Jim Cornette on Vince McMahon Trying To Sign The Midnight Express 

The Midnight Express vs The Hart Foundation would've been the shit. Bret vs Bobby would've been tremendous.

"I think we've driven that point home, that your father was disgusted by the thought of me sharing his fucking oxygen on this planet." So good XD

I love listening to Jim talk. I don't always agree with his opinions but I have so much respect for him and his experience. He has a great memory and great stories.

Midnight Express vs Hart Foundation would have been the match I wanted to see.

I am glad the Midnight Express didn’t go to the WWF. Vince would’ve ruined them for sure. It was a very wise choice to stay in the NWA.

Gotta say, Hart Foundation vs the Midnight Express could have been the greatest tag team matches of all time.

Corny does an epic Ernie Ladd impression.

"Have I Eva lied to ya. Gonna make more money than you Eva seen" Reminds me of "Dis time next year. Gonna be makin Sthitcoms and movies". Wrestling business is full of dreamers.

Best and my favorite "loud mouthed manager" in wrestling period.

i'm glad that i was spared the torture of seeing the ME in wince mchamm's wwf flea circus

Midnights would not have done as well, or as made as much money, in the WWF in 1986 as they did in the NWA.

Midnight express against the British bulldogs in the 80s would have been great.

Midnights vs Hart Foundation, Midnights vs Strike Force, Midnights vs Killer Bees, Midnights vs Rockers. We could have had some classics.

There were a lot of teams in the 80s WWF that would have been great against Midnight Express. The Bulldogs, the Hart Foundation, the Fabulous Rougues Brothers, Strike Force, the Brainbusters, the Killer Bees and the Rockers.

Vince would of jobbed them out and ruin them

Corny is right, the Midnight Express would not have fit in with WWF’s style. The WWF liked 6-8 minute matches, while sometimes it the Midnight would have a match where the finish took ten minutes because of all the moving parts working together to get the result. Did WWF’s live shows have a 20 minute broadway? Or was it more of the 6-8 minute matches? A lot of those guys were so blowed up that if they had to do a 20-30 minute match the first three rows at ringside would pass out from oxygen deprivation.

I really doubt they would've did as well in the WWF. I wonder what kind of clown costumes that Vince would've made them wear and I could only imagine the goofy gimmick.

I'll tell you a match I would have loved to have seen. The Fabulous Freebirds Vs. The Rockers

Cornette is the greatest talker in a business full of great talkers...love this guy.

Wwf would have ruined the midnight. Best thing they ever done is stay where they were. Best tag team ever

The Midnight Express was a staple in the NWA specially the promos it wouldn't have been the same had they left the NWA

High praise, Corny, driving a guy out of his *own* livingroom just because you were on his TV!

The Midnight Express vs The British Bulldogs could have been great.

Why doesn't Jim understand that you need the heel doll/action figure for your face doll/action figures to fight?

yeah the midnights weren't meant for 80s wwf

For all those saying Vince woulda ruined the Midnights, Arn and Tully did pretty well in their WWF tenure. The Midnights would've had some fantastic matches there.

Time to reprint the scrapbook...

Vince would have changed everything about them...would have made one a Milk Man and the other a Door to Door Door Frame salesman.

Vince would've ruined the Midnight Express. The Bulldogs and them would've been epic. Maybe Rougeau's and Harts too. But after a year or two, they'd been jobbed out

Corny's Ernie Ladd impersonation is Hilarious!

Jim Cornette doing Ernie Ladd is funny as hell.

That show Cornette is referring to was an AWA-AJPW produced show I believe. I have the show downloaded but I'm not in front of my computer. As soon as Cornette mentioned that Bulldogs-Rock n Roll Express match, it clicked. That was when the R/R Express were doing work up in the AWA. That's when they worked with the Midnight Rockers (The Rockers) as well.

10:44-10:48 wtf Jim lol push it out.

