Hell Has Frozen Over: These AEW Stars Have Cornette and Russo in Agreement
That’s right, folks, this is no clickbait. After over three decades of being at odds over virtually every detail of the wrestling business, Jim Cornette and Vince Russo finally agree on something. Before diving into what that is, let’s set the scene.
All-Elite Drama
For those unfamiliar with the situation, CM Punk and The Elite, consisting of Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks, got into a locker room confrontation after the ALL Out Pay Per View post-press conference in September.
Punk has not appeared in AEW since the incident. However, The Elite recently returned to action in the Full Gear PPV. They took on Death Triangle for the AEW Trios titles.
Making a Mockery of CM Punk
On an episode of AEW Dynamite on November 23rd, 2022, both Matt Jackson and Omega mocked CM Punk in front of the Chicago crowd.
The Elite again took on Death Triangle in the second match in a best-of-seven for the Trios Championship. Kenny Omega, who had recently asked fans to ‘let it go’ in an interview with Sports Illustrated, first mocked the ‘best in the world’ by hitting Punk’s GTS finisher on PAC.
Omega would later get in a shot at former AEW employee Ace Steel, who allegedly bit Omega in the locker room scrum. The former AEW World Champion bit PAC on the arm during the match. Matt Jackson got his digs in when he flubbed a buckshot lariat, mocking the two that Punk botched in a match against Hangman Page.
Additionally, footage from the YouTube Channel Being The Elite appears to show the Bucks encouraging a small group of fans committed to a ‘Fuck CM Punk’ Chant. Although, to be fair, both Jacksons were equally encouraging of any ‘Fuck the Elite’ chants, so that last bit of ‘evidence’ is circumstantial at best.
The Darkest Timeline: A Cornette-Russo Alliance
Some believe that CERN has created a black hole, sucking the earth into an alternate dimension. They reason that this theory can explain phenomena such as the Mandela Effect. If that is true, we have indeed entered the darkest timeline. The actions of three AEW EVPs on the night before Thanksgiving have caused enemies to break bread at the same philosophical table.
Jim Cornette and Vince Russo agree on one thing. This trolling is terrible for business.
Cornette would say this about The Elite’s in-ring behavior on episode 459 of The Jim Cornette Experience with his cohost Brian Last.
“And here Tony is letting these fucking little pampered smug nitwits who are constantly in need of having their pussies powdered inflame and instigate a fucking guy who does not like being disrespected publicly to begin with, before the out is done and the ink is dry. So, again the more they do this, the more they try to piss Punk off. All he’s got to do is say, OK fuck it, I’ll file this lawsuit, and then he’s got a lot of people’s balls in his fucking hands, and there’s a lot of shit that they ain’t going to want to fucking hear getting out in public that’s going to get out in public.” — Jim Cornette
Russo wasn’t quite as colorful with his comments on the situation, but he made his stance equally transparent on the Wrestling Outlaws Podcast with EC3 and Dr. Chris.
“Let’s be honest, number one; they’re freaking children…They’re Executive Vice Presidents of the company. They’re supposed to be the three guys that everybody in the company should look up to, and they’re acting like 12-year-olds, bro. And they’re Executive Vice Presidents, bro.” — Vince Russo
Is it All a Work?
Some have speculated that this open mockery could mean that this is all an elaborate angle, setting up a rivalry upon Punk’s return. While Tony Khan and AEW were able to blend the lines of reality in the recent MJF contract angle, I would be shocked to find that this is a work.
Cornette had this to say when asked if he thought there was a chance that The Elite’s antics were setting up a storyline.
“It would be business. If they had that lined up, laid out, then all of this would be perfectly acceptable. And wishful thinking would indicate that everybody would want to see that, right? Oh yeah, everybody gets back together. We have this big program that draws all kinds of money. But what you are overlooking is the fact that these fucking douchebags don’t want to draw money. They don’t want anybody to jeopardize their position, their company, their revolution, their movement. If anybody gets over or is more important than them or shows people that their wrestling is shit and that people still in larger numbers react to shit they can understand, that’s bad.” — Jim Cornette
The Illinois Screw Job
This name isn’t as catchy as Montreal, but the point remains. With the post-event press conference at All Out and the subsequent mocking of the Second City Saint in his hometown, this ‘Screw Job’ could have had the same impact as the one in 1997. Imagine the crowds if these two rivals settled their differences in the ring after a long build-up. Instead, we were left with the AEW crowd again chanting about a wrestler that isn’t on the show instead of the ones in the ring.
Kev Nivek is an author, editor, and podcast host covering the NBA, the NFL, and college basketball. When he’s not covering sports, he’s writing short sci-fi horror, hiking in the hills, or firing up a steak on his state-of-the-art charcoal grill. You can find all of his projects here.
