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Wikipedia

Jim Cornette

January 07, 2023

James Mark "Jim" Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author and podcaster who has previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, promoter, trainer, and occasional professional wrestler. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest managers in wrestling history, due to his mic skills.

Jim Cornette
Cornette in June 2015
Birth nameJames Mark Cornette
Born (1961-09-17) September 17, 1961 (age 61)[1][2]
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Spouse(s)
  • Janice Crowl
    ​
    (m. 1987⁠–⁠2002)​
  • Stacey Goff
    ​
    (m. 2007)​
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)General Cornette[3]
James E. Cornette
James Edward Cornette
Jim Cornette
Billed height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[4]
Billed weight231 lb (105 kg)[4]
Billed fromLouisville, Kentucky[5]
DebutSeptember 1982
RetiredNovember 2017[6]

During his career, he has worked for the Continental Wrestling Association, Mid-South Wrestling, World Class Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation (now called WWE), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (now called Impact Wrestling), and Ring of Honor. From 1991 to 1994, he was the owner and booker of Smoky Mountain Wrestling, and from 1999 to 2005, was the co-owner, head booker, and head trainer of Ohio Valley Wrestling. During the later years of his career, Cornette focused primarily on backstage positions and transitioned away from his role as an on-screen manager.

In 2017, Cornette retired from managing.[6] During a transitional period prior to the retirement, he worked as an on-screen "authority figure" character in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and Ring of Honor, promotions where he also held backstage positions. Cornette has also had an extensive commentary career, most recently serving as a color commentator for Major League Wrestling, What Culture Pro Wrestling, and the National Wrestling Alliance. Cornette is a member of the NWA, Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Memphis, and Professional Wrestling Hall of Fames. Cornette is also noted for his long-standing real-life feud with former professional wrestling booker Vince Russo; in June 2017, Russo filed a restraining order (EPO) against Cornette for stalking.[7] The Cornette vs. Russo feud has been featured on two episodes of Viceland's Dark Side of the Ring series.[8][9]

Outside of wrestling, Cornette is known for his left-wing political views – Cornette, an atheist and democratic socialist,[10][11] has appeared on The Young Turks to document his criticisms of religious and right-wing causes.[12][13]

Early life

Cornette was born in Louisville, Kentucky on September 17, 1961 to Doug Cornette (1914–1968), an executive with The Louisville Courier-Journal and The Louisville Times, and Thelma Cornette (1933–2002), a secretary for the Louisville Chamber of Commerce. His father died when he was seven years old. From the age of nine, Cornette had a love for wrestling, claiming that, as a child, he installed a ten-foot antenna on top of his house so he could watch as much regional wrestling as possible.[14][15]

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Cornette began working at wrestling events at the age of 14, serving as a photographer, ring announcer, timekeeper, magazine correspondent, and public relations correspondent. During this time, from attending matches at the Louisville Gardens, Cornette got to know promoter Christine Jarrett, who was the mother of Jerry Jarrett, promoter of the Continental Wrestling Association (commonly known as the "Memphis territory").[16]

Continental Wrestling Association (1982–1983)

By 1982, Cornette was now also writing programs for arena shows, having photos published in wrestling magazines, and contributing to the Championship Wrestling Magazine. In August, he traveled to Memphis to see the TV match between Jerry Lawler and Ric Flair. After the show ended, Cornette was offered a wrestling managerial role on television by promoter Jerry Jarrett. As Cornette has recalled, despite his presence being tolerated at shows and TV tapings for nearly a decade, the first time he was allowed into the locker room was only after he had become a manager.

Before making his managing debut, Cornette decided to adapt the ring name James E. Cornette in tribute to legendary wrestling promoter James E. Barnett. Cornette made his ringside debut on September 25, 1982, managing Sherri Martel, who herself would later become a wrestling manager. Cornette was given the gimmick of a rich kid turned inept manager whose clients kept firing him after one match. The most notable wrestlers in this angle were Dutch Mantell and Crusher Broomfield (who would later gain fame as One Man Gang and Akeem "The African Dream"). Over the next 14 months Cornette also managed Jesse Barr, Exotic Adrian Street, and a trio called the "Cornette Dynasty" consisting of Carl Fergie, Norman Frederick Charles III, and the Angel Frank Morrell. After a short-lived run in Georgia through a deal Jarrett had with Ole Anderson, Cornette returned to Memphis in July 1983, and worked as co-manager alongside Jimmy Hart.

Mid-South Wrestling (1983–1984)

Formation of The Midnight Express

In November 1983, Mid-South promoter Bill Watts recognized his business was down and was looking to reinvigorate his territory. Watts asked Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler to visit a TV taping and offer their opinions. Jarrett suggested a talent trade and invited Watts to Memphis to see who he liked. After watching a Memphis TV taping, Watts took singles performers Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton to create a new tag team, and also took the existing team of Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson as The Rock 'n' Roll Express. Watts also noticed the brash young manager in Cornette, and in his own words, recalled "He was so obnoxious I wanted to slap him",[17] and "I knew he was instant box office if he could get me that riled up".[17]

As the more senior Jimmy Hart was still required by Jarrett, Watts took Cornette to manage his new team, who decided on the name The Midnight Express. Notable wrestlers in the trade who left Mid-South for Memphis included Rick Rude and Jim Neidhart.

Mid-South Wrestling had at that point been a territory featuring bigger wrestlers, and Cornette has stated that The Midnight Express, the Rock 'n' Roll Express, and himself were probably the five smallest members of the roster when he arrived. The influx of the new talent had an immediate impact, and business first rebounded and then skyrocketed. It was during this time that Cornette acquired his tennis racquet which became his trademark. He has stated he had seen a college movie at the time with an obnoxious rich kid carrying a badminton racquet with him (most likely the 1983 film Screwballs), so he decided on a tennis racquet. At times Cornette loaded the racquet with a horseshoe to guard against aggressive fans.[16]

Feud with Magnum T. A. and Mr. Wrestling II

Cornette and The Midnight Express debuted on Mid-South television on November 23, 1983. After the first few weeks in the territory the team faced the Mid-South tag team champions Magnum T. A. and Mr. Wrestling II. At a TV taping for a contract signing for an upcoming championship match, the Midnights and Cornette attacked Magnum T. A. and tarred and feathered him. The feud continued through to early March 1984, when The Midnight Express won the Mid-South tag team titles after Mr. Wrestling II walked out on his partner during a match.[16]

The Last Stampede

At a TV taping on March 14, 1984, Cornette and the Midnights staged a celebration for winning the tag team titles, complete with champagne and birthday cake. While Cornette's back was turned, The Rock 'n' Roll Express ran in and shoved Cornette's face in the cake. Cornette was enraged afterwards when Bill Watts replayed the incident on TV as he thought it was funny. This led to a heated altercation between the two, which ended with Watts slapping Cornette. In following weeks, the Midnight Express and Cornette attacked and bloodied Watts leading him to come out of retirement.

In a series of matches termed "The Last Stampede", Watts and his masked teammate Stagger Lee (suspected to be Junkyard Dog under a mask) faced the Midnight Express and Cornette all through the territory. The stipulations were simple; if the Midnights won Cornette would run Mid-South Wrestling for 60 days; if they lost, Cornette would be stripped down and forced to wear either a diaper or a dress (the outfits varied by venue). Over 5 weeks, the Last Stampede series shattered box office records for Mid-South, with a record gate and attendance at the Sam Houston Coliseum in Texas, combined attendance of 20,000 people in Tulsa and Oklahoma City (on the same day), and a crowd of 23,000 people at the New Orleans Superdome.[16]

Rock 'n' Roll Express rivalry

Cornette's time in Mid-South was also notable as it marked the beginning of the rivalry with the Rock 'n' Roll Express. Starting in May 1984 immediately following the Last Stampede series, the two teams feuded all through the remainder of the year to packed crowds all through the territory. In particular, the two teams set attendance records in Houston, Tulsa and Oklahoma City, making 1984 the most successful year in Mid-South history, and The Midnight Express and Cornette national stars.[16]

Watts' style and influence

Cornette has consistently acknowledged that Bill Watts's philosophy of believable and credible wrestling, with an unwavering emphasis on toughness, athleticism and serious presentation, has had a major impact on how he thinks the business should be promoted. He has described the promotion as a military school for wrestling, where Watts' strict enforcement of kayfabe, exhausting travel schedule and passionate fans made it a learning experience like no other. Cornette maintains enormous respect for Watts as a promoter, citing his ability to attract huge TV ratings and consistently sold-out arenas in a low population area, and describing Watts as a genius. At the same time, he acknowledges the grind of constant matches, long drives, and fan riots was a grueling test of endurance. At one point, Cornette worked 103 days straight before being ordered by doctors to have two to four weeks' bed rest. As events transpired, he took six days off before returning to action.[16]

In describing Mid-South Wrestling, Cornette has offered the following example: "Two weeks of our lives, fourteen days, we did two one hour TV shows, fifteen house shows, two all day promo sets, drove 4700 miles in a car while doing that, and I can't speak for anybody else, but I made—and I was only 22 years old, and just pleased as punch to be there—$5600 for two weeks. In 1984. Not bad."[18]

World Class Championship Wrestling (1984–1985)

See also: The Midnight Express

The Midnight Express with Cornette had a short stay in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in Texas where they feuded mainly with The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers). When opportunities in WCCW looked to go nowhere, The Midnight Express started to look elsewhere for employment and what they found would give the team national and international exposure. Cornette later reflected that they were willing to give Dallas a try, as they welcomed living in a modern city, as well as the easier travel schedule when compared to Mid-South. However, the inability to get any rivalry with the Von Erichs—and therefore main event money—made the decision to leave for Charlotte an easy one.[16]

Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling (1985–1990, 1993)

Managing the Midnight Express

 
Cornette suspended above the ring in a shark cage during the 1988 Great American Bash on July 10.
See also: The Midnight Express

Cornette and the Midnight Express spent five years at Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling. After Condrey left the company in early 1987, he was replaced with Stan Lane. With Cornette as manager, each version of the team were National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) World tag team champions (Condrey and Eaton for six months in 1986, Eaton and Lane for a few weeks in late 1988). In addition, Eaton and Lane were three -time NWA United States tag team champions. As a manager, Cornette was known for both his loud mouth and for his ever-present tennis racket,[19] which Cornette often used to ensure victory for his wrestlers, with the implication that the racket case was loaded. Cornette was at his best as a heel manager; fans loved to see the constantly yelling Cornette and his equally annoying charges beaten and humiliated. He and the Midnights were so hated, in fact, that they had to be escorted by police to and from the ring at the house shows and have a police escort to the city limits for fear of being attacked by overzealous fans.

