Jim Cornette Talks About Working with Brock Lesnar and John Cena During Their OVW Days
Posted: Feb 25th 2014 By: mikeiles
Jim Cornette recently spoke with Wrestling 101 about working with John Cena and Brock Lesnar during their OVW days:
?In OVW here in Louisville between 1999 ? 2005 we were the developmental territory for the WWE. A lot of guys came to OVW who weren?t signed by the WWE but became signed by the WWE, because they came here to train and they got good and they ended up getting offered contracts.
John came from California, we got him really early on in his career but you could tell he was a natural, I thought he would actually be this generations version of a Ric Flair. He was a heel then, and he was so cocky, arrogant and good looking ? he had the physique and the genetics, he could talk but they decided to go a different direction with him and he got over just as big on the other side.
With Brock I?ll be honest with you, he was getting paid about four or five times more than everyone else in the developmental programme because of who he was. You don?t come across an athletic specimen like that who won the NCAA Heavyweight Championship everyday. However he was not a natural wrestling fan, not a natural wrestling student, he was a bit boring in the ring to be honest because he wasn?t used to being a showman. Also for a world class athlete I didn?t think he was trying five times as hard as his salary.
I paired him up with Shelton Benjamin who was one of the most natural wrestling school students we ever had, picked up things instantly and was exciting, so I made them a tag team. Shelton would do all the work, he would tag Brock and Brock would make a comeback and throw everyone through the roof. When he hit the WWE he became instantly exciting, remember the shooting star press he did at WrestleMania, he would do that for us and I would tell him he was crazy and to save it for the big show at the Louisville Gardens when the WWE agents are there and not in the high school halls. He did it in front of the WWE agents and they signed him directly because of that, the time he did it at WrestleMania is the only time I?ve seen him miss it.?
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Spotlight in History
- 1968 The Spoiler & Gary Hart def. Fritz Von Erich & Grizzly Smith for the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
- 1971 Ramon Torres def. Roger Kirby for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title
- 1978 David Von Erich def. Bruiser Brody for the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title
- 1979 Oki Shikina & Sugar Bear Harris became the TSW United States Tag Team Champions
- 2011 Drake Gallows became the BYEW Entertainment Champion
- 2016 Psycho Sawyer def. Ray Martinez for the SRPW Heavyweight Title
- 2016 Psycho Sawyer def. Spyder for the SRPW United States Title
- 2021 Legend Has It (Thrash & Killbane) def. Two Man Sam (Sam Stackhouse & Samuel Savage) for the CPW Tag Team Titles
- 2022 Team Boner (Drake Gallows & MLP) def. Psychotic Messengers (Maniac Mike & Malachi) for the AIWF Tag Team Titles
- 2022 MLP def. Duncan Kincaid for the RDW Iron Man Title
- 2022 Nashoba def. Al Farat for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Title
Week of Sun 09-06 to Sat: 09-12
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- 09-06 2008 Martin Justice became the SECW Cruiserweight Champion
- 09-06 2014 Spanish Wolf (Nathan Estrada & Michael Wolf) def. The New York Express (Jeff Knight & Thomas Knight) for the OECW Tag Team Titles
- 09-06 2025 Butcher def. Riker for the WFC Hometown Heroes Title
- 09-06 2025 Iron Mountain (Duke Blanchard & Jack Davenport) def. Toxic Masculinity (Johnny Lightning & Johnny Dynamite) for the WFC Tag Team Titles
- 09-06 2025 Phil Shark def. Franco D’Angelo for the TexPro Texas Title
- 09-07 1979 Mark Lewin def. Bruiser Brody for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Title
- 09-07 1980 Terry Gibbs became the TSW Tri-State Champion
- 09-07 1981 Frank Hill & Eric Embry def. Joel Deaton & David Deaton for the TSW Tag Team Titles
