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Although he has not managed many different teams, Jim
Cornette is widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of
all time. Cornette's ability to incite a crowd is
legendary and he is one of the greatest talkers of all
time.
Jim Cornette got his job as a manager
in his early 20's, starting out in Jeff Jarrett's Championship
Wrestling Association (CWA) in Memphis, TN.
Cornette worked with the area's top heel manager Jimmy "the
Mouth of the South" Hart. Originally, Cornette had worked a
variety of jobs behind the scenes such as photographer and
ring announcer, waiting for his first break into the
business.
Cornette debuted in CWA by telling
announcer Lance Russell that with the financial backings of
his wealthy mother, he planned to start managing some of the
area's top wrestlers. Cornette had made a name for
himself in CWA as a ringside photographer and felt he was very
familiar with the world of professional wrestling. He
told Russell that while men like Jimmy Hart had tarnished the
role of managers in wrestling, he planned on bringing some
class to managing and intended on managing only scientific
wrestlers.
Unfortunately Cornette's first attempt to
sign one of CWA's babyfaces turned out badly.
Wisecracker Jerry "The King" Lawler appeared on CWA television
and began making jokes about Cornette's shoes and implied that
he was a "momma's boy". Cornette seemed to be upset with
Lawler but calmed down after Lawler told him he was just
kidding. At the same time, Lawler refused Cornette's
offer of management, citing his previous experience with his
former manager Jimmy Hart.
The next week proved to be even less
successful for Cornette when he tried to sign "Superstar" Bill Dundee. The
Superstar flat out refused Cornette's offer, telling Cornette
that he wasn't going to be Cornette's second choice (since
Lawler had refused Cornette). To make matters worse,
Jerry Lawler came out and started making fun of Cornette
again, mocking Cornette for being a "momma's boy". When
Cornette threw a tantrum, Lawler and Dundee started laughing
and Cornette stormed off.
Following his humiliation on CWA
television, Cornette swore revenge on Jerry Lawler.
Cornette told Lance Russell that he had conferred with his
mother about Lawler's insulting remarks and suggested placing
a bounty on him. However Cornette's mother told him
bounties would only dirty the Cornette family name so instead,
Jim decided to offer a five thousand dollar "incentive" to the
wrestler who beat Lawler to Cornette's satisfaction.
In CWA, Cornette managed "Exotic" Adrian
Street, Apocalypse, and Jesse Barr against some of the area's
top babyfaces including Jerry "The King"
Lawler and "Superstar" Bill
Dundee.. Cornette even appeared in handicap matches
as his opponents preferred to have him in the ring so they
didn't have to worry about him blindsiding him from outside
it.
Cornette began managing the Midnight
Express (Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey) in Bill Watt's
Mid-South Wrestling where he annoyed fans with
his momma's boy image and the tennis racket he waved
around at ringside. The Express feuded with babyface
teams such as Magnum T.A. and Mr. Wrestling II but the the
Rock-n-Roll Express would prove to be their arch-rivals.
Cornette continued to manage the Midnight's and hired Hercules
Hernandez as his bodyguard.
In 1984 Cornette took the Midnight Express
to World Class Championship Wrestling where they had a
memorable feud with the Fantastics. In 1985 Cornette
brought the Midnight's to World Class Championship Wrestling
(WCW) where they rekindled their feud with the Rock-n-Roll
Express, winning the NWA World Tag Team Titles. The
Midnights also feuded with America's Team (Dusty Rhodes and
Magnum T.A.) and the Road Warriors. During a
scaffold match between his team and the Warriors, Cornette was
thrown off of the scaffold where he suffered a legitimate leg
injury after his bodyguard Big Bubba
Rogers failed to catch him
At one point Jim Cornette feuded with
Dusty Rhode's valet Baby Doll, injuring her in the abdomen
with his tennis racket. The two worked a series of
matches in which Baby Doll sought revenge on Cornette.
Cornette eventually hired Big Bubba Rogers to serve as his
bodyguard after getting tired of being attacked by
babyfaces.
The Midnights
continued to work in WCW but Cornette saw that they were
struggling against teams like Barry Windham and Ron
Garvin. He saw the problem and fired Dennis Condrey,
replacing him with Stan Lane (formerly one half of the
Fabulous Ones). According to a shoot interview with
Stan Lane, Dennis Condrey disappeared for two years before
resurfacing. "Sweet" Stan Lane was just what the
Midnights needed and they went on to defeat Arn Anderson and
Tully Blanchard for their second NWA World Tag Team
Title.
Cornette's past
would come back to haunt him when rival manager Paul E.
Dangerously brought in the team of Dennis Condrey and Randy
Rose (billed as the Original Midnight Express).
Dangerously and the Original Express ambushed Cornette and his
Midnight Express, leaving all of them laying. A bloodied
Cornette swore revenge and the two teams feuded for several
months.
Later on in
WCW, Cornette seemed to part ways with the Midnights when he
began training the young team of the Dynamic Dudes (Johnny Ace
and Shane Douglas). However this was just a ruse so
Cornette could help the Midnights destroy the Dynamic Dudes
before they became a threat to his team.
In
addition to his success managing the Midnights, Cornette began
providing color commentary for WCW broadcasts. He also
found a role on WCW's booking committee. Cornette's
experience behind the scenes would come in handy when he
formed his own promotion known as Smokey Mountain Wrestling
(SMW) after leaving WCW. The promotion (which ran from
roughly 1992 to 1995) featured more of an old school approach
to wrestling with clear lines between babyfaces and
heels. SMW featured a variety of talent and
action-packed matches but Cornette found himself struggling to
keep SMW afloat. At one point Cornette began a talent
exchange with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and began
managing wrestlers in the WWF such as Owen Hart and
Yokozuna. However wrestling was not doing well anywhere
at the time and Cornette was forced to close down
SMW.
Cornette then began working for the WWF full-time as a
manager, announcer, and talent scout. His many skills
led to him working for Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) as a
commentator, booker, and talent scout. Cornette plays a
vital role in OVW which serves as a farm system for World
Wrestling Entertainment.
During 2004, Cornette also appeared
in Ring of Honor (ROH) where he feuded with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan after Cornette challenged Heenan to a debate.
During the debate, Cornette said that he was tired of being
referred to as the greatest manager next to Heenan and told
Heenan that he wished he would die so he could become
#1. Cornette led tag teams of ROH wrestlers
against teams managed by Heenan but he was unsuccessful
against Heenan.
Cornette was released from OVW but it
was only a matter of when (and not if) he resurfaces in
professional wrestling. He appeared in ROH where he is
now acting commissioner. When Combat Zone Wrestling
(CZW) invaded ROH, Cornette rallied the wrestlers of ROH and
despite being injured by CZW wrestlers, he continues to do
so.
At TNA's 2006
Slammiversary PPV, Jim
Cornette debuted as the new public authority figure for TNA. | 
