Few figures in the modern era of pro wrestling are more polarizing than Jim Cornette. Love him or hate him, the man is not afraid to express his opinions, many of which rub people the wrong way. It's become increasingly impossible to tell if he actually believes what he says or if he's saying incendiary things for the attention.
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For better or worse, when Jim Cornette speaks people listen and respond, often with as much vitriol as him. And while his detractors would never admit this, even a broken clock is right twice a day and Cornette is, at the very least, a broken clock.
10 WRONG: Constantly Slamming Hardcore Wrestling
This is something that Cornette has been getting wrong about pro wrestling for a long time. He has been openly, and sometimes virulently, been critical of hardcore wrestling and wrestlers for many years, though his hate for the style has only increased as time has gone by.
While hardcore wrestling isn't for everyone, it still has a strong fanbase and a lot of people enjoy it. Cornette, on the other hand, has essentially stated that the style is for wrestlers who can't wrestle and need to hide behind weapons. It's a pretty broad statement that does not reflect the truth of the situation at all.
9 RIGHT: The Disappearance Of Rest Holds
There are a lot of components needed to put a good wrestling match together. But one that often gets overlooked these days are rest holds. Wrestling expends a lot of energy, and the longer a match goes the worse the fatigue gets. Rest holds were used to slow the match down and give wrestlers a chance to take a bit of a break.
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While rest holds aren't completely gone from modern wrestling, Cornette is right in that this should be more prominent. It helps the wrestlers execute a better match, and might actually help them be safer in the ring by giving them a chance to breathe and think.
8 WRONG: His High Spot Hate
The American wrestling scene has been dominated by big, muscular men for most of its existence, particularly WWE. And those types of wrestlers are definitely important. But modern wrestling fans have shown that they want to see smaller guys doing bigger moves off the top rope and to the outside of the ring, as well.
Cornette is not a fan of high spots. He seems to be fine with the occasional high spot but wrestlers whose game is entirely based on them drive him nuts. It's safe to say that he's out of touch with wrestling fans on this one.
7 RIGHT: Turning Arena Lights Down During Matches
Some of the changes in the wrestling business over the years have been much more subtle of others. One such change are the house lights at wrestling shows, particularly on televised wrestling events.
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There's a lot of production that goes into any and all wrestling matches. But the practice used to be to turn the house lights down during the bout. As TV has become more important to the industry, that has faded away as companies want viewers to see the reactions of live fans. That does take some focus away from the action in the ring.
6 WRONG: Smaller Wrestlers
Cornette's dislike of smaller wrestlers is not limited what he perceives as their overuse of high spots, though that is a big part of it. His heyday of wrestling was during an era when the business was about big guys slamming each other around the ring.
While this might be an oversimplification of his point, Cornette's opinion seems to be that smaller wrestlers are much more limited in the ring. In particular, someone like Marko Stunt does not have the same range of moves that Brian Cage has. But that doesn't mean that Stunt can't wrestle or that he can't put a good match together.
5 RIGHT: Backstage Employees Who Don't Know The Business
When a wrestler's time in active competition comes to an end, they often end up taking backstage roles with a company. This could be as a trainer, a producer, a booker or another office job of some kind.
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But in more recent years, wrestling companies, particularly WWE, has been bringing in people to fill those roles from outside of the business. Wrestling is a very specific industry, so having someone in a key role who doesn't get it can be a big problem. Cornette isn't wrong on this specific topic.
4 WRONG: Modern Wrestling Gear
When it comes to crafting a popular in ring talent, the look of the wrestler is as important as their wrestling. The last 10 to 15 years has seen the rise of a larger variety and styles of ring gear for performers across the board. Some wrestlers have gone extremely casual, which works well with their gimmick.
As expected, Cornette has a problem with this. It doesn't fit with the old days of wrestling, when most people wore standard trunks or tights. This shouldn't be an issue as gear needs to fit the wrestler, and that's all that matters.
3 RIGHT: Wrestlers Not Selling Offense
Every move pulled off in a wrestling ring requires two people to make it work. The person on offense is the one executing the move, of course. But the individual who is on defense has to sell the impact of that move to make sure it looks convincing. Both sides need to be firing on all cylinders for everything to succeed.
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On more than one occasion, Cornette has pointed out that modern wrestlers don't always sell as well as they need to. He's not wrong, and it does harm the story being told in the ring to an extent.
2 WRONG: Comedy In Wrestling Matches
Comedy is harder than drama. Making someone honestly and deeply laugh is incredibly difficult, and takes a lot of skill to make happen. Regardless of that, Cornette seems to believe that comedy does not belong in a wrestling ring. It's kind of odd considering he's been part of more than a few comedy spots over the years.
Keep in mind that this is about wrestling matches, and not promos or skits. He's not a fan of guys like Orange Cassidy who have built light hearted characters, despite the fact that fans love him and the man is incredibly talented between the ropes.
1 RIGHT: Using Scripted Promos
It seems like an eternity since WWE let their superstars go out in the ring and cut their own promos. Standard practice is normally to completely organize what they're going to say and do before they go out there, word for word.
Jim Cornette is incredibly against scripted promos, and he could not be more right about this. Unscripted promos used to be a huge part of establishing a gimmick and connecting with the audience. And a lot of wrestlers simply cannot deliver a scripted promo without sounding wooden and forced.
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