Jim Cornette on The Build-Up To SummerSlam 1993
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- From Episode 345 of the Jim Cornette Experience
Artwork by Travis Heckel!
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Jim can tell the same story 100 times, I’ll listen 100 times.
Haha I hear ya
Yup. Theres something about that southern drawl
Same here... as a fan since 1978 believe me it's more entertaining than most of wwe today
Jim has like a decade of podcast shelflife just discussing past wrestling stories, and I bet he would not run out of it.
Me too
That look on Lex’s face at Mania X when he’s helping lift Bret up with the other babyfaces, that look said a 1,000 words, like someone stepped on his cat…”it shoulda been me” 😢
Always loved Yokozuna’s entrance theme had a “yeah we’re screwed” vibe.
@James NotBond What's your job?
More like a sumo chillin
But he made it feel that way.
Until the gong from the undertaker hit
The funny thing about the Steiner's sister using their real names: Vince referred to Rick as "Rob" during RAW at one point in 1993.
That pro-longed sharpshooter on Lawler was a receipt. According to Bret, Lawler legit hurt him when he jumped Bret at the end of King of the Ring. Lawler also was stiff on the crutch shot. Bret was paying him back, and the officials who came to try and "pull" Bret off were actually leaning on Bret to add more pressure on the hold; apparently, they all hated Lawler for assorted reasons.
Had heard this before
Correct!
Lawler had a ton of heat early on over poor Memphis payoffs.
@ShadowAngel it's certainly healthier to not work stiff, but smart
@@SuperDevolution Lawler, Jarrett and Gulas were some POS slavemasters in their territories
That was one of the longest positive commentaries on Luger I've ever heard.
The only one
If Luger could’ve put the Torture Rack on Yoko, he would’ve been immediately over
In terms of girth I think the biggest guy I ever saw Lex Torture Rack was Roadblock on that famous Nitro where he dropped him twice before succeeding on the third try. Good times.
@@DLRX Unless you're Roadblock. :P
Luger would have been in the wheelchair at THAT point of time!
I don't think Brock Lesnar could have kept Yokozuna in a Torture Rack
@@Maestro.. I don't think Mark Henry and Brock Lesnar combined could have put Yoko in a torture rack.
The lads at OSW review covered summerslam 93 last year and brought to my attention how good Jimmy Del Ray was as a worker.
As a 13 year old I hated the heavenly bodies but can totally appreciate them on a different level now.
Also Cornys promos leading up to this were amazing putting over both teams and why this match is significant.
Crazy how Tom & Jimmy were even better workers than the Steiners
They had a hard time positioning ironic gimmicks back then. Those in that club were made out to be detestable, when they probably should have had eventual face turns because of their ability and creativity. I'm thinking Adorable Adrian Aonis, The Genius, and THB. There may be others that escape me at the moment.
~RIP Yokozuna & Jimmy Del Rey~
@Nick Hughes Del Ray eventually went to WCW and became Jimmy Graffiti.
I still remember Cornette turning up on the Raw he did and bobby Heenan, god bless him as ever put him over right on the spot and made jim the big deal that he was and deserved by getting in the ring, hugging him and bringing him over to the commentating table. Right then we had two legends who were perfect with each other.
Loved heenan and cornette as heel managers
Yokozuna is imo the greatest super heavyweight wrestler of all time and my favorite wrestler of all time. RIP. Gone from this world but never ever forgotten.
Oh, and I am glad that he kept the title at SS. Yoko was a far better worker than Lex, and losing that match completely so soon after winning the title again would have buried him, especially after his hogan loss at WM (which at least had somewhat of an excuse because he had already wrestled a whole match prior).
hell no. Him getting knackered at IX and doing the finish early? He was a fat and disgusting joke, even without the racial stereotypes on top.
That thumbnail is glorious. Just the thought of Yoko running a marathon, all that mass jiggling as he runs, would have been the funniest thing ever. And he was a legit funny dude and very humble in real Life.
Rest in Peace to Yoko. 🙏🙇🏾♂️
Love that man.
Yoko could move for a bigman
That Jimmy Del Ray drawing is fucking spot on lol
And damn you both, I loved The Narcissist lol
Gigolo Jimmy Del Ray was crazy underrated. To me....he fit better with Dr. Tom Prichard, than Sweet Stan Lane did. It was great how Del Ray played that type of heel role. 10-15 years earlier, that Heavenly Bodies team would have been HUGE in the territory scene.
