Paul Heyman Reflects On New Jack Being Part Of WWE 2K25, ECW Being More Respected These Days

New Jack made an appearance in WWE 2K25 as a playable character, and Paul Heyman recently spoke about how that reflects how ECW is more respected today. The late ECW Original was included in a DLC pack for last year’s WWE 2K Game. It marked his first video game appearance since 2000.

Heyman was asked about the matter in an interview with Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp. Heyman talked about how ECW is more acknowledged in wrestling today now that 25 years have passed.

On New Jack Appearing in the Game:,/h2>
“It’s like asking the guys in NWA what it felt like when they did the movie called Straight Out Of Compton. All of a sudden these rebels, these anti-society rebels, these renegades, these people that were looking through music to change society and have society conform to a different vision, all puns intended. ECW is now recognized for how relevant it was in the social curve of professional wrestling / sports entertainment and its contributions to the industry cannot be denied any further.”

On the Road To ECW Being More Respected:

People spent at least a decade after the death of ECW trying to deny the relevance to the point where when the One Night Stand shows were so successful, WWE practically launched a new ECW to kill the old ECW. Now, it’s more accepted. It’s more accepted for its historical significance. It’s more accepted for the cultural change that it brought to professional wrestling / sports entertainment. and, in hindsight, acknowledged, again all puns intended, and because of that you see New Jack, amongst others, in the game, and it’s an uninhibited version of New Jack, not a watered down censored version of New Jack.”