Jim Cornette

James E. Cornette
Data
Ring name	Jim Cornette
height	185 cm
Fighting weight	104 kg
birth	September 17, 1961 Louisville , Kentucky
debut	1982

James E. Cornette (born September 17, 1961 in Louisville , Kentucky ) is an American manager, commentator, promoter and booker in wrestling . He has worked in a variety of leagues so far. Today Cornette works mainly for the National Wrestling Alliance , where he is the organizer and promoter of NWA New Beginnings .

Career

Jim Cornette was a wrestling fan since childhood and began working as a photographer and ring announcer at wrestling events at the age of 15. In 1982 he was incorporated into a storyline by promoter Jerry Jarrett in which Cornette was fired as manager by each of his clients after each match. Cornette managed, among others, Sherri Martel , Dutch Mantell and Crusher Broomfield , who later became famous as Akeem and "One Man Gang".

In 1983 Cornette became the manager of the legendary tag team The Midnight Express . Under his leadership, the team won the NWA World Tag Team Championship and the NWA United States Tag Team Championship twice . At that time Cornette was already playing the role he was to keep for most of his career: an overly vocal heel that fans were only too happy to beat up if their opponents didn't. He established a tennis racket as an always present utensil, which he often used in the matches of his protégés.

World Championship Wrestling

In the Jim Crockett Promotions , a direct forerunner of the WCW , Cornette took on the role of the color commentator , i.e. the commentator who, in contrast to the play-by-play announcer, deals less with the actions in the ring and more with storylines, backgrounds and statistics . He mainly commented alongside Jim Ross . From 1989 Cornette also worked as one of the league's bookers. Because of a disagreement between him and Jim Herd, then Vice President, Cornette left WCW to start his own league.

Smoky Mountain Wrestling

In 1991 Jim Cornette founded the SMW . An advocate of the old days when wrestling leagues were restricted to territories and not nationwide, he adopted the same concept for Smoky Mountain - the league's shows have always been in Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Georgia, and Carolina. Since this procedure was now viewed as outdated, the league was not successful despite a few stars, so Cornette entered into a cooperation with the WWF (now WWE). Although some SMW wrestlers appeared on national television and on Pay Per Views (especially the Heavenly Bodies Tom Pritchard and Jimmy Del Ray ), the league ultimately benefited neither financially nor in terms of national popularity from the collaboration. Cornette decided to close Smoky Mountain in 1995. He later said it was the wrong time to start a league as wrestling was in a recession that didn't end until 1996.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment

During the cooperation mentioned, Jim Cornette also worked for the WWF as a manager, commentator and booker. His best-known role in the shows was as the mouthpiece of two-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion Yokozuna .

After the end of the SMW Cornette signed a full-time contract with the WWF. He formed the Stable Camp Cornette , which initially consisted of Yokozuna, Vader , Owen Hart and the British Bulldog . After the end of his managerial career, he made one last appearance in front of WWF cameras at the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania XVII.

Cornette continued to work behind the scenes as a booker and talent scout, having already shown an eye for future stars at Smoky Mountain. After some arguments with chief booker Vince Russo, he was removed from the former post. Cornette later became chief booker and partner in Ohio Valley Wrestling ; a WWE Farm League. Here he again demonstrated his skills in spotting new talent. In May 2005, he was suspended for several weeks after an argument with Kevin Ready. Two months later he physically attacked the OVW wrestler Johnny Geo Basco after he laughed at the boogeyman gimmick in front of the camera and broke Kayfabe , which infuriated the tradition-conscious Cornette. The WWE then released him; his successor at OVW was Paul Heyman .

Total non-stop action wrestling

In June 2006, Cornette joined TNA and took on the on-screen role of Management Director . In this capacity he took Jeff Jarrett from the NWA World Heavyweight Championship after a contentious decision in the main event of Slammiversary and declared the title vacant . At the first management meeting, Cornette (in the storyline) made some important decisions in late June; so he fired Earl Hebner , dissolved the grouping Team Canada and now declared Jeff Jarrett the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion.

Due to personal difficulties Cornette with the TNA leadership, his expiring contract was not extended. Jim Cornette was released from the TNA on September 15, 2009 as part of the storyline.

Web links

• James E. Cornette in the Internet Movie Database (English)