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Putting politics, philosophies and other personal feelings aside, Jim Cornette has done a lot for the wrestling business. Simply put, few people have worked in and around the wrestling business longer than Cornette, who has worked with just about every major American wrestling promotion of the last 40 years in some form. And in running Ohio Valley Wrestling -- WWE's former developmental territory -- in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he was instrumental within the training of many eventual-superstars including John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton, Kane, Big Show and Brock Lesnar.
Fast forward to late 2019, and the name "Jim Cornette" means a lot of different things to a lot of people. Some people see Cornette as a deserving future WWE Hall Of Famer, as both one of the best wrestling managers of all-time and a key behind-the-scenes figure. Other people may opt to focus on Cornette's activity from the last decade -- including his shoot interviews, podcasting and on-air commentary -- and view the man less favorably because many of his personal viewpoints. But the key is that Cornette remains a high-profile figure within the wrestling world, someone who gets a reaction in a day and age where it can be hard to get a reaction.
With New Year's Day just around the corner, many of us have begun thinking about our New Year's resolutions and the like. Below and on the following pages are 5 things which may do Jim Cornette some good, personally and/or professionally, if done in 2020.
#1: Make amends with some of his enemies
If you watched all of the Beyond The Ring series on VICELAND, odds are that you were thoroughly entertained by Jim Cornette. "The Vault of Castle Cornette" was on full display as you got to see the historian side of Cornette. Within such, he explained the true origin of the "screwjob" within the world of professional wrestling.
On Beyond The Ring, you also saw Cornette explain his hatred of Vince Russo, former head writer for WWF, TNA and WCW. Cornette pointed out that his main goal in life is to outlive Russo so he can urinate on Russo's grave.
Whether or not Cornette's long-term disdain for Russo was amped up for the cameras, Cornette is no stranger to an off-screen rivalry among wrestling industry peers. Among the people who Cornette appears to currently dislike -- per publicly-made remarks -- are WWE executives, All Elite Wrestling executives, Ring Of Honor executives, IMPACT Wrestling executives, National Wrestling Alliance executives, and wrestling journalists (including the seemingly-universally-beloved Brian Zane). That's not to say he has a problem with everyone at those companies, or that he hasn't said a lot of favorable things about recent episodes of NXT and AEW Dynamite, but there seems to be a whole lot of venom traveling outbound from Louisville, Kentucky.
According to the American Heart Association and countless other reputable medical organizations, stress can lead to heart disease and ultimately kill you. This isn't to say that Jim Cornette has to be friendly with Vince Russo anytime soon, but why not let bygones be bygones with a few of these folks for the sake of long-term health, wellness and quality of life?
#2: Find a creative outlet within professional wrestling
If you have watched a lot of Sean Oliver shoot-style interviews featuring Jim Cornette, you are likely to have seen what a strong memory Cornette has for wrestling history. You will also likely have observed him "booking" territories, showing his creativity on the fly.
While Cornette worked with both MLW and the NWA in 2019 as an on-air commentator, he was obviously also employed to help guide talent. After all, he did work directly with main-event talent during his WWF, WCW, NWA, ROH and TNA tenures, so it wouldn't be out of reach to assume that Cornette was a notable creative contributor to many of the business' top storylines to the last few decades.
With Cornette stepping down from NWA earlier this year -- and him having stepped down from Major League Wrestling presumably so he could focus more on his NWA work -- he does not appear to be under contract to an American wrestling company now or in 2020. In turn, his only known involvement within the wrestling world appears to his podcasting and the occasional signing at a convention or independently-produced event within driving distance of Louisville.
Hopefully 2020 delivers a way for Cornette's wrestling mind to be properly utilized. Whether that's sending in creative ideas remotely -- which Saturday Night Live and lots of American late-night talk shows have welcomed over the years when writers weren't available on-site -- or going back to one of his former employers, there are plenty of ways in which Cornette's expertise could be beneficially applied to the wrestling business.
#3: Find a creative outlet outside of professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is not the end-all, be-all for the majority of people working within professional wrestling. Countless writers for WWE and other companies have transitioned into working on film and television projects -- Brian Gewirtz, as one notable example, given his long-term working relationship with The Rock and his Seven Bucks Productions -- just as many wrestlers have moved into acting. In other words, entertainment is entertainment.
Long-time listeners of Jim Cornette's podcast ought to pick up on Cornette's appreciation of all sorts of entertainment and pop culture. For starters, he once quizzed co-host Brian Last on the recording artists behind each of the singles he had recently found within an old music collection. Cornette has also been known to repeat Rodney Dangerfield punchlines on command, and arguably knows as many jokebook one-liners as Jerry Lawler, if not more of them.
Beyond podcasting every week for years, Cornette has written multiple books, so he is obviously not afraid of a major creative undertaking. As the guy can tell a story and has a major appreciation for history, why doesn't he help make a documentary about a person or cause he cares about? Or write a screenplay?
The key is that he is not only a well-thought and motivated individual, but also a financially-independent person without children who can clearly do what he wants when he wants. So given that lack of limitations, there is nothing to stop him from creating something that doesn't limit from the political-correctness that has gotten in the way for him on recent projects.
#4: Interview people on his podcast
Since AEW Dynamite and NXT have begun their "Wednesday Night War," the main focus of Jim Cornette's The Jim Cornette Experience podcast has been on his reviews of the two weekly television programs. He watches both shows, generally spending more time skewering than praising.
The Jim Cornette Experience in the past has also had interviews with guests and recurring segments. As Cornette has plenty of long-time friends in the business, there is no shortage of people for him to get on the phone line for a podcast episode. After all, how many people within the wrestling world are personally liked by Jim Ross, Steve Austin, Chris Jericho, Diamond Dallas Page, Al Snow and New Jack?
As Cornette himself is an interesting interview subject -- check out those earlier-mentioned Sean Oliver interviews if you aren't familiar -- he knows the elements that it takes to be a great interviewer. In turn, when he is speaking with someone who is comfortable with him, the results are bound to be great. He doesn't have to employ a lot of the tricks other interviewers do in order to get the guests to open up about a controversial topic.
That's not to say that Cornette and Brian Last shouldn't review the weekly programs of AEW and NXT. In fact, for a change of pace, why not get some of those interview subjects to also weigh in on the current states of those companies?
#5: Do an updated shoot interview
As alluded to multiple times within this article, Jim Cornette's shoot interviews are consistently entertaining. The man speaks his mind, and when guided in a cohesive fashion by a focused host, it can be hard to stop watching.
I am not aware of Cornette doing a new shoot-style interview within the past few years. Sure, he's been doing podcasts regularly, popping up on other people's podcasts occasionally, and was part of the earlier-mentioned VICELAND documentary series. But there hasn't been a focused sit-down chat about his work with MLW or NWA nor his 2017 return to TNA.
Although the idea of a "shoot" gives some wrestling fans the heebie-jeebies -- especially after reading Sean Oliver's excellent memoir titled Kayfabe: Stories You're Not Supposed to Hear From A Pro Wrestling Production Company Owner -- there is always going to be that devoted sect of the wrestling fan base that really wants to hear "the truth" directly from the source. That same interview also gives the subject the chance to directly answer questions from fans.
Love him or hate him, the key is that Jim Cornette has worked at a high-level within the professional wrestling business longer than many wrestling fans have been alive. So no matter how you feel about him personally, here's to hoping that Cornette will use his 2020 to help make wrestling a more positive, interesting and exciting year alike for fans, wrestlers and all others following the business.
