WWE will make a comeback to broadcast television with the return of NBC’s Saturday Night’s Main Event next week. And given the show is fondly connected to nostalgic days of old, there are already reports that multiple legends can return. One of those making a comeback is confirmed – Jesse “The Body” Ventura.
Ventura was a colorful wrestler and commentator for WWE during the 1980’s and has made sporadic appearances throughout the last 25 years. He also served as the Governor of Minnesota, was an actor, and a self-proclaimed conspiracy theorist. Needless to say, his life has been just as colorful outside of wrestling as it has been inside the world of sports entertainment.
The news was shared by Bill Simmons on his podcast and confirmed by WWE on their X account.
BREAKING: Jesse Ventura makes his return to the broadcast announce table for Saturday Night’s Main Event on Dec. 14, LIVE at 8/7c on @nbc, as first revealed on The @BillSimmons Podcast! pic.twitter.com/2SiqHvISwl
— WWE (@WWE) December 6, 2024
WWE’s network deal with Fox for Friday Night Smackdown ended earlier this year. The company then signed huge deals with NBC and Netflix that has seen Smackdown pivot to USA Network while Raw will move to the streaming giant. The new deal with NBC has given rebirth to the Saturday Night’s Main Event franchise that has had multiple runs from 1985-1992 and 2006-2008.
Fans of a certain age will have fond memories of Jesse Ventura’s time as an announcer, whether he was teaming with Gorilla Monsoon, Vince McMahon, or even Tony Schiavone during his brief WWE tenure.
Although there has been bad blood between Ventura and McMahon over the years, they did reunite on camera for another celebration of yesteryear back in 2013. However, Ventura did say on a podcast earlier this year that McMahon’s exit from the company did pave the way for a much better relationship with WWE and a potential legends deal that would open up more possibilities of working together.
Another one of Jesse Ventura’s real-life and scripted rivals, Hulk Hogan, is rumored to also make an appearance on SNME. So maybe we will still see some fireworks.