- 09-07 2004 Kenzo Suzuki & Rene Dupree def. Paul London & Billy Kidman for the WWE Smackdown World Tag Team Titles
- 09-07 2012 Brandon Walker def. Tim Rockwell for the ComPro Heavyweight Title
- 09-07 2014 Robert Lee def. Striker for the WFC Hometown Heroes Title
- 09-07 2018 Nikki Knight def. Erica for the MSWA Ladies Title
- 09-07 2019 Brian Dixon def. Tommy Dean for the BPW Oklahoma Title
- 09-07 2019 Luke Langley def. Brandon Groom for the BPW Lion Heart Title
- 09-07 2019 James Southard def. Lake Hefner for the ASP Inter-County Title
- 09-07 2024 The Subject (Cade Fite & Derek James) def. Toxic Masculinity (Johnny Lightning & Johnny Dynamite) for the WFC Tag Team Titles
- 09-07 2024 Wrangler Rhett def. Alex Royal for the WFC Prime Title
- 09-08 1947 Leroy McGuirk def. Buddy Rogers for the NWA Midwest World Title
- 09-08 1958 Danny McShain def. Mad Man Martin for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Title
- 09-08 1974 El Gran Markus def. Jose Lothario for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Title
- 09-08 1978 Rocky Johnson def. Bruiser Brody for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Title
- 09-08 2006 The Patriots (Bad Boy & Glen Steel) def. Aaron Neil & Alexander Lucas (Subbing for Se7en) for the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Titles
- 09-08 2007 Al Farat became the MSWA Mid-South Heavyweight Champion
- 09-08 2013 Robert Lee became the WFC Hometown Heroes Champion
- 09-08 2017 The Cursed (Blade [2nd] & Kuda) def. The Cub Scouts (Brock Landers & Grizzly Gates) for the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Titles
- 09-08 2018 Anarchy [2nd] def. Garrett Murphy for the NAW Lightweight Title
- 09-08 2018 Garrett Murphy def. Big Smooth for the NAW Heavyweight Title
- 09-09 1970 Waldo Von Erich def. Jack Curtis for the TSW Mississippi Title
- 09-09 1980 The Grappler def. Ted DiBiase for the MSW North American Heavyweight Title
- 09-09 2002 Papa Voodoo def. HIMM for the ACW Hardcore Title
- 09-09 2002 HIMM def. Papa Voodoo for the ACW Hardcore Title
- 09-09 2011 Michael Barry def. Dustin Heritage for the MWA MAX-Division Title
- 09-09 2016 One Man Sam def. Brock Landers for the MSWA Mid-South Cruiserweight Title
- 09-09 2017 Ray Martinez def. Brandon Groom for the BPPW Oklahoma Title
- 09-09 2017 Tristan Thorne became the ASP 5-Star Champion
- 09-09 2017 Michael Wolf def. Aaron Anders for the ComPro Heavyweight Title
- 09-09 2017 Michael Duplanti def. Garrett Murphy for the NAW Lightweight Title
- 09-09 2023 Johnny Lightning became the WFC Prime Champion
- 09-09 2023 Tino Valentino def. Derek James for the UWO Heavyweight Title
- 09-09 2023 Manico became the NAW Openweight Champion
- 09-09 2023 Manico def. Ryan Reed for the NAW Heavyweight Title
- 09-09 2023 Martin Justice def. Thomas Knight for the XDWF New GenX Title
- 09-09 2023 Thomas Knight def. Martin Justice for the XDWF New GenX Title
- 09-10 1968 The Spoiler & Gary Hart def. Fritz Von Erich & Grizzly Smith for the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
- 09-10 1971 Ramon Torres def. Roger Kirby for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title
- 09-10 1978 David Von Erich def. Bruiser Brody for the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title
- 09-10 1979 Oki Shikina & Sugar Bear Harris became the TSW United States Tag Team Champions
- 09-10 2011 Drake Gallows became the BYEW Entertainment Champion
- 09-10 2016 Psycho Sawyer def. Ray Martinez for the SRPW Heavyweight Title
- 09-10 2016 Psycho Sawyer def. Spyder for the SRPW United States Title
- 09-10 2021 Legend Has It (Thrash & Killbane) def. Two Man Sam (Sam Stackhouse & Samuel Savage) for the CPW Tag Team Titles
- 09-10 2022 Team Boner (Drake Gallows & MLP) def. Psychotic Messengers (Maniac Mike & Malachi) for the AIWF Tag Team Titles
- 09-10 2022 MLP def. Duncan Kincaid for the RDW Iron Man Title
- 09-10 2022 Nashoba def. Al Farat for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Title