Additionally, Cornette suffered a severe knee injury during a scaffold match between The Midnight Express and The Road Warriors at Starrcade '86. In a shoot interview, Cornette recounted that Dusty Rhodes convinced him to perform a dangerous stunt where he would fall off of the high scaffold, which Cornette estimated was twenty-five feet off the floor of the arena, but about five feet less when measured from the ring mat to the top of the scaffold. The idea was that Paul Ellering, the manager of The Road Warriors, would chase Cornette up the scaffold. Once he was there, he would be met by Road Warrior Animal, who would assist him in getting underneath the scaffold, where Cornette would hang and then drop when ready. Cornette, however, suffered from a severe case of acrophobia and decided that the drop, which he estimated was a total of fourteen feet when he factored in his total body length of eight feet (height plus extended arm length), was, as he put it, "way too goddamn far."

Condrey, Eaton, and Cornette discussed an alternative: Big Bubba Rogers, another wrestler of Cornette's, would catch the manager. However, as Rogers was wearing dark sunglasses inside the arena, he misjudged his position and Cornette actually landed flat on his feet, three feet away from Rogers. Cornette tore all the ligaments in one of his knees, broke a bone and damaged the cartilage. The injury was so extensive that when Cornette finally saw a doctor to have the knee drained, the amount of blood and fluid filled an entire bedpan. Cornette later said that he knew he might get seriously hurt when he was told he would have to fall off a scaffold, but that performing in front of such a large audience was more important than his own health.[20]

In 1989, Cornette became the color commentator for Jim Crockett Promotions' nationally syndicated NWA television show, and later took over the same role on the Saturday night TBS broadcasts alongside play-by-play announcer Jim Ross.

In 1989, Cornette became a booker on WCW's creative team. As such, Cornette helped write storylines and shape the format of its television shows. Due to friction and animosity between himself and WCW head Jim Herd, Cornette quit the company after Halloween Havoc 1990.

Return and managing the Heavenly Bodies

See also: The Heavenly Bodies

In early 1993, Cornette briefly returned to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as part of a talent trade with Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW). WCW executive vice president Bill Watts had brought The Rock 'n' Roll Express back into the company and billed them as the Smoky Mountain tag team champions, which incensed Cornette since his team The Heavenly Bodies (Stan Lane and Tom Prichard) were the reigning champions.[21] On the February 6 episode of WCW Saturday Night, Jim Cornette, the Bodies and Bobby Eaton confronted the Express during an interview. Bill Watts came out and suggested the Bodies should wrestle the Express. Cornette objected since he claimed that they weren't dressed for it, but the match still took place. The Express won the match by DQ when Eaton interfered in the match, and after the match while Lane held Morton, Cornette put his tennis racket over Morton while Eaton delivered his "Alabama jam" on Morton. Cornette then struck referee Nick Patrick, and then Cornette helped his men beat up the Express.[22]

The following week on Main Event, Watts appeared with Smoky Mountain commissioner Bob Armstrong, who demanded Cornette make a public apology. Cornette then interrupted the interview along with Eaton and the Heavenly Bodies, refusing to apologise and insulting the fans, Watts and Armstrong. Watts confirmed the Rock 'n' Roll Express were scheduled to face the Wrecking Crew (Rage and Fury) at SuperBrawl III, but suggested they wrestle the Heavenly Bodies instead. Armstrong agreed and issued Cornette with an ultimatum: if the Bodies did not wrestle the Express at SuperBrawl III, they would be stripped of the titles and Cornette would be heavily fined and suspended. Cornette was furious and claimed that "he hated WCW" and wanted no part of Superbrawl or the company. Later in the show, Eaton and the Bodies attacked two jobbers after a match, one being Joey Maggs, who were saved when the Rock 'n' Roll Express ran out and attacked Cornette and his men.[23]

During Cornette's second stint in WCW, his Heavenly Bodies teamed with Steve Austin and Brian Pillman in 8-man tag team matches against the Express and the Unified tag team champions Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas. The Bodies, Austin and Pillman lost two of those matches, one on a February 27 episode of WCW WorldWide by DQ when Cornette interfered,[24] and one by pinfall.[25]

The feud between the Bodies and the Express continued over in SMW, where Bobby Eaton would participate alongside Lane and Prichard in six-man tag team matches. In one memorable segment, the Express were accompanied by a mysterious individual who stood silently at ringside covered with a white sheet. During a post-match interview Morton dared Cornette to investigate and, after some light-hearted poking and pushing, Cornette finally removed the sheet to reveal Arn Anderson, Eaton's former tag team partner in The Dangerous Alliance. As Cornette recoiled in shock, Eaton went to shake Anderson's hand but was punched to the ground, triggering a brawl between both teams. Anderson justified his actions by stating that after he was injured by Erik Watts during a confrontation at a gas station, Eaton never once called to see how he was doing. When the Bodies finally faced off against the Express at SuperBrawl III, Eaton arrived with Cornette but was ordered back to the dressing room. Typically, Cornette then tried to interfere in the match by climbing onto the ring apron to argue with the referee, however the Express eventually won via pinfall when the returning Eaton accidentally hit Prichard instead of Morton. [26] As a singles wrestler, Eaton was also very successful in Smoky Mountain, winning the SMW TV title.[27] under Cornette's guidance.

Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1991–1995)

A firm believer in "old-school" territorial wrestling, Cornette began the Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) promotion in 1991.[19] SMW promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas. By this point, however, the nature of U.S. wrestling had already changed irrevocably, leading Cornette to seek a working relationship with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1993. This did not change the new national perception that regional promotions were "minor league", and also did not help SMW's finances. Cornette shuttered SMW in November 1995 and sold all its rights and videos to the WWF. Cornette later said that he chose the wrong time to start a wrestling company because the business as a whole was in a recession.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (1993–2005)

Camp Cornette

See also: Camp Cornette

Cornette went to the WWF in 1993 while still serving as promoter of SMW. As in other promotions, he held several positions in the WWF, including manager, color commentator and member of the booking committee. Cornette's most notable managerial role in the WWF was as the "American spokesperson" of WWF champion Yokozuna.[19] He joined the WWF full-time in 1996 after the demise of SMW and had a major role in scouting and developing new talent.

On-screen, Cornette led a top heel stable of wrestlers referred to as "Camp Cornette". At any given time, Cornette's charges consisted of Yokozuna, Mantaur, Vader, Owen Hart and The British Bulldog. He also served as the manager of Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray during their brief stint in the WWF.[19] In 1997, Cornette became a member of the WWF announcing team, where he served as a color commentator. It was during this time that he also began performing a series of controversial "worked shoots" where he would praise what he felt was right and condemn what he felt was wrong in professional wrestling. Although the segments were produced by the WWF, Cornette did not hesitate to give praise to wrestlers in rival World Championship Wrestling (WCW) that he felt deserved it. For several years Cornette also became active behind the scenes working within the booking committee, before being removed after frequently butting heads with writer Vince Russo.

Cornette was also part of the television production staff during this time, but eventually left in part due to evolving conflicts with both Russo and producer Kevin Dunn. Cornette later recounted that things came to a head in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the summer of 1997. During a production meeting for Raw – which was to feature newly signed wrestler The Patriot – Cornette repeatedly tried to steer the discussion towards the treatment of what he thought was a new top-of-the-line heroic character. Dunn told Cornette that he found him "tiresome" for continuing to harp on about this issue, which enraged Cornette to the point where he mocked Dunn's buck teeth and threatened to assault him in front of everyone in the room. He was eventually forced to apologize to Dunn for his actions.

In June 1997, Cornette made a surprise appearance on the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) show Orgy of Violence, attacking Tommy Dreamer with his tennis racket as part of a WWF-ECW rivalry angle.[28]

NWA invasion and color commentary

See also: NWA invasion

In 1998, Cornette led an NWA invasion [19] based on the old Crockett Promotions territory, with a stable including Jeff Jarrett, Barry Windham and The Rock 'n' Roll Express. Later that year, Cornette managed Dan Severn and a new version of The Midnight Express[19] before stepping back from management, and also provided some color commentary (primarily on Sunday Night Heat) before disappearing from television altogether. Cornette returned to WWF television for one night at WrestleMania X-Seven in Houston to participate in the Gimmick Battle Royal, but was quickly eliminated by Hillbilly Jim.[19]

Ohio Valley Wrestling

In 1999, Cornette became head booker and part-owner of WWE's lead developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling, then being run by "Nightmare" Danny Davis. As a talent developer in Smoky Mountain, he had already been instrumental in the careers of current and former WWE stars Kane, D'Lo Brown, Sunny and Al Snow, and WWE also credits Cornette with helping foster other world-famous superstars, including John Cena, Dave Bautista, Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar.[5]

In May 2005, Cornette was suspended for several weeks by WWE after slapping OVW developmental wrestler Anthony Carelli backstage after Carelli had "no-sold" fellow wrestler The Boogeyman by laughing at him during a live OVW event. Shortly after Cornette returned from his suspension, a separate incident occurred and the WWE released him from his contract in July 2005. In the spring of 2007, Carelli, who had since been called up to the WWE as Santino Marella, appeared on a Canadian radio program where he publicly challenged Cornette to a match despite Cornette working for rival promotion TNA at the time.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2006–2009)

In 2006, Cornette joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as the new face of TNA Management. He held the title of "Management Director" according to the press releases following his premiere at the Slammiversary PPV event on June 18, 2006 in Orlando, Florida. After a brief speech, he departed, but returned at the end of the show in light of the "Orlando Screwjob", taking the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt after Jeff Jarrett, Larry Zbyszko and Earl Hebner successfully executed a screwjob on Christian Cage and Sting.

