Jim Cornette details potential bold move WWE could make with Vince McMahon
Wrestling veteran Jim Cornette recently spoke about Vince McMahon. The former chairman stepped down from World Wrestling Entertainment and its parent company TKO Group Holdings in January 2024 after a former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against him. She has alleged sex trafficking and other heinous crimes against McMahon.
Jim Cornette feels it is a very bad idea to have Mr. McMahon return to WWE in an on-screen capacity, whether he was pardoned in a court of law or not. Speaking on Jim Cornette's Drive Thru episode 367, Cornette noted how the ongoing investigations and lawsuit were going to keep Vince McMahon busy for the foreseeable future. Considering his current age of 79 years, things would start to look a lot different for the former chairman in the next few years. So even if McMahon gets a pardon, it would not matter much.
"I don’t think the pardon will make a lot of difference for Vince. I don’t think it would make a difference from a PR. With Vince’s age, and what he's going to look like in three or four years, it may have opened the door somewhat a crack, but I don’t think it’s still going to be anytime soon, certainly not while there are still suits being filed," he said. [From 5:40 to 6:16]
Regarding a possible return to WWE once he was free of any litigation, Cornette felt anything could happen and did not count out a return by McMahon someday.
"So it's going to be a while before he is free of any kind of litigation that I would think they’d want him on television, because they then might be thinking, 'What are we going to hear next week,'" he added. [From 6:30 onwards]
Check out his comments in the video below:
Jim Cornette and Kevin Owens seemingly had contradicting perspectives on the wrestling business
Kevin Owens is one of the most featured WWE Superstars of the modern era. Apparently, he and Jim Cornette did not see eye to eye early on.
Speaking on Keepin' It 100, wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer detailed the fallout between Jim Cornette and Kevin Owens. According to Meltzer, The Prizefighter's different perspective was a problem for Cornette. However, the veteran always respected Owens's standpoint and believed big things were coming the latter's way.
"I will say this about Cornette because I talked to him a lot during that period. He always did respect Owens's ability. I would say the same thing too. They had a real falling out about a lot of different business things. They had totally different philosophies. Cornette always respected Kevin Owens' talent. But he thought that he needed to lose weight. They didn't get along. They just had totally different philosophies on everything," he said.
Kevin Owens's physique has been criticized by other people, too. However, during a recent edition of 1 Of A Kind, WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam pointed to the former Universal Champion as an example of athletes who may look out of shape but clearly are not, while lauding the Prizefighter's in-ring work.
If you use any of the quotes, please credit the original source and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.