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DVD Review : Guest Booker with Jim Cornette – Rebooking The Invasion Angle
Reviewed by Steven Wilson of MainEventRadio.com
If there was one angle that will forever be begging for a re-do it would have to be WWE’s Invasion angle in the early 2000’s. Kayfabe Commentaries Guest Booker series was designed for this type of fantasy booking, However rebooking the invasion angle could not be left to any simple talent who has dabbled in a booking committee or been given the book because of who they are related to. Instead only one man could truly tackle this topic and do it the way it should have been done, and that man happens to be one of the most requested guests for the Guest Booker series, none other than Jim Cornette. Now we all get the chance to hear not only Cornette’s uncensored rants against the WWE but we also get to hear how he would of booked the invasion angle in the latest installment of the critically acclaimed series.
The DVD’s back cover informs the fans that “this is the big one†and indeed it is. Spanning 3 hours and 2 discs, this is classic Cornette and a classic angle to re book. There is no arguing that the WWE drop the ball with the Invasion angle and Jim Cornette lets it be known loud and clear.
The DVD begins with a chapter entitled “Background†In this Cornette discusses a wide variety of topics including the differences between Wrestling booking & Wrestling writing , which bookers influenced him in his career as well as what everyday business was like in Jim Crocket Promotions. Cornette also brushes over what is wrong with the business today, As you would expect Cornette gives an impression that he could go on for hours about that subject but instead only partakes in a few specific rants. Including what should happen when “creative has nothing†for a talent.
The most interesting topic discussed in the opening chapters of the DVD is how and why Ohio Valley Wrestling was established as an official developmental territory of the WWE. Cornette talks about the differences between Jim Ross and John Laurinaitis as the head of talent relations and how much of a headache it was to deal with Laurinaitis who treated OVW like a piece of crap.
From there they discuss the Invasion and what went wrong. Host Sean Oliver joking says good night and makes a motion as if he was going to walk off at this point as he knew proposing this question would open a whole new can of worms for Cornette to rant on. The expected arguments are made by Cornette and although he makes a thousand points he does so in a quick fashion which doesn’t affect the flow of the DVD at all.
If you look back to statements made around the time WWE acquired WCW, it was suggested that the WWE and WCW would both continue to exist as separate entities owned by the same company. In real life that would not turn out to be the case as Vince McMahon would never allow another company to be viewed as equal to his, but the separate and equal brands is the basis of Cornette’s booking vision as we embark on the Re-booking chapters of the program.
Establishing separate brands which not only run their own feuds on a weekly basis, but also creates an on going war between the two with certain crossover storylines that slowly but surely gets more and more heated while lasting for an extended run, culminating at Wrestlemania the next year with a 16 match interpromotional war between WCW and WWE where the company who wins the most matches get to keep their job Host Sean Oliver like many of you who will watch this DVD sits back in awe of Cornette’s work of art as he brushes it stroke by stroke.
I wont divulge the card as the “fantasy†spoiler would be pointless, but just to say that Im sure some of us could come up with some dream matches that Cornette does not come up in this DVD, But his work of art compared to the piece of crap that the WWE put out will leave you scratching your head as to why the WWE didn’t put the booking power into Cornette’s hands at the time.
This is hands down the best installment of the Guest Booker series to date, and is up there as one of the best releases put out by Kayfabe Commentaries to date. As you would expect Cornette holds nothing back when criticizing what he believes was wrong and is still wrong with the WWE, and shows a enthusiasm for the scene he’s setting that has never before been seen in this DVD series. Host Sean Oliver even admits at the end of the episode that any future Guest Bookers have a lot to live up to. This is an absolute must watch. I cant say much more than that.
Guest Booker with Jim Cornette – Rebooking The Invasion Angle will be available on DVD next week from Kayfabe Commentaries
