One of the last big angles Ventura did during this run was a spot as the special referee for the first Summer Slam pay-per view. On the Brother Love Show, Ted DiBiase gave Ventura several hundred dollars to make sure he “called it like he saw it” at the big show. DiBiase would team with Andre the Giant against Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, in case you were living under a rock at that time. Although Ventura was reluctant to hit the mat a third time during the match when Hogan had DiBiase down for a pin, he did give them the match.

Then, while away on one acting stint, Jesse was replaced on TV with Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. Heenan was also a formidable announcer, and wanted to give up his duties as an active manager due to ring injuries. This left Ventura without a spot for a time. Eventually, (outside of Kayfabe Memories’ 1989 timeline) Ventura found himself a spot as an announcer in WCW starting in 1992. 

While there he found time to run for mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. He used this leverage to launch a radio talk show which covered many political items, which lead to Governor Ventura. This of course led to short-lived MSNBC political analyst Jesse Ventura, and now Harvard professor of government, Jesse Ventura (and it’s still hard for me to write that last one). 

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