“Hell has frozen over.”
That was the terminology that Jesse Ventura used to describe his unlikely return to WWE, where he will be a guest commentator on “Saturday Night’s Main Event” airing live from the Nassau Coliseum on NBC in primetime on Saturday.
In an exclusive interview with The Post, Ventura credited his son, Tyrel, who works as the agent for the former Minnesota governor and WWE star.
“He’s very qualified for it. He used to be Sean Penn’s assistant, so he has experience,” Ventura said.
Jesse “The Body” Ventura is returning to WWE as a special guest commentator on Saturday Night on NBC. Pictured here attending WWE SmackDown in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on December 6, 2024. Getty Images
Ventura famously butted heads with Vince McMahon over financial conflicts that transpired between 1986 and 1990.
WWE, however, is under new management with the Hollywood behemoth WME now presiding over the company and Nick Khan as president and Paul “Triple H” Levesque as head of content.
“My son was a fan of wrestling and a fan of myself growing up, so he took it upon himself to make some contact with the new ownership and they started talking,” Ventura said.
“One thing led to another, and I realized they were under new ownership and I wasn’t going to be held to the old standard of why I got kicked out before. Lo and behold it happened. I’ll tell you this: I did it selfishly for my kids. I’m 73 now. I ain’t gonna be around forever. I want to position it where if anybody makes money off my name, I want my kids to have a piece of it.”
Thus, Ventura signed a “Legends” contract with WWE, which led to his announcing appearance.
Jesse Ventura during a wrestling match with Hulk Hogan in 1984. Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
“With Saturday Night’s Main Event coming back after 40 years, somebody said, ‘We need Jesse for this,’” Ventura said. “Because we had already negotiated the Legends deal, it wasn’t a big deal to negotiate this. The ice had been broken and now hell has frozen over.”
McMahon left WWE earlier this year after being accused of sexual misconduct by a former employee; he has denied wrongdoing and the suit is pending.
Ventura’s first battle with McMahon came before WrestleMania II in 1986 when the former WWE boss caught wind from Hulk Hogan that Ventura was mounting a campaign to unionize the locker room as well as professional wrestlers from other promotions.
Jesse Ventura, also known as “The Body”, posing in a promotional wrestling video in 1981. American Wrestling Association
“I wasn’t directly fired for that — but you can bet it played a role,” Ventura said.
Ventura ultimately left WWE in 1990 after a dispute where he signed an outside promotion deal with Sega.
“I own the name Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura. I have it copyrighted with the government,” Ventura said, noting that McMahon was unwilling to negotiate with him about outside marketing.
Ventura also successfully sued WWE a year later over royalties on video sales.
While Ventura credits new WWE ownership for his return, he did make several other appearances with the company since his fractious exit, including a spot as a special guest referee at SummerSlam in 1999 for a match between Mick Foley and Triple H, as well as induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004.
In the phone conversation, Ventura still had his fastball.
He was supremely confident that he would have been able to defeat Donald Trump — and everyone else — in the national presidential election with requisite financial backing, but was adamant that he would not bend the knee to either major political party for the opportunity.
Minnesota governor, former professional wrestler and guest referee Jesse
Ventura (C) watches the action as wrestlers Mankind (L) and Triple H (R) fight
during the World Wrestling Federation SummerSlam Sunday night 22 August,
1999 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN. AFP via Getty Images
Ventura’s triumph in winning governorship of Minnesota has been credited by president-elect Trump in the past for igniting his political ambitions.
In addition to his renewed WWE work, Ventura has launched the cannabis business Jesse Ventura Farms.
“The reason being is this: My wife was stricken with seizures. Cannabis is the only thing that stopped them,” he said.
