Jesse Ventura Reflects On Working With Vince McMahon, Compares Vince To PT Barnum And Larry King

Jesse Ventura reflects on working with Vince McMahon during the national expansion of the World Wrestling Federation.

Jesse “The Body” Ventura was one of the first ever heel commentators in WWE. prior to that, he was a former tag team champion and one of the most charismatic villains wrestling had to offer. Because of blood clots in his lungs, Jesse had to retire but in typical Vince McMahon fashion, he was able to find another way for Jesse to be involved in the product and gave a greater platform to the concept of the heel broadcaster.

Ventura, in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, reflected on those early days.

“Vince deserves a little credit for that,” Ventura says. “I know some people will be shocked to hear me say that, but he does. When I had the health problem and couldn’t wrestle, Vince came up with the idea of putting me on the mike. He wanted to break down another barrier. At that time, Vince was breaking down all the barriers, and there had never been a heel or bad guy on the mike. I was out of commission, but Vince doesn’t want you not working, no matter what ails you. So he came up with the idea and asked if I could do color commentating, and I said sure. He deserves the credit for thinking it up—and I’ve always given the man credit, he’s the P.T. Barnum of this generation.”

Talking about the advice that McMahon gave him going into that first night, Ventura says that Vince McMahon wanted someone to present heel psychology from a broadcaster’s perspective, allowing for a new kind of excitement for the fans.

“The first night I was going to broadcast, Vince pulled me aside,” Ventura says. “Vince said, ‘Jesse, here’s your thought process, and here’s the best way for you to operate.’ He said, very simply, ‘If you believe it, then it’s true.’ That was carte blanche, the handcuffs were removed completely, and I was being instructed by the boss to go out there and get it done. If I believed it, it was true—which meant I could say whatever I wanted. That’s one of the reasons it exploded so big. No one had ever heard a heel before on the microphone who’d stand up for bad guys, and no one ever heard the psychology from a bad guy’s point of view.”

Like many, Jesse Ventura believes that Vince McMahon will continue working until his last day on Earth, comparing McMahon to Larry King.

“I had the good fortune of working with Larry King, and Vince is just like Larry King,” Ventura says. “Vince will work until he dies.”

Jesse Ventura was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004 and was a guest host of Monday Night Raw in 2009, and was actually the storyline booker of the Tables Match between Sheamus and John Cena that earned Sheamus his first WWE Championship.