Jesse Ventura has once again taken aim at Donald Trump and this time his frustration is tied directly to WWE history.
Ventura, who has been a vocal critic of Trump during his second presidential term, recently appeared on the Independent Americans podcast where he addressed Trump’s place in the WWE Hall of Fame. Ventura made it clear that the situation still deeply bothers him and revealed he has seriously considered walking away from his own Hall of Fame status because of it.
“You know what I’m ticked off about? He’s in the wrestling Hall of Fame,” Ventura said. “I’m angry over that. Very angry. And here’s why: I have friends that are not in the Hall of Fame. One in particular, Olympian Ken Patera. At one time considered possibly the strongest man in the world. Competed in the Olympics, had a tremendous pro wrestling career afterward. Well, guess what? He’s not in the Hall of Fame, and Trump is. And do you know how you get into the Hall of Fame? You do like what I had to do. Do you know what I did one time? True story: I wrestled 63 consecutive nights in a row without a day off. And there’s people that would destroy that. There’s guys that did more than that. But that’s how you get into the Hall of Fame. Think about that I wrestled 63 consecutive nights in a row. This is in the territory days, that was driving to and from the town…”
Ventura then questioned the reasoning behind Trump’s induction and suggested it had little to do with contributions inside the ring.
“You know why he got in? Because he provided us two buildings for WrestleMania IV and V where he probably made millions, you know, off of renting us his buildings to hold WrestleMania. And for that, Vince McMahon puts him in the Hall of Fame? It’s a disgrace. I’ve almost resigned, gone public and said I’m resigning from the Hall of Fame because Trump is in it and he doesn’t qualify. Like everything he does, he’s not qualified.”
Donald Trump was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013 under the celebrity wing. His association with WWE includes appearances tied to WrestleMania IV, WrestleMania V, and WrestleMania 23.
Jesse Ventura was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. While his relationship with WWE has been strained at various points over the years, Ventura signed a new Legends contract in 2024 and has since made regular appearances at Saturday Night’s Main Event specials.