As the figurehead "Management Director" of TNA, Cornette did not usually take up more than ten minutes of the show, which could be attributed to both his quick tongue and TNA's lack of desire to create another Mr. McMahon. Matt Morgan had also become Cornette's on-screen bodyguard to prevent harm to his physical being, until leaving that post to become a full-time wrestler. Part of Cornette's gimmick was that when multiple situations build up at once, he often took care of them all swiftly by getting all the TNA wrestlers to come out to the Impact! Zone for a "company meeting" to hear his decisions, or exasperatedly deal swiftly with people who barge into his office. The clear impact of this feature was made evident right from the start, as the first "company meeting" (which aired on the edition of June 29, 2006 of TNA Impact!), where every wrestler was asked to come out and stand at either ramp, saw Cornette clear up several issues:

Cornette was released from TNA on September 15, 2009. He has said that he was released because he was not "100 percent" behind TNA's creative team, headed by Vince Russo.[29]

Return to ROH and OVW (2009–2012)

 
Cornette (right) with Adam Pearce

In 2009, Cornette signed a contract with Ring of Honor to be their Executive Producer for the Ring of Honor Wrestling show on HDNet.[30]

Cornette made his surprise return to ROH at Glory By Honor VIII: The Final Countdown on September 26, announcing he was the new executive producer for the show. Cornette made his first appearance on Ring of Honor Wrestling on the December 7 episode and immediately made waves by putting ROH champion Austin Aries into a four-way title match later that night and created the Pick 6 contender series.

On September 8, 2010, Ohio Valley Wrestling announced that Cornette would resume his duties as the head booker of the promotion.[31] Cornette left OVW in November 2011, when the promotion announced a working agreement with TNA.[32] On the edition of January 21 of Ring of Honor television, Cornette announced that chairshots to the head were banned and anyone that did so would be fined $5,000. On the February 4 telecast, Cornette made another ban in which the piledriver — in any form — was banned.

On October 8, 2012, it was reported that ROH had replaced Cornette as the head booker with Hunter Johnston, a wrestler who performed under the name Delirious.[33] ROH wrote Cornette off television by having him suffer storyline injuries at the hands of Jay Lethal.[34] As of November 2012, it was revealed that Cornette had left the promotion. The reason for Cornette's absence stems from an outburst he had at the November 3 ROH television taping. At the taping, ROH talent Steve Corino suffered an injury, and no ROH officials were still at the venue to be able to pay for Corino's immediate medical attention or even arrange for an ambulance to be called. This left Corino in pain for hours and Cornette to be the only person there with enough power to handle the situation.[35] Following his departure from Ring of Honor, Cornette decided to take an extended break from professional wrestling to focus on his health and work on personal projects.

What Culture Pro Wrestling (2016–2017)

On October 6, 2016, Cornette made his first appearance doing color commentary in two years, debuting for What Culture Pro Wrestling at their Refuse to Lose event in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. He would be joined on the announce team by his long-time friend Jim Ross, who he had not done commentary with in over fifteen years.[36][37] He then provided commentary for their next event True Legacy, which took place a few days later.[38] Cornette returned to WCPW at their April 1, 2017 State of Emergency event. At the event, Cornette and Matt Striker provided commentary for the British promotion's debut in the United States.[39]

WWE appearances (2017–2018)

On March 31, 2017, Jim Cornette made his first appearance with WWE in 12 years when he inducted The Rock 'n' Roll Express into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2017.[40] Cornette was also featured in an episode of the WWE Network Original series Table For 3 alongside Eric Bischoff and Michael Hayes. Since then, Cornette made another appearance for WWE, starring in an episode of the WWE Network Original Series Photo Shoot in March 2018.

Return to Impact Wrestling (2017)

Cornette returned to Impact Wrestling, which had formerly been known as TNA, and was attempting to rebrand as Global Force Wrestling (GFW), on August 17, 2017, at Destination X and fired Bruce Prichard. Cornette stated that he was put in charge by Impact's parent company, Anthem Sports & Entertainment, to resolve the Unified GFW World Heavyweight Championship situation. Cornette made the decision to book Low Ki as the twentieth entrant in the GFW World Heavyweight Championship gauntlet match. On September 18, Cornette confirmed he was done with the company. He had been brought in by Jeff Jarrett and the original agreement only included one set of tapings. With Jarrett out of the company, the new creative team was said to be more focused on in-ring action and less on authority figures. According to Cornette, there was no "heat" between him and the company.[41]

National Wrestling Alliance (2018–2019)

The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) chose Jim Cornette to be the color commentator for the NWA 70th Anniversary show that took place on October 21, 2018. This was the first pay-per-view promoted by the NWA in years. Cornette was joined on commentary by Tony Schiavone for the main event NWA World Heavyweight Championship match between Nick Aldis and Cody Rhodes.[42][43]

He returned to the promotion for the NWA's Crockett Cup tournament on April 27, 2019.[44] On September 12, Cornette was announced as part of the commentary team for the NWA's weekly studio series, NWA Power.[45] However, on the NWA Power episode broadcast on November 19 during a match between Nick Aldis and Trevor Murdoch, Cornette made the remark "[Trevor Murdoch] is the only man I've ever known that can strap a bucket of fried chicken on his back and ride a motor scooter across Ethiopia. Trevor Murdoch can take care of himself!"[46] Later on the same day, the NWA apologized for the racist overtones of the comment and pulled down the episode to remove the remark.[47] The next day, Cornette left the NWA.[48] Cornette had previously made the same comment on commentary during the March 6, 1995 episode of Monday Night Raw.[49]

Major League Wrestling (2019)

Cornette debuted for Major League Wrestling (MLW) as a color commentator for the March 2, 2019 event Intimidation Games in Chicago, Illinois.[50] He then returned to the commentary desk for their April 2019 events, Rise of the Renegades and Battle Riot II.[51] From the start, he would also work unofficially in an agent-like[51] role for the company. This included coaching younger talent on their television presentation and promos. In March he confirmed he is not signed exclusively to the company, but is open to continually working with them.[52] After immediately being uncertain of his future with them, Cornette continued to do commentary for them, working Fury Road in June and their following event in July.[53] It was reported that following that show he was not signed on for any further shows, as Tony Schiavone had finished his sports commitments and returned to the MLW commentary table.[54] Cornette announced on the December 13, 2019 episode of his Experience podcast that he was officially retired from announcing/commentary.

Views on the professional wrestling industry

Journalist Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated wrote in 2019 that "Cornette remains one of wrestling's more controversial personalities, but his beliefs are rooted in more than four decades of wrestling experience."[55] Cornette has been very vocal against other styles of wrestling, such as Paul Heyman's Extreme Championship Wrestling hardcore style, which he referred to as "hardcore bullshit".[56] "Comedy wrestling" (that which is deemed silly or goofy as opposed to serious) has also been on the receiving end of his rants, with him routinely criticizing those he considers "comedy wrestlers" such as Orange Cassidy, Joey Ryan,[57] Kenny Omega,[58] and Chuck Taylor.[59] He has also criticized the physical appearance of wrestlers; for example Marko Stunt's height[60] or Kevin Steen and Joey Janela's weight. Cornette has garnered some support from industry personalities including former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis, who wrote an article for Flagged Sports defending Cornette and his position as NWA commentator after a separate article asked promoters to stop hiring him.[61]

Conflicts with Vince Russo

Cornette worked with writer Vince Russo in the WWF during the 1990s and in TNA during the 2000s, and regularly conflicted with him due to his views on the business, which emphasize entertainment storylines over actual in-ring action to the point of intense hatred on Cornette's part.[8] Cornette has criticized Russo publicly since his departure from TNA in 2009, which Cornette has stated was a result of his lack of support for Russo's creative direction in the company.[29]

In March 2010, Cornette sent then-TNA official Terry Taylor an email in which he said: "I want Vince Russo to die. If I could figure out a way to murder him without going to prison, I would consider it the greatest accomplishment of my life."[62] TNA sent the letter to a California law firm, who characterized his comments as a "terroristic threat" and said "any further threats to contact Vince Russo or any other TNA personnel (directly or indirectly) shall be viewed as acts in furtherance of such threats and shall be pursued and prosecuted accordingly."[63]

During a 2017 podcast, Cornette challenged Russo to a fight. Russo responded by filing a restraining order (EPO) against Cornette for "stalking him across state lines since 1999."[64] As a response, Cornette began selling autographed copies of the restraining order on his personal website, with all proceeds being donated to the Crusade for Children.[7]

The Russo vs. Cornette rivalry was prominently featured in Viceland's Dark Side of the Ring episodes covering the Montreal Screwjob and WWF's Brawl for All, which aired in 2019 and 2020 respectively.[8][9]

Disputes with All Elite Wrestling

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) executives The Young Bucks have accused Cornette of being a shock jock who says disparaging things about the company to get listeners for his podcast.[65] Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter agreed with the shock jock characterization, said Cornette had engaged in hate speech and had influenced a fan that tried to run into an AEW ring in July 2021. However, Meltzer also noted that Cornette condemned the fan for his actions.[66] AEW commentator Jim Ross defended him and referred to him as a "Kentucky-fried Howard Stern" but said he had always had outspoken views and that he just has a bigger platform now. Ross said that some of these traits had made him "arguably the best manager ever."[67] AEW promoter Tony Khan has said that much of Cornette's criticisms of the promotion are fair and he credits him as being a major influence on his booking career.[68][69]

Personal life

Cornette and his longtime girlfriend Stacey Goff were married October 31, 2007. Goff had previously worked as a manager in Cornette's OVW promotion under the ring name "Synn." Goff, as Synn, was the OVW manager of future WWE Champion Batista.[70]

Cornette currently hosts two podcasts, The Jim Cornette Experience and Jim Cornette's Drive-Thru.[71][72] In early April 2020, Cornette's YouTube channel exceeded 100,000 subscribers, earning him a Silver Play Button. Both shows were among the most listened to wrestling podcasts in 2021.

