Jim Cornette’s Drive-Thru Episode 73
Release date: Nov 12, 2018
Recap by: Paul Briody
Top stories/moments of interest:
• Brian Last asks Jim Cornette listener questions about current wrestling and wrestling history with great chemistry between the two.
0:00 – Funny intro, as always.
11:30 – Early/mid-80s TBS wrestling shows presented nearly every main event wrestler facing enhancement talent, at some point, apart from Dusty Rhodes, why was this? By the mid-to-late ’80s he was booking, writing and producing the shows and all he’d really have to do to stay over is cut a promo but in the early ’80s he wrestled his fair share of squash matches. Jim: “At that point I think the less Dusty just out there wrestling for the sake of it was a blessing rather than a curse.” Fun chat about a squash match featuring Dusty and John Arezzi and then jobber mishaps.
18:35 – Who is Bugsy McGraw? Jim: “He was crazy but he was also a big kick-a** f****r and that’s why they used him in Florida… he was just one of those guys who was very unique. It wouldn’t have worked if anyone else had done it.” He didn’t get over as well in Memphis because fans there didn’t have the same history with the character – he was “just crazy” in Memphis whereas fans in Florida got to see him turn crazy. Good promos but “athletically challenged.” Funny discussion about Memphis talent getting words mixed up in their promos.
26:26 – Did Bill Dundee have heat with someone in the 1987 Crockett office because he was put in some less-than-favorable positions such as tagging with the Barbarian and managing The Mod Squad? Jim thinks it was just a case of finding Dundee something to do after Crockett had absorbed Bill Watts’ UWF territory and Buddy Landel had been fired. They then talk about Buddy Landel being his own worst enemy at times.
30:58 – Terry Taylor discussion. Jim: “Terry was a great ring technician… I think he was probably the cleanest, nicest looking, best conditioned, best physiqued, nicest boy, most intelligent young babyface that Bill Watts ever tried to use in Mid South Wrestling… when he went to Crockett he was a dynamite babyface. In the ring, I don’t wanna say he was as good as Ricky Steamboat but he was one of the better athletic, better looking and better working and better performing and better selling single, young, white-meat babyfaces in the business but his promos still weren’t there.”
39:12 – When the Freebirds won the NWA/WCW world tag team titles in 1989, Michael Hayes was without his belt for their defenses but Jimmy Garvin had his, does Jim know why? Jim: “I wish I knew but I would bet you something along the the lines of somebody lost or stole one of those belts and they hadn’t made a new one yet.”
40:45 – Is there a right way to introduce yourself to a wrestler that lives nearby? Jim: “Yeah, don’t f*****’ do it.” They then talk about Jim being asked for autographs in awkward situations.
45:12 – Jim’s asked about Rip Rogers. Jim: “Rip is famous for being f*****’ Rip. He’s a classic personality that you only find in the wrestling business… he was one of the best trainers because he can talk to guys where they know he’s real and not bulls*******… Rip is classic, non-corporate wrestling, he’s old-time pro wrestling and if you listen to him you will learn what to do and what not to do… he was a hell of a worker.” He was popular with the students in OVW and you can see that today on Twitter with the likes of Randy Orton. The best trainers (Jim cites Rogers, Tom Prichard and Danny Davis as examples of such) can communicate instruction rather than natural performers who can just ‘do,’ like Ric Flair.
50:22 – Why did Raw and Nitro show still shots from the previous night’s PPV instead of video? Because they were still selling the replay!
53:31 – Why did All Japan terminate their relationship with WCW after the Clash Of The Champions where all the heels locked the babyfaces in the locker room? All Japan treated pro wrestling as a legitimate sport and so having their talent locked in a locker room was embarrassing and insulting.
57:02 – Jim has mentioned working shows in Crystal City, Texas while working in WCCW. It’s a small, dusty, nothing-happening town now so what was it like back then? Jim: “Even though it is out in the middle of nowhere down there… you could draw large crowds when the TV saturated the area… every once in a while but in the mid-80s when we were down there for World Class… they’d get maybe a couple of hundred people… it was brutal.”
1:00:02 – Any Robbie Eagle (Maestro) thoughts? Jim: “We booked him as an extra, job guy one time and he was a good amateur wrestler and had had some training there, he was a strong young kid and was eager to please, had a good personality and so we used him more often. I started booking him on house shows and even had him do some stuff with guys like Candido… he was always there, always ready to go, no bad habits, he was just a joy to work with.” Jim then talks about getting a lift to a hotel with Robbie Eagle when a fan had “stuck” his tires.
1:06:00 – Outro.
Plugs: Twitter: @TheJimCornette, @GreatBrianLast #CornyDriveThru; CornyDriveThru@gmail.com; JimCornette.com; 605pod.com; kfrpod.com; tinyurl.com/cornyyoutube; the law offices of Stephen P. New: newlawoffice.com, Arcadian Vanguard Podcasting Network.
Rating: 7.0
Timestamps:
11:30 – Dusty squash matches
18:35 – Bugsy McGraw
26:26 – Bill Dundee
30:58 – Terry Taylor
45:12 – Rip Rogers
53:31 – All Japan
57:02 – Crystal City, Texas
1:00:02 – Robbie Eagle
About Paul:
I’m just a guy, from England, who watches wrestling and listens to podcasts!
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