Jim Cornette Shoots On Why He Thinks Modern Wrestling Sucks!

[@InsideTheRopes]

During a 2014 ITR Live show, Jim Cornette talked about why he doesn’t like modern wrestling, what good storytelling should be, discusses a horrible Attitude Era angle and more. Subscribe to the channel for more clips of our live shows and interviews, and don't forget to like and comment too!

[@WorthlessClips]

2014 ? Get a up to date one because it's even more gold

[@Libertyspot-1]

Forbidden Door go home show was the best ratings AEW ever did on tv. I think Jim just likes to cry and everything moves on. He can't understand it has moved on without him. To me he just cry's for the sake of crying.

[@samhoward2703]

Why is he bashing wrestling? He the only washed up old guy that does this

[@robbierice7442]

@@samhoward2703 he's telling the truth wrestling is a dying art form where guys like Pro Wrestling Unlimited and Dave meltzer ruin the surprise on the shows. I remember when wrestling was a never ending surprise in WCW you didn't have the dirt sheets like now. Social media has ruined kayfabe and the business since 2014

[@boblester8641]

Didn’t he have champion named. Dirty White Boy. Coal glove on a poll match. Scaffold mate. Ahhh traditional wrestling

[@scottlawson1800]

Some will say wrestling is booming right now. But for me at least, social media killed wrestling. It affected other industries too, you have to go out your way now not to find toxic influencers, hate chats, leakers and spoilers in anything. But with wrestling it gave fans a voice. the problem for me was wrestling was better when they didn't have one unless it was inside the arena

[@Andulvar]

Your problem was going to a social media site in the first place.

[@LS-fd6tl]

Booming? There's literally less than an eighth of the viewers watching on Monday nights than there was in 2000

[@Provos7777]

@@LS-fd6tlThere’s definitely less, but there’s also a lot more ways to view wrestling then there was in 2000. Idk if they look at the on demand, streaming, illegal streaming, etc. I never watch it on the day it airs.

[@ToxicAvengerCleanYourMind]

I wouldn't say it's booming but their have been explosions sprinkled in both companies, for good or ill

[@whyareyoureadingthiis886]

Social media and just a pure change in the times killed wrestling. People constantly compare the ratings now and the ratings in the 90s and 00s when wrestling was the COOL thing to watch back then back when people actually watched TV everyday and not random shows/movies on streaming services. Shit is incomparable and then the way social media gives EVERYONE a voice then in turn really takes away from the true voice for any wrestling promotion which is just the crowd not online people who look to bitch about any and everything

[@theantilifeequation8150]

Jim is 100% correct, and this was 8 years ago and to be fair he hasn't changed his opinion. It ain't complicated.

[@eduardmaduro4412]

His opinion has changed. He's gotten even more angry at the clown show pro wrestling has become nowadays

[@bigdaddyroy5382]

@@eduardmaduro4412 touche

[@deathmauler181]

He hasnt changed any opinion in 40 years lmao.

[@tylertravis2081]

@@eduardmaduro4412 can you blame him for being angry

[@eduardmaduro4412]

@@tylertravis2081 Not at all. It is a total cringefest these days

[@fignuts1982]

Wrestling is a story telling medium. And like any story telling medium, the more everything makes sense, the better you can emotionally connect with your audience. Jim has a thourough understanding of this.

[@herzkine]

To be fair, my GF watches those shit netflix series and Moden Films in General, logic and coherent storytelling seem a thing of the pat everywhere...Star wars 9 ..ouch

[@grandadneal8114]

Like any tv programme the best ones have character development the story and the show are secondary. The issue today is that there aren't any decent characters today. There all cookie cutter buffed up with no difference.

[@ivanvalentin3898]

It has to have some kind of REAL feel to it. It has to be what their lives are about. These wrestlers now a days treat it as a job at an office when back in the day the wrestlers treated it more like a job at a construction site. They LIVED there gimmicks and played them well. Even though we knew it was fake the lines were still crossed and blurred even though it was all scripted it didn't seem so.

[@canespastico]

I didnt realize that this was in 2014, if it were 2022 I would still agree with every single word Jim said

[@mariomanningfan]

When Austin inducted Hart into the HoF, it was weird for a lot of us that remember their feud. You had a hard time believing they truly didn't hate each other. That kind of heat is nowhere to be found today

[@PatrickLewOfficial]

I know right!!! I agree

[@linewalker]

Austin wanted to be the best. So, he had to beat the best, his polar opposite

[@linewalker]

The other heat is real life backstage. For example, Bret and HBK back then

[@mrblackman1992_]

Blame social media

[@iykejnr6296]

@@mrblackman1992_ said it before me

[@johndake294]

Modern wrestlers look to perfect Old-time guys looked the part and made it more realistic.

[@Illusive1313]

"The difference between a wrestling company producing a television show and a television company producing a wrestling show is night and day." - Kevin Nash That's one of the reasons WWE won the monday night wars. Now they're the television company.

[@danishparvez8168]

Probably the only smart thing Nash said.

[@Nothereman9999]

Wrestling doesn't really work without big personalities and those personalities only work if the talent can make them convincing. Whether it was Hogan, Austin, Rock, or even someone like Bret, you could see a little bit of their real selves into their character which really helped those personalities work and translate well to the screen, it felt organic and you can see that whenever you pull any of these guys into a shoot interview or something like that. When you got personalities the fans are invested in you don't have to really write anything, you just need to give a simple reason why they're fighting and the fans are hooked. Wrestling is always at its best when there is a few guys that are must see. Even back in 93 when WWE was just terrible, it still had Bret, it still had Taker, it still had Razor, and it still had HBK and Diesel. Even as bad as it got, you still wanted to watch just so you could see the few personalities you were attached to. Now? They don't have anybody that fits that bill. I like Riddle but that's just it, I just like him, I don't need to watch him. Wrestling needs more talent that are big personalities and not just guys that can put on a decent match.

[@MrIncredibleGuy]

Big facts. I don’t think we will ever see another star that had the aura of Hogan, Austin, Rock, or Cena. Nowadays, I can’t take anyone on the modern roster seriously.

