Tony Schiavone Says JJ Dillon was Instrumental in Wrestling On Many Levels

On the latest episode of What Happened When with Tony Schiavone, the AEW broadcaster discussed JJ Dillon, the year 1997 in wrestling, and more. You can check out some highlights below:

On JJ Dillon: “JJ was a very instrumental guy in wrestling on many levels. And obviously when, you know, the book that you do with David Crockett had a lot of JJ’s handwriting in there.”

On 1997 being a fun year in wrestling: “I think it was fun, yeah. I think so. I enjoyed going to sell-out crowds, and I enjoyed working with Heenan and Tenay. And where was — let’s see, working with Dusty Rhodes, this was what, after that or before that? [After that] I enjoyed the teams I worked with, and that’s how I enjoyed my broadcast. So yeah, I really did enjoy it.

“Of course. Kevin Sullivan was instrumental backstage at this time, and Kevin was a great guy to work with. Eric put a lot of responsibility on me as far as driving the product, right? He depended on me a lot, and I took that to heart. And I put a lot of pressure on myself because of it, thinking that, ‘You know, this is a big-time cable show, and here I am doing play-by-play for it, so I’ve gotta help it continue to be a big time show.’ That’s why I think, when we talk about WCW failing, you can blame a lot of people why WCW failed. I still say it’s the old TBS regime’s fault. That is the reason that it failed more than anything else. But I have to take some of the blame as well, because I think we’re all a team in there. But I did enjoy it, I really did.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit What Happened When with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.

Tony Schiavone Says JJ Dillon was Instrumental in Wrestling On Many Levels

Tony Schiavone Says JJ Dillon was Instrumental in Wrestling On Many Levels

Tony Schiavone Says JJ Dillon was Instrumental in Wrestling On Many Levels

Tony Schiavone Says JJ Dillon was Instrumental in Wrestling On Many Levels

Tony Schiavone Says JJ Dillon was Instrumental in Wrestling On Many Levels