Even when playing with wrestling figures there needs to be a Heel to beat

Jimmy hart vs jimmy cornette mega phone vs tennis racket. Midnight Express vs British Bulldogs or Beefcake & Valentine or Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkof maybe even a scaffold match in WWF.

WWF could have used the Midnights during that mid/late 1991 period after the Rockers broke up, the Harts split and Demolition was pushed out the door. WWF more or less tried to create their own Midnights in the Beverly Brothers. But Cornette, Bobby and Stan would have been a great addition to a tag team division suffering from a vacuum of big talent at the time.

It would fun to see Jim in 2020,go out and find a new talent and manage his team!🤔

jim cornette would have managed ric flair as a world champ

Here we are two years from the time this video was posted, and Jim now has one of those cars.

A lot of people are commenting that they would have wanted to see the Midnight vs The Hart Foundation. Agree totally...those matches would have been legendary.

Cornette is da man...

The Midnight Express in the WWF would've been good, but as Jim stated, Vince didn't give a proposition to them saying "we're gonna give you guys a run with the tag belts and you're gonna have all the great tag teams to go up against". All he said was "we're gonna sell merchandise and dolls" somewhere along those lines. Jim and The Midnights said "no thanks" and went back to Charlotte.

The bulldogs vs the rock and roll express was fantastic

remember what wince mchamm did to the road warriors???

With the exception of Hulk Hogan, Vince has never used his television to put over a character that he didn't create. He would have killed their team and their momentum to put over his own guys.

Jim namechecks John Steed! Sweet!

They would have been great for WWE. other than The Hart Foundation they didn't have any entertaining "worker" tag teams. Demolition could work but they were more like R.W. who knew how to wrestle. But you get my point.

It's fun to imagine what kind of programs they could have run, because WWF had a Murderer's Row of great tag teams in the mid-late 80s. The Midnights versus the Harts, the Bulldogs, the Killer Bs, the Rougeaus, Demolition, Strike Force, the Rockers--all of them would have been white-hot if booked properly. The biggest issue would have been the kind of gimmick Vince would try to saddle them with, or if he'd let them be themselves. Cornette would have been on the same level as Bobby Heenan if Vince just let him run his mouth; the Midnights could have had Honky-Tonk Man type heat, where people would buy a ticket just to see those guys get the shit beat out of them, even if they weaseled out with a win at the end.

Looking back the Harts had the most respectable tag team run of that era.The Midnights would have not fared that well in the WWF long term.

midnight vs the killer bees would have been good

Not to mention Bobby and Dennis didn't have the steriroid body type he liked!?

Loved his Ernie Ladd impression lol

I love listening to Jim, but I don't think Vince McMahon would have been excited about guys who looked like Condrey and Eaton. They were really dumpy looking. Yes, they could definitely wrestle, but this is the WWF we're talking about. They would not have given a dumpy-looking tag team a big push. Tully and Arn were probably borderline, and The Midnights were a couple steps below that, in terms of appearance.

Midnight Express vs Hart Foundation epic

How about The Midnight Express Vs. The Rockers?

If we could have had to Rockers vs. The Midnight Express... Hart Foundation... :'(

A Midnight Express v. Orient Express feud would've sold some tickets.

the Midnight vs the bulldogs I would have liked to have seen as well.

Vince wouldn't have used them right . Look what he did with the Road Warriors , had them playing with dolls . And look at Ric Flair , The Steiner Brothers , Dusty Rhodes . And Arn Anderson and Telly Blanchard . He didn't used these people right . Because they were Jim Crockett boys .

I think that would have killed the Midnightexpress. The 6th Best Team of All Time....

IJS as a kid,I have Piper and Macho Man figure..when they were heels.

I broke Wahoo's leg.

Wow....can you imagine Bobby "the brain" Heenin cutting a promo vs Jim Cornett?

Reality ✅️. The Midnight & Rock n Roll Express were too little, & didn't have the 80's WWF image. They were NWA lifers!

