The #SpeakingOut movement has been a tragic, yet seemingly necessary trend for talents both female and male alike to open up against individuals who have harmed them either physically or emotionally. More and more accusations and names have come out in the past few days, and Jim Cornette and his wife are two of the most recent major names to be accused.
Last night, a former OVW developmental talent who goes by the Twitter user @AKI_Evolution (real name: Phil Earley) published accusations of Cornette and his wife Stacey grooming talent in OVW to join them in sexual encounters. His first set of Tweets read as follows:
“I made a very vague post yesterday about @TheJimCornette. In the face of current events I feel the need to clarify and speak up. During my first year in the business, his wife, Stacy, attempted to groom me.
“She approached via DM, sent me lewd photos I never asked for, implied protection from the Kentucky commission (stating he was a family friend), and told me she WAS going to fuck me, as if I didn’t have a choice. My experience with them is tame compared to others, though.
“When Jim was booking at OVW, if you wanted a contract or on his show, you HAD to perform sexual acts on his wife, many times with him watching. This has happened for many, MANY people.
“A close friend of mine was groomed and basically brainwashed by them for YEARS. When he finally escaped, Stacy went to great lengths to not only terrorize him, but to actively try to have other wrestlers physically assault him.
“I was one of them. She sent me pictures show tires of his he’s slashed, and bragging about setting him up to lose his job, his apartment, even his car.
“All because he escaped an extremely toxic relationship and didn’t want anything to do with them.
“Stacy bragged about being able to call the Kentucky commission to give him “targets”. He was a family friend, and if she wanted, she could turn his attention to anyone licensed in the state to potentially hurt, and sometimes even ruin their careers.
“When he says ‘Cult of Cornette’, it’s because he has a history of taking advantage of greenhorns using his power and position as booker for OVW in order to fufill his and his wife’s sexual desires.
“They used their place of power to hurt many, many people. No one wants to speak up because of his position in wrestling, but this is EXTREMELY common knowledge among OVW alumni.”
“This will probably ruin a lot of opportunities in wrestling, and that’s fine, but make no mistake: Jim Cornette is trash. He and his wife have made power plays in order to hurt many, many people. Fuck you Jim. Fuck you Stacy. You are scum.”
He then added, “I just feel like I betrayed the school that let me learn the craft of professional wrestling. OVW is the reason I turned my life around. And I feel like I’ve betrayed them. That’s how messed up wrestling can be. My hands are shaking and I’m scared shitless over typing this.”
AKI_Evolution then released a series of screenshots documenting correspondence with Stacey, several of which included Stacey allegedly sending lewd pictures to him and of his friend’s tires being slashed.
https://twitter.com/AKI_Evolution/status/1273766353820946440
https://twitter.com/AKI_Evolution/status/1273766520636702721
Former OVW Heavyweight Champion Mike Braddock also spoke on AKI_Evolution’s behalf, stating that Cornette sent his wife to “recruit” him as well, but he was not responsive to the propositions made.
“Jim Cornette sent Stacy after me to recruit me. Told me about how her and Jim had discussed and were curious about my sex life. I didn’t take the bait. I went on to draw the biggest house OVW had ever seen in the Davis arena. Multiple times. Years later Jim Cornette decides to tell his listeners that he doesn’t believe one legged wrestlers are believable. He was part owner of OVW at the time of the shows I just mentioned. He’s a piece of shit and a coward.”
Cornette did respond on Twitter this morning with two separate posts, one joking about the situation while the other refuted the legitimacy of the accusations.
Morning all–I know that my name has to be involved in everything because it gets attention, but I'm too busy running a pizza parlor from the basement of my pedophile ring to make any twitter goofs and their 700 fake accounts famous today.
— Jim Cornette (@TheJimCornette) June 19, 2020
Helpful hint: I have been told that when you're faking screenshots of something that "happened" years ago, you shouldn't use the person's profile picture that's only been up a week and a half. It's the little things, but that's for attorneys to discuss.
— Jim Cornette (@TheJimCornette) June 19, 2020
AKI_Evolution responded Cornette’s Tweet, stating that his profile picture argument doesn’t hold up as the photo universally changes on the account if you upload a new picture.
“Helpful hint: Your Facebook messenger profile pic updates to your current one you fucking donut. Your lawyer must be new to the internet. Stacy can delete her Facebook, those messages are still in my inbox, bubba. You know EXACTLY who my friend is. You are a predator.”
WrestleZone will continue to keep you updated as this story develops.