Jesse Ventura Recalls Medical Emergency That Cost Him Hulk Hogan WWE Title Feud

Fate never allowed Jesse Ventura to capture the WWE World Championship, the former pro wrestler and Minnesota governor said recently, opening up about the medical emergency that effectively ended his in-ring career. During an appearance at Steel City Con, Ventura said he was on his way to winning the world championship from Hulk Hogan in September 1984, but his hospitalization for blood clots effectively ended his title chase.

"I'm a great believer sometimes in fate and destiny," he said. "And I think fate and destiny play somewhat a role, for whatever reason that might be. Like the night before I was to wrestle Hulk Hogan for the World Heavyweight Title in Los Angeles, I ended up in critical condition in the San Diego hospital with massive blood clots from 28 days of flying in a row." Ventura came to WWE alongside Adrian Adonis as both were coming off a nearly year-long AWA World Tag Team Championship run, but that momentum soon stopped for Ventura and he needed to find a plan B.

"Many times in life when something dastardly happens to you, it leads to something good as a result of it, and I never got my shot at Hogan ... but what did I get to do? While I was convalescing, Vince McMahon called me and he said Jesse, I have an idea. And I said, what is it Vince? He said, we've never had a villain on the microphone before, you think you could do color commentating and broadcast matches?" The rest is history. Ventura went on to become one of the most iconic voices in company history until his departure in 1990.