JUDGE JEFF JONES REVEALS WHY HE LEFT WRESTLING AFTER THE ORIGINAL ECW FOLDED, WHEN ONE MAN GANG WENT AFTER RVD FOR BUSTING HIM OPEN, WHY SHANE DOUGLAS TOLD HIM TO AWARD CHRIS CHETTI THE ECW TV TITLE, AND MORE
By WorldWrestlingInsanity.com
Thurgood Marshall. Sandra Day O’Connor. Lance Ito…they’ve got nothing on our special guest this week, as ECW Original Judge Jeff Jones joins ClubWWI.com for a rare one hour shoot interview that any extreme fan will want to hear.
You may remember him as the evil ECDub ref or the manager of Mike Awesome during his highest and lowest points, but long-time fan Jeff Jones has tons more to talk about besides his career. From the allure of the original ECW to some backstage stories you won’t want to miss, ClubWWI.com has it all right here…and here come da Judge! Among the many topics Jeff discusses with James Guttman are: The Original ECW – Ten Years Later, Managing Mike Awesome When He Jumped To WCW With The ECW Title, Heyman’s Reaction, Managing Awesome For His Historic WWF vs. WCW Match For The ECW Title, The Huge Locker Room Reaction To Taz’s Return, How Bubba Ray Went From Hating Him To Liking Him With One Sentence, When Awesome Got Fired For Changing a Match Finish, How It Affected Jeff, Punching a Fan For Throwing Beer On Him, The Punishment Angle He Had To Work Because of It, How An Injured Fan Lead To Jeff’s Final ECW Appearance, When RVD Busted Open One Man Gang, Gang
Going After Him For It, Why Mel Phillips Would Have Loved The Original ECW…Allegedly, Drinking The ECW Kool-Aid, Why Shane Douglas Told Him To Crown Chris Chetti Champion, The Stress of Planning a Match With Perry Saturn, Making Smart Marks React On Command, Bobby Heenan, Axl Rotten, R-Truth, Sabu, and More. (for a full list of topics head to – http://www.worldwrestlinginsanity.com/am2/publish/newsnotes/ClubWWI_Jeff_Jones.shtml )
Perhaps the most wondered question about the ECW Original is…what happened? After many memorable moments with ECW that included managing Mike Awesome against Taz in arguably the most unique match in wrestling history (WWF star vs. WCW star for the ECW title), Jeff disappeared from the spotlight. James Gutman asks Jones why we haven’t seen him in WWE or TNA and the Judge answers…
“It’s because I don’t have long blonde hair, fake boobs, and look good in a mini-skirt. The way of the male manager has just gone downhill. The glory days of Bobby Heenan, Freddie Blassie, Captain Lou, Jimmy Hart – just to name a few of the real icons of the business. Unfortunately, it’s gone south. They don’t want somebody to come out and talk for a monster and it’s kind of sad because you have guys like Paul Bearer and Jim Cornette who still have a ton to offer the business and should still be featured on weekly television, but they’re not.”
Jeff speaks in-depth about his appreciation for managers of the past including the first ClubWWI.com guest – Bobby Heenan, the dynamic between Gorilla Monsoon and Heenan, and more. He also goes into detail about specifics of that infamous match between Mike Awesome and Taz including the reaction to Awesome jumping to WCW with the ECW title, how Heyman made Mike plan his final match in a parking lot across the street, locker room reaction to Taz’s return, and tons more.
Jeff’s managing career wasn’t limited only to the stars most fans remember like Awesome and Sid Vicious. Jones had a cavalcade of stars under his tutelage at one time or another. Jeff shares a story with ClubWWI.com listeners about the night he managed The One Man Gang against Rob Van Dam.
“One Man Gang was wrestling Rob Van Dam and Van Dam gave him the skateboard in the corner – where the guy’s sitting there, Rob runs across the ring, jumps on the chair, and rides in like a skateboard. And he hardways (busts open) the Gang. Well the Gang rolls over, I was in the corner, he goes, “Did I get hardwayed?” I said, “Yeah.” He goes, “Here comes the receipt!” And then he and Van Dam fought all over the entire building. Gang was a little tighter than normal with him. But Rob’s like that. If he stiffs you, he expects you to get him back…Then we get back in the ring and Fonzie’s on the other side ring. He’s yelling at me, “Jeff Jones! Jeff Jones! Gang gave him a receipt! He gave him a receipt! Never stiff the Gang!” You know, and it’s stuff like that, it’s hilarious.”
