In case you missed it, Jim Cornette issued an open challenge to meet Vince Russo anytime and anyplace for the two of them to settle their differences. The following is the full transcript of Vince Russo’s reply regarding that challenge, and you can check it out in the video below:
Hello, everybody, my name is Vince Russo and today I come to you in a very different light; with sincerity. I come to you with all humbleness, and I want to also want to apologize if during this statement I get a little choked up. I’m going to use the use of some notes because I want to make sure that I get everything that I want to say because this statement has been 18 years in the making.
By now, many of you have heard Jim Cornette’s latest Vince Russo comedy routine on his podcast. Me personally, it was nothing new. I have been hearing this since 1999. As a matter of fact, since 1999, the day I left the WWE, Jim Cornette left a very similar voicemail that my young children heard at the time where he threatened to kill me, my wife and my entire family. That was back in 1999 so, 18 years later, history repeats itself I guess.
With this video, many of my friends, my family, and my followers saw this cry for help and said Vince, you have to do something. Enough is enough is enough. It is time for you to take a stand and do something about Jim Cornette. So, I let a lot of that sink in. I received a lot of phone calls, a lot of emails, a lot of direct messages, and about an hour ago when I was outside and mowing my 5 1/2 acres around my log cabin and around my lake, a property which I own thanks in large part to my hard work in the wrestling business, I kept asking myself the question over and over—what does Jim want after 18 years of the same song and the same dance and the same threats. What exactly is it that he wants? We all know for the record that I offered to debate Jim on perhaps I-PPV with all the money going to the Cauliflower Alley Club, all the money going to charity simply because I base my arguments on facts. I don’t base my arguments on fiction, but as you, all know Jim turned down that offer.
What Jim would like to do is not to have a civilized man to man conversation—he would like to fight. He would like to meet somewhere where no cameras, no guns, no knives and just have a fight, so let me address that. Now I know a lot of you think I’m nuts and a little out of my mind, but let me tell you something that I am not; I am not that crazy and would I fight Jim Cornette? In order to answer that, you have to look at him. You have to look at that ‘barn door wide’ a**. You have to look at that ‘Kamala belly’. You have to look at those ‘Gumby-like arms’. Would I want to mix it up with somebody like that? Surely, I would have to be out of my mind because no doubt an a** kicking would be coming my way, so yes I am afraid of Jim Cornette; that ripped-chiseled stomach.
As far as the $5,000, I think Jim still thinks we’re in Memphis circa 1970 where $5,000 actually meant something. Jim, $5,000 is not a lot of money. I don’t need your $5,000. I’m doing fine Jim. I’m on the #1 podcasting network in the country, PodcastOne bro, $5,000, but aside from all that. Again, what was it that Cornette wanted? What is he looking for, which I will tell you right now? There won’t be any personal attacks from me in this statement.
I don’t know Jim Cornette’s mother, but from what I understand she was a very nice woman that Jim loved very much, just like my mom who I loved very much that most recently passed away God rest her soul. I’m not going to attack Jim’s mother, and Jim’s lovely wife Synn, so this isn’t about my mother, or my wife, and not about how much money I have, this is about Vince Russo and Jim Cornette. So, let’s get to the matter at hand.
To be hounding me for 18 years—like that pimple on you’re a** that just won’t go away. Can you imagine having a pimple on your a** for 18 years, that no matter what you do won’t go away? I will take the high road; I will ignore him; I will challenge him to an open debate for charity, but a pimple on your a** just won’t go away. You squeeze it, but the pus just doesn’t fly. What is it that this man wants? So, finally, as I am mowing the Russo Estates, the lightbulb goes off in my head. Eighteen years of diarrhea at the mouth. Eighteen years of the same entire act over and over and over, and what is Jim Cornette looking for? Well, then it dawned on me. What Jim Cornette is looking for is an apology from Vince Russo, that is what he is looking for.
Once you apologize to a man and say I’m sorry, then really nothing is left. You can’t go any further than that. Listen, man, I’ve said it a lot, and have said it plenty of times on my show; when I am wrong, I am wrong. When an apology is due, an apology is due, and I came up with the conclusion today that I owe Jim Cornette an apology, so I wanted to do this publically and nobody can hear it; no slant is put on it. My words won’t be misconstrud. You are going to be hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth.
Jim Cornette, I apologize. I apologize for a lot of things. First and foremost, I wanted to apologize for you blowing out your knees for falling off that Scaffold because you are a ‘Mark’ who didn’t know how to take a bump. I want to apologize for you putting Smoky Mountain Wrestling out of business. I want to apologize Jim for you being fired from Ring of Honor for a public and emotional outburst. I want to apologize Jim for being fired by the WWE for assaulting another employee. I want to apologize, Jim, because I am from New York. I want to apologize, Jim, because in my entire life I was never fixed to do anything. I want to apologize, Jim, that I don’t believe that the Dukes of Hazzard is a reality show. I would like to apologize that I never went on national television and dressed like the village idiot. I want to apologize that I never asked a wrestler to chew an Alka Seltzer so it can appear that I am foaming out of the mouth. I want to apologize that even the great Terry Funk didn’t get over when you had him come out of a box. But Jim, perhaps the two most important things; I want to apologize for setting rating records at both WWE and TNA, and also raising the ratings in WCW, the whole 9 months that I was there. I sincerely apologize for that, and last but not least, Jim, from the bottom of my heart, I apologize for both Dixie Carter and Vincent Kennedy McMahon for choosing me over you., because at the end of the day, 18 years later, that is what this is all about. It sticks in your craw because no matter what you do or say, no matter what asinine promo you cut, it does not go away.
From a creative standpoint, the numbers clearly dictate I was better than you, and I know that it is hard for you to accept and hard for you to deal with, so that is why from the bottom of my heart, I apologize, I am sorry and I hope from this point on we can move forward.
With that being said Jim, I hope you will take this apology, relax, sit back. I would say grab a cold one but I know you don’t drink, so maybe eat a sandwich, maybe an ice cream, maybe a piece of fruit, maybe an apple or an orange, maybe enjoy a good banana, but relax, accept this apology and let’s move on.
Thank you very much.
