RECAP AND REVIEW: Jim Cornette’s Drive-Thru on his favorite women’s wrestling feud, Jack Victory, the Warlord, who was going to be NWA Champion before Lou Thesz, why is the reverse atomic drop not a DQ? (Ep. 75)

Jim Cornette’s Drive-Thru Episode 75

Release date: Nov 30, 2018

Recap by: Paul Briody

DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD

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 – Intro includes a tease of “something special” happening on December 10 on www.jimcornette.com.

9:05 – Jim is asked about the Gail Kim/Awesome Kong feud in TNA. 

“I think Awesome Kong and Gail Kim was my favorite female wrestling program, rivalry… since I’ve been watching wrestling. It was perfect. It was monster heel against a young, fresh-faced, exciting underdog babyface.” Jim credits Dutch Mantell as being the women’s agent in TNA at the time. They were “workers” rather than “former lingerie models.”

14:40 – After cable TV became available in Chattanooga, Tennessee fans there were exposed to other talent, particularly in Georgia, and attendance began to fall at Nick Gulas’ shows. Why didn’t Gulas bring in more Georgia wrestlers?

Jim: “Which came first, the chicken or the egg, did Nick get cheaper because business was down or was business down because Nick was getting cheaper?” Jim also muses that perhaps the Georgia office saw Gulas struggling but didn’t help him with their talent in the hope of acquiring the territory if he went under. Good discussion about cable TV expansion at the time, opening new markets to wrestling fans.

29:23 – How is the reverse atomic drop not a disqualification when it’s essentially a low blow?

Jim: “The first time I saw the guys reversing it I thought ‘well you know, that’s a f*****’ nut shot, isn’t it’ and of course when the guys stands up he sells his nuts… but it’s one of those things that everyone does now, it’s just accepted.”

31:40 – Are punches illegal? If so, why? We never see anyone get disqualified despite plenty of admonishment. Closed fists are illegal and have been since the dawn of time but today “it’s gotten out of control.”

34:07 – Jim and Brian discuss Ernie Ladd.

38:56 – Does Jim have any particular memories of the Warlord?

Jim talks about Warlord quickly picking him up during a match in Greenville against Baby Doll (Warlord was her bodyguard) on the outside of the ring with the intention to throw him back in the ring. Warlord picked Jim up over his head and Jim had to discreetly say “set me down, set me down.” Jim talks about scaffold matches at The Great American Bash between the Powers of Pain and the Road Warriors, “who’s taking that bump?! As soon as we heard about it we all f*****’ laughed.” The Powers Of Pain left the territory shortly thereafter.

44:33 – In 1948, before it eventually went to Lou Thesz, the first choice for NWA champion was Orville Brown (before he was involved in a car accident), can Jim give any insight into his career?

Jim: “Orville Brown was a pretty accomplished f******’ shooter and was a major name in the Midwest… I think they’d worked out some deal where he would be the champion for a while. He’d beat Thesz and be the undisputed champion and then, obviously, I’m sure Thesz was in future plans but because of the car wreck they sped things up with Thesz.” As well as being a major star, Brown was also a founding member of the NWA.

47:13 – What if Bobby Eaton had left instead of Dennis Condrey?

Bobby was “the straw that stirred the drink” and Dennis was a great tag team wrestler but Jim concedes “our spot may have been cooked.” Dusty has a soft spot for Bobby and therefore allowed the Midnights to bring somebody else in (Lane) and keep their spot. Brian thinks Condrey and Owen Hart would’ve made a good Midnight team before Jim talks some sense into him.

49:35 – Jack Victory had so many gimmicks including a Russian assassin and a secret service agent, why did he have such a hard time settling in on one gimmick?

“He didn’t have a hard time, they kept changing it on him… they just had him do one stupid thing after another.” The Jim Herd era!

53:02 – Why was WWF Half Time Heat (2000) not done again?

Jim: “I wasn’t there when they did the first one, I didn’t give a s*** enough to ask and I don’t f*****’ know.”

54:46 – One of the iconic images of Starrcade ‘83 is the overhead shot of a bloodstained canvas, how were canvases cleaned and were they ever replaced?

“They weren’t and almost never.” The discussion on canvas hygiene is enough to give a sane person palpitations in 2018. Blood born diseases weren’t a consideration back then. Good discussion about Starrcade ‘83.

1:03:05 -Jim rants about the metric system for gas in Canada and being caught out at a pumping station. “The f*****’ pump kept going and going, I was like ‘what the f***.’ It was litres!”

1:04:12 – Jim talks about Adrian Street, who he managed in Memphis. It’s mostly ground that we’ve covered before but good stuff nonetheless. When Street used kissing black wrestler Ira Reese in the finish of a match the station received complaints because “the folks in Memphis in 1982 were not ready for interracial homosexual kisses on Saturday morning television.” Jim and Adrian would travel together and had a good old time. Brian talks about Street beating up manager Miss Linda because Terry Taylor forcibly kissed her! Times have certainly changed.

1:05:55 – Funny run-in by the American Heart Association, Jim answers the phone by shouting “I don’t have one!”

1:09:01 – 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: 7.2

Timestamps:

9:05 – Awesome Kong vs Gail Kim
14:40 – Chattanooga, Tennessee
29:30 – Reverse atomic drop
38:56 – Warlord
44:33 – Orville Brown
47:13 – Midnights ‘What ifs’
49:35 – Jack Victory
54:36 – Starrcade ‘83
1:04:12 – Adrian Street

About Paul:

I’m just a guy, from England, who watches wrestling and listens to podcasts!

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