In a recent episode of his podcast, “What Happened When,” Tony Schiavone dived into various topics, including the genius of JJ Dillon and his fond memories of wrestling in 1997. Below are some of the significant parts of the podcast:
Talking about JJ Dillon, Schiavone said, “JJ significantly contributed to wrestling in myriad ways. For instance, the book co-authored with David Crockett had several admirable contributions from JJ.”
Reflecting on the year 1997 in wrestling, he expressed, “Definitely, it was an exciting year. I relished the experience of entertaining packed audiences and partnering with Heenan and Tenay. And I had the pleasure of working with Dusty Rhodes after that golden period. For me, the joy was in associating with these amazing teams and that’s how I derived satisfaction from my broadcasting career.”
Schiavone further stated, “Without a doubt, Kevin Sullivan played a pivotal role backstage during this time. He was an incredible colleague. Eric delegated a substantial amount of responsibility to me, especially in shaping the wrestling product. This was a high-pressure situation for me as I had to conduct the play-by-play for a major cable show. If we discuss about why WCW failed, several individuals can be held accountable for that. Still, in my opinion, the old TBS management should take most of the blame. However, I must shoulder some of the blame as well as we all were part of a team. Nevertheless, I really had a great time being involved with it.”