ST. PAUL — Jesse Ventura, the wrestler-turned-politician-turned-television-host, has defied the odds before. More than a decade and a half ago, almost no one thought that a feather boa-wearing former professional wrestler could become the governor of Minnesota. In Mr. Ventura’s latest turn in the spotlight, some people questioned whether he could prevail in a claim that he had been defamed in a best-selling book, given the relatively high legal standard in such cases for public figures — and given Mr. Ventura’s lifetime of vivid, blunt and provocative pronouncements.

Yet on Tuesday, a jury sided with Mr. Ventura, finding that he had been defamed, calling for an award of more than $1.8 million and offering vindication to the former governor, 63, whose old swagger seemed somewhat diminished during three tense weeks in court here. At times, the proceedings felt less like an examination of a book by a former member of the Navy SEALs than a retrospective of Mr. Ventura’s history of colorful comments, his reputation, his life.

As the verdict came in, Mr. Ventura was at his Minnesota home, his lawyer said, choosing not to appear at the federal courthouse here as he had during the trial. “He wanted me to express his sentiment that there are no real winners in this trial,” David B. Olsen, his lawyer, told a throng of reporters. “He’s certainly grateful to the jury for their verdict, but his reputation with an entire generation of young SEALs may never be repaired and that’s why he says that there’s no winner here.”

Over many years, Mr. Ventura has shown the world almost as many sides. There was Jesse “The Body,” the wrestling persona. Jesse the actor, in the 1987 “Predator” movie, in which he uttered the line, “I ain’t got time to bleed!” And Jesse the blustery governor who pressed for tax cuts but may be better remembered for gleefully deriding reporters as “jackals.”