On his Jim Cornette’s Drive-Thru podcast, Jim Cornette gave a harsh critique of the celebrity-driven storyline on Saturday Night’s Main Event involving Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, Logan Paul, and country music star Jelly Roll. Cornette was highly critical of the angle, which saw Jelly Roll get physically involved with the WWE Superstars, culminating in a tag team match being set for SummerSlam.
The segment saw Jelly Roll save Randy Orton from an attack by Logan Paul, hitting Paul with a forearm that sent him out of the ring. Cornette was not impressed with the physicality. “Here comes Roll, and he pulls Logan Paul off, and they get nose to nose, and Roll hits him with a forearm, kind of sort of somewhere around there, and Logan Paul went down and rolled out,” he recounted with disdain. The post-match segment saw Drew McIntyre hit Jelly Roll with a Claymore Kick.
“Embarrassed To Be a Wrestling Fan”
Cornette expressed his frustration with the concept of a non-athlete being portrayed as a physical threat to trained wrestlers, arguing that it makes the product look foolish. “This is what we are come up with,” he began. “Sometimes you’re embarrassed to be a wrestling fan and watch either one of them. The AEW matches never end. And the guys, in a lot of cases, aren’t even professional. The WWE guys are professional, and you barely see any of the f—ing match… In the WWE, the singers interrupt the wrestling. And in the WWE, fat f—ing singers can beat up the wrestlers. That’s the best way to get booked well, is to sing.”
He also took a moment to critique Jelly Roll’s physique and how it factored into the believability of the angle, especially after the musician’s highly publicized weight loss. “It’s like, the jelly has been sucked out,” Cornette said. “At least when he was 500 pounds, you could think, you know, get three steps of momentum going for a guy, and you got 500 pounds of just f—ing mass coming at you. He could do something even if he was just a big fat piece of sh–.”
Unfavorable Comparisons to Past Celebrity Angles
Cornette compared the angle unfavorably to past celebrity crossovers that he felt were executed more logically and with more appropriate talent. “I could even understand, you know, with the Dennis Rodman thing, it’s a professional athlete, the celebrity crossover… Lawler and Kaufman,” he said. “But these are two main event, f—ing guys against Randy Orton and Jelly Roll. And, I mean, is this any better than Jay Leno? At least Leno was in shape back then.” Cornette believes that a celebrity’s role should be more limited, suggesting Jelly Roll would be better suited as a manager.
Furthermore, Cornette questioned Jelly Roll’s mainstream appeal and musical genre, which he dubbed “crap.” After his co-host Brian Last explained that Jelly Roll’s music is a blend of country and rap, Cornette mockingly created a new genre name. “Crap. Country and rap, crap. There they go. Jelly Roll’s genre is crap,” Cornette declared. He questioned whether the musician had the star power to warrant such a high-profile spot, asking, “Name me, Jelly Roll’s biggest hit, Brian?”
The chaotic segment on Saturday Night’s Main Event led to a major match being announced for SummerSlam. The match will see the team of Randy Orton and Jelly Roll take on Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul, marking the official in-ring debut for the Grammy-nominated musician at WWE’s “biggest party of the summer.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Jim Cornette and Brian Last with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
