From Monday Night Mayhem:
Jesse Ventura Discusses The Second Season Of truTV’s “Conspiracy Theory,” Why It Could Seem “Plausible” That The WWE Would Transition Away From Their PG Rating If Linda McMahon Loses Her Senate Race, His Reaction To The WWE’s “Stand Up” Online Campaign (Including Vince McMahon’s YouTube Video/Message To Wrestling Fans), A Startling & Shocking Theory To Look At If Linda Was Elected (One That Would Affect & Impact Millions Of Americans If She Were Victorious Over Richard Blumenthal And Followed Through With A Certain Familiar Business Practice), & Why He Still Strongly Believes That WWE Superstars & Professional Wrestlers Alike Should Not Be Classified As “Self-Employed”
Courtesy: www.MondayNightMayhem.com
WWE Hall of Famer, the host of truTV’s “Conspiracy Theory,” New York Times best-selling author, & former Governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura, was a featured guest on this week’s live edition (10/18/10) of the award-winning Monday Night Mayhem. You can feel the “MNM Fall Tour ’10” every Monday night (at 7PM ET/6PM CT), exclusively on The Monday Night Mayhem Radio Network (www.MondayNightMayhem.com, www.AudioWrestling.com, www.Hybrident.tv, www.iTunes.com, www.Facebook.com/MondayNightMayhem, www.Twitter.com/FeelTheMayhem, & www.MySpace.com/MondayNightMayhem).
Jesse joined The Big Mosh & “The Chairman of the Board” Todd Vincent on “Your Home of Wrestling Radio” to discuss & preview the second season of truTV’s “Conspiracy Theory.” Her return to Monday Night Mayhem is now available in Windows Streaming Media or via the official MNM Podcast on iTunes:
Jesse Ventura/Monday Night Mayhem Interview (MNM Streaming Audio):
www.mondaynightmayhemarchives.com/waxfiles/101810.wax
Jesse Ventura/Monday Night Mayhem Interview (MNM Podcast on iTunes):
www.mondaynightmayhemarchives.com/oct10/101810.mp3
Interview highlights courtesy of The Mayhem’s official correspondent, Paterson from New Jersey:
The reaction he has received, thus far, to the premiere episode of the second season of truTV’s Conspiracy Theory: “It was remarkable that the night after it aired I had to get up at four in the morning, because I had to fly from New York City down to Washington, D.C., because I had to do one more very important interview about this year’s 9/11 episode. When I got to LaGuardia Airport at four o’clock in the morning, between going through the security checkpoint to my gate, I had three people walk up to me in the airport to tell me how phenomenal the show was, and how great it is, and thanked me for giving them a show like this on the air. I thought that was pretty telling, even in New York City at five in the morning.”
Why it could seem plausible that the WWE would transition from their current TV-PG rating if Linda McMahon was not successful in her bid to become the next Senator of Connecticut & his response to the reaction from his recent comments on ABC’s Good Morning America, in which he said that he would not vote for Linda McMahon: “I’ll tell you this, I never really had that question posed to me, because I don’t watch wrestling anymore, and I haven’t for years & years, but the scenario you write certainly seems plausible. I can’t comment and say yes or no; I don’t know. I don’t pay attention to wrestling anymore, but having been in it for the 15 years that I was, and the six or seven or eight of them exclusively with the WWE with Vince & Linda McMahon, it seems that absolutely that could be a scenario that should certainly be looked at given its new scrutiny. I was asked on “Good Morning America” if I would vote for Linda McMahon, and I stated that no I wouldn’t. I don’t want to make that seem that I’m casting anything on her character or anything like that…that’s up to the voters to determine that. I wouldn’t vote for her opponent (Richard Blumenthal) either. I don’t vote for Democrats or Republicans. Anyone that joins those two parties and runs will never get a endorsement from me, will never get my vote, because I’m a strong believer. I stand with John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, & George Washington, stating that political parties will be the downfall of our country; we need to abolish them. They’re nothing different than street gangs, only they wear Brooks Brothers suits. The only way I support people is if they run as an Independent.”
Why, to this day, he strongly believes that WWE superstars & professional wrestlers alike should not be classified as “self-employed”: “Jobs, wrestling style, mean no benefits. Just remember that the jobs that are created in the world of wrestling, as the talent end of it, get no benefits, you are not allowed to unionize, and that you’re also called ‘self-employed,’ which I don’t know how many years I’ve have sat and looked in amazement about how they got away with that. You’re signed to exclusive contracts. How in the world can they call you ‘self-employed?’ That means the wrestler or the talent has to pay 15% self-employment tax out of his pocket, and it saves the WWE from having to pay Social Security for the talent. I’ve always wondered how they were able to get away with that. You’re not self-employed when you’re a wrestler…that’s as far from the truth as anyone could imagine.”
Whether or not Vince McMahon’s move to ask wrestling fans to “Stand Up” for the WWE (due to some of the unfavorable coverage that the company has received during Linda McMahon’s Senatorial run) surprised him, plus a startling & shocking theory to look at if Linda was elected: one that would potentially affect & impact millions of Americans if she were victorious on Election Day and followed through with a certain familiar business practice: “No it doesn’t. The people also need to understand what you’re dealing with here is not wrestling. Wrestling’s tremendous entertainment, it’s a business, it’s how the McMahon’s have earned a fortune, and that’s great; that’s America, the United States; that’s capitalism; that’s what it’s all about. But to ban together to elect someone simply because they come from that business. Imagine if their business practices if she were elected, and she were able to implement the business practices of them towards the rest of the United States, and make everybody in the country work like the guys in wrestling have to: There’s no union, there’s no retirement, there’s no benefits whatsoever, and they don’t even acknowledge you as an employee. You’re not talking about pro wrestling here. You’re talking about someone with that mindset going now into elected office and asking you as the pro wrestling fans to support them, simply because they entertain you, when politics is much deeper than entertainment. Politics affects our everyday living of the basic needs of life. That’s what people need to look at in this thing. This is not a game. This is not a popularity contest. When you vote, you should vote your heart & your conscience, and don’t allow entertainment in there, because entertainment is what it is…it’s something to humor you.”
Much more is included in Jesse’s exclusive Monday Night Mayhem interview, including his candid thoughts on Linda McMahon’s actual chances of defeating Richard Blumenthal (and what advice & warnings he gave to her when she first decided to run for the Senate), why American society today is “a society of entertainment,” his reasons for deciding to teach a class at Harvard University on “how pro wrestling prepares you for politics” (and the reaction it received), an inside look at the rest of the second season of truTV’s “Conspiracy Theory,” a sneak preview of this week’s all-new episode looking at “Area 51,” plus much more! See Jesse & his team of investigative reporters attempt to help uncover the truth every Friday evening (at 10PM ET/9PM CT) only on truTV. Log on to the official website of “Conspiracy Theory” (located at: www.trutv.com/shows/conspiracy_theory/index.html), and check out exclusive photos, bonus video, along with the best moments from the first season of “Conspiracy Theory.”
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