Jim Cornette’s Drive-Thru Episode 54
Release date: May 21, 2018
Recap by: Paul Briody
Top stories/moments of interest:
• Usual format in which Brian Last asks Jim Cornette email questions from fans about current wrestling and wrestling history with great chemistry between the two.
0:00 – Intro chronicles the show’s hashtag issues for Twitter questions (it’s #cornydrivethru) and Johnson & Johnson using formaldehyde in their baby powder. What?!
10:32 – What are Jim’s opinions of Randy Savage promos? Jim: “When I first saw Randy Savage on television in 1979… you legitimately through the that he was on heavy f*****’ drugs and that he was a crazy wild man and he was gonna snap and do anything… (of all ICW’s stars at the time) Savage was the star… He was the star of the show from day one.” You didn’t know what he was going to say, and no one could write it for him, but you believed it. Jim does his Randy Savage impersonation!
18:10 – What are Jim’s memories of ‘The British Bulldog’ Davey Boy Smith? “He was like a big kid. I don’t think anybody understands just how good an athlete he was… he could have great matches, especially with guys who knew how to wrestle… he moved like a light heavyweight and had such flexibility.” “I don’t know why… they didn’t do more with him when he was so hot.”
Dave Boy promising his dying sister that he was going to win the European title from Shawn Michael only to have Michaels change the finish really affected him. His personal lifestyle may have impeded his career. Jim talks about Bulldog challenging Shawn Michaels for the WWF title at the ‘Beware Of Dog’ pay-per-view and Michaels forcing a redo two days later because he wasn’t happy with the match. Brian suggests that Davey’s work in the 1980s is often overlooked because people tend to focus on his partner, Dynamite Kid.
23:44 – Did Bill Watts think that Shawn Michaels was too small and wanted the title back on Bret and did Watts want Ahmed Johnson to be a top guy? He liked Ahmed because “just look at him” and he’d had limited exposure to his work and attitude. Corny thinks that it was Shawn’s attitude that really soured Bill Watts on him.
27:30 – When Stan Lane joined The Midnight Express Jim cut a promo about Dennis Condrey being the weak link… did Jim run it by Dennis beforehand, how did Jim and Bobby Eaton feel about doing this and why did Condrey leave Crocket? They didn’t run it by Dennis because they couldn’t find him! He dropped Jim and Bobby off at their homes after a show, said he’d see them at the airport in the morning and they didn’t see him again for a year and a half! Corny didn’t want to bury Dennis too much, and say he was “the s****” because The Midnights had been a top tag team for a number of years and it would ruin his credibility. The exact reasons for Condrey’s departure has never been made public. Great discussion and a good listen for Midnight Express fans.
34:52 – How did ‘The Bubba Spike’ (a finisher briefly used by Ray ‘Bossman’ Traylor in Crockett) come about and was it just a botched powerbomb? It was a sit-out powerbomb type of move but when Bubba dropped Bill Mulkey he was so heavy that one of the boards from the ring flew up, hitting Mulkey in the head and knocking him out. This incident led to Dusty saying “Don’t do s*** you don’t know how to do” to Bubba backstage, as Jim’s talked about before. Bubba didn’t try the move again! Dusty and Bossman later worked a program in the WWF after Bossman’s run with Hogan where he had a “$12,000 week.” Jim talks about Dusty being potatoed by Bubba during Bubba’s first few months of wrestling. In the beginning Bubba was made to be an opponent for “the ultimate babyface” Dusty Rhodes. More about Stan Lane joining The Midnights and how he was glad to have Corny’s input in match layout and the Midnights/Original Midnight (managed by Paul Heyman and featuring Dennis Condrey) feud.
52:18 – How would Jim have booked an André The Giant world title run? Jim: “Not at all… André was exactly the guy that you didn’t want to have the world title… because how’s he ever gonna lose it?” Overall his career was handled very well in terms of doing jobs, etc. He was one of the highest paid wrestlers of his era without needing a title. Some David Shoemaker-bashing for his lack of historical knowledge in the recent HBO André documentary.
58:27 – What were Jim’s impressions of Ivan Putsky? Brief overview of Putsky’s career but Jim didn’t have any personal interactions with him although he did hear that he was hard to get along with.
1:03:14 – Who was the better tag team: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express or The Rockers? Corny goes with the former almost straight away and cites the fact that they were main event, drew large houses, longevity of success, connection to fans, babyface selling and match psychology. The Rockers were flashier and more athletic but also had a terrible attitude. Jim feels so strongly about this that he has difficulty understanding why anyone would see it the other way.
1:05:54 – Were there any wrestlers in ECW that Jim thinks would be a good fit in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. Jim starts by stating the talent in ECW were paid more per show but SMW ran more shows. A lot of the ECW stars were from around that area (North East) so they’d have had to uproot to work for SMW. Characters like Sabu, Raven and Sandman wouldn’t have been a good fit for the ‘Southern Rasslin’ ethos of SMW but Shane Douglas could’ve translated. Jim talks about The Midnights working a program against The Dynamic Dudes in WCW and experiencing Shane Douglas “whine like a little girl.”
1:12:01 – Outro. Fun Lost In Space discussion!
Plugs: Twitter: @TheJimCornette,
@GreatBrianLast #CornyDriveThru; CornyDriveThru@gmail.com; JimCornette.com; 605pod.com, kfrpod.com, tinyurl.com/cornyyoutube, tinyurl.com/cornykickstarter
Rating: 7.61
Funny, entertaining and informative. I realise that I repeat myself in these ratings but humour, personality, host chemistry and knowledge of classic wrestling are paramount to this show’s appeal.
Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro
10:32 – Randy Savage promos
18:10 – Davey Boy Smith
23:44 – Bill Watts/Shawn Michaels
27:30 – Stan Lane joining The Midnights
34:52 – The Bubba Spike
52:18 – André as world champion
58:27 – Ivan Putsky
1:03:14 – The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express/Rockers
1:05:54 – ECW talent in SMW
1:12:01 – Outro
About Paul:
I’m just a guy, from England, who watches wrestling and listens to podcasts!
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