By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

New Ring of Honor TV producer Jim Cornette says he was embarrassed working for TNA with the on-air product that was masterminded by Vince Russo. Cornette says it was "depressing to watch."

Cornette's specific criticism of Russo's booking is that the wrestling product suffered at the expense of Russo's scripted comedy and drama using talent that he says couldn't fit the roles. Cornette was released from TNA last month when he wasn't "100 percent onboard" with TNA's creative direction.

"The matches are made meaningless so Russo can see his comedic lines and dramatic scripting spring to life," Cornette told Alex Marvez for his weekly syndicated column. "There's a bunch of great athletes, but they're not very good actors. They're even worse comedians."

Cornette didn't stop short of criticizing Russo's impact on the creative product. He was also critical of Russo's effect on TNA's overall business.

"We didn't have as many pay-per-view buys as we should and nobody was getting over. He's the only booker I've ever seen who gets people under," he said. "At TNA, I was basically tired of working for a big company and watch it get smaller. I wanted to go to a smaller company and help it get bigger."

Cornette says his role in ROH will be to enhance the existing product by bringing out more personalities from the top-flight athletes on the ROH roster.

"The only thing I'm going to try and do is see what else we can do in addition to what the Ring of Honor fanbase likes to see," Cornette said. "That will maybe bring in some other fans who want to see a little something different."

Link: Read the rest of Jim Cornette's interview with Alex Marvez.

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