[@ivanvalentin3898]

​@@MrIncredibleGuyeven Jeff hardy was way over. Jericho. Gold dust. Doink the clown. Razor Ramon. Lex luger. Yokozuna. These were larger than life guys. Either they were buff as hell, huge in size or mesmerizing costume, swagger, mic skills or just out of this world stunt guys like the Hardy boys. Even Shane McMahon had huge stunts. Where are the ladder dives? Hell in the cell falling off the cage botches or something similar? There aren't any real stunts or consequence, just regular matches. It gets numbing to watch that.

[@TheKestevon]

Meltzer don't agree with you.

[@OtherBarry4908]

Wrestling can't be soft either.

[@elamcyril]

You're really calling fkin "Diesel" a big personality, but somehow current day Roman isn't a big personality for you. That's ridiculous, Roman is a bigger draw than Diesel ever was, heck was even HBK wasn't much of a draw hence why the Golden era public turned away when he was pushed to the top. also someone Razor wasn't any bigger personality compared to current top stars like Seth. You are on nostalgia too much.

[@OtherBarry4908]

the fanboys that like and defend it suck too. they can't handle any negative and well deserved criticism we give it.

[@LawrenceSmith91]

Biggest thing that killed wrestling was social media. Period . Look at the crowds and fans before social media - they were soo invested in the product! It was easy to be a heel and get heat and to make people believe what they're seeing is real. There was REAL emotion. Nowadays fans spend all their time filming matches on their phones, checking social media, and spreading their opinions across the net. Now people comment on how they "like their work", rather than how much They're emotionally invested. Any surprise or unexpected event such as storyline twists, returning wrestlers etc is also dead now thanks again to social media with all its spoilers. Its such a shame. I miss the old days hugely.

[@kengpen583]

We can't have the same wrestling of the past, today. Like you said, people were so invested....there was real emotion. So much that people would jump the rail and attack wrestlers back then. ( don't forget the JYD story with the gun). Now with modern technology, those same people could follow heels everywhere and attack them. They had to "peel back the curtain" to remind people, "wrestlers are people too."

[@derekempam179]

Yes, social media cause wrestling look bland plus spoiler and leaks.

[@ThisFire-Burns]

We were lucky and not today's chicks

One word- Belief-- No one believes anymore, not the fan and not the wrestlers.

[@austinwilliams7919]

You see guys, he doesn't rip on your favorite guys just to rip on them. He does it, because many times he knows they can be safer, and thus lead to better matches, without making everyone in the company look like ECW rejects.

[@Damp-yo1qm]

Unfortunately people still don’t understand that perspective but I 100% agree

[@austinwilliams7919]

@@Damp-yo1qm I understand everyone liking the whole "car crash" type of match, but when everything is a car crash, you've gotta increase the cars and sizes of the cars in the crash until someone is injured.

[@Lemme-sniff-ya]

He also seems to have fun being angry

[@carloscjr23]

@@Lemme-sniff-ya he loves it! He loves to be a wrestling heel

[@grimsvaultstreaming3956]

no hes just telling his sad fanbase what they want to he

[@thegrapevine10]

He's completely right, look at Rey Mysterio Jrs angle with Dominick, Dominick literally went on a shoot talk show, talking about how he likes the prison Dom gimmick. He literally exposed the whole thing 😂and not to mention Rey photo bombed Rhea tattoo session in real life and they weren't supposed to like eachother. Imagine if The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin were caught in a picture hugging and drinking beer giving eachother high fives drunk after their promo with Jim Ross before Wrestlemania 17.😂

[@nakednerdo1424]

The biggest difference with wrestling today is too many guys wrestle the same using the same moves back in the day the majority wrestled so you could distinguish them from one another

[@EugeneTChu]

Part of it may be due to changes in training. In early 20th century, pro wrestling was an apprenticeship where mentors would teach with allowance for student to be creative. In late 20th century, pro wrestling involves formal schooling (e.g. WWE Training Center, etc.) where it is about adherence to standard techniques rather than coming up with own moves.

[@ladistar]

Damn so true lol

[@derekempam179]

Doesn’t have own personality instant copy other moves and gimmicks.

[@JDwJC11]

Kayfabe no longer exists in wrestling. That's why it sucks. No more mystique. Everybody knows people are acting. They know the person behind the gimmick, who comes in and who goes out, etc. Also, wrestling is over produced imo. It no longer looks realistic.

[@xxxaragon]

case in point: at least with the WWE, the majority of the most popular angles all had some "shoot" element to them. from the "summer of Punk" (just go look at the message boards from back then, people were speculating what was "real" and what wasn't) all the way to people cheering for Becky Lynch because "she is really getting the raw deal, to the benefit of Rousey and Flair". and yes, that includes tons of "smart fans". which is particually ironic: that some of those that claim the most that "kayfabe is dead", that know about how it's a "work" etc. fall for it so hard the second they believe it isn't "fake" (a current example might be the whole MJF situation). (which to me makes it seem like there is the inherent desire for it to be "real")

[@thattimestampguy]

0:49 Bookers 1:24 Overly Contrived 1:49 Marlena 3:13 Guys Being Themselves 4:39 Authenticity 4:59 FIRED

[@HeIIsBeIIsTrading]

you save people so much time

[@Raze_DJ2]

@@HeIIsBeIIsTrading Dude he talked in this video for nearly 6 minutes. You must have the attention span of a fly.

[@brainthebrian3690]

It was a 6 min video... and Jim talks at 10 miles an hour to being with, so what are we doing here?

