Jesse Ventura Recalls Battling Vince McMahon Over Attempt To Unionize WWE

Jesse Ventura has long been vocal about his desire for pro wrestlers to unionize, speaking about it publicly going back to his election as Minnesota's governor in 1998. Last month, "The Body" did a Q&A panel at the Steel City Con comic book convention in Pittsburgh where he was asked about his 1986 push for unionization, and earlier this week, Fandom Spotlite uploaded a video of the panel to their YouTube channel. As Ventura explained it, he bumped into former NFL union head Gene Upshaw, with the gridiron great telling him wrestlers needed a union. Since Jesse was joining the Screen Actors Guild for his upcoming role in "Predator," he took it upon himself to lead the charge.

"None of the management was there; [I] got on a stool and made a speech to the wrestlers; it was right before WrestleMania 2," he recalled. "I said 'Now is the time to unionize! If we go to the press and threaten [that] we're not gonna wrestle unless we get union representation, by federal law they have to let it [happen].' And I said 'In all these buildings, who do you think turns the lights on? The unions! If they back us, we can destroy WrestleMania, and we can go to the [Jim Crockett Promotions] guys and get them to join in with us, and pro wrestling can finally have a union where we can get medical care.'" He noted that he was paying about $6,000/year (almost $17,000/year adjusted for inflation) for his family health insurance plan at the time, and figured a wrestlers' union group rate would cut that bill by 75%.

The next day, Vince McMahon called Ventura and browbeat him over the union talk while saying he wouldn't let him film "Predator." When he returned, knowing he leverage with more work booked and NBC wanting him back for "Saturday Night's Main Event," Ventura made McMahon deal with his agent, Barry Bloom, making him the first wrestler to require Vince to go through representation, which he calls his greatest achievement in the wrestling business.