Cornette is a supporter of left-wing politics and has been described by Cenk Uygur as a "fire-breathing progressive."[12] In September 2009, during a podcast interview on Who's Slamming Who?, he voiced his support for President Barack Obama's health care reform plans. Cornette had previously described himself as a Democrat and acknowledged having voted for Obama in the 2008 presidential election.[73] Cornette, inversely, is a fierce critic of right-wing politics, condemning what he considers "fearmongering" from the Republican Party as well as controversially labeling former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as "a useless twat." During the time that Donald Trump was President, Cornette frequently referred to Trump on his podcasts as "President Pigshit" and to Trump's wife Melania as "Melanoma" and "The First Cunt". His political beliefs and statements have earned him attention from the non-professional wrestling media, including an appearance on Internet news show The Young Turks.[12][13] On December 17, 2017, Cornette stated that he is a democratic socialist.[10] In March 2018, Cornette voiced his support for the March for Our Lives rally;[74] he made additional statements advocating for gun control and criticizing the NRA.[75]

Cornette is an atheist and is highly critical of religion.[11]

Cornette has a criminal record which includes a number of assaults, mostly stemming from incidents involving fights with fans who attacked him while he was a manager in the 1980s. The record has made it difficult for him to work in Canada, and he was turned away from the Canadian border in November 2010.[41]

Then Knox County, Tennessee, mayor Tim Burchett declared November 17, 2014 "Jim Cornette Day" during a Southeastern Championship Wrestling taping in Knoxville.[76]

Awards and accomplishments

Bibliography

  • Jim Cornette Presents: Behind the Curtain — Real Pro Wrestling Stories (2019) ISBN 978-1-68405-492-3
  • Tuesday Night at the Gardens[89] (2015) ISBN 978-1-50570-248-4
  • Rags, Paper and Pins: The Merchandising of Memphis Wrestling (2013) ISBN 978-1-49040-122-5
  • The Midnight Express & Jim Cornette 25th Anniversary Scrapbook[90] (2009)

References

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  2. ^ Jeffrey Harris (September 17, 2016). "Today's Wrestling Birthdays: Jim Cornette, Gabe Sapolsky, Masahiro Chono, and Bill Irwin". 411Mania. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  3. ^ Pro Wrestling Illustrated, PWI 500 5th edition winter issue, pp.6-7.
  4. ^ a b "Jim Cornette". Onlineworldofwrestling.
  5. ^ a b "Jim Cornette". wwe.com. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Mike Johnson (December 12, 2017). "JIM CORNETTE COMMENTS ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM MANAGING". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  7. ^ a b . Jim Cornette. Archived from the original on December 31, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c Leighty, Robert Jr. (April 8, 2020). "411's Dark Side of the Ring – 'The Brawl for All' Report: Russo & Cornette Snipe Back & Forth At Each Other". 411mania.com. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Thomas, Jeremy (May 4, 2019). "Dark Side of the Ring Creators On Why the Jim Cornette and Vince Russo Feud Featured So Prominently in Montreal Screwjob Episode". 411mania.com. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Cornette, Jim (December 17, 2017). "No. I'm a Democratic Socialist--look it up. It's the only level-headed approach in the modern world with the billionaires giving it to us all up the sphincter".
  11. ^ a b @TheJimCornette (January 7, 2015). "Muslims kill journalists, Christians kill abortionists, bible says God killed EVERYBODY once-us atheists are only ones who don't kill anyone" (Tweet). Retrieved August 26, 2016 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ a b c "The Young Turks: Former WWF Manager Jim Cornette!!". YouTube. August 26, 2009. Archived from the original on November 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  13. ^ a b "YouShoot – Jim Cornette". Kayfabecommentaries.com. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
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  15. ^ Johnson, Mike (December 11, 2015). "Tuesday Nights at the Gardens: looking at Jim Cornette's latest book, chronicling the Louisville wrestling territory". PWInsider.com. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
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  17. ^ a b Watts, Bill (2006). The Cowboy and the Cross.
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  37. ^ "WCPW Refuse To Lose Results | Fightful Wrestling". www.fightful.com.
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  59. ^ "Then Chuck Taylor needs to get out of the fucking wrestling business. Someone tell him this for me because I don't know his twitter". Jim Cornette on Twitter. June 4, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
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  63. ^ Caldwell, James (April 14, 2010). "TNA News: Jim Cornette threatens physical harm against Vince Russo, TNA responds to "terroristic threat"". PWTorch.com. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  64. ^ Satin, Ryan (June 21, 2017). "Vince Russo Files Emergency Protective Order Against Jim Cornette". Pro Wrestling Sheet. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  65. ^ Mueller, Chris (November 18, 2020). "The Young Bucks Talk AEW Year 2, Potentially Facing Each Other and More". Bleacher Report. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
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  68. ^ Rose, Bryan. "ROH Death Before Dishonor media scrum notes: Tony Khan, Claudio Castagnoli, FTR". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
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  70. ^ "Cornette talks highs and lows from today and yesterday". SLAM! Wrestling. January 22, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  71. ^ "Jim Cornette Experience". Art19. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
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  75. ^ "Jim Cornette on Gun Control — November 9, 2017". YouTube. November 10, 2017. Archived from the original on November 11, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  76. ^ "Knoxville, TN celebrates Jim Cornette Day". Pro Wrestling Insider. November 18, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  77. ^ Eck, Kevin (December 30, 2007). "2007 Awards". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  78. ^ . Archived from the original on April 11, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  79. ^ Texas Wrestling Hall Of Fame at Cagematch.net
  80. ^ "Next Official Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony". Official Memphis Wrestling. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  81. ^ . Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 30, 2009. Retrieved January 19, 2009.
  82. ^ 2015 Hall of Fame Class
  83. ^ "PWI Awards". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Kappa Publishing Group. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  84. ^ Malnoske, Andrew. . Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on May 20, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
  85. ^ Labbe, Michael J. "WWF 1994 Slammy Awards".
  86. ^ "Slammy Awards — 1996". Pro Wrestling History.
  87. ^ a b c d e Meltzer, Dave (January 26, 2011). "Biggest issue of the year: The 2011 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, CA: 1–40. ISSN 1083-9593.
  88. ^ . Archived from the original on July 14, 2008. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  89. ^ "Tuesday Night at the Gardens". Eat Sleep Wrestle. November 13, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  90. ^ "The Midnight Express & Jim Cornette 25th Anniversary Scrapbook". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved April 22, 2021.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jim Cornette.
  • Jim Cornette's channel on YouTube
  • Jim Cornette on WWE.com  
  • Jim Cornette's Global Force Wrestling profile
  • Jim Cornette at IMDb
  • Jim Cornette's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database
  • Official website  