[@Michael-ut6zb]

There has been a huge change in the wrestling business in general. Today's wrestling, from what little I have watched has completely gotten away from the mud, blood and the beer. It doesn't look like two guys in a fight anymore. It resembles acrobatics far more than it resembles wrestling. Back in the 70's, 80,s and 90s, the best of them really tried to make it look like a real contest. They wanted to make you believe the two men in the ring really hated each other and would give you all their energy, all their sweat, all their blood, just so you could say: "Wow! What a match!" Believability is not a high priority anymore. The last time it ever was, was in what is called "The Attitude Era." To this day, fans of that era talk about how badly they miss that style of wrestling and talk about how much they'd love to see that style of product again. There was some grit, there was some blood and they tried to make you really think that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Vince McMahon didn't like each other. I love pure technical wrestling.....prime example, go back and watch Wrestlemania 17 I believe it was, Benoit vs Angle. Just two guys going at it, no silly gimmicks, no one interfering, just who is the better man. They tried to make it as real as they could and took the actual wrestling to the limits and it was very hard on their bodies and people got hurt and sustained long term injuries from a fake sport so there is something to be said about it. Now it's tits and ass and pretty faces. There is no life anymore. Nobody is realizing their dreams and taking their passion and art form to the highest capacity. Come to think of it.....there is no life in anything anymore. This is true about a lot of things that peaked and waned in the 80's/90's. Music especially. Everything now just sucks. It's the product and septic tank of botched American culture. Everything sucks because nobody gives a shit about anything anymore. The people running the show today are out of touch and the creative teams are void of any creativity. I don't actively watch anymore. I read what happens and watch clips about things that sound interesting. I still like wrestling but I just dislike the current product. The golden age of wrestling is over. If there's a perfect storm, maybe wrestling will bounce back again.

[@retroman9287]

Man you are 💯 percent correct. Even food suck nowadays, shit don’t even taste the same. I’m constantly looking at classic wrestling, old school music , etc.

[@heartless_raven]

Your problem was thinking wrestling is supposed to somehow look super real. Jerry Lawler punching a guy 100 times in a minute and not breaking his hand is somehow realistic? Literally no wrestling move like the piledriver, powerslam, ddt, etc would ever be used in a real fight. I’d rather watch a “highly choreographed” match then a match that’s 20 minutes and 19 of those minutes are rest holds and headlocks.

[@freebachelor5060]

@@heartless_raven There was a piledriver done in a pride FC fight back in the 2000s. Even UFC has had a legit powerbomb used. The difference tho is that the powerbomb when done in the UFC was an instant KO. So in that aspect I agree with you. The other stuff I do not.

[@chillbest14]

My goodness you're 100% correct 💯 this new product WWE and AEW is so soft most times it's literally unwatchable for me no matter whose in the ring. I mainly check highlights and keep up with the backstage news

[@heartless_raven]

@@getschwifty9531 good argument mate. Debater of the year. How about tell me why you think that next time instead of an empty dumb response.

[@HxCMusicMaster]

"Jim Cornette on why he's angry about something" I've seen this episode before!

[@TheSweetestScience]

negativity creates controversty which creates cash. Hes smart tho he knows how to market or advertise his product.

[@Andulvar]

@@TheSweetestScience Is that why he doesn't have a job in the business anymore?

[@markfroman738]

He’s spot on most of the time with his takes though.

[@TheSuckoShow]

@@Andulvar Every time he puts out an action figure or a comic book or something, he sells out as fast as they can make them. He's not working for any promotion, but he seems to be dominating his own corner of the industry as a wrestling historian and commentator.

[@heiko231]

@@markfroman738 he is just incredibly rude when doing so

[@KingsNerdCave]

A majority of the best feuds I can think of come from the plot lines of: 2 guys fighting over the top championship, 1 guy being bad and screwing the good guy over out of spite which usually involoves a title anyways, or 2 really talented guys simply trying to prove who is the better man. Taker Michaels, Taker Batista, Taker Edge, Michaels Bret, Michaels Angle, Angle Lesnar, Cena Styles, McMahon Austin, Rock Austin, heck even Omega Okada, nothing had to be over-the-top complicated, just guys who solved their issues in the ring doing so for gold, respect, or honor.

[@twill5626]

Used to be a time when a match would have one or two high spots, one finish, and it would all mean something. Now every match has dozens of high spots, dozens of finishes, and nothing means anything.

[@Taabituubi]

I miss the days when a finisher meant something. Like the DDT. If Jake Roberts hit it, the match was over, and the whole match he was working to get his opponent to a situation where he could get the front face lock and hit the DDT. Simple and effective. Ric Flair had the chop block, knee stomps, everything and anything to mess up his opponents leg so when he got the figure four it was as effective as possible. Same with Bret Hart, he wanted to get someone down and stay down long enough for him to get the sharpshooter on them or surprise someone with his 17 different ways to pull off a small package. Now it's just moves for the sake of moves. Who's the last one in modern time who just actively works towards their finish?

[@Itz_brandon]

While some of Jim's takes might not be the best you gotta admit the man sure does know his stuff and he's right most of the time.

[@danielbrennan7613]

Ye as a human he’s kinda a dick, but god damn he knows wrestling

[@feldspar3858]

No, not really.

[@Hemolul]

Nah. He is washed up

[@Andulvar]

If it was still the 80's or 90's sure, but Jim doesn't understand wrestling from the 2000's and up. Never has. Just look at his time in ROH and even in TNA (where he blamed Russo for his own failings) or even a few years ago when he was with NWA (where he decided to show the world how racist he is). Saying Jim is right about stuff now is stupid and just shows people how you're a Jim fan and just as misinformed about wrestling as he is.

[@cathycatsville67]

Definitely not

[@Jokingskull99]

Undertaker's entire career is a direct contradiction to almost everything he said. He wasn't playing himself for most of his career, and most of his stories were insane. The real problem is much simpler. None of the wrestlers are interesting anymore.

[@syko2695]

No it's not, Undertaker was the most kayfabe abiding character since the territory days. Nobody saw Mark Callaway until after he retired. Sure they occasionally had him do lightning from his hands or whatever but nobody's perfect. The backstory is mental, yes, but there's no holes in it and it very much could've happened regardless of how preposterous it might seem at face value. Not to mention he was perfectly capable of having credible matches while he was at it lol

[@DanielSmith-zv9yc]

Melter and AEW might disregard Jim, but his 100% right

[@UnexpectedDanger]

If he were right he'd be able to run a wrestling company without it going under. He caters to niche boomers.

