Jim Cornette’s Amazing Rant, Bobby Roode’s WWE NXT Greatness and Other Thoughts By Mitch Nickelson

I’m Mitch Nickelson and this is my weekly analysis of whatever is grabbing my attention from the wrestling world. I keep thoughts short so I can cover several various topics. I’m a little later getting this submitted than normal, so the intro will be super short. Let’s start things off with a feud from a guy who isn’t shy about the expletives…

Cornette Sets The Bar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HErBP9e6H9A

Jim Cornette and Vince Russo dislike each other. That’s about the tamest way I can write that. They’ve never been best friends but a new round of verbal sparring began after a recent Table For 3 dropped that featured Cornette. On that show, he formed an uneasy bond with Eric Bischoff when they both realized how much they disdained Russo. Their comments on that WWE Network special then started a back and forth between Cornette and Russo that culminated with an epic rant on Jim’s podcast.

A lot of what Cornette said toward Vince was pretty vile. Even if you’re not a Russo fan, and many aren’t, I don’t wish that amount of hatred towards anybody. I’d recommend hugging it out but I don’t think that will work in this case. Maybe a wrestling promotion can at least take notes.

It’s not like anybody could copy his material directly and use it for an on-air character, but we can hope that somebody who sits in a creative capacity hears how he’s saying what he’s saying. I can’t think of any one wrestler who comes anywhere close to that level of nastiness. If you needed one, an example has now been set. Wrestling heels, if you can bottle even 50% of whatever it is that’s pumping through Cornette’s veins, you could be the biggest mega-villain of all time.

Cornette also made waves recently when he bashed the lovable Chuck Taylor for his grenade spot. He thinks Chuck’s “killing the business” or whatever. So to balance things out, here’s a YouToube reminder that Jim Cornette once dressed up in red spandex and wrestled a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in an actual match.

Cornette has animosity towards way too many people these days. One the one hand, it’s highly entertaining. I can see how the man made so much money in the business. But on the other hand, I hope it’s at least partly an act. I’d hate to think that he goes to bed at night harboring so much anger. The man is going to give himself a heart attack.

(Author’s Note: Vince Russo also posted a ‘Public Apology’ that I got a kick out of as well. I didn’t notice it until before doing final edits, so I won’t add in a bunch of thoughts on it. It’s similarly enjoyable, so look it up if you’re digging this old man spat.)

Who’s The Mystery Attacker?

A new twist has been added to the potential breakup of Enzo & Cass. Originally, Enzo kept receiving beatings of unknown origins for a couple of weeks in a row and the clues were starting to point to his 7-foot buddy as the assailant. There was even a theory circulating that an incriminating handshake between Cass and Corey Graves outed him as the culprit. However, now that Cass has been attacked as well backstage, it’s kind of hard to pin the blame on the big man.

This whodunit storyline is actually working for me. I genuinely want to know who’s behind this treachery. Personally, I’d like for this all to end up being the works of Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson. Enzo & Cass can still break up in the following months. A few losses before that happens will at least give The Revival a chance to ease back on the roster.

Regardless of who is behind the backstage beatings, I think we’re going to have to wait until Great Balls of Fire to find out the truth. This is the most interesting Enzo & Cass have been in quite some time. They never quite rebounded from that awkward “Enzo wants to get down with Lana” phase they went through. However, I’m not sure what exactly Enzo would do if he went solo. I recommend him hopping on BullFit for a few weeks to drop that final pound to get himself in 205 Live shape.

This Sign…Wow

Free speech is a great thing, don’t get me wrong. However, the person who carried this “Behead CNN” sign into this past Raw to proudly hold it up in front of an audience of millions is undeniably an idiot. They have a right to do it, I guess. It’s not criminal but it’s an incredibly dumb and, especially in the context of wrestling, pointless sign.

WWE should check the signs coming into the arena slightly better because this was a cringe-inducing visual in the opening moments of their flagship show.

Bobby Roode Reels Me Back In

Just like everybody else, when Bobby Roode first came to NXT with his incredible theme music, I was all in. There was in immediate presence. Everything just clicked. He was vaulted to the top of the card and within no time, he was NXT Champion. He had taken the title off of Shinsuke Nakamura and established himself as the top dog.

It was a fun ride to see Roode seize his opportunity like he did, but I was cautious about what was next for the Glorious One. Would there be any excitement with his next feud? After watching the most recent edition of NXT, I think that answer is a resounding ‘yes.’

Roderick Strong has endeared himself to the NXT audience by being the family man that wrestling fans have always wanted (…sorry Goldberg, I’ve already moved on to the next Super-Dad). He talked about how it’s now he and his family vs. the world. Then, Bobby Roode came out to shred his ego to pieces. The biggest digs were when he called his wife “marginally hot” and his son “somewhat normal.” WHOA, that’s some harsh mudslinging. Can somebody get Roddy some salve for that burn?

If the next few months of NXT are going to involve Bobby Roode delivering insults like that, I’m all in all over again. I don’t recall NXT ever having someone with a Piper’s Pit-style interview piece but maybe it’s time for Roode to launch one. I want to hear his pompous self spewing venom as often as possible. Maybe he could call it the Glorious Gathering? Or maybe the All Roode Review? (I know perfectly well that those are terrible names. You can still tell me how bad they are in the comment section, or come up with ideas of your own.)

Plugs

Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts. If you want to catch even more of what I do, hop on over to my Twitter @MitchNickelson to see when I share the latest publications.

Also, I have a podcast with my brother. If you listen to the latest episode by clicking RIGHT HERE, you’ll hear his real first reaction to seeing that controversial Great Balls of Fire logo.