January 07, 2023
cornette, this, section, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, august, 2022, lea. This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Jim Cornette news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message James Mark Jim Cornette born September 17 1961 is an American author and podcaster who has previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent booker color commentator manager promoter trainer and occasional professional wrestler He is widely considered to be one of the greatest managers in wrestling history due to his mic skills Jim CornetteCornette in June 2015Birth nameJames Mark CornetteBorn 1961 09 17 September 17 1961 age 61 1 2 Louisville Kentucky U S Spouse s Janice Crowl m 1987 2002 wbr Stacey Goff m 2007 wbr Professional wrestling careerRing name s General Cornette 3 James E CornetteJames Edward CornetteJim CornetteBilled height6 ft 0 in 183 cm 4 Billed weight231 lb 105 kg 4 Billed fromLouisville Kentucky 5 DebutSeptember 1982RetiredNovember 2017 6 During his career he has worked for the Continental Wrestling Association Mid South Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions World Championship Wrestling the World Wrestling Federation now called WWE Total Nonstop Action Wrestling now called Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor From 1991 to 1994 he was the owner and booker of Smoky Mountain Wrestling and from 1999 to 2005 was the co owner head booker and head trainer of Ohio Valley Wrestling During the later years of his career Cornette focused primarily on backstage positions and transitioned away from his role as an on screen manager In 2017 Cornette retired from managing 6 During a transitional period prior to the retirement he worked as an on screen authority figure character in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and Ring of Honor promotions where he also held backstage positions Cornette has also had an extensive commentary career most recently serving as a color commentator for Major League Wrestling What Culture Pro Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance Cornette is a member of the NWA Wrestling Observer Newsletter Memphis and Professional Wrestling Hall of Fames Cornette is also noted for his long standing real life feud with former professional wrestling booker Vince Russo in June 2017 Russo filed a restraining order EPO against Cornette for stalking 7 The Cornette vs Russo feud has been featured on two episodes of Viceland s Dark Side of the Ring series 8 9 Outside of wrestling Cornette is known for his left wing political views Cornette an atheist and democratic socialist 10 11 has appeared on The Young Turks to document his criticisms of religious and right wing causes 12 13 Contents 1 Early life 2 Professional wrestling career 2 1 Early career 2 2 Continental Wrestling Association 1982 1983 2 3 Mid South Wrestling 1983 1984 2 3 1 Formation of The Midnight Express 2 3 2 Feud with Magnum T A and Mr Wrestling II 2 3 3 The Last Stampede 2 3 4 Rock n Roll Express rivalry 2 3 5 Watts style and influence 2 4 World Class Championship Wrestling 1984 1985 2 5 Jim Crockett Promotions World Championship Wrestling 1985 1990 1993 2 5 1 Managing the Midnight Express 2 5 2 Return and managing the Heavenly Bodies 2 6 Smoky Mountain Wrestling 1991 1995 2 7 World Wrestling Federation Entertainment 1993 2005 2 7 1 Camp Cornette 2 7 2 NWA invasion and color commentary 2 7 3 Ohio Valley Wrestling 2 8 Total Nonstop Action Wrestling 2006 2009 2 9 Return to ROH and OVW 2009 2012 2 10 What Culture Pro Wrestling 2016 2017 2 11 WWE appearances 2017 2018 2 12 Return to Impact Wrestling 2017 2 13 National Wrestling Alliance 2018 2019 2 14 Major League Wrestling 2019 3 Views on the professional wrestling industry 3 1 Conflicts with Vince Russo 3 2 Disputes with All Elite Wrestling 4 Personal life 5 Awards and accomplishments 6 Bibliography 7 References 8 External linksEarly life EditCornette was born in Louisville Kentucky on September 17 1961 to Doug Cornette 1914 1968 an executive with The Louisville Courier Journal and The Louisville Times and Thelma Cornette 1933 2002 a secretary for the Louisville Chamber of Commerce His father died when he was seven years old From the age of nine Cornette had a love for wrestling claiming that as a child he installed a ten foot antenna on top of his house so he could watch as much regional wrestling as possible 14 15 Professional wrestling career EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Jim Cornette news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Early career Edit Cornette began working at wrestling events at the age of 14 serving as a photographer ring announcer timekeeper magazine correspondent and public relations correspondent During this time from attending matches at the Louisville Gardens Cornette got to know promoter Christine Jarrett who was the mother of Jerry Jarrett promoter of the Continental Wrestling Association commonly known as the Memphis territory 16 Continental Wrestling Association 1982 1983 Edit By 1982 Cornette was now also writing programs for arena shows having photos published in wrestling magazines and contributing to the Championship Wrestling Magazine In August he traveled to Memphis to see the TV match between Jerry Lawler and Ric Flair After the show ended Cornette was offered a wrestling managerial role on television by promoter Jerry Jarrett As Cornette has recalled despite his presence being tolerated at shows and TV tapings for nearly a decade the first time he was allowed into the locker room was only after he had become a manager Before making his managing debut Cornette decided to adapt the ring name James E Cornette in tribute to legendary wrestling promoter James E Barnett Cornette made his ringside debut on September 25 1982 managing Sherri Martel who herself would later become a wrestling manager Cornette was given the gimmick of a rich kid turned inept manager whose clients kept firing him after one match The most notable wrestlers in this angle were Dutch Mantell and Crusher Broomfield who would later gain fame as One Man Gang and Akeem The African Dream Over the next 14 months Cornette also managed Jesse Barr Exotic Adrian Street and a trio called the Cornette Dynasty consisting of Carl Fergie Norman Frederick Charles III and the Angel Frank Morrell After a short lived run in Georgia through a deal Jarrett had with Ole Anderson Cornette returned to Memphis in July 1983 and worked as co manager alongside Jimmy Hart Mid South Wrestling 1983 1984 Edit Formation of The Midnight Express Edit In November 1983 Mid South promoter Bill Watts recognized his business was down and was looking to reinvigorate his territory Watts asked Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler to visit a TV taping and offer their opinions Jarrett suggested a talent trade and invited Watts to Memphis to see who he liked After watching a Memphis TV taping Watts took singles performers Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton to create a new tag team and also took the existing team of Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson as The Rock n Roll Express Watts also noticed the brash young manager in Cornette and in his own words recalled He was so obnoxious I wanted to slap him 17 and I knew he was instant box office if he could get me that riled up 17 As the more senior Jimmy Hart was still required by Jarrett Watts took Cornette to manage his new team who decided on the name The Midnight Express Notable wrestlers in the trade who left Mid South for Memphis included Rick Rude and Jim Neidhart Mid South Wrestling had at that point been a territory featuring bigger wrestlers and Cornette has stated that The Midnight Express the Rock n Roll Express and himself were probably the five smallest members of the roster when he arrived The influx of the new talent had an immediate impact and business first rebounded and then skyrocketed It was during this time that Cornette acquired his tennis racquet which became his trademark He has stated he had seen a college movie at the time with an obnoxious rich kid carrying a badminton racquet with him most likely the 1983 film Screwballs so he decided on a tennis racquet At times Cornette loaded the racquet with a horseshoe to guard against aggressive fans 16 Feud with Magnum T A and Mr Wrestling II Edit Cornette and The Midnight Express debuted on Mid South television on November 23 1983 After the first few weeks in the territory the team faced the Mid South tag team champions Magnum T A and Mr Wrestling II At a TV taping for a contract signing for an upcoming championship match the Midnights and Cornette attacked Magnum T A and tarred and feathered him The feud continued through to early March 1984 when The Midnight Express won the Mid South tag team titles after Mr Wrestling II walked out on his partner during a match 16 The Last Stampede Edit At a TV taping on March 14 1984 Cornette and the Midnights staged a celebration for winning the tag team titles complete with champagne and birthday cake While Cornette s back was turned The Rock n Roll Express ran in and shoved Cornette s face in the cake Cornette was enraged afterwards when Bill Watts replayed the incident on TV as he thought it was funny This led to a heated altercation between the two which ended with Watts slapping Cornette In following weeks the Midnight Express and Cornette attacked and bloodied Watts leading him to come out of retirement In a series of matches termed The Last Stampede Watts and his masked teammate Stagger Lee suspected to be Junkyard Dog under a mask faced the Midnight Express and Cornette all through the territory The stipulations were simple if the Midnights won Cornette would run Mid South Wrestling for 60 days if they lost Cornette would be stripped down and forced to wear either a diaper or a dress the outfits varied by venue Over 5 weeks the Last Stampede series shattered box office records for Mid South with a record gate and attendance at the Sam Houston Coliseum in Texas combined attendance of 20 000 people in Tulsa and Oklahoma City on the same day and a crowd of 23 000 people at the New Orleans Superdome 16 Rock n Roll Express rivalry Edit Cornette s time in Mid South was also notable as it marked the beginning of the rivalry with the Rock n Roll Express Starting in May 1984 immediately following the Last Stampede series the two teams feuded all through the remainder of the year to packed crowds all through the territory In particular the two teams set attendance records in Houston Tulsa and Oklahoma City making 1984 the most successful year in Mid South history and The Midnight Express and Cornette national stars 16 Watts style and influence Edit Cornette has consistently acknowledged that Bill Watts s philosophy of believable and credible wrestling with an unwavering emphasis on toughness athleticism and serious presentation has had a major impact on how he thinks the business should be promoted He has described the promotion as a military school for wrestling where Watts strict enforcement of kayfabe exhausting travel schedule and passionate fans made it a learning experience like no other Cornette maintains enormous respect for Watts as a promoter citing his ability to attract huge TV ratings and consistently sold out arenas in a low population area and describing Watts as a genius At the same time he acknowledges the grind of constant matches long drives and fan riots was a grueling test of endurance At one point Cornette worked 103 days straight before being ordered by doctors to have two to four weeks bed rest As events transpired he took six days off before returning to action 16 In describing Mid South Wrestling Cornette has offered the following example Two weeks of our lives fourteen days we did two one hour TV shows fifteen house shows two all day promo sets drove 4700 miles in a car while doing that and I can t speak for anybody else but I made and I was only 22 years old and just pleased as punch to be there 5600 for two weeks In 1984 Not bad 18 World Class Championship Wrestling 1984 1985 Edit See also The Midnight Express The Midnight Express with Cornette had a short stay in World Class Championship Wrestling WCCW in Texas where they feuded mainly with The Fantastics Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers When opportunities in WCCW looked to go nowhere The Midnight Express started to look elsewhere for employment and what they found would give the team national and international exposure Cornette later reflected that they were willing to give Dallas a try as they welcomed living in a modern city as well as the easier travel schedule when compared to Mid South However the inability to get any rivalry with the Von Erichs and therefore main event money made the decision to leave for Charlotte an easy one 16 Jim Crockett Promotions World Championship Wrestling 1985 1990 1993 Edit Managing the Midnight Express Edit Cornette suspended above the ring in a shark cage during the 1988 Great American Bash on July 10 See also