[@firstroundboxing7649]

@@UnexpectedDangerI don't hate every single thing he believes but he's very out of touch.

[@chris_t2020]

I'm pretty sure Cornette is refering to Russo by "TV Writers".

[@mrassassinscreedfan1]

No he refers to Russo exclusively as shit stain

[@nasny8940]

Thought he meant freddie prince jr

[@souperstar7050]

I grew up with 80's and 90's wrestling. I miss when wrestlers had a gimmick. Super heroes have gimmicks. Wrestlers were real life superheroes.

[@briscoesjug1026]

I grew up on 80s and 90s wrestling and everytime I say wrestling is nowhere near as entertaining as it was 20 yr ago I end up in an argument with someone who's been alive just long enough to know how to talk lol

[@MsLeesan]

You're absolutely right; I've watched it since the early 50s and it was so much better entertainment with not perfect wrestlers, but with more believable matches and much better action. People really got caught up in the characters. Now, they're just people who often seem to go thru the motions even when they say the action is real.

[@hadvarr8578]

You know what always makes me laugh is when AEW die hards say Jim cornette is the worst but yet every wrestling legend ever says he's the best. So who realistically are we gonna trust some AEW 20 year old mark or wrestling legends who we all respect and follows opinion.

[@chrisstoecker7189]

The folks who treat AEW like a living breathing relative that needs to be defended from Jim should welcome his view of their product. He gives away advice free of charge, detailing precisely what's wrong or what doesn't make sense with what you're doing, praises what he believes you're doing correctly yet there's folks out there that think he dumps on things just for his own entertainment. Those folks should do a little more than read a few comments or listen to a clip and maybe they'd realize he praises them more than he probably should at times

[@heartless_raven]

Who says Jim is the best? You have boomers like Jim Cornette, Russo, Bischoff and wrestlers who never drew a dime such as Disco Inferno complain about wrestling but will still watch it. They talk about how “killing the business” while at the same time doing the business a disservice by constantly burying it. Meanwhile guys like Austin, Rock, Bret, Sting, Hogan, etc all praise the wrestlers and put over the positives of today’s wrestling because want what’s best for wrestling.

[@Aarond4goat]

@@heartless_raven Hmm like thought, a AEW rat

[@nickbrown5878]

@@heartless_raven well that isn't really a fair statement. They essentially get paid to talk about it on their podcasts. If not, I can't imagine they would still watch. It's like with a lot of athletes, once they retire if they don't get into coaching/office or being a talking head on ESPN, a lot of them say they don't watch the particular sport they played anymore

[@ThomasMiddlehurs1984]

Facts are Facts AEW gets fewer viewers than Superstars and Heat got in the late 90s, early 2000s. At the end of the day people would rather watch Scottie Too Hottie worm than the AEW because that was less goofy than whatbwe get today.

[@LOTW1]

What I hate the most about wrestling now is the super kicks. I can't stand it.

[@joeyjackson9199]

Facts

[@tdestroyer4780]

It's because Shawn Michaels used it as his finisher so the move was protected and used rarely. I heard this on another podcast somewhere and it makes sense.

[@chuyjose2073]

I recently return to watch wrestling after 12 years because the rumors about the 'return of the attitude era" and bro... Last WrestleMania the match of that "Usos" was the most disgusting thing I ever seen in my life.

[@adamrenfrow]

I'm with you there.

[@shadowandroid1823]

The problem is it's too soft

[@TheGodfather101]

Cornette predicted the direction of the wwe 20 years ago and turns out he was spot on.

[@bikezthenightstalker.3134]

When I seen Kenny omega and multiple wrestlers literally hugging and saying goodbye to the cameras at the end ..I got sick to my stomach. ALL FRIENDS WRESTLING like MJF said

[@sbj97]

Kayfabe is dead my friend

[@bikezthenightstalker.3134]

@@sbj97 does that mean we have to see this on our screens? Yes it was beautiful when the rock was talking to stone cold while Steve was still selling the rock bottom.. we respected those men for what they did for years! I didn’t know those guys and they’re up there hugging and blowing kisses. To hell with that!!

[@babayagaslobbedaknobba]

The story should remain simple. The championship should be enough to motivate a character. Not a bunch of drama. The drama comes from the anticipation of the confrontation. That's all the story you need.

[@emirlsanchos6302]

Oh man, it reminds me of Shawn Michaels' first title reign when he feuded with The British Bulldog. They forced an alleged illicit affair between Shawn and Diana Smith to add to the intrigue. It just ended up looking so trashy cliche and stretched credibility (for example, there's no way Shawn would crush on her.) I can only imagine how Diana must've felt having to pretend that Shawn would have attraction towards her.

[@JohnDoe-uo5ny]

The championships have changed too many times into too many hands to mean much anymore.

[@VinterEvig]

But eventually people get bored of the same ol stuff. That's pretty obvious in the early to mid 90s. Without the crazy storylines of the WWF in the late 90s and early 2000s, I doubt wrestling would even be on TV today

[@babayagaslobbedaknobba]

@@VinterEvig, dude, the mid 90s to the early 2000s was the attitude era. That's when wrestling got MORE realistic, and they moved away from some of the goofy storylines. I think you have it backwards.

[@VinterEvig]

@@babayagaslobbedaknobba there was still many goofy storylines in the attitude era that Jim always bitches about. There needs to be a mixture of goofy but we'll done storylines and the realistic ones. That's what made the attitude area great

[@soulglo45]

80s 90s wrestling = Whiskey 00s 10s wrestling = Wine cooler

[@kjd-s5b]

Cornette basically predicted Hangman burning down Swerve’s house 😂

[@melissawright1979]

The Attitude Era had some great story lines x

[@Giveme1goodreason]

Had a lot of bad ones. A real lot of bad ones.

