Nick Aldis doesn't want Jim Cornette's controversial comments to define the NWA.
A few weeks ago, Cornette made racially insensitive comments on NWA Powerrr during a match between Aldis and Trevor Murdoch. The comments would eventually lead the NWA to not only edit the episode and apologize for the remarks, but announce that Cornette is no longer working for the company.
Aldis, the NWA World's Heavyweight Champion, took time to address Cornette's comments in a media call. Aldis admitted that he has defended Cornette for controversial comments he made in the past, but didn't like the fact that Cornette's "faux pas" is what made people talk about the NWA and wants people to look at the company in a positive light.
“I’ll break that down into a couple of sections. As far as me personally, anything I chose to say on the matter was my own decision. That is what it is. Like I said, I was very careful about the words I choose and I stand by them. And again, you can go back, I’ve written articles I have published and I have given interviews where I strongly defended Jim when people were accusing him of making homophobic comments, saying that they weren’t homophobic. He was talking about someone’s act. You can have a difference of opinion on Jim, but you can’t hurl accusations on Jim. That’s not fair. But when you make a faux pas like that, it’s not up to me to decide what’s acceptable and what isn’t. It’s not up to me to decide who’s offended and who’s not and it certainly isn’t up to me to decide who’s allowed to be offended by something and who isn’t. Ultimately, my opinion on the subject matter was solely on thinking of the boys and thinking of the talent because if you have a show like that and Trevor Murdoch steps into the light and reminds everyone that he is a player and then you have Melina debut and all everyone is talking about is a controversial line from a controversial commentator from a controversial podcast, that’s a problem for me. And that’s all there is to me. Jim was a hugely valuable resource and we consult with Jim for advice because he’s an encyclopedia of the business. It’s unfortunate that he made a faux pas and refused to own it. It’s not the reason I want the NWA to be trending. Nobody has worked harder than me and David Lagana to make this company what it is. We don’t want things to be distracting for that because someone wants to be controversial. If that’s what [he] wants to do, have at it. Go do your podcast and we’ll move in a different direction. We just don’t need that distraction," Aldis said.
With Cornette no longer doing work for the NWA, Stu Bennett has been announced as a commentator for the promotion, at least for the upcoming "Into The Fire" pay-per-view taking place on December 14. Aldis, who is defending his title against James Storm in a 2 out of 3 falls match at "Into The Fire," said the show and the upcoming tapings for the second season of NWA Powerrr will make people forget about Cornette's comments.
“It’s about the company ticking for the right reasons. We’ve had two solid years except for that bad week-and-a-half. We had two years of constantly over delivering. I saw the comments on many publications… It was unnecessary. I guarantee you that, after this weekend and after Tuesday when the new season of NWA starts, nobody will be talking about this sh*t again," Aldis said.
The full media call be seen in the video at this link and Aldis' comments on Cornette specifically can be viewed in the video at the top of the page. A recap of the entire call can be viewed here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please give a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
