Jim Cornette has never been shy about sharing his opinions, and the veteran wrestling personality did not hold back when discussing John Laurinaitis’ upcoming return to a wrestling-related appearance.
During a recent episode of Jim Cornette’s Drive-Thru, Cornette and co-host Brian Last reacted to the news that Laurinaitis has been booked for an upcoming event with World Classic Professional Big Time Wrestling. The appearance will mark Laurinaitis’ first wrestling-related event since leaving WWE, following the controversies surrounding his departure from the company.
Cornette’s criticism began with Laurinaitis’ comments in a recent interview with Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling, where Laurinaitis discussed his role in WWE’s developmental system and his desire to continue helping younger wrestlers develop in the industry.
During the interview, Laurinaitis stated that he had overseen WWE’s developmental system for two decades.
“I ran the WWE developmental system for 20 years.”
Cornette quickly challenged that claim, arguing that the timeline did not line up with WWE history. According to Cornette, Laurinaitis did not take over the company’s developmental operations until Jim Ross stepped away from the role in 2004.
“20 years? He didn’t take over for Jim Ross until 2004. That was only 22 years ago, and he’s had numerous interruptions.”
Cornette also reacted strongly to Laurinaitis’ comments about his passion for helping develop young wrestlers. In the interview, Laurinaitis explained that talent development remains the area of the business he cares about most.
“So my one love is to help and develop and groom young talent and that’s what I think the strategy is for Big Time Wrestling. It’s now to find young talent and develop them into the stars of tomorrow.”
Cornette suggested the wording itself was surprising given the controversies Laurinaitis has faced in recent years.
“It’s either complete stunning cluelessness or the stunning balls to use the word ‘grooming.’ Mama Cornette, that used to be a compliment when she would say, ‘Well, he’s a very well-groomed young man.’ It meant you were tidy, you were neat, you were clean. That’s not what it means to most people anymore.”
Cornette also questioned what role Laurinaitis could realistically play with the promotion, arguing that the organization does not appear to have the kind of developmental infrastructure Laurinaitis described.
“He’s not going to be running their developmental because they don’t have one. He’s not going to be training at their wrestling school because they don’t have one of those either.”
The veteran personality continued by dismissing Laurinaitis’ suggestion that he could help bring in international talent for the promotion.
“If they bring in any international talent, it will probably be because said international talent is already on a goddamn American holiday. They don’t expect to be drastically increasing their goddamn international air travel bill.”
Cornette ultimately suggested that Laurinaitis may simply be trying to maintain a sense of importance within the wrestling business.
“He’s just making st up because he doesn’t know what the fk they’re even doing. He’s delusional. I guess he’s trying to make himself sound somewhat important still.”
Brian Last echoed many of Cornette’s criticisms during the discussion. Referring to Laurinaitis as “Defendant C,” Last questioned why any wrestling promotion would want to highlight someone with Laurinaitis’ reputation in the industry.
“This guy was horrible for wrestling. This guy made awful decisions. This guy had no instincts. Literally couldn’t pick the right one-legged wrestler. He couldn’t pick talent. He picked talent out of a lingerie catalog.”
Last also dismissed Laurinaitis’ claims about developing future wrestling stars and criticized both his backstage influence and his on-screen role during his time in WWE.
“He couldn’t work, and he couldn’t do promos, and eventually they made him another one of their characters on air at the same time that apparently he was lovers with Vince McMahon in whatever twisted fking st they had going on.”
While Last noted that he has respect for Bobby Fulton, who is involved with the promotion booking Laurinaitis, he questioned whether the decision to feature Laurinaitis was wise given past backlash.
According to Last, a previous attempt to book Laurinaitis for a wrestling event was canceled after negative reactions from fans and figures within the industry.
With Laurinaitis now scheduled to appear at the upcoming Big Time Wrestling event, reactions like those from Cornette and Last suggest that the controversy surrounding his return to wrestling appearances is unlikely to quiet down anytime soon.