[@TheKestevon]

Tbh AE won't be perceived as great today if WWF never took any of Russo's ideas

[@blamegamemaster551]

Jim cornett Right about wrestling what's new here ✅

[@ChrizzyYeahh]

Here's what I miss: Actually funny wrestlers (not cringe) Intimidating and powerful wrestlers (now a lot of them just look awkward) Not so pg jokes and segments (some may call it cheap but talented wrestlers can make it work) Hardcore matches with blood, props and good action. Good themesongs and catchphrases (this boosts talented guys to the moon)

[@LoneWolfe_XX]

I agree with everything you said

[@BakaaGoGo]

Buddy, these things still exist. You just don't search for it

[@dehorscrux8305]

@@BakaaGoGosee that’s the issue. In the past you didn’t have to search for all this shit. It was just right in front of your eyes usually. Where can I watch this kind of wrestling because I am willing to search for it? What promotion do you recommend for me?

[@BakaaGoGo]

@@dehorscrux8305 i reccomend GCW and BJW wrestling

[@brownfox4995]

This is why I like Corny he tells you the 100 percent truth and he’s passionate about it. Entertainment ruined what he devoted his existence to and he has a right to be pissed and tell it like it is.

[@lastwolflord]

Not really. He still thinks Biden is a great guy and doesn't understand wrestling is different today and won't be going back. Essentially, he couldn't change. So, he got left behind. Believe it or not but he's been fired from every job in wrestling he's had accept from one that he quit before he could get fired. And the one time he ran a company it went under in a few years. So maybe, just maybe he doesn't know as much about the business that he thinks he does.

[@brownfox4995]

@@lastwolflord his political beliefs have nothing to do with his talent and business mind. I’m a conservative but his politics is irrelevant to his legacy. Smokey mountain didn’t go under because it had to. He’s said his self that he wanted to make sure he could still pay everyone when it became too much of a risk. But he had the backing he could’ve persisted and could’ve come out of the slump but his honesty and integrity is why he closed down smw. He could’ve stiffed everyone like Paul E. Both are greats of the business but Corny took care of his people.

[@TheYoshiller5]

Stupid as hell.

[@zachariahsmith9130]

Its always been entertainment

[@Adam-un8fe]

In Corny we trust!

[@feldspar3858]

Must like Biden too huh?

[@Adam-un8fe]

@@feldspar3858 Nah come on now, have some faith

[@WayIonMercy1]

Jim is easily one of the greatest minds in the history of the business...

[@FedUpVet]

When pro wrestlers became superstars and they started to pander to 8 year olds instead of young adults who can actually buy tickets and merchandise thats when pro wrestling died and became sports entertainment

[@toogoat9293]

Ever since around 06 or 07 wrestling has been going downhill

[@ashen_BA-Pillman]

After Benoit tragedy

[@ГеоргиХристов-д6ж]

1:03 I love the choice of names here considering how things turned out lol

[@Sterling20073]

mad, while listening i was reading the news of hs2 being approved and thought to myself "outsiders" then Jim says it. Crazy when things like that happen

[@harleyjackson3708]

Corny has a good point about how wrestling is these days. It is not an exaggeration when I say there are little kids putting on stop motion action figure wrestling shows that are more believable and fun to watch than almost everything I've seen the last two years in wrestling that didn't involve Rhea Ripley, who I think might actually be the only modern day wrestler currently on TV that I can honestly say I like.

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

Wrestling today can still do the high spots if they would just make logical sense. Too bad it seems every high flyer also seems to be a sports entertainer instead of a pro wrestler. It's completely possible to mesh the two styles and give everybody what they want today but so far nobody has built the promotion around that.

[@locustjohn3865]

The problem isn't high spots. It's each guy doing ten high spots per match, and everybody then kicking out of them all. Followed by a small package for a three count.

[@dudewithtits]

no one knows how to build up to a finish. i love working the indy wrestling scene still, but there are guys who just run through their match and the crowd hasn't digested the opening spot by the time the finish is getting set up. it's almost as if guys are wrestling for the locker room to notice and not the fans.

[@CharlesChristinaWH]

@@locustjohn3865 I remember Vince McMahon said in 1990 that one of biggest influences to him was marvel comics and the larger than life characters in the books You can see this in how he booked the WWF during the golden era that will always work

[@sirvilhelmofyonderland]

I was 18 in the 90s . The wrestling was the best it’s ever been. I tried to watch modern wrestling. WTH is this ?

[@SquirrelASMR]

I love the improv aspects of wrestling, because it comes from the wrestlers heart. Predetermined moves and winners are one thing, but writing scripts is stupid. It's better when you just push them all into a situation and let the fight, while having people like mean gene there to redirect them when they get out of hand, just like how you'd have to do with real wrestlers.

[@PoorMansInvesting]

Modern wrestling does suck but Corny thinks all wrestling sucks after 1974.

[@Geojr815]

He’s criticizing storylines that happened probably 25 years ago. That was when wrestling was at its best imo. And you certainly can’t say that era is the same as modern wrestling today. Shit today is unwatchable and corny and just catered for kids with shirt attention spans. It was awesome late 90’s early 2000’s

[@jackstraw4222]

this idea its catered for kids only is bs....they had a kids only show called saturday morning slam and it was cancelled...because it was garbage...and nobody watched it...

[@thecarolinanativejxann8450]

Not selling moves killed it for me

[@firstroundboxing7649]

This

[@ASCUMBAGWh0re]

Haah i always thought that about the "oh no my house payment I'll be homeless if fired" as stupid too.

[@Brando-Lee3725]

Ya gotta love jim ! At least he could bring some logic back to "wrestling "

[@jtg1972]

To be fair, "The Rock" is definitely a character played by Dwayne Johnson.

[@rojayreid908]

The Rock is the rock plus back then we didn't care about their correct names.

[@specialk9424]

But there's a lot of Dwayne in there. I always thought The Rock was what Dwayne would be like, if he didn't have to act right in polite society. Or Stone Cold was what Steve Austin would be like if he didn't have to act right. Like, "What would you do, if you could get one day where you couldn't get in trouble for anything?" Like The Purge, but with no murdering and such. Just maybe whipping a man's ass, and laying smackdowns here and there, with a beer bash afterwards.

