Jim Cornette on OVW's Valedictorian In The Class Of Cena, Batista, Orton, Lesnar & Benjamin
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- From Episode 181 of Jim Cornette's Drive Thru
Artwork by Travis Heckel!
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Cena - became the biggest star in wrestling after austin/rock and is now starring in big movies
Lesnar - huge star in wrestling and huge star in combat sports
Orton - one of the most naturally gifted wrestlers of the decade and bonafide hall of famer.
Batista - multi time world champion and hall of famer who went on to star in the biggest movies ever made.
Benjamin - insanely gifted athlete who's still performing at a high level today.
This class will never ever be duplicated, no matter how much money you pump into the performance center.
What big movie Cena been in other than transformers
@@guardian7568 The Suicide Squad and Fast 9
I hope you mean chronologically after Austin/Rock, because he ain't bigger than Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, or Dusty Rhodes.
@@madhatter8508 Cena is a bigger star than Dusty
@@madhatter8508 Dusty? Cena is pretty above him a
Thank you for including Benjamin.
@@Bale4Bond STOP
Ikr
Np bro, he is one of my favourites for sure.
Fun fact, all of them used their real name. lol. Batista just altered the spelling of his name. lol
@@Bale4Bond 😁🤜
I feel like Cornette doesn't get enough credit for OVW.
@HolyNobody thanks Brock's father for his choice of wife
@Holy lol dude was self taught (as far as mathematics and theoretical mathematics goes) but your point still stands. Just a bad example;
And as for wrestling goes, it's a whole different ball game. A promotion can have great talent but die due to lack of funding, advertisement, booking etc. Cornette definitely deserves his attaboys for OVW
@Holy "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants" - Sir Isaac Newton
@Holy Who doesn't give credit to teachers for raising children as well as educating them? If you think it's easy teaching elementary students how to learn, get your ass off the coach and see how easy development teaching really is.
For one, promoters always want to get all the credit for any talent. Vince wants the credit for Hogan, Austin, Rock, Cena, Roman Reigns, etc., so that you always associate them with WWE.
And second, Jim isn't some desperate convention personality that has to remind people about the talent he trained and taught. Especially since the talent took him for granted anyway (when has Cena ever mentioned Jim? That's a pretty large omittance). It's about time Jim gets his time to shine to his fans, and we're just grateful that he can share the stories along the way.
Crazy to think that Brock Lesnar went from wrestling at OVW for $750/week in 2002 to the main event of WrestleMania in 2003. Talk about strapping the rocket.
And beat THE ROCK for his first taste of gold!
I'm so happy Brian asked my question, this made my day.
Benjamin is one of the most underrated wrestlers working in the last 15 years. He should’ve been the champ many times by now.
Shelton was amazing in the ring but no mic skills. that is what people say about him. my answer is always give him a manager that can talk for him, it worked for Brock.
@@Bale4Bond seeing the guys in 2021, 2005 Shelton would be champion for sure.
He wasn’t that good
No he really should not. What is it with you people? Just because he can 'work' does not mean he should be the world champion! Benjamin has no mainstream charisma and made it as far as he should have.
Especially after the match with Michaels
Its always super interesting listening to Jim talk about OVW
"John Laurinaitis knew not to take my calls on Wednesdays" - Jim Cornette
😂😂
Benjamin is the BEST pure wrestler of the group but Cena has accomplished the most
That was a GREAT class
i think Rico gets overlooked too. The guy had a very brief run unfortunately, but he was an incredible athlete
Jim Cornette helped develop both the new WWE Champ Bobby Lashey and Shelton Benjamin, who are in main event spots currently, in OVW.
This might seem like a controversial opinion but Jim Cornette is possibly one of the 10 most important figures in WWE history for saving the company due to how much great talent he developed that carried the company in the post Rock/Austin era.
Not controversial because he did something similar but on a smaller scale with SMW.
But he did not saved the company, he just made it survive for another decade.
The only people who would find that opinion controversial are the fucking skidmark AEW fans who want to erase the legacy of wrestling figures they don't like.
