been on WWE TV in years, but the former Governor of Minnesota was backstage at Raw.

One of the main aspects of Ventura’s return to WWE also had to do with the fact Vince McMahon was no longer a part of WWE. Over the years, McMahon had done deals that hurt Ventura. McMahon wanted to own the rights to Jesse “The Body” Ventura. However, he wanted none of that.

In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, after that video of him and Triple H was shared, Ventura spoke on his relationship with the WWE. He shocked the world and said:

“My relationship with them now has much improved. We are on the verge right now. I can say this, contracts have been written, contracts have been agreed upon. And all it requires is two signatures, one from them, and one from me. And I will be back with the legends. Fairly quickly, because time is money.” (h/t Wrestling Headlines)

It will be great to see Ventura, a legend of the business, back in the WWE once again.

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[1] Url: https://www.thesportster.com/wwe-jesse-ventura-confusing-relationship-vince-mcmahon/

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