Jim Cornette

Jim Cornette
Cornette in 2015
Birth nameJames Mark Cornette
Born (1961-09-17) September 17, 1961 (age 63)[1][2]
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Spouse(s)
  • Janice Crowl
    ​
    (m. 1987⁠–⁠2002)​
  • Stacey Goff
    ​
    (m. 2007)​
Websitejimcornette.com
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)General Cornette[3]
James E. Cornette
James Edward Cornette
James Cornette
Jim Cornette
Jimmy Cornette
Billed height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[4]
Billed weight231 lb (105 kg)[4]
Billed fromLouisville, Kentucky[5]
DebutSeptember 1982
RetiredNovember 2017[6]
Jim Cornette
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2018–present
Genres
Subscribers435 thousand[7]
Total views591 million[7]
100,000 subscribers2020
Last updated: July 21, 2024
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James Mark Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author, sports historian, and podcaster who previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, photographer, promoter, trainer, and occasional professional wrestler. Cornette is widely considered to be one of the greatest managers in wrestling history by fans and publications,[8][9][10] as well as industry personnel.[11][12][13][14][15] Cornette currently hosts two podcasts along with co-host and producer Brian Last—The Jim Cornette Experience and Jim Cornette's Drive-Thru— with the latter being the most-played wrestling podcast as of February 2024 and both being among the most popular wrestling podcasts of all time.[16][17][18]

During his career, he has worked for the Continental Wrestling Association, Mid-South Wrestling, World Class Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation (now called WWE), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (also called Impact Wrestling), and Ring of Honor. From 1991 to 1995, he was the owner and booker of Smoky Mountain Wrestling, and from 1999 to 2005, was the co-owner, head booker, and head trainer of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Both promotions served as talent pools/developmental programs for the WWF/WWE and produced many notable alumni.[19][20][21][22][23] During the later years of his career, Cornette focused primarily on backstage positions and transitioned away from his role as an on-screen manager.

In 2017, Cornette retired from managing.[6] During a transitional period prior to the retirement, he worked as an on-screen "authority figure" character in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and Ring of Honor, promotions where he also held backstage positions. Cornette has also had an extensive commentary career, most recently serving as a color commentator for Major League Wrestling, What Culture Pro Wrestling, and the National Wrestling Alliance. Cornette is a member of the NWA, Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Memphis, and Professional Wrestling Halls of Fame. Cornette is also noted for his long-standing real-life feud with former professional wrestling booker Vince Russo.[24][25][26] In June 2017, Russo filed a restraining order (EPO) against Cornette for stalking, which Cornette mocked and then sold copies of.[27][28] The Cornette vs. Russo feud has been featured on two episodes of Viceland's Dark Side of the Ring series.[29][30]

Outside of wrestling, Cornette is known for his left-wing political views – Cornette, an atheist and democratic socialist,[31][32] has appeared on The Young Turks to document his criticisms of religious and right-wing causes.[33][34]

  1. ^ Jim Cornette. "My Life". jimcornette.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  2. ^ Jeffrey Harris (September 17, 2016). "Today's Wrestling Birthdays: Jim Cornette, Gabe Sapolsky, Masahiro Chono, and Bill Irwin". 411Mania. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  3. ^ Pro Wrestling Illustrated, PWI 500 5th edition winter issue, pp.6–7.
  4. ^ a b "Jim Cornette". Onlineworldofwrestling. June 2, 2023.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference WWE bio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Mike Johnson (December 12, 2017). "JIM CORNETTE COMMENTS ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM MANAGING". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "About Official Jim Cornette". YouTube.
  8. ^ Beaston, Erik. "Ranking Paul Heyman and the 10 Greatest Wrestling Managers of All Time". Bleacher Report. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  9. ^ Droste, Ryan (December 27, 2022). "The Best Managers In WWE History, Ranked". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  10. ^ "Top 25 WWE managers". WWE. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  11. ^ "Jim Ross on Jesse Ventura, Jim Cornette". WWE. July 2, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  12. ^ "Dan Lambert: Jim Cornette Is The Greatest Manager Of All Time". www.fightful.com. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  13. ^ "MVP names his Mount Rushmore of professional wrestling managers". Gerweck.net. February 16, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  14. ^ IV, Ross W. Berman (April 26, 2023). "Jake Roberts Believes Jim Cornette Deserves To Be In The WWE Hall Of Fame". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  15. ^ Carrier, Steve (December 13, 2023). "The Undertaker's Mt. Rushmore of Tag Teams Revealed". Ringside News. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  16. ^ "Apple Podcasts — United States of America — Wrestling". Chartable. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  17. ^ "Jim Cornette's Drive-Thru". Podbay. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  18. ^ "Jim Cornette Experience". Podbay. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  19. ^ "Fire on the mountain: The oral history of Smoky Mountain Wrestling". WWE. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  20. ^ Djeljosevic, Danny (February 1, 2022). "10 Things Fans Need To Know About Smoky Mountain Wrestling". TheSportster. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  21. ^ "The kids from OVW that changed WWE". WWE. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  22. ^ "WWE Ruthless Aggression Review: Securing The Future". tjrwrestling.net. November 26, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  23. ^ Jackson, Benjamin (September 13, 2023). "Netflix's Wrestlers: What's it about, when is it streaming and have any big names graduated from OVW?". National World. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  24. ^ Gray, Ryan (June 9, 2017). "Jim Cornette Rips Into Vince Russo And Challenges Him To A Shoot Fight". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  25. ^ Haverford, Joey (May 1, 2020). "Wrestling's Biggest Rivalry: 5 Reasons Jim Cornette Is In The Right (& 5 Reasons Vince Russo Is)". TheSportster. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  26. ^ Kilbane, Lyle (June 30, 2021). "Jim Cornette Explains Origins Of Long-Standing Feud With Vince Russo". itrwrestling.com. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  27. ^ Staff (June 22, 2017). "Vince Russo Files Restraining Order Against Jim Cornette". SE Scoops. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  28. ^ "Emergency Protection Order". Jim Cornette. Archived from the original on December 31, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference brawlforall was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference SCREWJOBTHREE was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ Cornette, Jim (December 17, 2017). "No. I'm a Democratic Socialist--look it up. It's the only level-headed approach in the modern world with the billionaires giving it to us all up the sphincter". Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  32. ^ @TheJimCornette (January 7, 2015). "Muslims kill journalists, Christians kill abortionists, bible says God killed EVERYBODY once-us atheists are only ones who don't kill anyone" (Tweet). Retrieved August 26, 2016 – via Twitter.
  33. ^ "The Young Turks: Former WWF Manager Jim Cornette!!". YouTube. August 26, 2009. Archived from the original on November 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  34. ^ "YouShoot – Jim Cornette". Kayfabecommentaries.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2013.