By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

TNA on-air authority figure Jim Cornette says he does not have input in the booking process in TNA, so he's managed to co-exist with TNA writer Vince Russo by agreeing to disagree on their differing philosophies.

In past interviews, TNA executives, specifically Jeff Jarrett, have said that TNA is about trying new things and "not being boring." Cornette is a firm believer in certain formulas that worked in the past to create interest in a pro wrestling product.

"We have totally different styles and, no, I have no input in booking. Because we do have totally different styles, it would be counterproductive to the company," Cornette told Kevin Eck of the Baltimore Sun on why he doesn't input in TNA booking. "I will say nothing good or bad or anything else about Vince Russo or his booking because we have agreed to disagree."

Cornette says he gives input to younger TNA wrestlers on their matches and promos to the point where "they have to be sick of me." He would rather have a backstage role than being on-camera where he can help younger talent grow.

Cornette says TNA needs to capitalize on all the young talent they have because he fears for the future of the business after the top stars in WWE and TNA retire. Cornette ripped WWE for blowing a chance to develop young talent when they focused solely on FCW to develop future stars.

"They've decimated their developmental system in WWE and there are fewer places for guys to get into wrestling and have full-time work, so therefore there's fewer wrestlers than ever before, and there’s fewer experienced wrestlers than ever before," Cornette said. "And if you notice, the main event stars are getting older."

Cornette's opinion could be biased after bad dealings with WWE when he was part of the Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental territory. However, he says they were a proven talent-producer with Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Shelton Benjamin, etc.

"(WWE VP of talent relations) John Laurinaitis has decimated their program. They get nothing out of Florida, and there’s no steady supply of wrestlers being trained to take the place of the people who quit due to injuries, age, or who haven’t made their money and decide they want to get out of this nutty business," Cornette said. "Without talent, I don’t care how funny the writers are or how many comedy lines they come up, without wrestlers you can’t have a wrestling program."

Cornette says WWE has yet to address the developmental "problem," as he calls it. WWE recently called up several developmental wrestlers to the ECW brand, but they will need time to develop into viable stars like Jack Swagger.

Cornette said TNA also needs to step up its developmental game and start a training facility that can bring in new talent. Otherwise, he says there isn't a pool of talent to draw from.

"I would love to see TNA get a developmental program," Cornette said. "And, really, TNA has made some big steps with Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles, Beer Money, Matt Morgan, a lot of these younger guys that are now getting the opportunity to shine on national television. But you need more."

Link: Jim Cornette interview with Kevin Eck including insight on the Midnight Express book.

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