Jesse Ventura Reveals If He Receives WWE Network Royalties, Talks Past Lawsuit Against WWE
Jesse "The Body" Ventura has been a fixture in the public eye for decades. Between his WWE run, his starring roles in several movies and TV shows, and his gubernatorial role, Ventura has always had an outlet. Those outlets gained him the experience and confidence to take on Vince McMahon in court, and he may not be done.
Ventura sued the WWF in 1990 in an effort to get royalties for his appearance on WWE home videos. Ventura won that case, and giving royalty checks to current and former WWE talents became standard procedure for the company. In an interview with Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc., Ventura talked about beating the WWF in court.
"I took the gamble and sued Vince and beat him in 1990. He still sends me quarterly checks. Anything I appear on, he has to pay me for," Ventura said of the ruling in his favor.
However, with the development of the WWE Network, talents don't seem to be getting the same kind of royalties they were with DVD and home video releases. CM Punk famously spoke out about it a year ago during his podcast with Colt Cabana, and Ventura echoed that sentiment, saying that he's going to look into it.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out (laughs)," Ventura replied when asked if he receives royalties for the Network. "I'm glad you reminded me, I'm going to call my attorney David Olsen about that. I don't know if it does or not, but I'm not being paid for it, and I understand I appear on it quite often."
Be sure to check out all of Jesse Ventura's books, including the extended American Conspiracies at this link. The newly revised edition contains several new chapters and looks at secret trade deals between corporations and select government leaders such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Big Pharma and the oil industry's influence on politicians on both sides of the aisle. We'll have the first part of our interview with Ventura up soon.