Lover boy Dennis body type would of never worked in wwf back then

the worry that Vince might ruin a popular and talented wrestler: Then, Now, Forever

Was Ernie Ladd the Wrestler that had bad knees? I can't remember what the guy's name was but I am almost sure it was Ernie Ladd.

In hindsight staying with Crockett/ WCW was the best thing for Midnight Express. Lol Vince seen those mullets hairstyles and was like we don't do that up here Pal.

Express vs Hart Foundation or Rockers, think they were in the AWA at that time?

See you can look at it that way but in a real way it just makes the mainstream show look better. It's kind of the equivalent of the DIY punkers putting on the punk shows at the VFW hall or the B show circuses in the 1920s. The Ringling Brothers loved those shows because anyone who had seen both could testify as to why they were worth twice the price. This is America, those types of shows are what is awesome about America

Jim cornette and Bobby The Brain Heenan were two of the best managers ever in wrestling!!!!

I am glad that the Midnight Express did not go to the WWF WWE it seems like WWE or WWF whatever ruined NWA Stars careers

Hart Foundation Midnight Express is a tragic never was match

It's funny, Cornette doesn't talk about his family life.

Nah. The Midnight's wouldn't have quite fit in the WWF circus of gimmicks, just like Tully and Arn never did.

Newhart was great in the 80s.For his size he could do dropkick alo ng with the power stuff &arm drags ect.he maynot have been the hit man but was very good along as he tagged in and out quickly

Midnight Express vs Badd Company from AWA w/ Diamond Dallas Page

The Trailer Park EXPRESS!

Vince would of ruined The Midnight Express like he ruined the Road Warriors !

Only one team better than the Hart foundation! Midnight Express!

Cornette was a great athlete in his own right. He trained extensively with Richard Simmons in the 80's.

Problem is 1986 what teams was there to go up against? US Express were not long for WWE, Bulldogs would have been a good match up and Can-Am Connection, but Harts and Demolition did not turn face until 1988, so in 1987 they would have been cannon fodder for Strike Force, and probably pick up wins v Young Stallions, and that’s if Vince does not get the urge to give them a face turn

"Long story short?" Long story already long at that point.

I agree that Jim made a good decision to not jump to the WWF at that time. The Midnights would have been midcarders at best and I'm thinking would have been turned into a gimmick team of some sort or worse yet, broken up- which would have been their doom. They also would have lost their NWA fanbase cred. Plus as we know, Vince wasn't a huge fan of southern style wrestling and shortly would eventually be focusing more on stables/factions and singles feuds... which would have put the Midnights out of a job anyway.

Long live Beautiful Bobby

Too bad Vinces " talent scout" coordinating skills involved stealing talent from every other promotion.

I thought that voice was dusty

I like Jim's impression of Cornette

Bobby and Dennis or Bobby and Stan.Who ya'll got?

Well they made the right decision.

Vince would've changed the name, gave them some stupid ass gimmick, and jobbed them left and right. Look what they did to Dusty Rhodes with the polka dots!

Midnight Express vs Midnight Rockers

My dad worked for Fulton county sheriffs department and security for center stage. Some of my first memories were Saturday morning at the tv taping sitting in a steel folding chair mesmerized by the Road Warriors and the Rock n Roll and Midnight expresses. Went to Starcade 1986 at the Omni on thanksgiving night and saw The Midnight and Road Warriors on the scaffold.

Vince is a shit booker but hands down an amazing marketer.

Vince would have dumped Bobby and Dennis and kept Cornette.

Midnight express vs the bulldogs

Let’s just say for the sake of argument cornette had the midnight express at 1980. This means the term action figure had been used often for over 15 years. To say that the term never existed is an incredible display of his ignorance outside the ring. Funny considering he helps talk about marketing often but doesn’t even know the majority of products names.

Midnight Express vs The Mulkey Brothers AND.......the Mulkey Brothers winning.

Would have loved hearing about all the gifts mama Cornette sent to the Brain so her son would get a fair shake

When he mentions Rick Rubin is that the same Rick Rubin music producer that owned and ran DEF jam records?