10 Wrestling Legal Battles That Turned Ugly
8. Jesse Ventura Vs. WWF
A key reason why several replayed versions of old WrestleManias, Royal Rumbles and even WCW events feature Gorilla Monsoon or Tony Schiavone talking to themselves, Jesse Ventura's landmark victory in 1995 over royalty rights in restitution resulted in WWE fairly paying non-wrestling performers in perpetuity for their appearances on any home video releases.
Providing commentary on nearly every WWE pay-per-view between the advent of the medium and his 1990 departure, Ventura was a crucial part of the company's presentation during theIR meteoric rise, but it turned out he saw little compensation for his contributions after the fact.
The royalties had always been supplied to in-ring stars, but 'The Body' was livid when he discovered that other non-wrestlers were also paid for their efforts on classic pay-per-views that were later sold in their millions. It emerged that Ventura had waived his rights to royalties in a 1987 contract renegotiation after being lied to about a commentator's eligibility.
Ventura won just under a million dollars in the verdict (that was mainly wrapped up in various fees and back pay), but earned little else following the cynical edits of his work throughout the years.