Tony Schiavone Weighs In On Jerome ‘New Jack’ Young’s Legacy

During a recent edition of his “What Happened When” podcast, AEW broadcaster Tony Schiavone discussed the legacy of Jerome “New Jack” Young.

You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:

On New Jack: “It was unique; I think New Jack in himself was unique. And every time I see New Jack and we watch an ECW event, I think that — it makes me feel like I’m cut all over. Does that make sense to you? I’ve got something like a fork right there, stuck in my forehead. There’s something very uneasy about watching New Jack perform.

“I don’t know what it is. I know ECW is full of violence, but it seems when New Jack comes around, the violence is ramped up. Does that make sense? And that’s not slighting anybody else who was a purveyor of violence back in the ECW days. But it just — all of a sudden one of the Baldies is bleeding here, and New Jack came in with a stapler and he’s got forks and just — man. And I just wonder sometimes, and I guess Todd Gordon would know, and I guess Paul E would know as well. I just wonder sometime how much ‘working’ New Jack really did. Like maybe he really dug that into your skull. It just seems that way to me.”

On having respect for what wrestlers go through: “When somebody does things like this, I always go in the backstage area if everything’s over and they’re in the locker room. And I go back and I tell them how much I appreciate them doing these crazy things, putting their bodies on the line for the sake of a great television show, to give me something to call that’s exciting. Because without them, I’m just screaming at walls.

“And I just — I really do appreciate and honor guys like New Jack and Nick Gage and anybody else who I’m probably missing out here. And The Dudleys back in the day, anybody who worked in ECW, Sabu, did that hardcore stuff. I really appreciate what they do. So that’s why I enjoy watching this stuff, because — well, I haven’t watched it before, and it’s just raw s**t, man.”