Jim Cornette does not play a character and he does not fool around one bit. He has often reiterated his love for professional wrestling and while one would expect such a dedicated fan to keep kayfabe alive even off-screen, Cornette is every bit as authentic as he says and his hatred for certain individuals is as real as it gets. And yes, for those wondering, his love for Sprite is legit and not just a gimmick quirk.
Cornette has been in the business for a very long time and while he sustained a notable presence as a manager during the 1980s, his work behind the scenes is just as extensive. From an agent to booker to trainer, Cornette has done a lot for the industry and the man is often under-appreciated.
Jim Cornette oversaw the best OVW class in history and he has trained the likes of John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Randy Orton. That is one hell of a feather in a cap of a wrestling personality but his success in the context of the industry is often overshadowed by his venomous rants.
Cornette Is One Of The Greatest Managers In Wrestling History
The legendary manager has had something to say about just about everyone in the business, from Triple H to Shawn Michaels to Ronda Rousey and finally, to his favorite target and arch-rival, Vince Russo.
Much of what he says cannot be replicated here (or most places for that matter) but despite his penchant for cursing incessantly and grilling people left and right, wrestling fans are genuinely appreciative of what Cornette brings to the table.
The man is blunt, knowledgeable but hilarious, witty, and quite easy to tick off. This set of features brings along some of the most hilarious rants and on that subject, here is a forgotten Cornette story, all the way back in 1994. This event in wrestling lore is immortalized as the infamous “Dairy Queen” incident, and it goes something like this…
Back in 1994, Cornette was traveling with a bunch of wrestlers after wrapping up a television show in Hyden, Kentucky, Cornette and his group decided to grab some food from Dairy Queen.
Said group included Lance Storm, Jimmy Del Ray, and a very young Chris Jericho among others. The wrestlers were understandably hungry after working a house show and the group ended up ordering quite a bit of food but unfortunately, over twenty minutes had passed and their order had yet to come.
Do note that Cornette was already in a very bad mood and while he did not elaborate too much on the cause, he mentioned some sort of “financial fiasco” he had to go through and the fact that the house show drew abysmal numbers. Overall, this was a bad night for Cornette and his group of wrestlers.
Upon enquiring about the status of their order, the lady at the front asked if they really wanted the food. Turns out, the good folks at Dairy Queen had thought that this was a prank and Cornette was none too pleased as a result.
As usual, Jim Cornette lashed out and dropped an F-bomb but in the back of the van, Chris Jericho hurled another insult just as Cornette was done. The Dairy Queen employee snapped back, threatening to cancel the entire order and upon this, Cornette jumped out of the vehicle, ready to shoot a promo right there and then.
General Cornette did not waste a second as he ran right up to the drive-through window, opening it up and sticking his head inside to voice his furious displeasure. After lambasting the lady at the front, Cornette backed off but he was not done and he actually ran inside to lay the smackdown on the rest of the employees present inside the building.
Cornette Went Ahead And Buried Dairy Queen
Meanwhile, the group of wrestlers inside the van could barely hold onto their laughter as Cornette cursed up a bloody storm but after a whole minute of ranting and raving, Cornette calmed down. The manager muttered some sort of apology but to this day, no actually knows whether the order actually came through or not.
Thanks to the wonders of technology, a portion of this legendary event were captured on camera. Throughout the whole spectacle, Cornette had no idea that he was being filmed but knowing the short-tempered manager, that knowledge wouldn’t have stopped him from burying the entire Dairy Queen.
Lastly, but more importantly, Chris Jericho was the actual culprit behind the instigation as his explicit comment led to the employee snapping at him. In turn, Cornette assumed that the lady had cursed at him and that led to the chain of reactions.