6. Jim Cornette Buries ECW And Hardcore Wrestling (And The Wrestler)
We could have filled this entire list with clips from Jim Cornette shoot interviews. Jimmy Hart may have the worked nickname of the mouth of the south, but Cornette deserves it more in real life. Here, Cornette is properly on fire, and doesnt just lay waste to a specific angle, or a specific wrestler, but all of Extreme Championship Wrestling and the style of hardcore in general. He points out that wrestling is all about maximising the money-making potential of drama and feuds, and thats a slow-burning business: giving away weapons matches as filler on free television cheapens gimmicked bouts, which were traditionally reserved for rubber match or blow-offs to angles. Cornette claims that upon watching an ECW tape for the first time, he knew it wouldnt be good for the professional wrestling business: they were beating each other up for real. He points out that he, a non-wrestler, can legit hit someone over the head with a foreign object and make them bleed hardway it doesnt take talent to do that, and its not part of the art of professional wrestling, cheapening what theyre trying to do with telling a story, and destroying the credibility of injury angles in wrestling. He also rips on The Wrestler for exposing too much of the reality of the business: not necessarily the backstage aspects, but the sheer drudge and toil of the working independent wrestler, especially the ones that used to be big. Cornette isnt saying the film is inaccurate, but rather calling it out for being off-putting to fans of professional wrestling, and that hed rather move next door to a sex offender than a professional wrestler after seeing the movie.