WWE has announced the return of it’s retro wrestling extravaganza, Saturday Night’s Main Event, and if recent rumours are to be believed, Jesse “The Body” Ventura’s return is no conspiracy theory.
The global pro wrestling brand will reboot a popular staple when they reboot Saturday Nights Main Event live on Saturday, December 14, 2024, with a show that is set to be simulcast on both NBC and Peacock. While the event was last broadcast in 2008, most pro wrestling fans will remember SNME particularly for the action and storylines of the 1980s, and most notably a bout between Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant that drew an astonishing 33 million viewers in the U.S.
One man who was a huge part of SNME events back in the day was bodybuilder-turned-wrestler, Jesse Ventura, who provided commentary alongside Vince McMahon during the over-the-top action. And, while SNME will return with a show held in its inaugural venue, the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island, New York, industry insiders have been speculating that the 73-year-old former Governor of Minnesota will once again don the headphones and lay the verbal smackdown on today’s crop of WWE Superstars.
Greg Gagne, a wrestler who had battled “The Body” many times over the years, elaborated on why he thought the Running Man and Predator star was headed back. “I mean, with what they’re paying those guys to come in, I think Jesse’s going to do the… they’re doing some NBC Saturday night shows, about four of them, they’re gonna use Jesse for that,” he explained on the Straight Talking with the Boss podcast.
If true, this would be a great ‘get’ for WWE. It is understood that the charismatic star already signed a ‘legends’ style contract with the wrestling juggernaut and was even recently filmed embracing WWE Chief, Paul Lavesque seemingly paving the way for working on an SNME revival. The show is expected to hit screens with four quarterly specials as part of a new five-year rights deal with NBCUniversal. WWE has also signed a lucrative new contract with Netflix to air content beginning in January 2025.
The Saturday Nights Main Event show was first conceived as a way for filling in the late-night timeslot during weeks when Saturday Night Live was off the air and became a huge hit. Tickets for the return show will be available from September 20 at Ticketmaster.
If all this talk of the 80s action icons has you thirsty for more, Jesse “The Body” Ventura has been a previous guest of M&F’s Old-School Ass-Kicker feature where he discussed a range of issue including whether his biceps were bigger than Arnold Schwarzenegger’s.