BUt BuT hE HaTeS mOdErN WrEsTliNg!
But in all seriousness that aint controversial, that's the truth.
@@jenisia3600 & it's easy to see WHY he hates the current presentation of the business. The promos done by today's talent suck & there's clearly no emphasis on heels & babyfaces anymore which makes the booking illogical & not making any sense compared to back during the territory days.
Jim sounded so caught off guard by this question
Because he's not so much interested in the individual wrestler as he is about what they accomplished for the business. Cena burying a whole locker room of talent is not helpful. Brock not wrestling or putting anyone over except himself is not helpful. Shelton Benjamin keeping himself in top shape so that a whole generation of talent can be pushed to learn and put on great shows, that is helpful.
@@shindean Be realistic dude. Nobody but a select few on that roster is touching Brock Lesnar. That's like saying Ricochet should of beat brock. Come on dawg this ain't fairytale movies. Not even a Brock fan but only ppl really coming close to brock is Lashley and Braun and let's be honest only wrestler I think that actually stands a chance is Lashley given is Mma background also.
@@kstone198 Eddie Guerrero beat him, Goldberg beat him. Be realistic and go watch MMA, but I'm here for pro-wrestling...or did you get lost on your way here?
I'm glad I stumped cornette for once...lol
@shindean: Eddie is special, don’t compare him to someone like Ricochet lmao
Crazy. 4 of those guys are popular and known even by people who don't watch wrestling. Cena and Batista are big hollywood movie stars now. Brock Lesnar is a multisport athlete and one of the most popular fighters. Randy Orton has been a WWE main eventer for almost two decades now and is still competing at a high level that anybody who's watched even a bit of wrestling the last two decade know him. And Benjamin is just underrated and talented.
Idk about Orton being well-known outside of pro wrestling. But he is one of the most popular active wrestlers to this day. Even if you hadn't watch watched wrestling in like 15 years, you would know Orton is a wrestler.
WWE needs to induct the OVW class of 2002 into the WWE hall of fame together. The go out as they came in, Together.
Brock doesn’t like associating with humans!🤣🤣🤣 Love it. That’s Lesnar in a nutshell. However, can’t blame him....
Y'all wrong for Drawing Batista like that🤣🤣
It's look like mix of randy and batista!!😂
He could have been in a hoody, shivering in the corner, not learning anything.
@@joshuaDstarks that’s been used like twice already
Boobtista
@@joshuaDstarks "Afa taught him how to write a cheque"
If Shelton Benjamin had mic skills, he could've been one of the biggest stars ever.
Love ur pfp. Completely agree. Him & Umaga are 2 of my favorite wrestlers from that era & in general.
Lol keep thinking that!
do you think so?? Vince would never push him like a Cena, Orton or Batista because of his color.
@@fabiooliveira7103 why not? He pushed The Rock.
@@fabiooliveira7103 ok Twinkle Toes McFinger Bang
All 5 of those guys were cannot miss. The only ding on Lesnar and Benjamin was their promo skills. I'd give them all a 5 star prospect rating though.
i feel like the promo skills can be fixed by having guys like paul heyman and other great talkers as managers.
Batista had zero promo skills as well
@@Cream-2128 maybe at the time, but he sure fixed that later on.
@@Cream-2128 2010 heeltista proved that criticism wrong especially his newer work.
Benjamin was red hot in late 04 and early 05,really enjoy his IC title reign and i remember seeing the bracket for the tournament and getting excited seeing him vs Michaels.awesome match
Batista is insanely underrated, I remember when I was a kid when he was bigger than all the aforementioned.
@Holy How is he overrated? Was a huge fkn star, had great matches w/ Eddie, Finlay, Cena, 'Taker (who is overrated imo), H man, Kane, etc.
Is anybody rating him? Anyways he's doing great now. He's in Hollywood and out of the hellhole of WWE.
@UCiFNOTueS7rIAx5sxWW76Kg Overrated????? Name one big who can move with that size..