Lex luger tends to be very underrated and underappreciated...its very comforting to hear guys like jim cornette say all positive things about him. He wasnt as bad a worker or person as the smart Marks say he was. He was a lot better than people give him credit for
The Yokozuna Stare looks so perfect here. Travis really captured it well 😆
Yoko was seriously amazing for his size
The fact he wasn’t bed ridden was amazing! His blood type was probably thick as 20w60 motor oil! And his heart had a long way to pump to, think about it! Probably why all the sumo guys die in there 30’s and 40’s they go quicker then wrestlers and that’s saying something!
He was already so big & got even bigger, which is sad & gross. Dude just didn’t give a flying fuuuuuck
Until his size itself became seriously amazing, that is.
@@Lordran__ he actually lost a massive amount of weight right before he died.... about 150lbs. He clearly gave af.
I LOVED the Narcissist gimmick! And then Lex coming out on that aircraft carrier and slamming Yokozuna for 'Merica was incredible!
Nice to see The Undertaker and Richard Ramirez encouraging Yoko
Whoa Which One Is Undertake- Oh Wait Isn't Taker The One With The Dark Brown Hair
I thought it was bam bam Terry Gordy
They were best friends on the road. Yoko called taker "Marcus" lol
"These t-shirts are too tight too Billy"
The Steiners' sister and mom were real sports. At the time I didn't appreciate it but it was really enjoyable listening to them and seeing them with beaming wide smiles. In fact a bit more interaction of them with Cornette would have been great
The Palace was a beautiful arena, even in its latter days. Entirely privately-financed by the owner of the Pistons (the capacity for basketball was under 22,000, back then.).
Rotten shame they tore it down
RIP Palace Of Auburn Hills
I live in Detroit where SS93 went down and I can tell you we got local ads originally advertising Bret Hart vs. Hulk Hogan. I vividly remember hearing one saying something to the effect of "Come watch the 'King of The Ring' Bret The Hitman Hart take on The Immortal Hulk Hogan". I remember that so clearly cause I was about to pick up the box from the cable company so I could get KOTR but after hearing that I didn't get it cause I figured Bret was winning and Hogan was retaining.
I remember those ads
Yet, Bruce Pritchard still lies today saying that never was the case
@@Stonewall2 Not the most artful bit of dodging he's ever performed, huh?
I really liked Summerslam 1993, had some good moments in it!
I thought Bret put Lawler in the sharpshooter because he told Lawler before the match that he had a neck injury. When Lawler attacked him with the crutch he hit Bret in the neck, causing him pain. Bret then issued the sharpshooter in retaliation.
It was also a receipt for King of the Ring beatdown, Bret said in his book that Lawler brought that thrown down on his back with a lot of force. If you watch the footage it looks like it too.
I always wondered if it might be case of old school workers keeping a last bit of kayfabe similar to Jake and Steamboat on their feud
What an interview you are Jim. Seriously easy to lose track of time listening to these things. 2.5 hours just like that
Yokozuna probably the most underrated WWF champion
@Randall Glatt who could pin him,if it was real?
Nah Vacant is the best champ ever
Lex sure got over as a baby face in 97’
He seemed more genuine and rebellious at that point though
He was killing it in 97. If sting was not gonna wrestle everyone wanted luger to beat Hogan although I thought he was better chasing a champion vs being a champion when hes a face
I remember going to some of those WCW shows as a kid in 97, Luger was INSANELY over with the crowd.
Man that cartoon of the heavenly bodies gets me. Really captures Jimmy's unique look
Literally watching this Yoko/Lex match right now. Lex looks like he's a nice guy, but not comfortable in that "top face" role. Such a stupid ending.
Especially that whole mister USA shtick. It was just an awkward fit for him, particularly coming off The Narcissist.
It's a testament to how good Cornette was at being a heel manager that my friend and I were positive he was going to rip off the brace and be a part of the finish. We knew better than to trust him, no matter where he was.
Luger babyface run in 97 was great. He was super over. His heel run with Flair in wcw 2001 was great as well. Luger was a good wrestler for most of his career.
I'm one of those newbs! Thanks for this recollection!
Sorry jim I know you love Jerry but the best worker during the kings 92 to 94 run was his story rival bret hart .
Even Bret credits Lawler as being the best working heel in the business in 93
Bret was giving Lawler a receipt for hitting him too hard with the scepter at KOTR, that's why he cranked down on the sharpshooter from what I understand
Not just the scepter....Lawler slammed the entire throne on Bret, which Bret said hurt. He also hurt Bret with the crutch shot in the Doink match.
