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Paul Heyman is in a league of his own when it comes to cutting promos, but even the former ECW boss himself couldn't deny the fact that New Jack was also on a different level. After all, New Jack did some of his best work in Paul Heyman's ECW.
New Jack passed away due to a heart attack at the age of 48 on May 14th, 2021, and footage of his final interview with Vinny Vegas on the PTM podcast has now been released on AdFreeShows.com.
An iconic New Jack promo clip from his days working for Paul Heyman's ECW was played during the interview. New Jack was in fine form that night!
New Jack became known as a vicious and unforgiving heel in Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling, and his character developed even further under Paul Heyman's guidance in ECW.
However, New Jack ended up cutting one of the most compelling babyface promos ever on ECW programming, which effectively rendered him a face. New Jack had returned from a brief jail stint, and he went on to deliver a profanity-laden promo that had the crowd on its feet.
New Jack's impassioned promo had it all: mentions of Eric Bischoff, WCW, WWE and an intense message about how real men play in ECW. As you might have imagined, 'New Jack' chants echoed around the arena by the time he was done with his spontaneous piece.
After the promo, Paul Heyman told New Jack that he'd essentially turned himself babyface and that Jack had no option but to 'run with it':
"Paulie came to me when that was over; he said, 'You understand what you just did right.' And I said no, 'What?' He said, 'You just turned yourself into a f***ing babyface.' You know what I mean? He said if you went out there and had sex with a ninety-year-old white woman, he said, 'the fans would cheer you. He said ain't no taking it back, he said, ain't there nothing we could do. He said, 'You are a f******* face now, so deal with it," recalled New Jack.
New Jack on how he joined Paul Heyman's ECW
New Jack's stock grew tremendously during his time in Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling and, unsurprisingly, many wrestling promotions came knocking on his door.
New Jack revealed that he got in touch with ECW founder and commissioner Tod Gordon through Al Snow in 1995. Jack would later have talks with Paul Heyman, and he was offered a good amount of money to sign with ECW within two weeks.
New Jack informed Jim Cornette about his intentions to leave. Jack's 'The Gangtas' partner Mustafa Saed had already parted ways with Smoky Mountain a week before his departure.
New Jack had to accept Paul Heyman's proposal as it was a win-win situation for all involved parties. New Jack walked out of Paul Heyman's company as a bonafide hardcore legend when all was said and done:
"Actually, Al Snow told me to get in touch with Tod Gordon. So he gave Tod my number and Tod called me. He said, 'We want to bring you'll in, but we want to bring you'll in two weeks. Well, I told Cornette that I would stay for another month, but the money that Paulie wanted to pay us, I was like, 'I'm gone. So, I told Cornette, 'I'm done; we've got to go.' And Mustafa had already left, he was like, 'I'm through with this sh**, I'm tired Cornette, you know what I mean? So, he called and left a week before I did, then I left. I made a deal with Paulie and Tod Gordon, and we went up to ECW, and the rest was history," revealed New Jack.
New Jack might be recognized as one of the most controversial names in the business. Still, he was a trailblazer whose dedication to portraying one of the most explosive characters in wrestling history was unrivaled.
Several known wrestlers and personalities, including Paul Heyman, paid their tributes to New Jack following his passing, and you can check them all out here.
If any quotes are used from this article, please credit 'Pounding the Meat' podcast's 'Drinks with New Jack: Uncensored' and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling.