@UCiFNOTueS7rIAx5sxWW76Kg if you say lashley brock your just proving my point cause those are Rare specimens
@@rickytpb2164 that's the point fans never appreciated him
Jim Cornette created the Ruthless Agression main event stars
Facts 💯🎯
Still can’t believe Cena was on the verge of being released all because he was never given the chance to get on a mic and just talk.
Because he was a piece of garbage in the ring
Someone please tell Jim about Randy Orton vs Soulja Boy feud that’s going on right now 😂
What a god damn class. Let me know when NXT puts 5 guys like that on the main roster instead of storing guys in a warehouse down at Full Sail and teaching them where the hard cam is. And there woulda been 1 more too. The Haas bro's.
@Golden Iolaire I'll give ya the Horsewomen. But still none on the level of a Cena, Brock, or Batista. Becky was close tho & getting there. Bianca's got a ton of potential.
@Golden Iolaire none of them have drawn even half the amount of money that guys like Cena, Brock, Batista or Orton have.
Several of those were also well travelled mechanics before they got to NXT. Whereas OVW got Brock, Orton and Cena pretty much from scratch. Yes I'm aware of Cena's days in UPW (or whatever Rick Bassman's operation was called), however you can't compare that school to the New Japan Dojo where Balor came out of.
Impossible in the current day tbh. Even if an NXT guy came along with that sort of potential, they’d be screwed by WWE creative. I get that it’s partly on them to have enough charisma to get over but I just don’t think it’s possible to do that to the same extent as one of those 5 when you’re so closely managed and sanitised by people behind the scenes
@@wh5601 Fair point. I also think WWE wants the brand itself to be the star. Vince probably got tired of all his top guys leaving him for Hollywood & what not, but u cant blame those guys either. Falling down for a living and getting hit in the head would wear on anyone.
@@dirtmcgirt8269 Dont be surprised if Vince tries to bury sasha banks after wrestlemania as punishment for her starring in the mandalorian. He cant stand it when one of his wrestlers gets bigger than the company.
I get Jim Hates batista personally because of what batista said in his book but you have to acknowledge his success
I give 5 way tie with John, Batista, Shelton, Brock, and Randy but would have John Cena and Batista are about equal today but John got the better gimmick first that is why I am not sure that he really hates Batista
I honestly think, hes still slightly overrated
@@emperortrevornorton3119 I truthfully don’t think you can put them on the same level(in terms of wrestling) Cena is one of the few stars to have a massive reign of terror for better or for worst. Brock and Cena are the only ones are that are comparable in my eyes. With randy creeping in as a distant but persistent third.
@@nathanburgess6455 but he was so over on smackdown. Remember when Teddy Long would introduce him...
@@nathanburgess6455 maybe because of his rusty mic skills but Batista's full time run in Wwe was underrated
This is the best wrestling class ever.
Fr
Ovw has proved that new student wrestlers should come through somebody like Jim cornette before reaching wwe. Apparently, all these success stories from the ruthless aggression era never really been in the Indies and their arguably better than all the Indy darlings and are more successful in every way.
I like that on the board it says I will listen to Jim Cornette. If more people listen to uncle Jim in general the world would be a better place.
This Class Was Truly Legendary Man!!🙌🙏🙏
You got give Brock credit . Never did anything stupid or silly . Came in did his job and left. Simple
Never did anything stupid?
The shooting star press botch at WrestleMania XIX... ring any bells.
@@ValiantWrestling That's not what he means by stupid. He means a stupid or silly gimmick. Brock could actually do that and he did it in OVW. He just messed up at WrestleMania because Kurt was too far away
@@ValiantWrestling it was his finisher the entire time he was in OVW. Sometimes mistakes happen.
@@hermonymusofsparta that and I believe he had about 15 or 20 more pounds at that point having not done the shooting star press for a while.
Remembers Brock with a Mariachi Band. 😂
I thought about this group of guys watching early cena and Batista matches..And thinking that wwe just haven't had a class like this since..As far as ACHIEVEMENTS.
You say it as if "achievements" is the only worthy thing in this class
That class was the best at everything.
