I Listen So You Don't Have To: The Jim Cornette Experience #106

The cheeseburger man gets mad and red at Muslims on his wrestling podcast
Photo via @FightOwensFight

If you’re new, here’s the rundown. We listen to a handful of wrestling podcasts each week. Too many, probably, though certainly not all of them. In the interest of saving you time — in case you have the restraint to skip certain episodes — the plan is to give the bare bones of a given show and let you decide if it’s worth investing the time to hear the whole thing. There are many wrestling podcasts out there, of course, but this feature largely hews to the regular rotation we feel best fit the category of hit or miss. If we can save other folks some time, we’re happy to do so.

Show: The Jim Cornette Experience
Episode: 106
Run Time: 1:03:12
Guest: None

Summary: After a long section of plugging his various endeavors, Jim Cornette and his Terry Gross-soundalike cohost Alice Radley begin the show with memories of wrestler Steve Bradley, who died seven years ago today. Bradley worked for Cornette in OVW, and he regrets that WWE dropped the ball on hiring him in a significant role. Cornette then moves on to the shooting in San Bernardino, and how we live in a terrible country where a shooting like that can occur, yet no laws will change because of it. They read an email from a listener about the Second Amendment. Then, they read an email from a Muslim listener who takes issue with Cornette's depiction of Muslims as a violent religion, and this is where things go off the rails. Cornette yells at this listener for a while. Finally, Cornette explains why he hated the Joey Ryan "test of dick strength" spot so much, and how back in his day, Joey Ryan would have been assaulted by the entire locker room for exposing the business (no pun intended).

Quote of the Week: Cornette, toward a Muslim listener: "I'll admit, a lot of the people running the United States are a really fucked up bunch of people. However, you think it's bad, but those fuckin' Dalmatian eatin' fuckin' psychopaths that run your fuckin' countries over there get a hold of our resources, and you see what would happen. The whole fuckin' earth would be blown up in six fuckin' weeks, because your people are a bunch of goddamn lunatics."

Why you should listen: If you agree with Cornette's opinions on both gun control and the violent tendencies of Muslims, then you'll have a great time here, because that takes up the bulk of the episode. Cornette occasionally says some insightful things that might make you think for a bit. As for wrestling talk, Cornette's hatred of Joey Ryan will ring true for you if you are a Cornette apologist, or over the age of 50.

Why you should skip it: I listened to the very first episode of this show back when it premiered a few years ago, and I found it odd that Cornette was spending so much time talking politics. There are some people from whom I only want to hear wrestling talk, and Cornette is one of them. Apparently, he is still falling victim to this podcasting sandtrap. Cornette should not wade into politics, and never is this more clear than during his rant about Muslims. It's so offensive and awful that it sounds as if Donald Trump suddenly took over the podcast.  In addition to his old-timer opinions about Muslims, Cornette continues to have old-timer opinions about wrestling, as he berates Joey Ryan for "wiping his feet on the wrestling business so he can make some money." This issue could be debated back and forth, but the problem is that Cornette only comes off here as an out-of-touch jerk.

Final Thoughts: You can watch Fox News if you want to hear someone saying some ignorant garbage about how all Muslims are terrorists, but you don't need to hear it on a wrestling podcast. Cornette is getting by on his name and history only, clearly not on his ability to have a fresh or insightful take on the wrestling business, or just how we should treat each other as human beings. If this is what Cornette's podcast is always like, then I won't be returning anytime soon. And hey, if anyone sees Cornette at a Meet and Greet sometime soon, do me a favor; when you're meeting him, put a rug on the floor, face the West and do some prayers to Allah. I'm sure he'd love it.