Episode 443: Jim Reviews WWE Backlash

Jim Cornette’s Drive-Thru Episode 443 delivers a layered, emotionally resonant reflection on WWE Backlash 2026, wrestling’s creative evolution, and the legacy of visionary storytellers. Cornette opens with a personal metaphor—his renovated garage—symbolizing contentment in later life, contrasting it with his frustration over WWE’s stagnation under TKO ownership. He critiques Backlash’s disjointed structure, the ineffective ESPN2 pre-show, and the corporate-driven creative process that prioritizes profit over artistry, despite Paul Levesque’s continued influence. Among the card’s few highlights, he praises Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman and Jacob Fatu vs. Roman Reigns as career-defining performances. The episode then pivots into deep archival storytelling, revisiting TNA’s 2006 primetime struggles with unshared reports warning of poor character development, overused clichés, and wasted talent like Rhino, Abyss, and AJ Styles. Cornette laments missed opportunities and the failure to implement effective vignettes, echoing his long-held belief in storytelling as a foundational pillar of wrestling. The emotional core of the episode emerges in tributes to Barry Blaustein, the director of *Beyond the Mat*, whose authentic, kayfabe-breaking documentary Cornette defends as a necessary and powerful portrait of wrestling’s human side. Cornette shares personal memories of filming with Blaustein at ECW and Terry Funk events, revealing his own decades-long privacy as a wrestling agent—only breaking character on camera in 2010. The episode closes with affectionate remembrances of Blaustein’s broader film legacy, including his work on *Police Academy*, *The Nutty Professor*, and SNL, underscoring the serendipitous inclusion of APW tryout footage in a comedy film.