2002 was the last good year for the wwe. Everything after has been a decline from the highs of the monday night wars
Not reallty, there’s been plenty of good years after 2002.
The last really great year was 2005, Angle, Benoit, Eddie, Edge, Cena, RVD, JBL, Randy, Batista, Finlay, Rey, Chavo, Triple H, Shawn, Flair, Kane, Booker T, Jericho, Lashley - Thats the Top Mid to Upper Card talent that they had. And all of them were over or getting over. The last good year was 2014 when streak was still there, CM Punk was there and Bryan became a wrestling phenomenon.
When HHH becomes the CEO of WWE it's gonna be good again
There have definitely been some good years in the 2000s and moments in the 2010s. Just say none of it was for you bud
whomever found all that talent deserves the award...
Jim Ross among others but that's all rewrote now as JR is heavily discredited he had more to do with talent from late nineties onwards than anyone in terms of recruitment, scouting etc. Plus then Jim Cornette trained them in OVW.
So basically...
1. Cena/Benjamín
2. Cena/Benjamin
3. Orton
4. Lesnar
5. Batista
Shelton Benjamin is the most under-rated wrestler in WWF history
Wanna hear Jim's thoughts on Lashley beat old frog face n NXT new signings
Patience
What signings
More of this please
1. Cena
2. Lesnar
3. Orton
4. Batista
5. Benjamin
in terms of success in the wrestling business.
Lesnar is now bigger than Cena
@@buntyskb you think so? Cena became a celebrity figure while wrestling and is even bigger now. And unlike the Rock and Batista, he’s in Hollywood but people still know him as the biggest wrestling star from their childhoods.
As soon as brian read Shelton I knew it would be the first one jim went to
I remember seeing batista and lesnar in a dark match at a show in nashville we were omg look at these fn giants
Awesome Shoot Today Jim!!😎🐐🐐
Orton and Shelton Benjamin are the last two who still compete full time.
It'd be a sad day when they retire.
Thumbnail is hilarious 😂
Brock was a Division I NCAA Champion. You can’t say he didn’t work hard.
He meant wrestling wise. Brock is a hell of a competitor when he has the will and the goal, else he does not care. He said it in an autobiography.
I hope that I get to meet Shelton Benjamin someday. He really sounds like a great guy on top of bringing a great wrestler.
Brock can work dude. Brock can also sell his ass off he just never does anymore. He may not give his all to it but dude can go and really can sell even.
When is Corny talking about Steve Bradley, one of the most underrated on WWF's developmental system during that era?
Does anyone know who Big show said signed to AEW ? Brock ? Batista? Bully Ray? Cornette maybe ?????? 🤔
I'm looking forward to finding that out alot on sunday. Also I can't wait for the exploding barbwire death match especially since I am a huge fan of fire pro wrestling returns...lol
OVW , give Corny the credit he deserves , because he did so much on a shit budget (imagine what could have been accomplished if OVW had NXT's 💵!).
Cornette needs more credit for OVW
You also forgot cm punk. Sean O'Haire. Rene Dupree. Rob Conway. So many great creations in ovw that gets no tie to Davis arena
He's talking about the class of '02
If piper would of been with Rene and Batista and O'Hair was in the tag division. Just imagine how transitional your champs would of been instead of just cherry picking what punk calls yes men
Tbf brock can actually wrestle but sadly he just stopped caring.
I have always wondered if the differences in rings between OVW and WWE had something to do with Brock missing the shooting star press on Angle. Seems like cables would give a much better foundation for that move.
If I remember correctly Brock said it was because of how much him and Kurt were sweating the ropes were slicker than normal and he couldn’t get a good enough “grip” with his feet. Though you may be right about the differences in rope material that’s a great call
@@JanthdanlHad nothing to do with brock being tires or sweat. Brock made the mistake of having angle too far out.
"Welcome to the main roster, Brock...we've got just the spot for you, you're going to be Zorboz the alien warlord, it's great shit pal!"