- 09-11 1957 El Medico def. Duke Keomuka for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Title
- 09-11 1958 Angelo Savoldi def. Dory Funk for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title
- 09-11 1963 The Bolos (The Great Bolo [1st] & The Mighty Bolo) def. Bill Watts & Jerry Kozak for the TSW United States Tag Team Titles
- 09-11 1967 The Von Erichs (Fritz Von Erich & Waldo Von Erich) def. Brute Bernard & Mike Paidousis for the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
- 09-11 1967 Danny Hodge & Skandar Akbar def. Chati Yokouchi & Togo Shikuma for the TSW United States Tag Team Titles
- 09-11 1968 Danny Little Bear & Kit Fox def. Jack Dalton [1st] & Frank Dalton for the TSW Louisiana Tag Team Titles
- 09-11 1978 Bruiser Brody def. Fritz Von Erich for the WCCW American Heavyweight Title
- 09-11 2010 Ryan Reed became the NCW Heavyweight Champion
- 09-11 2010 The Unknown & Yoshi became the NCW Tag Team Champions
- 09-11 2010 Aerial Assault (Ky-ote Joe & Eric Rose) def. The Future Hall of Famers (Dane Griffin & Shane Rawls) for the IZW Tag Team Titles
- 09-11 2010 Team Shake It (Josh Evans & Martin Casaus) def. The D-Stinguished (Elias Castaneda & Arik Angel) for the ACW Tag Team Titles
- 09-11 2021 Warren Powers def. Drake Gallows for the EPW All-American Title
- 09-11 2021 Drake Gallows def. Warren Powers for the EPW Internet Television Title
- 09-11 2021 Revan became the RDW Iron Man Champion
- 09-11 2021 Most Wanted (Dan Webber & Reese & T-Arsenal) def. The Rejecs LM (Dr. Corvus & Elijah Sparks) for the WAH Tag Team Titles
- 09-12 1982 King Kong Bundy & Bill Irwin def. The Von Erichs (Kerry Von Erich & Kevin Von Erich) for the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
- 09-12 1983 Butch Reed & Jim Neidhart def. Magnum T. A. & Jim Duggan for the MSW Mid-South Tag Team Titles
- 09-12 1988 The Samoan SWAT Team (Samu & Fatu) def. John Tatum & Jimmy Jack Funk for the WCCW Texas Tag Team Titles
- 09-12 2004 Chris Matthews def. Brandon Bishop for the ACW Heavyweight Title
- 09-12 2009 Bobby Starr def. Kevin James Sanchez for the BYEW Entertainment Title
- 09-12 2010 Xavior def. Kevin Morgan for the MSWA Oklahoma Title
- 09-12 2015 Double D def. Aaron Neil for the IZW Impact Division Title
- 09-12 2015 Erica def. Paige Turner for the IZW Queens Title
- 09-12 2015 Brad Michaels def. Johnny Z for the IZW Heavyweight Title
- 09-12 2015 Richie Adams def. Jake O'Brien for the ComPro Heavyweight Title
- 09-12 2015 Shawn Hernandez became the DI2IW Intercontinenal Champion
- 09-12 2015 What Wrestling Should Be (Jermaine Johnson & Jordan Jacobs) def. Impact, Inc. (Damon Windsor & Johnny Z) for the IZW Tag Team Titles
- 09-12 2015 The K. C. Wolves (Graham Bell & Luke Langley) def. What Wrestling Should Be (Jermaine Johnson & Jordan Jacobs) for the IZW Tag Team Titles
- 09-12 2025 Floyd Maystorm def. Clover Botello for the WAH Hunger Dojo Title
09-10
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- Owen Sep 10th Today!
- Vivian St. John Sep 10th Today!
- Les Mayne Sep 10th Today!
- Kool Ade Sep 10th Today!
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- Bob Kenaston Sep 12th
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- Bash Sep 12th
- Animal Sep 12th
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- Poder Oriental Sep 13th
- Angelina Love Sep 13th
- K. P. Moore Sep 13th
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- Danny Little Bear Sep 13th
- Eddie LeVaughn Sep 14th
- Kelsie Mae Sep 14th
- Lunatic Lennie Sep 14th
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- Bernie D Sep 14th
- L. C. Green Sep 15th
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- Spoiler 2000 Sep 15th
- Daniel King Sep 15th
- Haru Sonada Sep 16th
- Colton Kinnamon Sep 17th
- Jake Swayze Sep 17th
- Bill Irwin Sep 17th
- Jim Cornette Sep 17th
- Dick Brower Sep 17th
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- Mr. Nabors Sep 18th
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- Angel Reed Sep 18th
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