[@InaudibleSlinky]

@@rojayreid908 Irrelevant to the point being made.

[@rojayreid908]

@@InaudibleSlinky how?

[@joshjones9749]

You can't look at Dwayne as he is TODAY...being rich and famous across the world for damn near a lifetime now...and compare him to who he was during the attitude era. He changed over time and theres nothing wrong with that. His family members carry that same attitude Dwayne used to carry himself with back in the day so to me the Rock was alot of who Dwayne was back then.

[@ericm425]

The impact cam on finishing moves takes away some of the authenticity as does the kicking out of finishers many times a match

[@danted3408]

The most unbiased man in the business tells it like it is love it

[@TheMuddFishh]

Unless it involves punk or ftr, then he has his rose tints on

[@callumwarren3342]

unbiased you say.. lmao

[@hrishik_1503]

@@TheMuddFishh Maybe because they're actually good which they are

[@TheMuddFishh]

@@hrishik_1503 ftr are pretty good, you're right, but that wasn't my point. Corny overlooks any and all negatives of his favourites and never criticises them regardless.

[@blastfiend7478]

The issue with modern rasslin is we are all now adults and its less appealing so lost that magic and awe you have as a child. Plus, his take on the attitude era is terrible, the attitude era saved WWF/WWE in the 90's. People didn't buy that gimmicky, cookie cutter good guy/bad guy cartoon shit that appealed to Jim's generation - He comes from a time when you'd see that generic white picket fence post war American family when everyone was a pussy and scared of the "F" word or people shaking their hips on TV

[@BakaaGoGo]

Theres is no problem being an adult and watching something that you like. And i even me who still hates a lot of things of attitude era that era clearly put wwe on new trails

[@robbierice7442]

As a wrestler myself I love listening to Jim Cornette bury today's wrestling because pretty much the business has already been buried along with Kayfabe. Blame for that guys like Dave Meltzer who spoil surprises and the fun for the fans and other dirt sheets. In the 90's we had no spoilers like today back then you had to tune in week after week to find out what is going to happen next.

[@babalarassrah]

I mean look on youtube and social medias wrestlers today breaking too much their characters

[@TrueJoeyBowie]

Jim touched on something interesting there at the end -- the idea of the promoter being at the mercy of the top star or the champion, as opposed to the other way around. Remember the great storyline in 2011, that everyone remembers so fondly, in which CM Punk's contract was coming due on the day of his title match against John Cena, and he threatened to walk out with the WWE Championship? Remember how serious and mesmerizing all of that felt, especially with Vince McMahon desperately trying anything he could to make sure that Punk didn't abscond with the belt, the precious centrepiece of his promotion? That shit worked and it was compelling; a great modern example of what Corny mentioned. It was also way more interesting than The Authority basically emasculating everybody from Dusty Rhodes on down to The Big Show and Daniel Bryan. It hurts the talent and diminishes them as heroes for the fans to get behind, especially when their efforts to overcome the oppression are constantly stifled, undermined, and neutralized. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was a revolutionary character because he found defiant ways to equalize the struggle for control between himself and Vince McMahon. The tension in their feud was palpable every week because they were presented as characters on equal footing, even in spite of the boss-employee power dynamic between them. Austin made you believe that the rebellious, nonconformist anti-hero legitimately stood a chance of dismantling the establishment, raging against the machine every Monday with beer in hand and middle fingers in the air. It was vicarious escapism for blue-collar folks who felt that they were being held down by the man. That shit made you tune in and buy tickets, and that's what the business is all about.

[@tyrooneyfromdababooney7585]

Where the hell is the full interview?

[@banesbox]

I think the last match I watched was HHH & Taker at Wrestlemania 27. It was a hell of a send off for me.

[@mlbowen6476]

Jim must have been in a good mood. He held back and didn't say how he really feels.

[@purplefidelity5162]

Jim is the hero wrestling needs. Vulgar and crass to the extreme, but he truly cares for the craft and has always wanted the best for it and its audience.

[@092filmz]

Jim is one of the best personalities I’ve ever seen in my life

[@rickymiles2971]

Great video and thank you for not switching camera views

[@MrAce-lm8es]

Social Media destroyed Sports Entertainment, period.

[@iykejnr6296]

exactly. im tired of people trying to put too much philosophy into this fact

[@TJV83]

Always pay close attention when this man speaks!!!

[@andremarc1275]

0:18 lol the photo they chose

[@tripshitrajput7889]

This is the most accurate description .

[@disciple2742]

Jim Cornette is a national treasure

[@davidcoombsbestmegadethalb9780]

good joke

[@davidcoombsbestmegadethalb9780]

@utkusahin9234 very funny national treasure im laughing my ass off

[@TheOuttaPocketVarietyShow]

Corny's point can be backed up and proven by one simple question. If modern wrestling (the past 10 years) is so great, then why does WWE and AEW depend on legacy acts to come in or come back to make things interesting again? Of course WWE has done this more but that's based on the fact AEW (in the grand scheme of things) is a brand new company. But even with AEW, the star power is driven by guys who already made their name before they got there (CM Punk being the biggest example to modern fans, Sting being the example for older fans). MJF is the only homegrown talent that modern fans and the old guard (including Corny) agree on as being great but look at the mess that's going on now. Tony Khan won't do what it takes to make MJF feel secure but he'll damn near come to tears defending Orange Cassidy?? IT MAKES NO SENSE

[@WsK-]

Friendship comes first in wrestling these days. Everything else comes after how close of friends they are. Weird times

[@sbj97]

Friends In high places

[@AquariusLeviathanProphecy]

After the Attitude Era Post Ruthless Wwe failed to Create Great Wrestling N Storylines

[@californialove964]

Call it getting old, but the product is just too choreographed for me now. Too much gymnastics, too little selling, too many false finishes after the most seemingly brutal bump. It's bad in WWE, it's even worse in AEW. Of course it's a work, but I can only suspend my disbelief so much before it's just ridiculous.

