Jim Cornette’s latest commentary is about hardcore wrestling, from its southern fried roots (he credits Jeff Jarrett’s father Jerry, the Honky Tonk Man, and Jerry Lawler as being part of its creation in Mississippi in the ’70s) to its importation to Japan with the creation of FMW, to ECW’s rise in the ’90s. He’s not a fan of the style, its fans, its promoters (from old nemesis Paul Heyman to Ian Rotten), and its effects on the business, to say the least. To put it in perspective, he preferes a certain, McMahon coined phrase to describe a product to hardcore wrestling:
As bad as I hate sports entertainment, even THAT is certainly preferable to “hardcore” wrestling.
He also gives Vince McMahon credit for being smart enough to severely limit the hardcore style once the injuries started piling up. Oh, and he doesn’t let his pal and co-worker Mick Foley off the hook for his role in hardcore’s rise, either:
My friend Mick Foley, who I respect as one of the top stars in the business of the last two decades, must bear some responsibility as well. Not possessed of the traditional “look” of a star, he had to take the big bumps and do the outlandish things he did to attract attention and get over.
He gives Foley credit for his brains and charisma helping remain a star after he got over though, and mostly blames “the copy cats” for trying to be the next Foley soley by taking crazy bumps, and stupid promoter for letting them do it.
Because it’s Cornette, it’s an interesting and educational read, especially to those of us who are ignorant of a wrestling history in the territory era. And yes, he’s not bringing up TNA’s use of hardcore wrestling and gimmick matches at all here. But hey, dude’s got to eat, right?
