Jim Cornette shoots the shit about his ROH run

[BlackLesnar]

http://theindycorner.podomatic.com/entr ... 8_18-08_00

Hour and a quarter long interview. Topics include:

*Cabana
*Generico
*Steen
*Davey
*Wolves' recent issues
*iPPV & website problems
*backstage stooges
*Hero's release
*ROH as a whole & its wrestling product
*word association
*a pretty quote-worthy SSB burial

Enjoy.

[ROHdk]

Thank you for posting this. Great interview, and good to hear Cornettes version of things.

If it's true what he says, we now know why Davey is not at Final Battle.

[Kabla]

I'm definitely curious to hear this. I can't honestly say I buy much of what Cornette says these days, but I still think it's interesting to hear both sides.

[Heyzel]

very insightful on the el generico dealing

[Burnside]

Good interview, thanks for posting.

I still think that if his vision for Ring of Honor didn't have room for Colt Cabana in some form, then his vision is probably too narrow. And some of his criticisms of Generico are misplaced (it really wasn't essential that Generico speak - you can have one guy who doesn't speak).

His criticisms of Steen, Richards, and SBG I find very easy to believe.

[Thelone]

I still think that if his vision for Ring of Honor didn't have room for Colt Cabana in some form, then his vision is probably too narrow.

In the second episode of the JC Experience podcast, I believe he talked about that. I can't remember if it was geared towards Cabana or in general, but he basically said there's a difference between a guy who can pop a crowd and someone who actually draws money.

[Burnside]

I still think that if his vision for Ring of Honor didn't have room for Colt Cabana in some form, then his vision is probably too narrow.

In the second episode of the JC Experience podcast, I believe he talked about that. I can't remember if it was geared towards Cabana or in general, but he basically said there's a difference between a guy who can pop a crowd and someone who actually draws money.

I get that. I just think that if you can't think of ANY way to use Colt Cabana effectively, you're not thinking very hard.

Personally, I would have used him to play a cynical, bitter heel who isn't as funny as he thinks he is, thinks he should be a bigger star than he is, and resents the younger wrestlers and bullies them.

[Kabla]

Interesting interview. Again, it's Cornette, so you have to take everything he says with a grain of salt. I'm sure there's some truth to what he says, just as I'm sure there's some truth to what Steen/Colt/etc. say. As always, the full truth is somewhere inbetween.

Cornette is an entertaining guy to listen to, even if what he's saying may or may not be partially BS. I wasn't really surprised to hear him basically say that all the problems during his time in ROH were created by just about everyone but himself. That's been his version of the story wherever he goes. I'm sure he caught flak for things that wasn't his doing, but he loses credibility when he never accepts blame for anything. Some of his criticisms of SBG do feel spot on, though.

I do question the so-called "genius" of a guy that praises Mondo as being someone people want to see, while previously criticizing the marketability of Generico, however.

[Big Red Machine]

I do question the so-called "genius" of a guy that praises Mondo as being someone people want to see, while previously criticizing the marketability of Generico, however.

This x100000000000000.

Mondo is, at best, a passable wrestler with a voice and personality so grating that I never want to hear him again. I will never understand why Cornette brought him in or why he kept bringing him back after no one gave a sh*t about him the first three times.

[DXvsNWO1994]

Would someone be able to provide a brief synopsis of this particular interview? Not really long, but just what he said about each topic (don't have the time to listen to it).

[Burnside]

Would someone be able to provide a brief synopsis of this particular interview? Not really long, but just what he said about each topic (don't have the time to listen to it).

Colt Cabana - You've probably heard it before. Funny don't draw money. Cornette really didn't think Cabana fit within the vision of the Serious Wrestling image of ROH. Has nothing personal against him. Seems to really dislike Cabana's commentary on $5 Wrestling ("You shouldn't be making fun of the wrestling business while trying to be in the wrestling business.")

El Generico - Said he was a fantastic in-ring wrestler with some of the best selling of anybody in wrestling and great firey babyface comebacks. But he also makes it clear he didn't really like or understand the gimmick and didn't think it would work on a national stage, that casual fans would just have a reaction like, "Why is that skinny red-haired guy pretending to be a Mexican?" They signed him to a 6-month deal when SBG bought the company basically because they couldn't come to terms on anything longer. That expired at the end of 2011 and they wanted to re-sign him but Generico was dodging them and became difficult to contact because he knew a WWE development deal was in the pipeline. Says Sapolsky warned Adam Pearce when Pearce got the book that he would spend most of his time dealing with Generico and Steen because they were pains in the asses, and when Delirious got the book Pearce told him the same thing, and that was certainly the experience that Cornette and Delirious had with them.

Kevin Steen - Great promo, great worker, very passionate about wrestling but not passionate at all about looking like a wrestler. Complains a lot. After Final Battle 2010, he was supposed to go home, lose 40 pounds, and come back in 6 months as the killer heel. They kept him on the payroll. He only dropped about 25 pounds, and by the end of 2011 was fatter than ever. Says his failure to get in shape was causing his body to break down by the end of his title reign, to the extent that now they often have to hide him in tag matches. He and Generico were determined to work their garbage matches and would become very upset when told the company didn't want them doing certain spots because it was going too far, wasn't the style ROH wanted to present, upstaged other matches on the card, could cause injuries, and wasn't right for a national company looking for a broader appeal. Says Steen isn't in the business to make money; he's in the business to be champion in front of crowds of 500 people.