[@btf_flotsam478]

I think it's worth noting that AEW has partially steered away from it in some of their matches, which supports his logic (they don't necessarily use TV writers and most of their matches are covered by completely in-character promos, if not just face vs heel stuff). True, there was a bit of soap-opera stuff with Cody, but on the other hand most of Kenny's reign as champion was him being a heel and saying his opponents aren't at his level.

[@gernblanston2652]

@@michaelunderhill8847 you insult OC by calling him Doink and then act like Hart only wrestled real wrestlers when Hart literally wrestled Doink at Summerslam.

[@Mondragora99]

@@michaelunderhill8847 Kenny had the best world title reign until now but of all titles? Miro's TNT reign is undisputed.

[@Shauny7488]

@@gernblanston2652 fighting marks with facts is a pointless battle

[@blakemaxfield4267]

I see his point but there were high ratings when Russo and Ferrera were writing

[@lcjester16]

He's described WWE since 2008 to at t but he tends to paint other promotions with the same brush

[@myguitar5724]

Wrestling has got to get back to the basics. Matches should be based on personal grudges between opponents. Wrestlers should be big and dominating. Cut back on the mic time. Let wrestlers have more freedom on the mic. Have more title matches on network TV.

[@Rocketboy1313]

The two examples he gives, burning down a house and eating a dog are from 5 and 23 years ago respectively. Like, how long has "modern" wrestling been modern and an issue?

[@theunhingedgamer3762]

the guy just loves to hear himself talk honestly and he's bitter as can be given he never really did anything worth noting other than being a valet to Yokozuna in the 90's

[@mahakalavanilla6263]

@@theunhingedgamer3762 Yeah, was just the heel face and voice of the biggest-drawing tag series of all time and developed the biggest names in WWE of the 2000’s and 2010’s. Did absolutely nothing in wrestling but translate for Yokozuna.

[@shoeplayisbad1]

5 years ago is modern yet

[@gypsieking3280]

The pinned comment at the top if this thread says the interview is from 2014. And I think most would view "Modern" as probably the Monday night wars and on, maybe?

[@UnexpectedDanger]

Anything past 1845 is "modern" to this dinosaur.

[@Jarl_egbert]

The point about wrestlers acting out their characters in the ring, then reverting back to their normal selfs the moment they get out of the ring, sums up modern day WWE perfectly for me. It's just movie actors doing live action theatre as a side job to their big hollywood gigs. And the ones who arent as big yet, seem to only care about getting big enough in the wrestiling business to eventually get a role in an action movie. Wrestling is literally just a practice field for mediocre actors, hopingto eventually become the next Dwayne Johnson or John Cena lol.

[@KaiBuscusHD]

I mean he ain’t wrong. It’s y barely see any major mega stars now a day

[@MovieEggman]

Because Vince McMahon refused to build new stars after John Cena.

[@CasualtiesOfGaming]

Barely? I'd say never. Who's a mega star now? Romain? The only needle he's moving is one going backwards. Maybe punk? I like punk but I don't know about that. Other then maybe those two?

[@theunhingedgamer3762]

the problem is that safety isn't why we have no megastars it's because most guys either lack any form of star power or Vince just refuses to put them over for some stupid outdated ideology that he made up in his mind I won't say Jim is wrong but his ideology on the reasoning is a good ways off from the truth and given he's a Vince supporter to some extent I can't agree with him on a lot of his reasoning

[@bryannevers4679]

Pro wrestling was at it best in the 70s, 80s, 90s and from 2000 - 2003. Now the modern product is just dull and boring.

[@alexanderwagner4587]

People who disagree with Jim thinks he just wants wrestling to go back to 80s rasslin' when all he wants is for guys and girls to actually look like wrestlers and for their matches to make sense, that's it! Believable wrestlers doing believable wrestling! And if that's considered old fashioned or outdated then pro wrestling really is proper f*cked!

[@luisn818]

No…that’s exactly what he wants!!! Hahaha wtf are talking about. This fuckin guy wants to go back to the days of territory’s etc

[@alexanderwagner4587]

Well at least if we still had the territories guys would have more than one or two places to work so they could learn something besides WWE'S homogenized assembly line they call the performance center or learning nothing working outlaw indy shows ran by marks! Not to mention we wouldn't have to see the same f*ckin people week in week out because they'd have somewhere else to go when they needed a change!

[@mahakalavanilla6263]

Anyone who thinks Cornette doesn’t say good things about aspects of modern wrestling and wrestlers never listen to the pods and just make shit up. He was a fanboy for (former) indie darlings like Adam Cole before his rotten AEW presentation soured just about everyone on him. He’s praised just about everyone from Japan who has come over in recent months. Idea that Cornette just wants headlocks and worked shoot promos is a lame caricature.

[@xxxaragon]

@@mahakalavanilla6263 sidenote: wouldn't "worked shoot" promos not even be the complete opposite of "80's wrestling" anyway?

[@tjeduards3802]

If you want believable man and women watch MMA or real combat sports wrestling is a comedy act, one of the biggest name in the history of the business is a cowboy zombie guy that has magic power, wrestling is not serious is goffy and stupid

[@tonybaze]

Faxx wrestling is a reality show now 😂 about ratings not wrestling

[@gabrielledormuth4634]

I love Jim he tells it like it is

[@Thepeopleschamp1983_]

that's why the fans suck, is because they would defend their favorite wrestling companies,the spike them treating their wrestlers like slaves, then have the nerve to come at people for saying that it sucks.

[@droxtail]

They will never reach the lvl they had in the 80's , 90's and early 2000's....wrestling stinks now

[@JoeCnNd]

I want the real life jim cornette argument fights between people for the story line.

[@grant1739]

wrestling fans are way harder to please now than they were before 2000

[@MonkeysAreBananas77]

Wonder how he feels about the Hangman and Swerve feud. It is very easy to believe that those guys absolutely despise each other and nothing would suggest otherwise. Also I feel like MJF might be the greatest character to maintain kayfabe in the modern era and you believe that that is just him and it’s how he is every day, not just when he’s in front of the camera. I would love to know Cornette’s opinion on him as well

[@gabemarkarian9334]

It's acrobatics and acting, not wrestling.

