Professional wrestling has been full of colorful characters since the beginning, but few were on par with Jesse “The Body” Ventura, and this day in wrestling history introduced him to a lot of fans.
While many of us remember him as arguably the greatest heel commentator in wrestling history (I can still hear Gorilla Monsoon telling him, “Will you stop?”), he was an established name in AWA.
He was as much fun to watch in the ring as was his promos as his persona was based on “Superstar” Billy Graham and he took it and being a heel to a who new level as he didn’t want to be cheered.
Getting a start
Ventura was already a pretty big name in the AWA, but he reportedly had a falling out with Verne Gagne, so he left and singed with the WWE.
On October 13, 1981 he defeated Jerry Johnson by submission on Championship Wrestling in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
He talked about how “The Body” character came into being in an interview. Special thanks to @awrestlinghistorian for the following transcript.
“You have to remember something. Both Hulk Hogan and I wrestled in other places before we came to the AWA. I had actually been wrestling five years: I wrestled in Portland for three years, Kansas City, Hawaii, but let’s put it this way. It was during my tenure with Verne Gagne that I became Jesse The Body Ventura. In fact, Verne named me that because a couple of years earlier he lost Superstar Billy Graham to New York and he asked me, ‘Can you do Superstar Graham?’ I said I can do Superstar Graham better then Graham because Billy was my hero.
“There wouldn’t have been a Hulk Hogan and there wouldn’t have been a Jesse Ventura had there not been a Superstar Billy Graham. Rest assured of that. He was the influence that brought us in.
“Verne said to me ‘That’s what we want. Let’s come up with a name for you and I want you to pose and do all that stuff that Graham does.’ and so that’s where the birth of Jesse The Body came from.” – Jesse Ventura, Two Man Power Trip interview, April 29, 2015.
It’s always cool hearing where our favorites got their inspiration from as it’s easy to forget even Legends and idols had their idols.
This day in wrestling history gave us one of the best heels in history, and he’s carved out a niche for himself in the wrestling world that’s among the best.
What’s your favorite Jesse Ventura moment?
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