Jones speaks fondly of ECW and goes into detail about his time there from the early days as a fan being introduced to Eastern Championship Wrestling by Eddie Gilbert to his time as a referee and manager. Jeff takes ClubWWI.com listeners behind the Extreme Curtain with tons of stories from the most fabled locker room in wrestling.
A unique aspect of Jeff’s time with ECW was the amount of hats he wore there at different times. Fan, manager, and referee, Jones saw it all from a number of different angles and learned the rules for each. One of the most important for a ref? Counting three. No matter what – count to three. If someone doesn’t kick out, well, that’s their issue. This came about during a match Jones was refereeing where Mike Awesome suddenly changed the finish halfway through. The bout (and its aftermath) lead to Mike’s ECW departure but Jeff had no choice but to make the three count…
“I counted one, two…and the rule of being a referee is you’re there to count three. If the guy doesn’t kick out, he doesn’t kick out. As Shane Douglas used to say, (Shane impression) “If I don’t kick out, you award Chris Chetti the TV Championship! He’ll be the champion!”
Fans of the original ECW and Judge Jeff Jones don’t want to miss this rare one hour ClubWWI.com shoot interview. You can follow Jeff on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JeffreyBJones.
Remember, Judge Jeff Jones is just one of over 200 stars available as soon as you join ClubWWI.com. Past guests include: The Boggeyman, Jesse Ventura, Sean Mooney, Sim Snuka, Lance Cade, Bobby Lashley, Vince Russo, Jerry Lawler, Hillbilly Jim, The Killer Bees, Ron Simmons, Magnum T.A., Kevin Sullivan, Mr. Fuji, The Iron Sheik, Rory and Robbie McAllister, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Tommy Rich, Tully Blanchard, Ken Patera, Bobby Heenan, Terri Runnels, Kevin Nash, Kenny Dykstra, Outback Jack, Paul Orndorff, Headbanger Mosh, Terry Funk, Trevor Murdoch, Eric Bischoff, Nikita Koloff, Nunzio, John Cena Sr., Kizarny, Armando Estrada, Dangerous Danny Davis, Ronnie Garvin, Clarence Mason, Dave Taylor Colin Delaney, Jim Mitchell, Chris Harris, Ahmed Johnson, Glacier, Balls Mahoney, Francine, Sid Vicious, Paul Bearer, Brian Knobbs, Bruno Sammartino, Bryan Clark, Sean Mooney, Scott D’Amore, Tito Santana, Al Snow, Tod Gordon, JJ Dillon, Charlie Haas, Tom Prichard, Jacques
Rougeau, Paul Roma, Jim Powers, Tammy Sytch, Too Cold Scorpio, The Honky Tonk Man, Ole Anderson, Kid Kash, Ivan Koloff, Jackie Gayda, Mr. Hughes, Scotty 2 Hotty, Dawn Marie, John Heidenreich, Jimmy Hart, Jimmy Valiant, Rick Martel, Manny Fernandez, Bad News Brown, Tony “T.L. Hopper” Anthony, Nick Bockwinkel, Dory Funk Jr, Diamond Dallas Page, Rob Conway, Sylvain Grenier, Mike Bucci, Samu, Oscar, Erik Watts, Buff Bagwell, Christian, Jazz, Demolition Ax and Smash, Koko B. Ware, Ricky Morton, Lance Russell, Bruce Hart, Dustin “Goldust” Rhodes, Damian Demento, Fred “Shockmaster” Ottman, Justin Credible, Cpl. Kirchner, One Man Gang, Scott Steiner, Shawn Stasiak, Ted DiBiase, Ivory, Chris Masters, Elix Skipper, Kamala, Samoa Joe, Giant Bernard, Bill DeMott, Juvi “Juice” Guerrera, Nora “Molly Holly” Greenwald, Nick Dinsmore, Harley Race, Bull Buchanan, D-Lo Brown, Road Warrior Animal, Missing Link, Rikishi, Slick, Nidia, George Steele, Christy Hemme, Disco
Inferno, Paul Ellering, Vito, Steve Black man, Bushwhacker Luke, AJ Styles, Chris Daniels, Dennis Stamp, Shawn Daivari, B.G. James, Ron Killings, Zach Gowan, D-Ray 3000, Dan Severn, Earl and Dave Hebner, Sivi Afi, Baron Von Raschke, Spike Dudley, Rodney Mack, Downtown Bruno, Larry Zybszko, Rick Steiner, Julie Hart, Mae Young, Sam Houston, and many, more.
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