The Ignored WWE Angle That Was Too Big For Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon is known for his outrageous storylines as boss of WWE for 40 years but one pitch was just too big for the ex-chairman.
Jesse Ventura rose to fame as a wrestler in the 1970s before moving to the WWF at the start of the following decade. However, the veteran is best known for his commentary alongside Gorilla Monsoon and Vince McMahon in the wake of his retirement.
Ventura famously clashed with McMahon over royalties after being led to believe that only featured performers on WWE videotapes earned royalties back in 1987. In 1991, Ventura brought legal action against Titan Sports — the WWE’s parent company at the time, and eventually won.
Now Ventura has revealed how he called time on his relationship with Vince McMahon for a second time after pitching what would have been one of the biggest storylines in wrestling history.
Jesse Ventura vs. Vince McMahon For US Presidential Nomination In A WWE Ring
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Jesse Ventura revealed he wanted Vince McMahon to help him make a run at the US Presidency in the most unlikely way – by putting a nomination up for grabs in the WWE ring:
I came to Vince McMahon. I’ll reveal this to you. I flew out to Connecticut. I sat in Vince’s office with him and Linda, and I proposed the biggest angle the WWF/WWE could have ever done. And it was too big for Vince.
Vince told me that he would back me on anything political that I wanted to do. So I went out to him and I said, Vince, we can do an angle right now. You can come out with the WWE and say we’re going to have our own nominee for president, the WWE Party, the World Wrestling Party. Meanwhile, Vince has people in every state, he can send those people, get ballot access, and do what’s required to get on the ballot in all 50 states. He could do that for me.
I said, then you work the angle Vince where everybody thinks it’s going to be you. You’re going to be the nominee. But we do something where I come in and say ‘Bullsh*t, I’m a Governor. I’m the natural WWE candidate for president.’ Then you do a schmoz where Vince and I get two wrestlers to represent us. Whoever wins gets the nomination. My guy beats Vince’s guy.
I then become the nominee of the World Wrestling Federation for President and I have ballot access in all 50 states because Vince could have done it.
Ultimately Vince McMahon did not go for the pitch but Jesse Ventura was left annoyed that McMahon did not even let him know it was a no-go:
Well, here’s the part that p*ssed me off and where Vince and I big time separated. I flew home. He didn’t even bother to call me to turn me down. I thought that was the most disrespectful thing. First and foremost, when I flew out there, he made me wait an hour. I’m the former Governor. I’m out of office now. Then I shoot him this angle.
If he just called me and said ‘Jesse, it’s too crazy. It’s too hokey. I don’t think we can do it.’ I would have said fine. I gave it a try. But he didn’t even call me back. That was so disrespectful to me as Governor Jesse Ventura, as Jesse Ventura the man and as Jesse Ventura who made Vince a ton of money.
Jesse Ventura eventually returned to WWE as a guest host of Raw in 2009 where he shared the commentary table once again with Vince McMahon.
With McMahon no longer in the picture in WWE, Jesse Ventura made a shock return to the company in July where he was greeted by Triple H at Raw.