President Donald Trump was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013. At the time, then WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon welcomed him into the Celebrity Wing during a ceremony at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Now, 13 years later, WWE legend Jesse Ventura has called the induction “a tragedy.”
The retired wrestler and the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003 made the remarks during an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored. According to WrestleZone, Ventura claimed Trump received the honor because he allegedly helped halt an investigation involving former WWE executive Vince McMahon.
The Minneapolis native also said he has a network of friends, including fellow wrestler Ken Patera, who he believes are more deserving of a Hall of Fame spot but have yet to be inducted. “Trump being a WWE Hall of Famer is a tragedy. This guy has never been in the ring,” Ventura said. “I have a good friend, Ken Patera — an Olympian, the first man to overhead press 500 pounds, 25 years in the wrestling business. Kenny Patera is not in the Hall of Fame.”
“Donald Trump does not belong in the wrestling Hall of Fame; he never earned it,” he added.
View this post on Instagram
The federal government reportedly launched an investigation into McMahon in 2024 after a former WWE employee, Janel Grant, alleged that he coerced her into a relationship and sexually assaulted and trafficked her between 2020 and 2021.
Grant also alleged she was subjected to “extreme cruelty and degradation.”
Trump was first elected president in 2016, three years after his Hall of Fame induction. Ventura told Piers Morgan that the timeline surrounding McMahon’s case does not align with his claims. Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer also noted that even a cursory review suggests the allegation lacks supporting evidence. In addition to Grant, former referee Rita Chatterton has alleged that McMahon pressured her to perform oral sex in 1986 and assaulted her after she refused. The case was later settled for a reported seven-figure sum.
Another former wrestler, Kevin Wacholz — better known as Nailz — filed a lawsuit in 1992 alleging assault. McMahon denied the claims and filed a countersuit the same year.
View this post on Instagram
McMahon has also faced other legal challenges, including a sexual harassment allegation in Florida in 2006 and another claim in December 2022 by a California spa worker who alleged she was assaulted in 2011.
During the interview, Ventura also criticized Trump as a “draft dodger” and challenged him to step into the ring. He said that during his career, he wrestled 63 consecutive nights to build his reputation, contrasting that with Trump’s credentials.
He said:
“You know what I had to do to get in the pro wrestling Hall of Fame? At one point in my career, I wrestled 63 consecutive nights in a row. That’s how you get in the Hall of Fame.”
View this post on Instagram
This is not the first time Ventura has publicly criticized Trump’s WWE Hall of Fame induction. In a recent episode of the Independent Americans podcast, he described the honor as a “disgrace.”
Ventura also said in a past interview on Rosemary Barton Live that the country was “getting what it deserved” by electing Trump, referring to his presidency as one of the most controversial in U.S. history.