[@miamicaneno1]

I used to watch wrestling weekly watch every PPV I stopped when , they started the boring story lines. PPV, no excitement , no blood etc

[@MrJonno436]

I think the same as everyone when it comes to wrestling now, When I watched wrestling the wrestlers would do anything to get crowds in and that meant getting hurt so bad people would come in just to watch two guys beating the hell out of each other. Today as we know more now about health and mental wellbeing the wrestlers and agents refuse to let wrestlers take risks as they are afraid of people getting so hurt they end up suing the company, Look at Chris Benoit and the injuries he sustained over the years, and as Jim says the writers don’t put together anything creative in the story’s anymore what happened to the days where open invitation was there for future wrestlers like how john Cena started, And the last thing as other have said It’s too much you need to be athletic now, I agree and disagree as some wrestlers that are small need speed and be able to move as that’s the selling point for them, but big wrestlers like big show mark henry great khali they don’t need to be athletic as they sell the power house style wrestling where they barley move. Also I hate that wrestling now over uses the old talent to big up the shows only because the new talent isn’t up to speed or exciting enough to draw the crowds in also to their poor charisma for putting on a promo, Just goes to show how good the attitude era was as the stars had charisma and talent in the ring, I think mabe because they were not being paid millions in the attitude era so much they had more time to grow their character e.g. the peoples elbow (The Rock) was invented over messing around trying new things until the crowd cheered. In my opinion wrestling will only be as great if the wrestlers took risks again.

[@FloridaManRacer]

problem is we're so far removed from the last time that actually existed, no one knows how to do that anymore...

[@dukeskunk]

You talk about the Attitude Era, but a big part of what made that big was exactly what Corny was complaining about, the storylines. During the attitude era, everyone had a story going on. He can say "It was about is this guy going to win the championship" and that is all well and good for the two guys in the main event. But the other guys need something too. Whether it is "You're the authority figure and I have issues with authority so I pee'd in your tea" or "I think this person needs to put on more clothing and you shouldn't be drinking beer on TV so I'm going to censor you," or "I don't want you dating my sister but I will give my consent if you can beat me in a match." Cornette understood wrestling better than anyone else in the business, in the 80s. He is the living embodiment of the immortal words of Abe Simpson "I used to be with it, but then they changed what *it* was. Now what I'm with isn't *it*, and what's *it* seems weird and scary to me." Also keep in mind he still thinks in the sense of Marks and Carnies. Pay attention to what he said when he was talking about the Terri Runnels miscarriage angle, "You've been knocking them over the head with the fact that this shit is phony for so long that they probably didn't believe she was pregnant." Corny thinks wrestling fans are idiots. He thinks that if Vince hadn't stood before the supreme court and said, "we aren't a sport we are a TV show," that now in the 21st century wrestling fans would still think it is real because in his opinion we are too stupid to have ever figured it out.

[@FloridaManRacer]

@@dukeskunk storyline has always been a part of wrestling, even long before the attitude era. The best analogy I can use is a cooking recipe. If a batch of cookies calls for 1 stick of butter,a 1/2 cup of flour and 2 eggs, and you stick 4 sticks of butter, 1/4 cup of flour and 6 eggs in the bowl and stir it, those are gonna be shit cookies right? Well if wrestling used to be 30% storyline and 70% in ring action, then the current recipe is screwed up and 'tastes' like shit... see what I'm trying to get at?

[@kevinmorrice]

Jim cornette is right about somethings wrong about most things, he hates kenny omega so much hes wished death on kenny countless times, all because kenny was able to make wrestling a 9 year old girl look real

[@joaomendes147]

LMAO I absolutely love Jim!

[@billyguthrie3176]

Got that one part right for sure Cornette. It's not hard to see why pay per view sales go down. When prices go up but the quality goes down people become uninterested real quick. Pro wrestling entertainment is about convincing you these two big brawny muscled up men really are mad at each other and then letting them do a good job making the audience believe thati is the case. We don't want baby mama daddy miscairrage stories. We want brutal fights. We want talent that's doing such a good job of beating the hell out of each other that it makes some one some where say yeah it's about time that M"fr got his arse kicked!

[@yurem1023]

MJF is probably the only wrestler I can think of who has all the intangibles of an old school guy. Instead, he's off TV and the product is at an all-time low.

[@STONESGAM]

The promo's aren't anywhere near as good and they are too poltically correct and don't generate the same level of heat as older wrestling did in the 80's and 90's and even early 2000's. The matches don't look realistic like they are grappling it looks more like an acrobatic show. I feel more like I am watching some Vegas stunt show or something than two guys fighting. The larger than life personalities just aren't there anymore or even if they are it is not believable at all. It just doesn't work for me. I tried to get into it because my nephew is 8 years old and likes wrestling and I wanted to be able to talk to him about it but I just can't watch it. I'll stick with watching older matches on Peacock and KZbin.

[@crownedkingoffrancet8427]

Attitude Era made wrestling cool. Nowadays wrestling is about flips and dives and nobody outside the marks watches this nonsense.

[@javondrake3660]

what was the attitude era lol bunch of marks back then bud

[@crownedkingoffrancet8427]

@@javondrake3660 go do your research and look at the ratings. Any current wrestling organization with a TV deal would kill to have a quarter of the wwe's past ratings.

[@javondrake3660]

@@crownedkingoffrancet8427 what does that have to do with what i said lol

[@Laneykl4lyf]

They went too far during the attitude and ruthless aggression era's and the business has never recovered. They've tried to pull things back by having no blood, no chairshots to the head, but in todays world a kid who wasn't even alive during the 90s can go on youtube and watch these guys bleeding everywhere and beating the hell out of each other. It just makes the current product unbelievable, when they never bleed, and when they do the lame chair shot to the back which looks so contrived. You can't go backwards after pushing the envelope too far, because with the internet that era is always going to be there for the fans to see.