A former WWE commentator has revealed that he can’t watch modern wrestling, and it’s all down to one simple issue.
Jesse Ventura was known for his comedic and unapologetic commentary during his time in the WWF. His commentary partner, Vince McMahon, came up with the idea of Ventura being a heel commentator opposite him. Although Ventura has since left the business, he recently explained why he can’t watch today’s wrestling shows.
In the latest edition of “Talk Is Jericho,” Ventura criticized modern wrestlers for not abiding by the rules. He specifically addressed wrestlers fighting outside the ring for long periods and ignoring the referee’s warnings. The former actor admitted that he couldn’t even go ten minutes without having that aspect of modern wrestling bother him.
“When I watched WWE today, it took me a while to determine why wrestling today to me doesn’t have any intrigue whatsoever to it. And I’ll tell you why, there’s no rules. Now when I say that, here’s what I mean. In my day when you broke a rule, you could lose a match. In my day when you broke a rule, the referee would make you break up the hold.
In my day the rules meant something if a guy was thrown went out over the top rope, that was considered so dangerous, that was a disqualification. And with those rules, it allowed you to get heat. Because when you’d win by breaking the rules, people were angry legitimately.”
Ventura then explained how in today’s wrestling, someone could immediately start the match by ramming their opponent’s head against the barricade and not suffer any consequences.
For someone who’s started in the business during the 70’s like Ventura, this creates a cause for concern. Ventura argued that many wrestlers don’t have to worry about being creative during matches because they can bend the rules whenever they like without worrying about losing the match.
“Today, the performers don’t need any creativity, they can blatantly cheat. Because again there are no rules and that’s why I can’t watch. There’s nothing there that intrigues me, a heel can’t get my respect because he’s not showing me the ability to perform and break the rules and get away with it. Because there are no rules to get away with.
Ventura left the world of professional wrestling to pursue his political aspirations. In 2017, he hosted the television series The World According To Jesse on RT America. The series ended earlier this year.
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