The Midnight Express Cornette and the Midnight Express spent five years at Jim Crockett Promotions World Championship Wrestling After Condrey left the company in early 1987 he was replaced with Stan Lane With Cornette as manager each version of the team were National Wrestling Alliance NWA World tag team champions Condrey and Eaton for six months in 1986 Eaton and Lane for a few weeks in late 1988 In addition Eaton and Lane were three time NWA United States tag team champions As a manager Cornette was known for both his loud mouth and for his ever present tennis racket 19 which Cornette often used to ensure victory for his wrestlers with the implication that the racket case was loaded Cornette was at his best as a heel manager fans loved to see the constantly yelling Cornette and his equally annoying charges beaten and humiliated He and the Midnights were so hated in fact that they had to be escorted by police to and from the ring at the house shows and have a police escort to the city limits for fear of being attacked by overzealous fans Additionally Cornette suffered a severe knee injury during a scaffold match between The Midnight Express and The Road Warriors at Starrcade 86 In a shoot interview Cornette recounted that Dusty Rhodes convinced him to perform a dangerous stunt where he would fall off of the high scaffold which Cornette estimated was twenty five feet off the floor of the arena but about five feet less when measured from the ring mat to the top of the scaffold The idea was that Paul Ellering the manager of The Road Warriors would chase Cornette up the scaffold Once he was there he would be met by Road Warrior Animal who would assist him in getting underneath the scaffold where Cornette would hang and then drop when ready Cornette however suffered from a severe case of acrophobia and decided that the drop which he estimated was a total of fourteen feet when he factored in his total body length of eight feet height plus extended arm length was as he put it way too goddamn far Condrey Eaton and Cornette discussed an alternative Big Bubba Rogers another wrestler of Cornette s would catch the manager However as Rogers was wearing dark sunglasses inside the arena he misjudged his position and Cornette actually landed flat on his feet three feet away from Rogers Cornette tore all the ligaments in one of his knees broke a bone and damaged the cartilage The injury was so extensive that when Cornette finally saw a doctor to have the knee drained the amount of blood and fluid filled an entire bedpan Cornette later said that he knew he might get seriously hurt when he was told he would have to fall off a scaffold but that performing in front of such a large audience was more important than his own health 20 In 1989 Cornette became the color commentator for Jim Crockett Promotions nationally syndicated NWA television show and later took over the same role on the Saturday night TBS broadcasts alongside play by play announcer Jim Ross In 1989 Cornette became a booker on WCW s creative team As such Cornette helped write storylines and shape the format of its television shows Due to friction and animosity between himself and WCW head Jim Herd Cornette quit the company after Halloween Havoc 1990 Return and managing the Heavenly Bodies Edit See also The Heavenly Bodies In early 1993 Cornette briefly returned to World Championship Wrestling WCW as part of a talent trade with Smoky Mountain Wrestling SMW WCW executive vice president Bill Watts had brought The Rock n Roll Express back into the company and billed them as the Smoky Mountain tag team champions which incensed Cornette since his team The Heavenly Bodies Stan Lane and Tom Prichard were the reigning champions 21 On the February 6 episode of WCW Saturday Night Jim Cornette the Bodies and Bobby Eaton confronted the Express during an interview Bill Watts came out and suggested the Bodies should wrestle the Express Cornette objected since he claimed that they weren t dressed for it but the match still took place The Express won the match by DQ when Eaton interfered in the match and after the match while Lane held Morton Cornette put his tennis racket over Morton while Eaton delivered his Alabama jam on Morton Cornette then struck referee Nick Patrick and then Cornette helped his men beat up the Express 22 The following week on Main Event Watts appeared with Smoky Mountain commissioner Bob Armstrong who demanded Cornette make a public apology Cornette then interrupted the interview along with Eaton and the Heavenly Bodies refusing to apologise and insulting the fans Watts and Armstrong Watts confirmed the Rock n Roll Express were scheduled to face the Wrecking Crew Rage and Fury at SuperBrawl III but suggested they wrestle the Heavenly Bodies instead Armstrong agreed and issued Cornette with an ultimatum if the Bodies did not wrestle the Express at SuperBrawl III they would be stripped of the titles and Cornette would be heavily fined and suspended Cornette was furious and claimed that he hated WCW and wanted no part of Superbrawl or the company Later in the show Eaton and the Bodies attacked two jobbers after a match one being Joey Maggs who were saved when the Rock n Roll Express ran out and attacked Cornette and his men 23 During Cornette s second stint in WCW his Heavenly Bodies teamed with Steve Austin and Brian Pillman in 8 man tag team matches against the Express and the Unified tag team champions Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas The Bodies Austin and Pillman lost two of those matches one on a February 27 episode of WCW WorldWide by DQ when Cornette interfered 24 and one by pinfall 25 The feud between the Bodies and the Express continued over in SMW where Bobby Eaton would participate alongside Lane and Prichard in six man tag team matches In one memorable segment the Express were accompanied by a mysterious individual who stood silently at ringside covered with a white sheet During a post match interview Morton dared Cornette to investigate and after some light hearted poking and pushing Cornette finally removed the sheet to reveal Arn Anderson Eaton s former tag team partner in The Dangerous Alliance As Cornette recoiled in shock Eaton went to shake Anderson s hand but was punched to the ground triggering a brawl between both teams Anderson justified his actions by stating that after he was injured by Erik Watts during a confrontation at a gas station Eaton never once called to see how he was doing When the Bodies finally faced off against the Express at SuperBrawl III Eaton arrived with Cornette but was ordered back to the dressing room Typically Cornette then tried to interfere in the match by climbing onto the ring apron to argue with the referee however the Express eventually won via pinfall when the returning Eaton accidentally hit Prichard instead of Morton 26 As a singles wrestler Eaton was also very successful in Smoky Mountain winning the SMW TV title 27 under Cornette s guidance Smoky Mountain Wrestling 1991 1995 Edit A firm believer in old school territorial wrestling Cornette began the Smoky Mountain Wrestling SMW promotion in 1991 19 SMW promoted shows in Tennessee Kentucky West Virginia Georgia and the Carolinas By this point however the nature of U S wrestling had already changed irrevocably leading Cornette to seek a working relationship with the World Wrestling Federation WWF in 1993 This did not change the new national perception that regional promotions were minor league and also did not help SMW s finances Cornette shuttered SMW in November 1995 and sold all its rights and videos to the WWF Cornette later said that he chose the wrong time to start a wrestling company because the business as a whole was in a recession World Wrestling Federation Entertainment 1993 2005 Edit Camp Cornette Edit See also Camp Cornette Cornette went to the WWF in 1993 while still serving as promoter of SMW As in other promotions he held several positions in the WWF including manager color commentator and member of the booking committee Cornette s most notable managerial role in the WWF was as the American spokesperson of WWF champion Yokozuna 19 He joined the WWF full time in 1996 after the demise of SMW and had a major role in scouting and developing new talent On screen Cornette led a top heel stable of wrestlers referred to as Camp Cornette At any given time Cornette s charges consisted of Yokozuna Mantaur Vader Owen Hart and The British Bulldog He also served as the manager of Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray during their brief stint in the WWF 19 In 1997 Cornette became a member of the WWF announcing team where he served as a color commentator It was during this time that he also began performing a series of controversial worked shoots where he would praise what he felt was right and condemn what he felt was wrong in professional wrestling Although the segments were produced by the WWF Cornette did not hesitate to give praise to wrestlers in rival World Championship Wrestling WCW that he felt deserved it For several years Cornette also became active behind the scenes working within the booking committee before being removed after frequently butting heads with writer Vince Russo Cornette was also part of the television production staff during this time but eventually left in part due to evolving conflicts with both Russo and producer Kevin Dunn Cornette later recounted that things came to a head in Halifax Nova Scotia in the summer of 1997 During a production meeting for Raw which was to feature newly signed wrestler The Patriot Cornette repeatedly tried to steer the discussion towards the treatment of what he thought was a new top of the line heroic character Dunn told Cornette that he found him tiresome for continuing to harp on about this issue which enraged Cornette to the point where he mocked Dunn s buck teeth and threatened to assault him in front of everyone in the room He was eventually forced to apologize to Dunn for his actions In June 1997 Cornette made a surprise appearance on the Extreme Championship Wrestling ECW show Orgy of Violence attacking Tommy Dreamer with his tennis racket as part of a WWF ECW rivalry angle 28 NWA invasion and color commentary Edit See also NWA invasion In 1998 Cornette led an NWA invasion 19 based on the old Crockett Promotions territory with a stable including Jeff Jarrett Barry Windham and The Rock n Roll Express Later that year Cornette managed Dan Severn and a new version of The Midnight Express 19 before stepping back from management and also provided some color commentary primarily on Sunday Night Heat before disappearing from television altogether Cornette returned to WWF television for one night at WrestleMania X Seven in Houston to participate in the Gimmick Battle Royal but was quickly eliminated by Hillbilly Jim 19 Ohio Valley Wrestling Edit In 1999 Cornette became head booker and part owner of WWE s lead developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling then being run by Nightmare Danny Davis As a talent developer in Smoky Mountain he had already been instrumental in the careers of current and former WWE stars Kane D Lo Brown Sunny and Al Snow and WWE also credits Cornette with helping foster other world famous superstars including John Cena Dave Bautista Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar 5 In May 2005 Cornette was suspended for several weeks by WWE after slapping OVW developmental wrestler Anthony Carelli backstage after Carelli had no sold fellow wrestler The Boogeyman by laughing at him during a live OVW event Shortly after Cornette returned from his suspension a separate incident occurred and the WWE released him from his contract in July 2005 In the spring of 2007 Carelli who had since been called up to the WWE as Santino Marella appeared on a Canadian radio program where he publicly challenged Cornette to a match despite Cornette working for rival promotion TNA at the time Total Nonstop Action Wrestling 2006 2009 Edit In 2006 Cornette joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as the new face of TNA Management He held the title of Management Director according to the press releases following his premiere at the Slammiversary PPV event on June 18 2006 in Orlando Florida After a brief speech he departed but returned at the end of the show in light of the Orlando Screwjob taking the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt after Jeff Jarrett Larry Zbyszko and Earl Hebner successfully executed a screwjob on Christian Cage and Sting As the figurehead Management Director of TNA Cornette did not usually take up more than ten minutes of the show which could be attributed to both his quick tongue and TNA s lack of desire to create another Mr McMahon Matt Morgan had also become Cornette s on screen bodyguard to prevent harm to his physical being until leaving that post to become a full time wrestler Part of Cornette s gimmick was that when multiple situations build up at once he often took care of them all swiftly by getting all the TNA wrestlers to come out to the Impact Zone for a