10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (August 30)

5. Tony Schiavone Told AEW Not To "Shoe Horn" Him In

Recent announcements that Tony Schiavone has signed on the dotted line with AEW will be greeted with applause by old-school wrestling fans. The former WCW play-by-play man was the voice of that company for around a decade, and his traditional sports presentation will fit with AEW's long-term direction.

Becoming a commentator in All Elite wasn't Tony 'Skeevone's' plan though.

He told Wrestling Epicenter that he sat down with AEW chief Tony Khan and asked not to be 'shoe horned' into a role behind the broadcast booth. Schiavone didn't much fancy backlash for "stealing someone's spot", and he had another passion he wanted to pursue anyway; back in the late-80s, Tony had worked as a producer for the WWF, and very much enjoyed putting together 'Best Of' videos and other packages for VHS.

When he met with Khan, Schiavone was careful not to demand anything. Instead, he said he'd like to begin producing and help out where he could. Talks must've progressed the to the point that Khan believed his forename-sake was ideal for comms.