8 Wrestlers Who Did Better Things In Retirement
2. Jesse Ventura
Like his regular commentary partner Gorilla Monsoon, Jesse Ventura's rise to mainstream prominence coincided with WWF's national exposure years after he'd hung up his feather boa.
In the ring, The Body had enjoyed relative success in his home state of Minnesota, capturing the tag team championships in Verne Gagne's AWA, before making the move to Stamford as part of Vince McMahon's mid-'80s expansion. Plans for a high-profile run opposite the industry's biggest star Hulk Hogan were scuppered when blood clots - allegedly caused by exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War (the chemical, not Hogan) - were found on Ventura's lungs. His wrestling career effectively ended, but missing the Hogan gravy train didn't prevent him becoming a household name.
Though Ventura was never the most compelling worker, he was one of the business's most compelling talkers, and it was entirely natural that he was repositioned into an announcing role. As WWE's expansion gathered pace, a much wider audience became accustomed to The Body's bristling charisma, to the point Hollywood came calling. A starring role in 1987's Predator led to a massive fallout between Ventura and Vince McMahon, but by this point he was above the law. Years later, he'd be making them, elected Governor of Minnesota in 1999. No other American wrestler has ever held such high office.