wrestling / Columns

The Professional 3 6.30.13 Jim Cornette’s Weirdest Clients

June 30, 2013 | Posted by Jon Harder

Welcome everyone to another edition of the Professional 3 on 411wrestling.com! I’m Jon Harder and another exciting week of wrestling! A lot of behind the scenes stories combined with some great mainstream matches on television make this job easy for a guy like I. However, in the P3 as you know full well, there’s always something for me to find a thread in some crazy story, and I have found that thread.

Before we go into anything else, check out this week’s Hardway Podcast on TheJonHarder.com with my father. He talks old school New York wrestling, including watching WrestleMania 1 closed circuit at the Ridgewood Grove in Ridgewood, Queens, NY and Sunnyside Gardens. He’s a long time fan that appreciates the sport of wrestling.

Also, this week, I’ve decided to start to show what crazy characters we have running around the Hardway studios for each podcast we do. Although not all characters are wrestlers, per say, I am here to introduce to you the first of many throughout the P3. Let me introduce to you…B-SIZZLE.

Originally my little brother Benny, B-Sizzle came to play on Episode 75, when Good News Hughes exposed a rap song that B-Sizzle released to the world. Instead of being embarrassed, Benny turned into B-Sizzle, a street thug from the suburban neighborhood. He has OG’s and friends and has quickly developed into one of the more funny characters on the show. He hates Beyond Wrestling, Drew Cordeiro, and a guy named Scott Henson. More recently, he has stolen my phone and my car. He’s hood. More importantly, he wants us to know that everyone is his “cuh”.

#YaHerd?

With that said, let’s go into this week’s P3. After this past Monday, the internet was up in arms from an interview conducted by Mike Johnson from PWInsider.com. He is wrestling’s most straight-forward personality. He says it like he sees it and doesn’t give a damn who knows it. He might not carry around the tennis racket anymore, but he serves up an ace every time he talks. I’m talking about Jim Cornette.

Mr. Cornette’s interview struck a chord with a lot of people. The internet wrestling community, in particular, were very upset over what Jim stated about the ROH fan base and how they wouldn’t give a lot of people or opportunities a chance with a lot of things within the ROH product. Even Gabe Sapolsky, former ROH booker, was very annoyed with Cornette’s words about the fans.

I normally don’t vent my feelings when it comes to particular topics online, but when it comes to this interview, I feel as I should. Jim Cornette, for the most part, was absolutely SPOT ON when it came to the wrestling portion of the podcast. Cornette, in his own peculiar way, gave everyone a wrestling lesson on the ins and outs on how ROH is being run right now. To me, it was a very valuable lesson on what it takes to run a week-to-week television product. Although the internet fans are up-in-arms over of some of the comparisons or examples that Cornette used, he makes a very valuable point on what is needed to make a successful product. If nothing else came from this interview, “less is more”.

The only negative that could have come from this interview was how Cornette was TOO honest with his views on the fan base. Sometimes, and this includes all columnists, message board dwellers, podcast personalities, and my personal favorite, the trolls, we get angry whenever we don’t get the certain wrestlers we want in our favorite companies in the spots we want, and sometimes we get angry when we do, for some strange reason. Cornette spoke the truth; however he should have put them in different terms. He was TOO blunt and it ruffled the feathers of a lot of fans, and rightfully so.

You can’t take away from the pure greatness of the interview though. Jim Cornette is business oriented and wants to see this business thrive and survive. He’s forgotten more than anyone knows. When it comes to making money in the wrestling business, Cornette has made a truckload. He’s virtually untouchable in that regard. When it comes to managing talent, however…

I will not lie when I say that Jim Cornette has managed some of the biggest acts in wrestling history. Cornette’s Midnight Express ranks up as one of the greatest tag teams of all time, whether it is with Dennis Condrey, Stan Lane, or Bobby Eaton. In 1993, Cornette managed the World Wrestling Federation champion, Yokozuna. He even had his own stable in 1996 called Camp Cornette, with Owen Hart, British Bulldog, and the man they call Vader. Jim Cornette has managed some big names; yet somehow, there have been some weird choices that JC has taken on as a manager.

Here on the Professional 3, I’m here to lay out on the table the weirdest clients Jim Cornette has had to accompany to ringside. James E. might be one of the greatest characters wrestling has ever had, but his choices for clients weren’t necessarily the most sound. And after you see them, you’ll judge for yourself, as you always do. Without further adieu…

THE PROFESSIONAL 3: Jim Cornette’s Weirdest Clients

1) THE ROCK & ROLL EXPRESS (1998, WWF)

In the 1980s, Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson, collectively known as the Rock & Roll Express, feuded up and down the territories with Jim Cornette’s Midnight Express. Both teams HATED each other in front of the television screen and live crowd. This rivalry led to some of the greatest tag team matches ever seen. You could never picture Cornette even saying anything positive about the R&R in front of a microphone. That stood true until 1998.

In the midst of his crusade against “sports entertainment” in 1997 and 1998, Jim Cornette brought the National Wrestling Alliance to the WWF. With North American champion Jeff Jarrett and Barry Windham by his side already, Cornette SHOCKED the world and united with the NWA Tag Team champions. Ricky and Robert alongside Jim Cornette was a very surreal feeling. Although newer wrestling fans during the Attitude Era wouldn’t understand, fans of the NWA and Jim Crockett Promotions were absolutely stunned. Such a weird sight to see.

2) MANTAUR (1995, WWF)

Admit it. You probably don’t recall much of Jim Cornette being associated with this gentleman. Neither did I. But in searching for strange associates Jim Cornette, none blew my mind more than Mantaur. Half man, half moose, Mantaur only existed for a few months in the WWF. Yet somehow, Jim Cornette locked this beast under contract to his managerial talents. In ring wise, Mantaur wasn’t half bad. But come on…it’s Mantaur. In 1995, where the wrestling scene needed a change and a breath of fresh air, Mantaur was NOT a part of that. Jim Cornette tried, but it was to NO avail.

Cornette/Dynamic Dudes Betrayal by CrossFaceChickenWing

3) DYNAMIC DUDES (1989-1990, WCW)

One of the greatest angles during the turnover from NWA and Jim Crockett Promotions was the one involving the Dynamic Dudes and the Midnight Express. The Midnight Express of Stan Lane and Bobby Eaton were getting annoyed with Cornette’s lack of attention. Why, you ask? Because Jim was focused on the young, good looking, upstart tag team of Shane Douglas and Johnny Ace, the Dynamic Dudes. Two gentlemen that wore colorful attire and carried skateboards with them. Note of record: Douglas and Ace did not know how to ride a skateboard. Regardless of such, Cornette was managing two teams at the same time, until the Clash of the Champions, when Cornette turned his back on the Dudes and made his sole affiliation with the Midnights. My only issue is regarding Cornette’s vision of working with the Dudes. It was a very unlikely duo. Cornette and the Dudes had NOTHING in common. Although it led to a magnificent storyline, the Dudes/Cornette union befuddled me.

Jim Cornette will always go down as one of the greatest wrestling managers of all time. Yet, even this brilliant mind has managed some weird individuals. Say what you will, but Cornette did things his way and his way only. Whether you love him or you hate him, Jim Cornette made his bed and lied in it. That is something I will ultimately give major props to a major beacon in wrestling folklore.

Follow me on Twitter @TheJonHarder. See you next week.

#Professional3
Jon Harder

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