10 Incredible Links Between Wrestlers You'd Never Expect

5. Super Dragon And Jim Cornette's Shared Booking Philosophy

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VICE

Jim Cornette might hate Pro Wrestling Guerrilla more than anything in the world.

He's known for his rants more than his hit peak booking or legendary managerial career in 2023. Despite being an unpleasant individual, or perhaps because he's an unpleasant individual, his loyal army of followers adore his diatribes. He makes a living being nasty because he remains a compelling promo.

His explosive burial of the infamous "grenade" spot in PWG is something else, though. That audio is an unhinged, barely coherent, expletive-ridden rant. There's no entertainment value or even flow to it. It isn't one of his ugly albeit well-cut promos. It's a childish, stream of consciousness rant you'd expect to hear from a 14 year-old 4Chan loser who just got shot in an online multiplayer shooter.

And yet.

Cornette warred with then-WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis in the early 2000s for his promotion of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Cornette didn't want to book the WWE hires as the only stars of his self-sufficient promotion. He reasoned that it wouldn't get those guys anywhere. He wanted to cultivate competition for spots in order to emulate the territory days. Only then would the WWE hires actually learn how to get over.

PWG booker Super Dragon held a not too dissimilar philosophy. His promotion willingly booked a fleet of imports to work whichever match they wished. Virtually everybody got the chance and the time to blow everybody in the building away in a meritocratic competition to see who could steal the show.

Fundamentally, Cornette and Dragon encouraged their talents to get over in the exact same way.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!