Brock was and still is the kick ass machine that wwe created, Batista was solid. his feuds vs Taker and Triple h were great but then he was ; sent to feud with mid card level guys like Booker t which wasnt bad . Orton became a pompous asshole which the only reason he became popular was due to his dad. let's face it. Cena I believe was the most important of that class. I never liked his matches but i gotta give credit . as for Shelton Benjamin he should have won a major title a long time ago. hes so underrated still
Interesting
Howdy friends
of course the valedictorian had the most underwhelming career while the other 4 became huge stars, of course
Sean O'Haire was possibly the biggest failure/dropout in OVW history. He had the body and the physical tools but that was about it. Couldn't cut a promo nor could he learn psychology from working on Smackdown for chrissakes. When WCW closed, he should've went all in on MMA, better yet he should've went all in on ufc from the get go and screw wrestling.
I wish Jim Cornette would respond to one of my comments and roast me with something good lol.. *Please Jim!! Please roast me! I’m a huge fan and if you do then I can scratch it off my bucket list and die a happy man & fan.*
Bro he is doing cameo. If you can afford it at $150 you can get him cut a promo on you if you want.
@@edophoneix1340 ya I know..and I wish I had an extra $150 bucks because it would be worth it lol.
@@robaxl3088 I am not sure if Jeff hardy does them but i would have loved to get one for my brother whose birthday is on sunday but I can't afford it. Maybe next year bro.
@@edophoneix1340 I have a question tho if I was to come up with the money who do I contact or what steps do I take to get one?..my wife’s taxes are almost in and it’s going to be my birthday soon so that would be a sweet gift for myself.
@@robaxl3088 I think you have to create an account on cameo and then you can pay them directly.
What a great question
Thanks bro, i think this is my 5th time writing in, I am glad he answered this one.
Best wrestling class ever and it's not even close... Never again will happen.
Still think James E Cornette for WWE Hall Of Fame. Don't know if that's in Vincent's mind set. Sad Corny does belong.
Who are we kidding they all were top tier but Batista and Brock were the two number ones out of the group
Shelton should've been bigger star but then again, not everyone in the class can reach to top but still pretty successful
Cena Orton Brock Shelton Batista
Skill wise Shelton Brock Orton cena Batista
Why wasn’t Rico included?????
Greatest class that wrestling ever produce, star-power wise... Never again will happen.
Brock didnt put 100s of hours of hard work into his body?? Lol
But I understand what he's trying to say with his promo capabilities
What about Rene Dupree & Rico?
Edo Phoenix = Aster Phoenix from Yugioh GX. Haha.
Yep. I included my real name at the bottom but Brian read my google account name, but its cool.
Aster and the destiny heroes were always my favourite...lol
@@edophoneix1340 Cool. I loved Yugioh. I pretty much loved watching it when I was younger after school and in the morning.
@@FootyThinker Same here bro. Nothing beat yu-gi-oh and Dragon ball z as a kid
Shelton was a great wrestler but didn't have much of a personality. He was pushed but didn't have any skills on the mic to be a main eventer.
Just like Brock Lesnar and Chris Benoit.
@@jms7265 Lesnar and Benoit both had personalities despite not being good on the mic.
@@ArtVandaleytv Shelton has more of a personality than both of them. You must be swayed by how much they win and in consequence the aura built around them rather than their actual personalities. Shelton has been way more colorful and expressive than those 2. I mean stevie wonder could see that👨🏫
Is Bobby Lashley is not included on Cornette class of OVW
He actually wasn’t in that class. This was a couple of years before he was on OVW
He came in a few years later so I never include him.
Yessssss sirrrrrr!
Shelton most talent but john cena biggest star and randy orton second best.
They F'd uo Damaja and Rico.
They were the main guys down there.
They fucked with Benjamin too much. He peaked at Raw 2004. Then he got beat my HHH and the rest is history.
is there a more legendary class than this, jesus
DONT FORGET VICTORIA!
