Jim Cornette Talks Problems Working With Shawn Michaels, Tag Team Grabbing Michaels By The Neck

Jim Cornette recently talked about his problems with Shawn Michaels on his Jim Cornette's Drive Thru podcast.

Cornette addressed a report from the August 5, 1996 issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, where Dave Meltzer wrote about a kerfuffle between Cornette and Shawn Michaels at a WWF house show over a botched superkick. An incident possibly triggered by Jim tripping and thus falling too early.

"G-dd-mnit, I'm trying to remember this now because I thought I remembered all the kerfuffles I had with Shawn Michaels," said Cornette. "I don't remember him b-tching. That was SummerSlam right or SummerSlam time period?"

After Cornette collected his thoughts, he remembered that was a couple weeks before SummerSlam and at that show was when Shawn went off on Leon "Vader" White in the ring when Vader didn't move on his elbow. Jim recalled an incident where there may have been an issue with him taking a superkick.

"I remember he [Shawn Michaels] hit me with a superkick; we had a tag match with me and Vader and him and Jose [Lothario] I think at Nassau Coliseum," said Cornette. "And during the finish and him making a comeback or whatever and I get up on the bottom rope and I lean in and he hits me with a superkick – it was fine. I don't ever remember him hitting me with a superkick that I either – it definitely wasn't a potato. He didn't potato me there I'll tell you another story in a minute. I don't remember f??ing one up. I don't know, could it have been in the finish I was supposed to jump up and he was either going to get one or it didn't come about and he was pissed because of that. I don't know, I can't remember."

Cornette recalled another story when he worked with Shawn Michaels and blew out his knee.

"I will say once again the best worker in the business, right? And he was. But this one time right after the Royal Rumble that year, we're in California," said Cornette. "And he's supposed to invade the interview and grab me and throw me over the top rope, right?"

"Well I'm not a g-dd-mn aerial artist but I've gone over the top rope before. Of course there's those g-dd-mn sh-tty ropes instead of cables that they had in their f?-ing ring then; I guess they still do. And those things are a pain in the in the a? so I knew something was going to f??in' happen," said Cornette. "As soon as he grabs me I'm going to go over the top rope but he jerks me and pulls me so hard that I get f?ing flummoxed, I can't f??ing get over the top, he throws me right into the top rope. So I f?-ing bounce off and land and roll out and it looks like sh-t."

"So the following night they want to recreate the thing and do it again. So I'm like alright, I'm going to get it this time. And he grabs me and eases up a little bit so I can take my own bump but then because it's those g-dd-mn ropes so I go over the top rope and it's so f?-ing flimsy ? it doesn't have the support of the cables ? that I cartwheel over it, land with the side of my knee on the f?-ing ring apron, knee goes out. F?-ing tear some cartilage, have to limp around for two f?-ing weeks."

This brought Cornette to tell the story about the finish between Shawn Michaels and Vader in their main event match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam 1996. Jose Lothario was with Michaels and Cornette was with Vader, it was in front of 17,000 people at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.

"And most of the interaction I had in SummerSlam with that finish when he's swinging that f?-ing racket at me and Vader ? he somehow managed – I saw the way he was swinging it at Vader ? I went in, took one and covered up," said Cornette. "You can see me and I f?ing bumped all the way across the ring for that one shot. Just swinging it around with the frame, hitting everyone in the f?-ing head and you know, he potatoed more people in one match than I ever had in my career. Supposed to be the greatest worker of all-time."

"He was just willy-nilly on what he f?ing wanted to do and how much he wouldn't take care of you," explained Cornette.

The segment concluded with Cornette recalling the last night of the Harris twins in the WWF, where they confronted Michaels. According to Cornette, Don watched the door while Ron took Michaels by the neck. Jim couldn't remember what was said because it's been 20 years but they wanted Michaels to know they knew he had bothered them, sabotaged them and done all the things Shawn Michaels would do to people.

You can listen to Jim Cornette's stories in the video embedded above. Please be advised the language is explicit and NSFW.