Jesse Ventura is back in WWE, but it wasnt an easy deal to close. The WWE Hall of Famer made it clear that the first offer he received wasnt good enoughand he didnt hesitate to send it back.
With Saturday Nights Main Event returning to NBC and Peacock, Ventura has joined the broadcast team, working as an analyst alongside Joe Tessitore while also calling a match on the show. But according to The Body himself, WWEs initial offer didnt meet his standards.
Speaking on The Body Shop, Ventura revealed that Triple H was the one who pushed for his return, but when the company came in with their first deal, he wasnt impressed.
Along came Saturday Nights Main Event and Triple H was on the plane and I guess hes thinking, God, do you think we could get Jesse back? You know, to actually do the broadcast? So they approach with that, and they made an initial offer, which wasnt quite good enough and I countered them and they came back real solid and no ifs, ands, buts. It was a good negotiation.
Initially, Ventura was only supposed to appear once, but he turned the tables on WWE.
We agreed at first only to do one. Theyre doing four. But they wanted me for a whole days publicity. So I said, Alright, if I come out a day ahead of time and I do a whole days publicity, its gotta be for more than one show. I said, I wanna guarantee for all four then. Then I get all four shows. They came back and said, No problem. No problem whatsoever. And Ill state this: If they come back for another four next year, I hope I can sign and do four more Saturday Nights Main Events next year.
Ventura played hardball, and WWE caved, securing him for four shows instead of just one. Its a classic move from The Body, who has never been shy about negotiating for what he believes he deserves.
Now that hes locked in for Saturday Nights Main Event, Ventura is enjoying his returnbut hes also trying to bring back a little old-school heel energy. The only problem? Fans wont boo him, no matter what he says.
Ive been going to these events trying to get booed, and I get there and theres nothing I can do.
In Venturas prime, good guys and bad guys were clearly defined, but he believes todays wrestling landscape is different.
What I say in wrestling today to my day, I dont see the villain-good guy as much today. I dont see that. I see you are all a bunch of characters. Each wrestlers a character and it all just depends whether the fans like this character right now or like that character. Where in my day, it was much more the lines were drawn, and I think the lines were drawn more clearly in the old days than they are so today.
Still, Ventura is determined to figure out a way to get under the crowds skineven if it means pulling a Hulk Hogan stunt.
I was screaming at the fans the other day, You think I like you people now? Theyre all, We dont care, we dont care. Im going crazy at the events because Im trying to get em to hate me. I guess the only way to do that is to wrap myself up in the American flag and come out and call myself the Hulk and Ill get booed off the stage.
Ventura played his cards right, and WWE had no problem meeting his demands. Now that hes back, will he stick around for even more Saturday Nights Main Event episodes next year? Drop your thoughts below!
