Jesse Ventura Reflects On Trying To Form A Union In WWE, Why He Backed Off

For a long time, there has been an ongoing debate that professional wrestling should have a union. One veteran who petitioned for that was WWE Hall of Famer Jesse Ventura. Recently, while speaking on the Vanguard podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer recalled the time he tried to get the WWE locker room to form a union.

“I don’t know. That would depend on the wrestlers. Are the wrestlers willing to put their careers on the line? That’s what I did. You saw what happened to my career. Even the great Jesse Ventura was cut loose. Because, I tried, I stood up in a dressing room before WrestleMania 2. WrestleMania 2. I stood up in the dressing room, it was three or four weeks before the event. And I said, ‘Boys, now is the time to unionize.’ I said, ‘All the publicity’s gone out. All we have to do is stick together, go out to the press, and say we refuse to wrestle unless Federal negotiators are brought in.’

“It’s a Federal law. They would have to come in. And I said, ‘Who do you think turns on the lights in these buildings? Union people. If they recognize what we are doing, Vince cannot run WrestleMania.’ The first thing one of the guys said to me was, ‘Well, we need Hogan.’ Hulk Hogan. I said, ‘No we don’t. All we need is Bundy, that’s who he is wrestling. We don’t need Hogan. And then we can watch the Charlotte guys and have them walk out. The other, the WCW people. And if we do this together, we can finally get a union.’ I gave this impassioned speech that night.”

Jesse Ventura on his conversation with Vince McMahon

Jesse Ventura revealed that Vince McMahon spoke to him about not wanting to have a union.

“I went home the next day, my phone rang, and it was Vince, ‘What in the hell are you doing yacking about this Union crap in the dressing room?’ And I stood up to him. I said, ‘Vince, what’s… Why can’t we?’ And I said, ‘It’s not just to fight you.’ I said, ‘Right now I pay $5,000 a year for Health Insurance for me and my family.’ This was the 80’s people. And I said, ‘I pay over $5,000 a year. If we had strength in numbers, maybe I’ll only have to pay $1,200 a year.’ I said, ‘What about retirement?’ I’ve seen hundreds of guys retire after 30 years in this business, they don’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of.

“And I said, ‘If we had a Union, maybe they could retire and get $500 bucks a month. They’d get something.’ Well, I had to quit then. Because I signed to do Predator and Vince wasn’t going to let me. He said I couldn’t do it. So I said, ‘Fine, I quit.’ And I went off and did Predator. Well, while I was doing Predator, Arnold come up to me and says, ‘Jesse, I want you for the Running Man.’ I said, ‘Great.’”

Ventura also quit WWE and was a bit upset that the other wrestlers did not understand the need for a union in the business.

“So when I… Before I went back to Vince, we negotiated The Running Man and I had it in my back pocket. so, when I went back to Vince, I said to him straight out. I said, ‘Vince, you don’t have to worry about me crying out for Union anymore.’ He goes, ‘Really? Why not?’ I said, ‘I got mine.’ I said, ‘I’m now a member of The Screen Actors Guild,’” Jesse Ventura said.

Do you think WWE should be unionized?