“The WWE, they’re Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers,” Cornette stated. “They’re going to goddamn amaze you with their precision and their smoothness and their whirlwinded-try.” Despite this description, Cornette characterized WWE's product as boring and fake. His assessment of AEW was notably harsher.

“AEW is a bunch of goddamn ’90s mosh pit dancers where they’re just going to beat the shit out of each other with no fucking thought or technique whatsoever until they drop,” Cornette said before concluding, “Wrestling is gone from either side.”

Cornette’s co-host, Brian Last, pointed out that aspiring wrestlers typically enter the business through either WWE's internal recruitment system or the independent scene, with both paths shaping the televised product. Cornette did acknowledge a positive aspect in WWE, noting that the company still produces stars whom fans might aspire to emulate. He cited Rhea Ripley, Cody Rhodes, and CM Punk as examples of such figures. However, he felt that the opportunity to achieve stardom at their level is “minuscule.”

Regarding the independent wrestling scene, Cornette suggested that prospects can “work on shows easier than you can get a job at fucking Walmart.” He sees this as making AEW, which heavily recruits from the independent circuit, appear more accessible for newcomers. However, Cornette expressed dissatisfaction with the current talent pool in AEW, both as stars and in-ring performers.

“They are a group of stupid people doing stupid shit that’s probably going to end up with somebody breaking somebody’s neck,” Cornette said.

“I don’t want to be like those people. I don’t even want to watch those fucking people,” he added, speaking about AEW's stars.

While Cornette presented a pessimistic view of wrestling's future, the source material also included contrasting positive notes from the industry. TKO, WWE's parent company, announced that last Saturday’s Night of Champions event in Saudi Arabia sold out the Kingdom Arena. The company also reported that the event generated nearly 187 million social video views. Following AEW's Forbidden Door event, AEW boss Tony Khan expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming All In event in London.

“It’s going to be the biggest night in AEW wrestling,” Khan said on the Forbidden Door post-show. “There’s a lot of excitement and a lot of prestige around AEW going back to Wembley Stadium. And I think it’s going to be a great, great night for AEW.”

Featured names

• Jim Cornette
• Fred Astaire
• Ginger Rogers
• Kingdom Arena
• Saudi Arabia
• Forbidden Door
• Champion Sami
• Roman Reigns
• The Visionary
• Grayson Waller