The following is an except from a new interview piece with Jim Cornette from ScrippsNews.com:
Considered one of wrestling’s sharpest minds, Cornette joined TNA in 2006 as on-air figurehead commissioner and backstage member of the creative team. He helped coordinate TNA’s camera work for "Impact" telecasts (9 p.m. EDT Thursdays, Spike TV) and offer story-line input.
Cornette said he enjoyed "pulling in a lot of money working with a lot of people I’ve known for 20 or 30 years." Cornette, though, also admits to being "embarrassed" working for TNA because of the company’s direction under lead writer Vince Russo.
Cornette also had problems in the late 1990s coexisting in WWE with Russo, whose unconventional matchmaking style isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Russo’s booking heavily contributed to the demise of World Championship Wrestling in 2001 and leads to occasional crowd chants of "Fire Russo!" during TNA pay-per-view shows.
"It was sad, disappointing and depressing to watch," Cornette said. "We didn’t have as many pay-per-view buys as we should and nobody was getting over (i.e., becoming popular with the fans). He’s the only booker I’ve ever seen who gets people under."
Russo recently climbed the TNA political ladder when executive/wrestler Jeff Jarrett was stripped of his backstage power by company President Dixie Carter. Cornette was released after telling Carter he couldn’t fully support Russo’s creative vision. Cornette is more of a traditionalist who places a greater emphasis on in-ring action and cohesive, sensible story lines. Cornette also is terrible at biting his tongue, which has led to backstage problems in other companies he’s worked for.
"The matches are made meaningless so Russo can see his comedic lines and dramatic scripting spring to life," Cornette said. "There’s a bunch of great athletes, but they’re not very good actors. They’re even worse comedians."
Check out the full article at this link.
