Arn Anderson addresses Jim Cornette's controversial criticism of AEW
On a recent episode of his The Arn Show podcast (h/t Wrestling Inc), Arn Anderson talked about Jim Cornette and his extreme criticism of AEW's product. Jim Ross talked about the same in an earlier podcast episode of his Grilling JR show around March of this year, where he went on to talk about Jim Cornette criticizing AEW.
Arn Anderson on Jim Cornette's controversial criticism of AEW
Arn Anderson commented on Jim Cornette's criticism of AEW and said that he had a right to his opinion, but the world of wrestling was evolving. He admitted that there were some things that he agreed with Jim Cornette about, but at the same time, he felt there was a need to evolve.
"Well, Jimmy, like everybody else and every single person on this earth, they have a right to their opinion. I would just say: stay true to whatever you truly believe and you have the right to feel any way you want. I have mixed feelings about a lot of things in this world, and you have a right to voice them. Jimmy has his way of looking at the business and I respect a lot of that. I also think we all have to evolve and we have to cater to some of what's already been introduced as far as higher impact moves, and bumps, and things of that nature, and just the sheer physical part of how the business has evolved."
Anderson added that stars in AEW were often going all out and at times it was better to dial down the danger for the entire AEW roster.
"We got to protect the story that we're telling in the ring and we have to protect each other, and I do feel, which I think Jimmy does too, is we've got to dial down a little bit of the danger and some of the things that talent are doing. We got to protect them from themselves, and a lot of things - Jimmy - I share his thoughts about old school rules of the business, and I certainly have my own way looking at the business these days. But I do think we have to be flexible in our thought process and, more or less, get our finger on the pulse of which is the most important. What does the audience want, and listen to our audience and listen to what they say."
Another AEW official and commentator, Jim Ross has also previously talked about Jim Cornette's criticism, and called his message about AEW 'coarse', but did say they were still friends.
"We're still friends. We've never agreed on all kinds of things because he is the kind of guy that rarely has a compromising moment. He's very set in his ways, he knows what he likes, he knows how wrestling in his view should be positioned and I'm not disagreeing with that. It's just that sometimes, the message gets a little bit coarse and overly generalized. We know what we have, we know what we need. I think basically, Corny is pointing out the obvious. He's not providing any information that I've seen that is new and revolutionary. It's the same thing many of us say behind the scenes. There are things we need to do, but look, these kids are working their ass off, Conrad, and they're not all giants."
Readers can also check out Sportskeeda's interview with Jim Ross here.