SBG - Buries them as being basically incompetent penny-pinchers. Says ROH's most obvious source of short-term revenue was iPPVs, and they needed a world-class website to support them, but SBG fucked that up by doing everything on the absolute cheap, first by sticking with GoFightLive which Cornette knew was a rinky-dinky outfit, and then by not spending the money to do it right internally. Said the cheapness also applied to the TV show and production equipment (including the cameras for the first year of the show). Says you never get a second chance to make a good first impression, and they fucked up the first impression with SBG TV and then fucked it up with iPPV. Casual fans will never accept a product with production that is so low-rent.

Davey Richards - Gives him an "A" in the ring, and an "F" outside the ring. Says Davey was his own worst enemy and you can't repeatedly publicly bury a company while you still work for them - mentions how he restrained himself from publicly saying anything negative about Vince Russo for the entire time he worked for TNA. Davey was supposed to be a leader and an example and he was neither. Says he got a lot of chances because he was so talented, but was always a headache. Isn't surprised they left him off Final Battle. Says Davey has burned a lot of bridges lately.

Delirious - Speaks very highly of him and says they agreed on almost everything while working together.

Jay Lethal, Eddie Edwards - Examples of model employees, easy to work with, never a problem.

That's as far as I got; it's a long interview.

[DieHard]

Speaks very highly of him and says they agreed on almost everything while working together.

Surprise, surprise.

Sounds like a great interview.

[YimYac]

I do question the so-called "genius" of a guy that praises Mondo as being someone people want to see, while previously criticizing the marketability of Generico, however.

This x100000000000000.

Mondo is, at best, a passable wrestler with a voice and personality so grating that I never want to hear him again. I will never understand why Cornette brought him in or why he kept bringing him back after no one gave a sh*t about him the first three times.

Agreed and this coming from a guy that likes Mondo.

Ok so you have a babyface with a unique gimmick that can't speak? How about using commentary and video packages to explain his story? How about letting his ring-work speak for itself?

[AmericanDolphin_3]

I'm early on in this interview, just finished up the opening part about Cabana. Cornette's whole idea of "promoting pro-wrestling as a sport with an MMA mix" really annoys me. IMO, ROH and wrestling as a whole is at its best when it is diverse. Look at the first Supercard of Honor or the first Manhattan Mayhem, the show is diverse. Whether it was a Dragon Gate six-man or a Dog Collar Match between Rave and Punk, the show was more than just technical match after technical match with a tag team match in between. Anyways...

[Wavelet Transform]

Interesting interview. Again, it's Cornette, so you have to take everything he says with a grain of salt. I'm sure there's some truth to what he says, just as I'm sure there's some truth to what Steen/Colt/etc. say. As always, the full truth is somewhere inbetween.

Cornette is an entertaining guy to listen to, even if what he's saying may or may not be partially BS. I wasn't really surprised to hear him basically say that all the problems during his time in ROH were created by just about everyone but himself. That's been his version of the story wherever he goes. I'm sure he caught flak for things that wasn't his doing, but he loses credibility when he never accepts blame for anything. Some of his criticisms of SBG do feel spot on, though.

I do question the so-called "genius" of a guy that praises Mondo as being someone people want to see, while previously criticizing the marketability of Generico, however.

Agree with all of this. The biggest thing I took from this is that nothing with all of the problems discussed is a black and white or right and wrong situation. Cornette makes a lot of sensible points about the transition to the SBG era and the strategic moves they made. As much as I disliked a lot of the changes they made and disagree with his thoughts on Generico, moving towards a sport-like pseudo-MMA presentation, etc..., I understand where he's coming from. They tried something and it didn't work, for a lot of reasons. Cornette comes across really well here too. He's polite in addressing a lot of controversial issues and negativity directed towards him and he seems like someone who genuinely loves pro wrestling. Thanks for posting this.

[LJimmy]

Was that Nigel interviewing Cornette?

[JSP]

Was that Nigel interviewing Cornette?

Ha no. Accent is way too heavy.

[YimYac]

Cornette hates the SSB

[Kenny]

I do question the so-called "genius" of a guy that praises Mondo as being someone people want to see, while previously criticizing the marketability of Generico, however.

This x100000000000000.

Mondo is, at best, a passable wrestler with a voice and personality so grating that I never want to hear him again. I will never understand why Cornette brought him in or why he kept bringing him back after no one gave a sh*t about him the first three times.

Agreed and this coming from a guy that likes Mondo.

Ok so you have a babyface with a unique gimmick that can't speak? How about using commentary and video packages to explain his story? How about letting his ring-work speak for itself?

I really want to like Mondo because he seems to be very passionate and takes his craft seriously. That being said, he just never seemed to work in ROH. Maybe I was just too annoyed by the no fear gimmick. I feel like they really sold him wrong.

[Kenny]

I enjoyed the podcast and I enjoyed hearing Cornette's side, but it's almost amazing how different it is from the stuff Colt says on his podcast. I know there are two sides to every story and all that, but the two stories here are so different, it's just weird.