Jim Ross Explains Why Jesse Ventura's 1999 WWE Return Was 'Controversial'

WWE's recent trip to Minnesota saw a surprise appearance from Jesse "The Body" Ventura as he milled around backstage meeting various wrestlers, as well as catching up with some old friends he hadn't seen in many years. While it was surprising to see Ventura make a backstage appearance in 2024 given how long he has been away from WWE, it was almost impossible to imagine Ventura making an appearance for the company in the summer of 1999, but that's exactly what happened.

Ventura acted as the special guest referee for the main event of SummerSlam 1999 which saw Mankind defeat Triple H and Stone Cold Steve Austin to become the WWF Champion, all while he was the Governor of Minnesota. However, Jim Ross made sure to note on his "Grilling JR" podcast that there was a much more serious reason why his return was so shocking. 

"It was controversial, to say the least," Ross said. "Jesse had a lawsuit against WWE that infuriated Vince [McMahon], and over time it just lessened. It's funny how time can heal a lot of wounds."

The lawsuit in question came about when Ventura was told that only wrestlers would receive home video royalties, which meant that he wouldn't get any money for his work as a commentator during the shows in question. Ventura then took this to the Minnesota State Court and asked for $2 Million in royalties from Titan Sports. Ventura eventually won the case once it was moved to federal court, and he won over $800,000 after the jury verdict, while his commentary was edited out of a lot of early WWE home video releases.

Please credit "Grilling JR" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.