Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003. He was elected governor with the Reform Party and is the party's only candidate to win a major government office.
Jesse Ventura
James Krautkremer
Grace Arbogast
- Independent (1969–1998, 2003–2020, 2020–present)
- Independence—Alliance (2000–2003)
- Reform (1998–2000)
2
- Politician
- actor
- professional wrestler
- television presenter
- author
- commentator
1969–1975
6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[5]
245 lb (111 kg)[5]
1974[3]
1986[3]
Ventura was a member of the United States Navy Underwater Demolition Team during the Vietnam War.[6] After leaving the military, he embarked on a professional wrestling career as a heel from 1975 to 1986, taking the ring name "Jesse 'the Body' Ventura."[7] He had a lengthy tenure in the WWF/WWE as a performer and color commentator and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2004.[2] In addition to wrestling, Ventura pursued an acting career, appearing in films such as Predator and The Running Man.
Ventura entered politics in 1991 when he was elected mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, a position he held until 1995. He was the Reform Party candidate in the 1998 Minnesota gubernatorial election, running a low-budget campaign centered on grassroots events and unusual advertising that urged citizens not to "vote for politics as usual". In a major upset, Ventura defeated both the Democratic and Republican nominees. Amid internal fights for control over the party, Ventura left the Reform Party a year after taking office and served the remainder of his term as a member of the Independence Party of Minnesota. Since holding public office, Ventura has referred to himself a "statesman" instead of a politician.[8]
As governor, Ventura oversaw reforms of Minnesota's property tax as well as the state's first sales tax rebate. Other initiatives he took included construction of the METRO Blue Line light rail in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area and income tax cuts.[9][10][11] Ventura did not run for reelection. After leaving office in 2003, he became a visiting fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He has since hosted a number of political television shows on RT America and Ora TV, and written several books.[12] Ventura has been a prominent figure in third-party politics, having repeatedly floated the idea of running for President of the United States as an independent candidate.[13]
In late April 2020, Ventura endorsed the Green Party in the 2020 presidential election and showed interest in running for its nomination.[14] He officially joined the Green Party of Minnesota on May 2.[15] On May 7, he confirmed he would not run.[16][17] The Alaskan division of the Green Party nominated Ventura without his involvement, causing the national party to disown it for abandoning its nominee, Howie Hawkins.[18][19]
Professional wrestling career[edit]
Early career[edit]
Ventura created the stage name Jesse "The Body" Ventura to go with the persona of a bully-ish beach bodybuilder, picking the name "Ventura" from a map as part of his "bleach blond from California" gimmick.[2] As a wrestler, Ventura performed as a heel, a decision he attributes to his ability to be more creative as a villain.[7] He resurrected Gorgeous George's old motto of "Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat!", which he emblazoned on his t-shirts. Much of this flamboyant persona was adapted from "Superstar" Billy Graham, a charismatic and popular performer during the 1970s.[2][38] Years later, as a broadcaster, Ventura made a running joke out of claiming that Graham stole all his ring attire ideas from him.
In 1975, Ventura made his debut in the Central States territory, before moving to the Pacific Northwest, where he wrestled for promoter Don Owen as Jesse "The Great" Ventura.[2][38] During his stay in Portland, Oregon, he had notable feuds with Dutch Savage and Jimmy Snuka and won the Pacific Northwest Wrestling title twice (once from each wrestler) and the tag team title five times (twice each with Bull Ramos and "Playboy" Buddy Rose, and once with Jerry Oates). He later moved to his hometown promotion, the American Wrestling Association in Minnesota and began teaming with Adrian Adonis as the "East-West Connection" in 1979. In his RF Video shoot in 2012, he revealed that shortly after he arrived in the AWA he was given the nickname "the Body" by Verne Gagne.[5][38] The duo won the AWA World Tag Team Championship on July 20, 1980, on a forfeit when Gagne, one-half of the tag team champions along with Mad Dog Vachon, failed to show up for a title defense in Denver, Colorado.[2] The duo held the belts for nearly a year, losing to "The High Flyers" (Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell).[2]
Disputes[edit]
[edit]
Bill Salisbury, an attorney in San Diego and a former Navy SEAL officer, has accused Ventura of "pretending" to be a SEAL. He wrote that Ventura blurred an important distinction by claiming to be a SEAL when he was actually a frogman with the UDT. Compared to SEAL teams, UDTs saw less combat and took fewer casualties.[28][142]
Salisbury described Ventura's Navy training thus:
Personal life[edit]
Family[edit]
On July 18, 1975, three days after his 24th birthday, Ventura married his wife Terry.[22] The couple have two children: a son, Tyrel,[177] who is a film and television director and producer,[178] and a daughter, Jade.[177] With the exception of the first two WrestleManias, Ventura always said hello to "Terry, Tyrel and Jade back in Minneapolis" during his commentary at the annual event. Tyrel also had the honor of inducting his father into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2004, and worked on Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura, including as an investigator in the show's third season.
Ventura and his wife split their time between White Bear Lake, Minnesota and Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico.[179] Regarding his life in Mexico, Ventura has said: