Jesse Ventura is reportedly no longer under contract with WWE. According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the WWE Hall of Famer’s deal is believed to have expired following the last Saturday Night’s Main Event broadcast.
Ventura was brought back as part of the nostalgia aspect for the Saturday Night’s Main Event specials that began in late 2024. He was notably absent from the most recent show on November 1st.
Jesse Ventura’s Contract Status
In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer provided details on the situation, noting Ventura’s absence was not a major topic of discussion.
“The other notable thing on the show was no Jesse Ventura, who was brought back for the nostalgia aspect. Nothing has been officially said. We were under the impression he had signed a one-year deal for these shows, and that deal would have run out with the last show. I don’t know that factually and in checking, the only thing we got was that it was not a major topic of discussion, but after the cage match fiasco performance in the McIntyre vs. Damian Priest match, we were told the die was cast as far as using him going forward. He was downplayed on the next show while still under contract and not on this show, nor ever referenced. They also didn’t bring in stars from the past or air nostalgia clips.”
The ‘Cage Match Fiasco’
The “cage match fiasco” mentioned in the report refers to an on-air incident during the Saturday Night’s Main Event broadcast on May 25, 2025. Ventura was on commentary for a steel cage match between Drew McIntyre and Damian Priest. The match ended when Priest walked out of the cage door, a finish that a seemingly unprepared Ventura took issue with live on air, asking, “Wait a minute! … what kind of BS is that?”. His critical post-match commentary was edited out of WWE’s official YouTube recap of the match.
Ventura’s return was announced in December 2024, with reports at the time, and Ventura’s own comments, stating he was set to call all four of the planned Saturday Night’s Main Event specials in 2025. Following the May incident, he was reportedly “downplayed” while still under contract before being absent from the November 1st show entirely, which aligns with the report that WWE decided to move on from him.