company meeting to hear his decisions or exasperatedly deal swiftly with people who barge into his office The clear impact of this feature was made evident right from the start as the first company meeting which aired on the edition of June 29 2006 of TNA Impact where every wrestler was asked to come out and stand at either ramp saw Cornette clear up several issues Forcing The Latin American Xchange to start wrestling again under the threat of termination Booking Raven and Zbyszko in a hair vs hair match against each other for Victory Road 2006 Disbanding Team Canada as a result of their overly cheating ways he would later offer them a match which if they won would allow them to stay as a unit with the winner to get a future shot at the championship of their choice they would lose the match Firing Earl Hebner for his role in the Orlando Screwjob at Slammiversary 2006 Hebner had since been rehired due to a lie detector test on Jeff Jarrett Booking America s Most Wanted and Gail Kim in a match against Sirelda A J Styles and Christopher Daniels in an intergender six person tag team matchup with Styles and Daniels NWA World Tag Team Championship on the line Booking a fatal four way between Christian Cage Sting Scott Steiner and Samoa Joe for Victory Road 2006 Finally declaring Jeff Jarrett the official NWA World Heavyweight Champion given that Jarrett defended his title against the winner of the fatal four way at Victory Road Cornette was released from TNA on September 15 2009 He has said that he was released because he was not 100 percent behind TNA s creative team headed by Vince Russo 29 Return to ROH and OVW 2009 2012 Edit Cornette right with Adam Pearce In 2009 Cornette signed a contract with Ring of Honor to be their Executive Producer for the Ring of Honor Wrestling show on HDNet 30 Cornette made his surprise return to ROH at Glory By Honor VIII The Final Countdown on September 26 announcing he was the new executive producer for the show Cornette made his first appearance on Ring of Honor Wrestling on the December 7 episode and immediately made waves by putting ROH champion Austin Aries into a four way title match later that night and created the Pick 6 contender series On September 8 2010 Ohio Valley Wrestling announced that Cornette would resume his duties as the head booker of the promotion 31 Cornette left OVW in November 2011 when the promotion announced a working agreement with TNA 32 On the edition of January 21 of Ring of Honor television Cornette announced that chairshots to the head were banned and anyone that did so would be fined 5 000 On the February 4 telecast Cornette made another ban in which the piledriver in any form was banned On October 8 2012 it was reported that ROH had replaced Cornette as the head booker with Hunter Johnston a wrestler who performed under the name Delirious 33 ROH wrote Cornette off television by having him suffer storyline injuries at the hands of Jay Lethal 34 As of November 2012 it was revealed that Cornette had left the promotion The reason for Cornette s absence stems from an outburst he had at the November 3 ROH television taping At the taping ROH talent Steve Corino suffered an injury and no ROH officials were still at the venue to be able to pay for Corino s immediate medical attention or even arrange for an ambulance to be called This left Corino in pain for hours and Cornette to be the only person there with enough power to handle the situation 35 Following his departure from Ring of Honor Cornette decided to take an extended break from professional wrestling to focus on his health and work on personal projects What Culture Pro Wrestling 2016 2017 Edit On October 6 2016 Cornette made his first appearance doing color commentary in two years debuting for What Culture Pro Wrestling at their Refuse to Lose event in Newcastle upon Tyne England He would be joined on the announce team by his long time friend Jim Ross who he had not done commentary with in over fifteen years 36 37 He then provided commentary for their next event True Legacy which took place a few days later 38 Cornette returned to WCPW at their April 1 2017 State of Emergency event At the event Cornette and Matt Striker provided commentary for the British promotion s debut in the United States 39 WWE appearances 2017 2018 Edit On March 31 2017 Jim Cornette made his first appearance with WWE in 12 years when he inducted The Rock n Roll Express into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2017 40 Cornette was also featured in an episode of the WWE Network Original series Table For 3 alongside Eric Bischoff and Michael Hayes Since then Cornette made another appearance for WWE starring in an episode of the WWE Network Original Series Photo Shoot in March 2018 Return to Impact Wrestling 2017 Edit Cornette returned to Impact Wrestling which had formerly been known as TNA and was attempting to rebrand as Global Force Wrestling GFW on August 17 2017 at Destination X and fired Bruce Prichard Cornette stated that he was put in charge by Impact s parent company Anthem Sports amp Entertainment to resolve the Unified GFW World Heavyweight Championship situation Cornette made the decision to book Low Ki as the twentieth entrant in the GFW World Heavyweight Championship gauntlet match On September 18 Cornette confirmed he was done with the company He had been brought in by Jeff Jarrett and the original agreement only included one set of tapings With Jarrett out of the company the new creative team was said to be more focused on in ring action and less on authority figures According to Cornette there was no heat between him and the company 41 National Wrestling Alliance 2018 2019 Edit The National Wrestling Alliance NWA chose Jim Cornette to be the color commentator for the NWA 70th Anniversary show that took place on October 21 2018 This was the first pay per view promoted by the NWA in years Cornette was joined on commentary by Tony Schiavone for the main event NWA World Heavyweight Championship match between Nick Aldis and Cody Rhodes 42 43 He returned to the promotion for the NWA s Crockett Cup tournament on April 27 2019 44 On September 12 Cornette was announced as part of the commentary team for the NWA s weekly studio series NWA Power 45 However on the NWA Power episode broadcast on November 19 during a match between Nick Aldis and Trevor Murdoch Cornette made the remark Trevor Murdoch is the only man I ve ever known that can strap a bucket of fried chicken on his back and ride a motor scooter across Ethiopia Trevor Murdoch can take care of himself 46 Later on the same day the NWA apologized for the racist overtones of the comment and pulled down the episode to remove the remark 47 The next day Cornette left the NWA 48 Cornette had previously made the same comment on commentary during the March 6 1995 episode of Monday Night Raw 49 Major League Wrestling 2019 Edit Cornette debuted for Major League Wrestling MLW as a color commentator for the March 2 2019 event Intimidation Games in Chicago Illinois 50 He then returned to the commentary desk for their April 2019 events Rise of the Renegades and Battle Riot II 51 From the start he would also work unofficially in an agent like 51 role for the company This included coaching younger talent on their television presentation and promos In March he confirmed he is not signed exclusively to the company but is open to continually working with them 52 After immediately being uncertain of his future with them Cornette continued to do commentary for them working Fury Road in June and their following event in July 53 It was reported that following that show he was not signed on for any further shows as Tony Schiavone had finished his sports commitments and returned to the MLW commentary table 54 Cornette announced on the December 13 2019 episode of his Experience podcast that he was officially retired from announcing commentary Views on the professional wrestling industry EditJournalist Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated wrote in 2019 that Cornette remains one of wrestling s more controversial personalities but his beliefs are rooted in more than four decades of wrestling experience 55 Cornette has been very vocal against other styles of wrestling such as Paul Heyman s Extreme Championship Wrestling hardcore style which he referred to as hardcore bullshit 56 Comedy wrestling that which is deemed silly or goofy as opposed to serious has also been on the receiving end of his rants with him routinely criticizing those he considers comedy wrestlers such as Orange Cassidy Joey Ryan 57 Kenny Omega 58 and Chuck Taylor 59 He has also criticized the physical appearance of wrestlers for example Marko Stunt s height 60 or Kevin Steen and Joey Janela s weight Cornette has garnered some support from industry personalities including former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis who wrote an article for Flagged Sports defending Cornette and his position as NWA commentator after a separate article asked promoters to stop hiring him 61 Conflicts with Vince Russo Edit Cornette worked with writer Vince Russo in the WWF during the 1990s and in TNA during the 2000s and regularly conflicted with him due to his views on the business which emphasize entertainment storylines over actual in ring action to the point of intense hatred on Cornette s part 8 Cornette has criticized Russo publicly since his departure from TNA in 2009 which Cornette has stated was a result of his lack of support for Russo s creative direction in the company 29 In March 2010 Cornette sent then TNA official Terry Taylor an email in which he said I want Vince Russo to die If I could figure out a way to murder him without going to prison I would consider it the greatest accomplishment of my life 62 TNA sent the letter to a California law firm who characterized his comments as a terroristic threat and said any further threats to contact Vince Russo or any other TNA personnel directly or indirectly shall be viewed as acts in furtherance of such threats and shall be pursued and prosecuted accordingly 63 During a 2017 podcast Cornette challenged Russo to a fight Russo responded by filing a restraining order EPO against Cornette for stalking him across state lines since 1999 64 As a response Cornette began selling autographed copies of the restraining order on his personal website with all proceeds being donated to the Crusade for Children 7 The Russo vs Cornette rivalry was prominently featured in Viceland s Dark Side of the Ring episodes covering the Montreal Screwjob and WWF s Brawl for All which aired in 2019 and 2020 respectively 8 9 Disputes with All Elite Wrestling Edit All Elite Wrestling AEW executives The Young Bucks have accused Cornette of being a shock jock who says disparaging things about the company to get listeners for his podcast 65 Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter agreed with the shock jock characterization said Cornette had engaged in hate speech and had influenced a fan that tried to run into an AEW ring in July 2021 However Meltzer also noted that Cornette condemned the fan for his actions 66 AEW commentator Jim Ross defended him and referred to him as a Kentucky fried Howard Stern but said he had always had outspoken views and that he just has a bigger platform now Ross said that some of these traits had made him arguably the best manager ever 67 AEW promoter Tony Khan has said that much of Cornette s criticisms of the promotion are fair and he credits him as being a major influence on his booking career 68 69 Personal life EditCornette and his longtime girlfriend Stacey Goff were married October 31 2007 Goff had previously worked as a manager in Cornette s OVW promotion under the ring name Synn Goff as Synn was the OVW manager of future WWE Champion Batista 70 Cornette currently hosts two podcasts The Jim Cornette Experience and Jim Cornette s Drive Thru 71 72 In early April 2020 Cornette s YouTube channel exceeded 100 000 subscribers earning him a Silver Play Button Both shows were among the most listened to wrestling podcasts in 2021 Cornette is a supporter of left wing politics and has been described by Cenk Uygur as a fire breathing progressive 12 In September 2009 during a podcast interview on Who s Slamming Who he voiced his support for President Barack Obama s health care reform plans Cornette had previously described himself as a Democrat and acknowledged having voted for Obama in the 2008 presidential election 73 Cornette inversely is a fierce critic of right wing politics condemning what he considers fearmongering from the Republican Party as well as controversially labeling former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as a useless twat During the time that Donald Trump was President Cornette frequently referred to Trump on his podcasts as President Pigshit and to Trump s wife Melania as Melanoma and The First Cunt His political beliefs and statements have earned him attention from the non professional wrestling media including an appearance on Internet news show The Young Turks 12 13 On December 17 