The Steel Cage show recap interview with James J. Dillon
Submitted by Daniel Pena on Monday, February 20, 2006 at 1:01 PM EST





Thanks to J. Lowry for the report.

Recently on the Steel Cage with Paul Szmal and Jonathan Hayes on the Wrestling Radio Network they had the honor to interview once again the leader of the Four Horsemen, James J. Dillon. J.J. was on to plug his book 'Wrestlers Are Like Seagulls, From McMahon To McMahon." Some of the questions asked of J.J. --

Why did he write the book?

J.J. said he wrote the book really as a way to document his life for his children, saying over the course of 40 years in the wrestling business he had been married twice, and the last time around had children late in his life, after he was retired from in-ring action and working in the front office. So it became a sort of living diary that he could put in his children's hands to let them know what their father had done.

One thing that J.J. said helped in writing the book was the fact that since 1970 he had always kept a little week at a glance journal that was used primarily to keep track of his expenses for his tax returns. But he said the journals ended up providing a wealth of information to he and co-authors Scott Teal & Phillip Varriale as far as to who was in whichever territory that he was at, at a given time.

Why did he leave the NWA to go to the WWF?

J.J. said he had been with Crockett Promotions for five years by 1989, and with the run of the Horsemen had reached the zenith of his career. But he added by that point it was evident that Jim Crockett Jr. did not have the business infrastructure that he needed to keep the company in business, and it was not long after Ted Turner bought Crockett Promotions that J.J. said he could already see some warning signs as to the direction of the company. At the same time he had been approached by the WWF to come in and assist Vince McMahon and Pat Patterson with the booking and so he decided to go to the WWF.

What are some of the secrets behind Vince's success?

J.J. said part of Vince's success was he put together an operation of professionals, and brought in outside people who were not necessarily wrestling fans but were knowledgable in areas such as licensing and merchandising so he could tap into those revenues. J.J. added that there were several wrestlers on the WWF roster who some years made more in royalty checks from merchandise sales than they did for their in-ring work.

Another aspect of Vince's success, according to J.J., has to do with how the WWF shows were produced. But J.J. said as Vince continues to refine the production, you end up taking away the appeal of the product which is the spontaniety of what happens at a live wrestling event when you don't catch every shot. One example he pointed out to look for is that whenever some goes for a high impact move there is always a camera switch right at the moment of impact, as if they're afraid the viewer might miss something. And he thinks that ends up taking away from the product.

What did he think of ECW?

J.J. said Paul Heyman is a brilliant mind and was definitely in the right place at the right time with what J.J. felt was a niche product. One problem he had with ECW was that it was violence for violence's sake, and while the first time someone went through a table it was exciting and new, soon one table became two, then became three and before you knew it you had to throw someone off a balcony through a stack of tables or set them on fire to get a pop out of the audience. He said you can only go so far and that's what ultimately hurt the ECW product

After leaving the WWF, he was hired by WCW but was never utilized. Why?

J.J. said despite his intricate knowledge of the inner-workings of the WWF, Eric Bischoff never tried to use that knowledge. J.J. felt a lot of it had to do with Eric's insecurities, believing that Eric felt he would be exposed as being a fluke and not knowing what he was doing. J.J. recalled a story in which Bischoff, not long after getting the reins at WCW, went to Tennessee to meet with Jerry Jarrett for a few days and asked him for all sorts of advice in running the company. After that meeting Jarrett was hired as a consultant and Eric returned to Atlanta with the attitude that he now knew everything he needed to know, so although he had him on the payroll Eric never called Jarrett again.

To order J.J. Dillon's book, 'Wrestlers Are Like Seagulls,' you can go to J.J.'s official website, www.jjdillon.com. J.J. says he will personally autograph every book ordered... his way of saying thanks to the fans.

The Steel Cage with Paul Szmal and Jonathan Hayes is live every Tuesday night from 7-8pm on the Wrestling Radio Network - www.wrestlingradionetwork.com. You can also download archives of past shows.



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