@Herp Derp I almost got catastrophically injured by a classmate putting me in a 100% legit steiner recliner, he literally sat on my lower spine will pulling under my chin almost snapping me in half.
He was waiting for me to say "stop" or "i submit" or something. Trouble was my spine was almost at snapping point and i couldnt breathe to say or do anything. To this day the scariest moment of my life. It was only a few seconds but felt like a lifetime. If a 3rd friend didnt react on time to brake it up i would definitely be paralyzed.
@Herp Derp my sternum was fucked up for a month after my friend gave me the Boston Crab. When I was 16
LOL, Cornette cares far more about the Heavenly Bodies match then he does about the World Title match that he also was managing.
I hope he says Balding Buck so I can take a shot
Don’t matter if I’m from da Hood or Hollywood ...Jim Cornett is one of the best at telling a story..feels like I’m there !!
That Jimmy Del Ray mustache was killer
Thinking of Yoko always makes me sad.
He could have been one of the all time greats.
Imagine the feuds he could have had with the likes of Austin and Rock in the Attitude Era
Why was Lex a face, anyway? He could've been the evil version of Real American Hogan: a xenophobe, nationalist and group narcissist who didn't fight for every man.
If Bret was still champion after WM9, that would have been a brilliant idea. It would have been far better than just going "Yeah, this guy was an egotist who was in love with his own reflection a couple of weeks ago but now that Hogan's gone he's suddenly really patriotic and he should get a title match because he body slammed the obese champion". Then again, there was some xenophobia during his pre-slam promo/rant but I assume the audience was supposed to ignore that because Yoko was a foreign heel.
Lex in 97 proved he could be a great babyface.
He was red hot. Only sting and ddp were hotter as babyfaces and they were all.time hot.
When he beat Hogan on nitro that is still my favorite title win ever
YES, he should have been exactly that. I thought so since 1993.
Repeat as much as you want Jim! I'll listen, never get bored of your opinions.
Still love Nash's story of DONT MAKE YOUR BODY YOUR GIMMICK....your body is the first to go
Didn’t Hall tell him that?
@@bajan71683 Scott Hall carries Nash always...
Sounds logical, but I'm having a heard time thinking of a body guy who let their body go, or was Nash saying you could wrestle into your 50s with the right gimmick?
@@KB-qk1ic after a match nash posed and walking away hall told him NEVER POSE body is first to go never make you body your gimmick...in a sense the right gimmick you can do for 30 40years
@@KB-qk1ic Scott Steiner is 1st that I think of, but age gets ALL of them.
Lex in wcw was amazing in 1997
Luger didnt know how to sell????
Do the words "AGH" or "OH" mean nothing to you?
Gah!!
OW!!!!!
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Luger would've been a good enemy for Adam west's batman. AGH! CRACK! WHACK!
I DON'T KNOWWWWW
Exactly ... it never made a lick of sense for Lex Luger to refer to himself as "The Narcissist". It isn't a compliment. That's like HHH calling himself "The Dirty Cheater". It's what OTHER people should call him.
Only time a gimmick like that works is when you have the natural charisma to pull it off, AKA Eddie Guerrero
@@vinylbuff1515 It takes that charisma, yes, but it also takes a character type that would take pride in his flaw. A narcissist doesn't take pride in his flaws because he doesn't believe he has any. Not even Eddie Guerrero could pull that one off. It makes no sense.
On Lex, imagine a timeline where Lex was talked into staying, instead of popping up on Nitro. WWF sign Austin and Pillman, who debut like the outsiders did. They do the third man build up, and then at the PPV it goes exaactly the same as WCW, except instead of Hogan, out walks the full on 'Made in the USA' Lex Luger who proceeds to chase the heels out of the ring, then picks up Bret Hart, looking like he is going to dust him off and go together at Austin and Pillman. Lex then shoots Bret across the ring and hits him with the bionic forearm, cuts the same sort of promo as Hogan re the fans etc..
It'd fit, Hogan fitted in the idea of an undercover WWF agent, as it were, and Lex would work just as well as someone that was in WCW for a few years. They pull that a few months prior to when WCW was doing it. Would WCW even exist by year's end..?
Last time I was this early I was able to come up with a clever comment.
It could have been close to 23,000 at the Palace. Capacity for basketball games was just over 22,000 when the Pistons played there.
Put the belt on Lex anyway and have him drop it back to Yoko should they have second thoughts.
Thats what I thought too. Win it at SS have lex drop it bk to Yoko in December.
