Cornette and Punk - what if?

[theghostofalwilson]

Let's see if this thread can work as it contains two of the most controversial people in wrestling and on this forum. (From how I read the Cornette thread, this type of post is fine, otherwise admins can delete).


If not for Jim Cornette's outburst at the person who would later go on to become Santino Marella in 2005, Cornette would have likely stuck around at least a little bit longer which would have meant he would get to work with CM Punk when he started in OVW a few months later.


Some points to discuss.

Those two are big fans of each other these days. Do you think they would have gotten along back then with Punk being younger and Jim being overworked and not liking life due to all the frustrations that came with dealing with WWE and John Laurinaitis in general?

If Cornette had stayed, that would have meant no Paul Heyman in OVW. Does this change the course of history for Punk as there would have been no Heyman to push for him once he joined the main roster? (Potentially, there's always a chance Heyman becomes a fan of Punk anyway).

[thegame415]

Heyman would've worked better. If Cornette was in charge, Punk would've become Phil B, a good boy from Tuscaloosa, Alabama who respects pro wrestling.

[Milkman Norm]

(Limiting this to the parameters of Pro Wrestling only)

1. Yes, I think they would have gotten along

2. I don't know how much work needed that point in terms of his gimmick & who he was. It was a vastly different situation than someone like Dave Bautista, who came in with a great body but needed OVW creative to come up with the Leviathan gimmick for him and train him in the basics of the business. He surely needed training on working for the TV audience, facing the hard came, etc., but not on his to work.


3. Not sure tbh. Was Heyman working in OVW when Danny Davis owned it?

[XaviersSS2015hair]

I imagine Cornette and Punk would have gotten along great. They have very similar views on wrestling. No bs, take it very seriously.

Punk still would have become a Paul Heyman guy once he got to the main roster because Punk still would have debuted on WWECW when Heyman was in charge. They would have clicked because they also have similar views on wrestling.

Punk aspired to be a Heyman guy since the beginning of his career. He said in his early shoot interviews that he wanted to work for the real ECW, but it closed before he had the chance.
He also said that he and Colt used to pick Joey Matthews brain at indy shows back then because Matthews had worked for ECW, the company they aspired to work for.

[XaviersSS2015hair]

May 7, 2024 12:11:01 GMT -5 Milkman Norm said:

(Limiting this to the parameters of Pro Wrestling only)

1. Yes, I think they would have gotten along

2. I don't know how much work needed that point in terms of his gimmick & who he was. It was a vastly different situation than someone like Dave Bautista, who came in with a great body but needed OVW creative to come up with the Leviathan gimmick for him and train him in the basics of the business. He surely needed training on working for the TV audience, facing the hard came, etc., but not on his to work.


3. Not sure tbh. Was Heyman working in OVW when Danny Davis owned it?

Heyman was in OVW when Davis owned it. Davis didn't sell until many years later.

[theghostofalwilson]

May 7, 2024 12:52:41 GMT -5 XaviersSS2015hair said:

I imagine Cornette and Punk would have gotten along great. They have very similar views on wrestling. No bs, take it very seriously.

Punk still would have become a Paul Heyman guy once he got to the main roster because Punk still would have debuted on WWECW when Heyman was in charge. They would have clicked because they also have similar views on wrestling.

Punk aspired to be a Heyman guy since the beginning of his career. He said in his early shoot interviews that he wanted to work for the real ECW, but it closed before he had the chance.
He also said that he and Colt used to pick Joey Matthews brain at indy shows back then because Matthews had worked for ECW, the company they aspired to work for.

I pretty much agree with all of this. I recently saw a clip from a Punk shoot interview in 2003/04 where he praises Cornette.

I don't think it's a guarantee Punk would have debuted on WWECW without the already established Heyman connection, because some guys debuted on Raw or Smackdown in 2006/07, but with him being an indy darling and them running lots of shows in Philadelphia where he had a fanbase from his ROH days, it did make a lot of sense and WWECW was a brand where he could be pushed to the top relatively quickly.

But Heyman or no Heyman, he was always gonna be over with fans and be pushed eventually imo.

[J. Hova]

I think they'd have gotten along great if they actually sat down and talked, but a big what if is that Punk worked IWA Mid South and Cornette was on the record saying if you worked for Ian Rotten, you wouldn't work OVW. I think he softened on that but not sure when or on whom seeing as it was damn near impossible to get any established indy talent who hadn't worked for Ian by the mid 00s.

[Mozenrath]

They'd have gotten along probably, but Punk may have rubbed him the wrong way by clashing with types like Tony Atlas like he did. If Cornette thought Punk was disrespectful to veterans, yeah, that'd have not put him in Jim's good graces.

[魔界5号]

On a surface/business level, sure, but once they actually talked and got to know each other on a personal one I feel like they’d had probably figured out the differences between one another real quick.

[mcmahonfan85]

if Cornette was still running OVW in 2005, i think they most likely wouldn't have gotten along. Punk's always had a pretty high opinion of himself and isn't shy with his feeling on how he thinks he should be booked. with Cornette, you also have a guy who has a pretty high opinion of himself and isn't shy with his feelings on how he thinks things should be booked. on top of that, if you've ever heard Cornette talk about his issues working with Kevin Steen & El Generico, you'll know one of his major sticking points is wrestlers who are at a certain level constantly questioning the booking (one of the reasons he preferred guys like Roderick Strong, Eddie Edwards & the Briscoes was that when he said this is the game plan, they said okay and did it). so you'd have a wrestler who (lets be honest) thought he was a bigger star at the time than he actually was, and a booker who doesn't like being questioned and wants the youngins to defer to his decades of experience.

Heyman, on the other hand, you never really hear any bad stories from wrestlers about working with him as a booker (promotor is an entire different situation). add in the Heyman-Sapolsky connection, and Punk probably got to have a lot more creative input and freedom working with Heyman than he would've with Cornette.

[cornettesracket]

The answer is no.