Jesse Ventura returned to the WWE fold in 2024, and was part of the relaunch of a franchise he was once synonymous with, Saturday Night’s Main Event. That surprised some considering how outspoken “The Body” was with criticism of fellow WWE Hall of Famer Donald Trump at a time when WWE and parent company TKO were attaching themselves to Trump’s second Presidential Administration.
When Saturday Night’s Main Event returned with much fanfare in 2024, so did Ventura. However, The Body reportedly upset
some of the powers-that-be at WWE when he vocally criticized a steel cage match between Damien Priest and Drew McIntyre, and his appearances at the event were subsequently more limited.
Veteran wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer reported at the time Ventura only had a one-year deal with WWE, and that it had expired. Nevertheless, Jesse did make a special appearance during the pre-show program of Saturday Night’s Main Event on the night of John Cena’s final match in December 2025.
Further appearances seem unlikely based on Ventura’s recent Twitch livestream with controversial left-wing voice Hasan Piker. The 75-year-old hasn’t changed his opinion on President Trump, calling the Republican a “coward” and a “bully.”
The always-outspoken former Minnesota governor also dove into other controversial waters by repeating unfounded conspiracy theories related to the 9/11 attacks on New York City and the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
A portion of his talk with Piker did focus on wrestling, notably when he discussed trying to start a union in the then-WWF in the 1980’s. As he’s previously said in the past, he claimed the effort was torpedoed when Hulk Hogan told Vince McMahon of the plan.
“Hulk Hogan’s an office stooge. Now, let me explain: In the earlier years of territory wrestling, the worst thing you could be is an office stooge,” Ventura said. “They’re the most unliked people in the business.”
But his most seething comments came at the expense of the current commander-in-chief.
“If Donald Trump would’ve gone in the military, he would’ve been the guy that wet his bed, cried for his mom, went hysterical, and would be carted out in the middle of the night. The man’s a coward,” Ventura said to Piker, adding, “He’s a bully. All bullies are cowards. That’s why they’re bullies.”
As a veteran of the Vietnam War, Ventura has frequently contrasted himself with Trump, who received five deferments from military draft during the conflict.
“My whole family has fought at war for this country — my entire immediate family. Here’s the part that pisses me off, Hasan: I did two tours, 17 months, so did my brother. Southeast Asia, right? That was at the same time Donald Trump was running and hiding like the coward he is. Why didn’t he join us in the Vietnam War? I’ve heard him talk. He’s said he should be a general.”
Piker injected by saying Trump “had bone spurs,” which was a reason Trump cited for a medical exemption.
“Well, fine and dandy, never stopped him from golf, did it? I’ve never heard him cancel a golf date,” Ventura said.
The former Navy Seal also attacked the Republicans as a whole, calling them “fascist and anti-Constitution.”
“I support the Constitution. If you want to change, then change the Constitution. If you want to change things, do it the way it’s supposed to be done,” he said. “Now, you don’t just go to war unconstitutionally. You don’t attack the Capitol [like] January 6th and upend the change of power of the Constitution.”
He also spoke about meeting Fidel Castro, who he called “phenomenal” and said he considered the late Cuban leader a friend. He then said Castro shared with him thoughts on the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy.
“First thing he told me, it was an inside job,” Ventura said. “The second thing he told me, [Lee Harvey] Oswald couldn’t make the shots.”
Note: While we at Cageside Seats respect Ventura’s freedom of speech, we do not necessarily agree with everything he says in the interview.
Perhaps the touchiest subject Ventura discussed with Piker was the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. He said he believed the account of Sergeant April Gallop, who was present at the Pentagon during the attack on that building.
“I kind of believe what April told me,” he said. “April Gallop looked me right in the eye and said, ‘Governor, there was no plane [that hit the Pentagon].’”
Ventura went on to share another unfounded conspiracy theory about “toasted cars.” He said that after the attacks on the World Trade Center, there were photographs in Manhattan of “toasted cars,” where “only the metal, not the rubber, not the upholstery, is toasted.”
Jesse went on to say he read a book printed in China that claimed an energy weapon was used on 9/11, which could explain the “toasted cars,” and he went on to talk about the people who jumped to their deaths from the Twin Towers after the planes hit seemed like they were “catapulted” with how far their bodies went off the buildings.
“How could you fly that far?” he said. “Was that because of some energy force?“
Piker noted that they have different views about what happened on 9/11, which resulted in Ventura saying he was just repeating what an eye witness told him and what he read.
What do you think of Ventura’s various statements in the interview? Let us know in the comments.
