Jim Cornette on Vince McMahon: ‘We Would Have Been A Lot Better Off If Vince Had Gone To Prison’

On the most recent episode of his premium MLW Radio podcast Corny’s Drive-Thru (episode #89), Jim Cornette recalled the steroid scandal that engulfed the WWF (now WWE) during the early 1990s. In doing so, he leveled especially harsh criticism of WWE owner Vince McMahon and blasted Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels and Michaels’ closest associates.

Co-host Alice Radley read an e-mail question from a listener who asked Cornette how the WWE would have been run differently if Vince McMahon had lost the high profile criminal case brought against him. The listener specifically asked how WWE might have turned out if legendary promoter Jerry Jarrett had been brought in to run things while McMahon served a prison sentence. Although this was effectively a “what if” question, Jim Cornette went into some detail in sharing his opinion, sharing substantive points on how Vince McMahon changed and damaged the pro wrestling business after he was off the hook from the charges.

“Jerry would have insisted on credibility and maintaining the secrecy of the business,” Cornette said. “He wouldn’t have put up with Shawn Michaels and The Kliq and the rest of those f*****g adolescent j***offs’ horsesh*t. He would have made new stars.”

As reported by The New York Times, Vince McMahon was indicted for conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids in 1993. His Wife Linda McMahon — who would later mount two unsuccessful campaigns for U.S. Senate — assumed temporary control of WWF operations until Vince’s acquittal the following year.

Prior to the denouement of the steroid case, Vince McMahon had already fundamentally changed pro wrestling as an industry, not only with regard to its business practices and talent, but also with regard to how the public perceived the spectacle itself. As noted by U.K.-based media outlet The Independent, Vince McMahon effectively blew the lid off the open secret that the outcomes of pro wrestling exhibitions were pre-determined back in 1989. Appearing before the New Jersey State Senate in an effort to exempt WWF from the regulations of the Athletic Commission, McMahon acknowledged that pro wrestling should be regarded as “entertainment” as opposed to a “bona fide contest” and he later revisited and expounded upon these statements in a heated interview with Bob Costas. Many industry veterans, including Jim Cornette, have never forgiven McMahon for divulging the behind the scenes machinations of professional wrestling.

In further discussing the scenario posed by his listener, Cornette implicitly criticized Vince McMahon by saying that someone like Jerry Jarrett would not have made the same decisions as McMahohn if he had been granted control of WWE. Cornette said he based his assessment of Jarrett on the promoter’s longevity in competing against Vince McMahon. Jarrett was a wrestling promoter for over four decades and is perhaps best known for his work in the Memphis territory. He is the father of TNA founder Jeff Jarrett.

“He [would not] have exposed the business,” Cornette said of Jarrett’s management and promotion styles. “He [would not] have let idiots like Vince Russo in the business. He would not have made it a clown show—he would have kept some credibility to it. I think, actually, we would have been a lot better off if Vince had gone to f*****g prison.”

Jim Cornette, who worked with Jerry Jarrett in Memphis in the early 1980s, also worked in WWF and WWE from 1993 to 2005. Since his release from WWE, Cornette has been among the most outspoken critics of Vince McMahon and WWE, but he also has engaged in public feuds with the likes of TNA owner Dixie Carter, former WCW and WWE writer Vince Russo, and former TNA and current ROH grappler Kenny King.

[Images via WWE c/o That Guy Sports Blog; Fans Talk Wrestling; & Alternative Nation]