Pat McAfee went crazy tonight. Can’t wait to hear the review.
Are you one of the people responsible for Jim reviewing AEW and NXT every week? If yes, I hate you all lol
Hulkamania4eva are you one of this people who hate wrestling, but cling to the past like Jom? If so, you’re opinion is invalid.
Alex Christopher Cornette said McAfee had/has tremendous potential as a heel. Without giving away what happened, how good was it?!
Right? Huge upside he has
The match was excellent, the guy can do it all really and if that's his first match he's going somewhere. My only gripe is he came across as too good in a babyface kinda way, and I'm 99% sure he was meant to be the heel or at least more heel than Cole lol
On Luger not taking the belt at Summerslam: Vince sometimes seems to like going against traditional booking logic just for the sake of being "unpredictable" but it often ends in disappointment. For instance, you'd expect Sting to win his first match in WWE, so he lost and it was a letdown moment.
Bret hart threatened to leave WWF in 1993 if they put the belt on Luger. Hence that happened.
Hart and Lawler were different in that Brett didn't diddle little girls.
Jimmy del ray was underrated
Zuna was quicker than Lex. No kidding. The only worse main eventer than Luger was Sid. The Heavenley Bodies match was really good, I wanted more of them and the Steiner.
I liked Jimmy Del Ray a lot, even back then as a kid. He made me laugh and he was a good wrestler. The fact he was so proud of his very mediocre body made him all the better. I was never big on Prichard, though. His promos sounded like a Roddy Piper impression and all he did was play with his hair.
I gotta disagree with Jim on this one, Lex Luger had some great babyface runs in WCW. During the nWo invasion, when he feuded with Nikita Koloff and when he teamed with Sting, he was a great babyface
Luger winning the title on Nitro is one of the great babyface moments in wrestling.
Can’t wait to hear what he thinks about Cody getting squashed Saturday. Even he shouldn’t be able to hate on that
Corny hates Brodie's boring ass
Smark Slowplay I didn’t think Mr Brody Lee was boring there
Maybe he will hate on the timing.And hate that he lost to Brodie Lee.so probably everything.😂😂😂
@@AlexBrovo didn't see anything interesting there
Its good to hear Jim mention Bobby Heenan. I grew up watching Bobby, he was a Great manager and announcing talent...
I don't understand how they thought they could turn Lex into a Hulk Hogan. If you listen to each one of his promos, the guy does not bring off the charisma it takes to be someone in the position he was in as gunning for the championship. Yokozuna was way more convincing then Luger could ever be because he knew how to use his heel character and people ended up loving his character over Luger. It just goes to show you how truly over Hogan was even when he jumped over to WCW and did the NWO faction.
Lawler was never better than Bret Hart STOP IT!!
ShadowAngel So because Lawler was a draw that makes him better? Lol... Lawler couldn’t shine Bret’s shoes in the ring lmao.
Luger’s push was horrible but ‘I’ll be your hero’ was a banger
I was drinking The Narcissus kool-aid
Lex Luger was brought up from Florida too soon because of the Magnum TA fiasco. He was just too green and wasn't ready for the big time.
Lugar 88-91 was money.
Luger's match quality relied heavily on who he worked with. I've seen him in great matches and then some cringe fest matches. The great matches were against Flair, Barry Windham, Sting, etc...
You talking about the accident?
@@uncleamptonwrestlingtoysin2992 - Yes. And it was a fiasco at the time for JCP who had huge plans for him which included a world title run. Tully Blanchard had a big part in it also in helping to put Magnum over.
@@rj24rj51 that a tragedy not a fiasco. I remember all of that.
They literally KILLED Lex Luger. What a tragic ending at Summerslam...
Is name was damn lex luger which is basically lex Luthor. How can you not have that man be a heel. Lex is the ultimate heel in dc comics. They done messed up.
The picture of lex is amazing 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Have to disagree with Cornette and Brian I thought the Narcissist gimmick was perfect for Lex. The problem is it needed a mouth piece like Heenan to work. The heat he got for the illegal forarm shot was a good touch.
REMEMBER ICO PRO ?
This is so weird because Tom is Bruce’s brother
Just connected to me that the Bruce he's talking about is Bruce Pritchard and Dr. Tom Pritchard is his brother... Lol
Big Yok was faster than Lex at this point.
