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John Laurinaitis once received an angry phone call from Jim Cornette after Doug Basham underwent a drastic appearance change in WWE.
In 2003, Basham debuted on SmackDown alongside his storyline brother Danny after spending time in the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) developmental system. At the time, Cornette ran OVW and booked Basham as the promotion’s top villain.
Speaking on his “Cafe de Rene” podcast, former WWE star Rene Dupree recalled how Laurinaitis told Basham to shave his head. Cornette disliked the then-OVW talent’s new look and let the WWE executive know exactly what he thought.
“Cornette saw you with a shaved head and I guess he called up John Laurinaitis right away and said, ‘Hey, John Laurinaitis, my top heel looks like a 40-year-old truck driver. You can’t pretend with a guy who’s bald… I’d book him in a hair match, shave his head, sell some tickets. Thank you, f**k you, bye,’” Dupree said. [0:32-0:50]
As Dupree referenced, Cornette had no issues with Basham undergoing a hairstyle change. However, he thought Laurinaitis should have informed him in advance about the decision. If he did, Cornette would have booked the superstar in a Hair vs. Hair match to boost ticket sales for an OVW show.
Rene Dupree had no problem with Jim Cornette’s honesty in WWE
Never one to shy away from an opinion, Jim Cornette has been one of the most outspoken people in the wrestling business for many years.
Rene Dupree, a two-time Tag Team Champion, enjoys Cornette’s style and his brutally honest takes on wrestling.
“Listen, you love him or hate him, the guy has talent,” Dupree continued. “The promos he cuts off the top of his head are second to none. ‘Thank you, f**k you, bye.’ You know how much money he made off t-shirt sales because of that f**king quote?” [1:26-1:45]
Cornette recently took exception to John Cena’s 20-year anniversary appearance on RAW. He thought the superstars who applauded the 16-time world champion backstage looked too much like fans.
Please credit “Cafe de Rene” and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
