Jesse Ventura Reveals When He Lost Respect For Vince McMahon, His All-Time Favorite Opponent
Recently on The Steve Austin Show, professional wrestling legend Steve Austin spoke with professional wrestler, actor, and politician, Jesse Ventura. Among other things, Ventura talked about his all-time favorite opponent in the squared circle. Also, 'The Body' recalled a time when he lost respect for WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
According to Ventura, his all-time favorite opponent in professional wrestling is Tito Santana. Ventura went on to say that 'El Matador' would let him be himself and that he had great timing.
"For some reason, Tito and I's style blended perfect. And Tito knew me and knew how I needed to work. And he was so wonderful. He and I, we had cases where the would announcer say 10 minutes are gone and we hadn't touched, and yet the people had been up and down, out of their seats three times and we hadn't touched. And Tito would allow me to be me. And then, his timing was phenomenal. When it was time for him, he trusted me and knew I would give it to him because I knew that you've got to give the babyface [his] due. They've got to beat you up at some point, so you can be a coward!"
Interestingly, Ventura said that he lost respect for McMahon when WWE's majority owner did not go to bat for him on a matter of censorship. As the story goes, on commentary for WWE television, Ventura said Koko B. Ware's middle initial stands for 'Buckwheat', which caught the attention of the National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People.
"The NAACP comes down on him and he won't fight them. He gives in and censors me. And I thought, 'how can you do this when Koko said it was okay?' And here was my argument, Steve. At that very time, Saturday Night Live, Eddie Murphy was doing Buckwheat. So it's okay for Eddie to do Buckwheat, but its not okay for me? Excuse me, that's discrimination. That is discrimination. How can Eddie do Buckwheat and I can't?"
Ventura continued, "but Vince backed down. He wouldn't take on the fight and I lost a little respect for him because I thought I was right. I said, 'how can Eddie do it and I can't?'"
Check out the show here. If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit The Steve Austin Show with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: The Steve Austin Show