Lex shudda got title at Summerslam then drop it bk to Yokozuna in December. Lex n Bret then do their RR double win leading up to WM X
I wouldnt call him well spoken he tripped on his words a lot
Vince wanted Luger and Diesel as champion. Bret was held in the midcard in 1993 and 1995, because Vince didn't really see him as champion at any time. Vince probably wanted Warrior to beat Flair for the title rather than have Bret be champion.
Don’t forget the Kliq shenanigans that meant from 94-96 the WWF was basically the Shawn Micheals, Diesel, Razor Ramon show. They could put on good matches yes, but they just worked with each other constantly
I liked the narcissist gimmick 🤷🏻♀️
Yoko could've been such a bigger star if not for his weight issues. Rest In Peace Rodney Agatupu Anoa'i aka. Yokozona
What???? The Narcisst was a great gimmick for Lex
The greatest story line in wrestling history...
Thanks Corny👍
Luger was always "nacho break" for me...(or "bathroom break"). He was sooooooo bland....and they flipped him babyface/heel soooo many times I just didnt care about him anymore...sadly (kinda like Big Show)
(👍)
Lex Luger looks like a football player of Atletico Madrid 😂
Americans don’t know what an Atletico Madrid is.
It's soccer ;-)
Don't worry, I prefer to watch your older vidoes so I've heard and re-heard just about everything.
Was watching raw on Monday (Aug 24) watched McIntyre get jumped by Orton, it was funny watching everyone crowd around drew after the first kick but when it was time for the second kick how they all moved out of the way
Lex Luger should have won the WWF championship at SummerSlam 1993. Complete waste having Luger win match by countout. Rest in peace The Palace of Auburn Hills.
And for what both guys could do it was actually a really good match where they kept things moving as opposed to their dreadful WMX match where 90% of it was Yoko putting Lex in a nerve hold.
Bret hart cried backstage and threatened to leave and they changed the finish to count out so that it doesnt hurt Luger. Then Bret inserted himself in the rumble and burried Lex. Later lex didnt beat Yokozuna for the title and never became the WWF champion. That was all politics that Jim wont admit even if he knows.
@@bourbon646 And where are you getting your information from...your ass?
Got some knowledge for you jim lex luger was ripped of by a marvel super hero named sentry look him up sentry lex luthor the whole superman thing well sentry reminds me of lex Luger
Sentry is stronger than thor (lex luger) would have made a good sentry the blond superman. lex all over that marvel charecter
Jerry Lawler was the best worker in the company from 92-95??🤣 Get a grip Jim!
Since it was full capacity as Corney says, then it actually would’ve indeed have been around 23,000 in attendance for SummerSlam 93 as the Palace held 22,076 for basketball
Sid Vicious said it best in his interview, the Lex Luger All American gimmick was just a stupid and stupid gimmick, too phony. Also Luger lost about 30 lbs between his WCW run and his program with Yoko, if he would have been his jacked up former self, his matches with Yokozuna would have looked a lot more convincing.
Vince should have turned Luger heel and put him in a program with Bret Hart for the championship. Hart would have got the best out of Lugar and made him a better performer.
Yes
I loved NARCISSIST gimmick. However KNOCKOUT ARTIST should have been pushed NOT Beyond Perfection. NARCISSIST should have gone against Yoko
i can hear jim tell the same stories and rants for years!
I was at this event. A great memory of mine. But no one cared about Bodies. Maybe they were great wrestlers but they did not have the looks and they did not have good mic skills. They were dull. You spend way too much time talking about them and even diss Quebecers. They more so much better than Bodies. Not even close.
I as a kid l hated jimmy del ray but awhile ago i rewatched his time in wwf and man he was a worker and his gimmick a ugly guy who thought he was god gift to women not a new gimmick but his hairy gimger chest and curly mullet in rhe mid 90s perfect
I would imagine "dusting up" before the match was a popular spot back then...🤣🤐🤣
I am the 1000th viewer.
Congratulations
I've said it many times before Vince was out of touch way back when. He just got lucky more often back then.
He could easily have saved the Luger angle. All he had to do was to have Luger beat Yoko at Wrestlemania as a face. Then have him turn heel against Bret in the second title match at the event. Just have Luger sneak on a lowblow and use the ropes for a roll up. Luger would leave as champions and he would be back as a heel. Then you could do a Luger VS Bret storyline and if not put heel Luger in there with somebody else. It was an easy fix.
I love you to death Corny, but you used the words "world class athlete" entirely too much when describing Yoko. He could barely move, especially in the latter part of the 90s. You had me when you said there was an athlete somewhere in there, but world class? God no. Love the show.
First
so
No one cares if you’re fish moron