Jesse Ventura Knows What Vince McMahon Was All About Running WWE
Jesse Ventura made it clear that for Vince McMahon running WWE, control is what mattered the most.
As a WWE Hall of Famer who was a big part of the company’s rise in the 1980s, Jesse “The Body” Ventura worked closely with the former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. After buying WWE in 1982 from his father, Vince McMahon ran the company his way and he had full control of it over the next 40 years.
Many wrestling fans who grew up in that era will remember Jesse on commentary with Vince a lot of times. There were also a lot of shows with Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan in those roles. Depending on who you asked, those four names were the voices of WWE for a lot of our childhoods, and what they said or did carried a lot of weight.
In his role as an announcer, Jesse Ventura often sided with the heel wrestlers while arguing with Gorilla or Vince about the actions of the heels.
Jesse Ventura Feels That Vince McMahon Always Wanted Control
When talking about his working life with McMahon on the Bill Simmons podcast, Ventura spoke about getting a big movie role in the 1987 film “Predator” with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ventura explained how McMahon didn’t think Ventura being in a movie was a good thing and that’s because Vince didn’t have control over it.
“That ain’t what it’s about with [Vince]. With people like him, and power people with money like that, it’s control. It ain’t got nothing to do with doing deals and doing the right thing and promoting the correct way. It’s all about control. I was the horse that got out of the corral. I wouldn’t let him market me. That’s the final straw.
I was going to do my own video game, and Vince said, ‘You can’t do it.’ I said, ‘I own my rights, I’m registered with the government. Jesse The Body Ventura, I own the copyright with the government. How can you tell me I can’t do it?’ That was the final straw. That’s when he fired me.
I never did get the video game. I think some hanky pank went on there, too. I don’t know. I have no evidence.”
Jesse Ventura returns to the WWE commentary desk at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 14th in Long Island, New York. Ventura has said that a big reason why it’s happening is because McMahon is no longer part of the company.