Shelton should have been higher on the midcard. I can see the excuse of him not being a main event but he should have been handled better. The fact that they gave him the “Koko B. Ware” gimmick and the “dusty rhodes “ black ghetto mama gimmick was beyond disgusting. Even when he did the “gold standard” gimmick... it should have been taken more seriously and he should have been given a manager. They didn’t know what to do with him and it showed
No doubt Cena was the overall fan favorite Brock biggest money drawer Shelton the most athletic Batista biggest one hit wonder
Where's The Boogeyman in the Thumbnail.
He wasn't part of the class of 2002. He didn't join OVW til a couple of years later.
Did anyone see brodie lees son standing in the middle of the entrance way on Dynamite as all the wrestlers fought in the ring. I was dying with laughter 🤣🤣🤣 .Aew is clown shit.
😂😂😂
I was saying Bootista...
Bautista/DraxTheDestroyer
Shelton benjamin is boring. Just a generic guy with no cool gimmick. Batista didnt have any cool gimmick but still succeed because he looked like a comic book character. My advise for wrestlers is that if they dont look like superheroes. Do your best to find the coolest gimmick ever.
@Brad 2021 shelton benjamin is, was, and always will be boring.
@@Free_Top_G_Tate that's what managers are for
It worked for brock
Shelton had the looks
What they did to poor Rico lol 😂
Moral of the Story:
This all 'Creative Team' WWE's Fault for Killing Wrestling
I'm no fan of Cena, but I don't see how he doesn't win this since he became the biggest star in the business and was "the guy" in the WWE for longer than anyone except Bruno.
That because Brock left and became the biggest star in mma
Plus he ended Taker Mania streak
@@ShawnMega I don't think Brock would have surpassed Cena if he stayed and "biggest star in MMA" is probably a debatable statement (though you could certainly argue he was for a brief period).
@@Tim85-y2q facts. Brock won’t be as big as cena in the wwe if he never went to ufc.
@MemphoWrasslin1 ????
@MemphoWrasslin1 I edit the post to add the taker comment. Didn't know youtube had the grammar police. Excuse me if I don't give a fuck about grammar on a youtube post. Sincerely, get a life
Lesnar screwed himself by thinking he was better than everyone else..he didnt like to train,,,he didnt like putting anyone over...he is garbage
wwe has failed to make their own talent for a long time and they have been mass hiring so much. i dont even if wwe just wants to pay a few guys ot something just for the hell of it
Cena was the teacher's pet.
Ok Jelly Nutella
And it served him well.
Just like in WWE
Ask CM Punk
You obviously don’t know what you’re talking about. He wanted to learn and improve.
He said Shelton was the best student. Pay attention.
jim- A.p thuganomics teacher
Edo Phoenix? Is that a fuckin YuGiOh GX reference making onto the Drive Thru? Cross-over of the century!
How did Brock Lesnar, a former amateur wrestler, not like wrestling.
He hates interaction with fans
Big difference between amateur wrestling and professional wrestling.
It’s not that he hates it because he has taken pictures with fans and but he doesn’t like doing anything signing events
I would love to watch Jim backstage during a lot of those OVW shows.
He was the commentator
@@yusufgazi7 whelp lol
@@MPK112233 lol
It’s interesting that as well as Cena did in WWE in movies he’s lack luster. He’s probably the worst one off by going into movies. Because aside from Transformers, what good series has he been in? Can’t count Furious 9 or Suicide Squad cuz they ain’t out yet. Batista is the second best when it comes from wrestling to movies. Only behind the rock unless there is another person I am forgetting
Suicide squad he did great in as well as his peacemaker show.
They didn't ruin Dinsmore. The Eugene character was extremely popular. It's his drug issues that ruined him.
As much as everyone yells about that gimmick these days having been in high school during that time that gimmick was absurdly, absurdly over.
I don't agree that Dinsmore was ruined. His Eugene character was over.
Brock rules the world
Cena is the poster boy for sports entertainment, he can't wrestle, nor cut a promo, yet has charisma and a steroid body. although I've never understood it.
Uh.
He definitely can cut a promo lol
He showed that during his Thugonamics/chain gang era and even during the super cena years. Even when he became part time cena