2017 Cornette stated that he is a democratic socialist 10 In March 2018 Cornette voiced his support for the March for Our Lives rally 74 he made additional statements advocating for gun control and criticizing the NRA 75 Cornette is an atheist and is highly critical of religion 11 Cornette has a criminal record which includes a number of assaults mostly stemming from incidents involving fights with fans who attacked him while he was a manager in the 1980s The record has made it difficult for him to work in Canada and he was turned away from the Canadian border in November 2010 41 Then Knox County Tennessee mayor Tim Burchett declared November 17 2014 Jim Cornette Day during a Southeastern Championship Wrestling taping in Knoxville 76 Awards and accomplishments EditThe Baltimore Sun Non Wrestler of the Year 2007 77 Cauliflower Alley Club Other honoree 1997 78 Iconic Heroes Wrestling Excellence Southern Wrestling Hall of Fame 2015 79 Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2017 80 National Wrestling Alliance NWA Hall of Fame Class of 2005 81 New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2015 82 Pro Wrestling Illustrated Manager of the Year 1985 1993 1995 83 Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Class of 2012 84 World Wrestling Federation Slammy Award 2 times Best Dressed 1994 85 Blue Light Special for Worst Dresser 1996 86 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Best Booker 1993 2001 2003 87 Best Non Wrestler 2006 87 Best on Interviews 1985 1988 1993 87 Manager of the Year 1984 1990 1992 1996 87 Best Pro Wrestling Book 2009 Midnight Express 25th Anniversary Scrapbook 87 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame Class of 1996 88 Bibliography EditJim Cornette Presents Behind the Curtain Real Pro Wrestling Stories 2019 ISBN 978 1 68405 492 3 Tuesday Night at the Gardens 89 2015 ISBN 978 1 50570 248 4 Rags Paper and Pins The Merchandising of Memphis Wrestling 2013 ISBN 978 1 49040 122 5 The Midnight Express amp Jim Cornette 25th Anniversary Scrapbook 90 2009 References Edit Jim Cornette My Life jimcornette com Archived from the original on April 21 2019 Retrieved August 23 2019 Jeffrey Harris September 17 2016 Today s Wrestling Birthdays Jim Cornette Gabe Sapolsky Masahiro Chono and Bill Irwin 411Mania Retrieved August 23 2019 Pro Wrestling Illustrated PWI 500 5th edition winter issue pp 6 7 a b Jim Cornette Onlineworldofwrestling a b Jim Cornette wwe com Retrieved August 26 2016 a b Mike Johnson December 12 2017 JIM CORNETTE COMMENTS ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM MANAGING Pro Wrestling Insider Retrieved August 23 2019 a b Emergency Protection Order Jim Cornette Archived from the original on December 31 2018 Retrieved December 31 2018 a b c Leighty Robert Jr April 8 2020 411 s Dark Side of the Ring The Brawl for All Report Russo amp Cornette Snipe Back amp Forth At Each Other 411mania com Retrieved April 11 2020 a b Thomas Jeremy May 4 2019 Dark Side of the Ring Creators On Why the Jim Cornette and Vince Russo Feud Featured So Prominently in Montreal Screwjob Episode 411mania com Retrieved April 15 2020 a b Cornette Jim December 17 2017 No I m a Democratic Socialist look it up It s the only level headed approach in the modern world with the billionaires giving it to us all up the sphincter a b TheJimCornette January 7 2015 Muslims kill journalists Christians kill abortionists bible says God killed EVERYBODY once us atheists are only ones who don t kill anyone Tweet Retrieved August 26 2016 via Twitter a b c The Young Turks Former WWF Manager Jim Cornette YouTube August 26 2009 Archived from the original on November 11 2021 Retrieved January 11 2013 a b YouShoot Jim Cornette Kayfabecommentaries com Retrieved January 11 2013 Nation Ryan July 8 2007 Jimmy remembers Mama Cornette Slam Wrestling Retrieved January 25 2021 Johnson Mike December 11 2015 Tuesday Nights at the Gardens looking at Jim Cornette s latest book chronicling the Louisville wrestling territory PWInsider com Retrieved January 25 2021 a b c d e f g Cornette Jim Ash Tim 2010 The Midnight Express 25th Anniversary Scrapbook a b Watts Bill 2006 The Cowboy and the Cross Back to the Territories w Jim Cornette amp Hacksaw Duggan 5 Minute Free Preview YouTube November 25 2014 Archived from the original on November 11 2021 Retrieved August 26 2016 a b c d e f g Shields Brian Sullivan Kevin 2009 WWE Encyclopedia DK p 152 ISBN 978 0 7566 4190 0 Jim Cornette amp The Scaffold Match YouTube April 14 2013 Archived from the original on June 3 2016 Retrieved August 26 2016 Pro Wrestling Illustrated June 1993 issue p 8 Jim Cornette and The Heavenly Bodies invade WCW in 1993 retrieved September 27 2021 Jim Cornette and The Heavenly Bodies invade WCW in 1993 retrieved September 27 2021 The Hollywood Blondes in an 8 man tag team match in WCW in 1993 retrieved August 17 2021 Wrestle America June 1993 issue pg 25 Wrestle America June 1993 issue pp 62 63 Wrestle America June 1993 issue pg 60 Williams Scott E 2006 Hardcore History The Extremely Unauthorized Story of ECW Sports Publishing pp 124 125 ISBN 978 1 59670 021 5 a b Caldwell James September 22 2009 TNA News Jim Cornette says why he was fired by TNA describes conversation with Dixie Carter on his firing PWTorch com Retrieved June 23 2017 Powell Jason September 22 2009 TNA News Jim Cornette comments publicly for the first time since he was released by TNA ProWrestling net Retrieved September 22 2009 Caldwell James September 9 2010 ROH OVW News Jim Cornette announced as new OVW matchmaker working relationship announced between ROH amp OVW Pro Wrestling Torch Retrieved September 9 2010 Clarifications on TNA OVW relationship Cornette s standing with OVW Pro Wrestling Torch November 8 2011 Retrieved November 8 2011 Big Change To Roh Creative PWInsider com October 8 2012 Retrieved January 11 2013 Caldwell James October 11 2012 Indy News Big DGUSA Title match set ROH footage of Lethal snapping Pro Wrestling Torch Retrieved October 11 2012 Jim Cornette on sabbatical from Ring of Honor ROH after temper tantrum November 30 2012 Retrieved January 11 2013 How the man who spent his last 500 asking for a job is masterminding an online October 21 2016 WCPW Refuse To Lose Results Fightful Wrestling www fightful com WCPW True Legacy Events Database CAGEMATCH The Internet Wrestling Database www cagematch net WCPW State Of Emergency Events Database CAGEMATCH The Internet Wrestling Database www cagematch net Melok Bobby March 20 2017 Jim Cornette to induct The Rock n Roll Express into the WWE Hall of Fame WWE Retrieved March 20 2017 a b Meltzer Dave September 18 2017 Bound for Glory headed to Ottawa Jim Cornette done with Impact Wrestling Observer Newsletter Retrieved September 18 2017 Jim Cornette to call NWA 70th Anniversary Show WON F4W WWE news Pro Wrestling News WWE Results UFC News UFC results September 24 2018 Jim Cornette to call the NWA s anniversary card in Nashville www postwrestling com September 24 2018 Jim Cornette doing commentary for Crockett Cup legends to appear WON F4W WWE news Pro Wrestling News WWE Results UFC News UFC results February 5 2019 Joseph Currier September 12 2019 JIM CORNETTE JOINS COMMENTARY TEAM FOR NWA STUDIO SHOW TAPINGS Wrestling Observer Retrieved September 13 2019 Joe Otterson November 20 2019 Jim Cornette Resigns From National Wrestling Alliance After Offensive On Air Statement Variety Retrieved June 11 2020 H Jenkins November 19 2019 NWA APOLOGIZES FOR JIM CORNETTE S RACIST REMARK amp PULLS EPISODE OF POWERRR Retrieved November 19 2019 Paul Jordan November 20 2019 JIM CORNETTE LEAVES THE NWA Pro Wrestling Insider Retrieved November 20 2019 RAW MAR 06 1995 WWE Network March 6 1995 Retrieved May 28 2020 411MANIA Jim Cornette Joins MLW Announce Team a b JIM CORNETTE JOINS MLW PWInsider com www pwinsider com Episode 274 Jim Returns To Commentary from Jim Cornette Experience www stitcher com 411Mania Fight Size Update Jim Cornette And MLW Bella Twins Win Family Feud AEW Isn t Scared More fightful com Retrieved August 23 2019 Barrasso Justin October 14 2019 Jim Cornette Lends Name Recognition to Throwback NWA Powerrr Sports Illustrated Retrieved October 29 2019 The only real heels ECW ever had were me and Lawler because the fans knew we really DID hate that goofy shit they were doing Jim Cornette on Twitter February 20 2017 Retrieved May 28 2020 10 hours in the car today I get out amp find insufferable douchebag JoeyRyanOnline has tried to piss people off at me by drumming up a fake controversy So let s get to the bottom of it shall we Jim Cornette on Twitter May 31 2019 Retrieved May 28 2020 Jim Cornette On Kevin Owens amp Sami Zayn s Success And Hating Kenny Omega amp Joey Ryan Jim Cornette on YouTube April 18 2017 Archived from the original on November 11 2021 Retrieved May 28 2020 Then Chuck Taylor needs to get out of the fucking wrestling business Someone tell him this for me because I don t know his twitter Jim Cornette on Twitter June 4 2017 Retrieved May 28 2020 Jim Cornette Reviews Marko Stunt amp Jungle Boy vs The Lucha Bros Jim Cornette on YouTube October 19 2019 Archived from the original on November 11 2021 Retrieved May 28 2020 Nick Aldis September 19 2019 Cancel the Cancel Culture Nick Aldis Addresses Jim Cornette to NWA Reactions Flagged Sports Retrieved November 11 2019 Eck Kevin April 15 2010 The Jim Cornette Vince Russo e mail controversy The Baltimore Sun Tribune Publishing Retrieved December 6 2020 Caldwell James April 14 2010 TNA News Jim Cornette threatens physical harm against Vince Russo TNA responds to terroristic threat PWTorch com Retrieved October 29 2019 Satin Ryan June 21 2017 Vince Russo Files Emergency Protective Order Against Jim Cornette Pro Wrestling Sheet Retrieved October 29 2019 Mueller Chris November 18 2020 The Young Bucks Talk AEW Year 2 Potentially Facing Each Other and More Bleacher Report Retrieved August 17 2021 Meltzer Dave Wrestling Observer Newsletter July 19 2021 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Retrieved August 17 2021 Thompson Conrad Ross Jim August 14 2021 Jim Ross shoots on if he is still friendly with Jim Cornette Grilling JR Archived from the original on November 11 2021 Retrieved August 17 2021 via YouTube Rose Bryan ROH Death Before Dishonor media scrum notes Tony Khan Claudio Castagnoli FTR Wrestling Observer Newsletter Retrieved July 31 2022 Beltran William September 11 2021 Tony Khan Admiro y respeto a Jim Cornette Superluchas Super Luchas in Spanish Retrieved September 20 2021 Cornette talks highs and lows from today and yesterday SLAM Wrestling January 22 2009 Retrieved January 22 2009 Jim Cornette Experience Art19 Retrieved August 23 2019 Jim Cornette s Drive Thru Player FM Retrieved August 23 2019 Jim Cornette Shoots on People Who Complain About His Political Rants YouTube October 1 2016 Archived from the original on October 2 2016 Retrieved October 1 2016 Jim Cornette on The March For Our Lives Rally YouTube April 3 2018 Archived from the original on November 11 2021 Retrieved August 23 2019 Jim Cornette on Gun Control November 9 2017 YouTube November 10 2017 Archived from the original on November 11 2021 Retrieved August 23 2019 Knoxville TN celebrates Jim Cornette Day Pro Wrestling Insider November 18 2014 Retrieved November 18 2014 Eck Kevin December 30 2007 2007 Awards The Baltimore Sun Retrieved September 25 2020 Past Honorees Archived from the original on April 11 2009 Retrieved January 16 2019 Texas Wrestling Hall Of Fame at Cagematch net Next Official Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Official Memphis Wrestling Retrieved September 22 2021 Jim Cornette Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Archived from the original on January 30 2009 Retrieved January 19 2009 2015 Hall of Fame Class PWI Awards Pro Wrestling Illustrated Kappa Publishing Group Retrieved December 17 2016 Malnoske Andrew Jim Cornette Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Archived from the original on May 20 2012 Retrieved February 4 2009 Labbe Michael J WWF 1994 Slammy Awards Slammy Awards 1996 Pro Wrestling History a b c d e Meltzer Dave January 26 2011 Biggest issue of the year The 2011 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards Issue Wrestling Observer Newsletter Campbell CA 1 40 ISSN 1083 9593 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame Archived from the original on July 14 2008 Retrieved January 24 2019 Tuesday Night at the Gardens Eat Sleep Wrestle November 13 2015 Retrieved April 22 2021 The Midnight Express amp Jim Cornette 25th Anniversary Scrapbook www goodreads com Retrieved April 22 2021 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jim Cornette Jim Cornette s channel on YouTube Jim Cornette on WWE com Jim Cornette s Global Force Wrestling profile Jim Cornette at IMDb Jim Cornette s profile at Cagematch net Wrestlingdata com Internet Wrestling Database Official website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jim Cornette amp oldid 1131181942, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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