12 Most INSANE Things Wrestlers Have EVER Said On AEW TV

2. Tony Schiavone Will Not Tolerate Mariah May

Tony Schiavone
AEW

While the “avuncular legend gets back into wrestling through AEW’s awesomeness” bit has played itself out, Tony Schiavone is one of the best signings AEW has ever made. Soul, enthusiasm, wit, credibility, charm: it would be easier to list the that which Schiavone hasn’t added to AEW, and his velvet-smooth voice remains such a pleasure to listen to.

He’s excellent at remaining impartial, because he’s wise and clever enough to grasp that it means something when he gets candid about a particularly loathsome character. His early aversion to MJF was fantastic; Schiavone was nice or neutral or played devil’s advocate about everybody else, which portrayed MJF as an exceptionally monstrous young man.

Schiavone’s association with Britt Baker was TV gold. At first, Baker was relentlessly awful to Schiavone, who she enjoyed tormenting. Then, they entered into a strange friendship. This was amazing; before it turned into something quite genuine and lovely, Baker basically kept Tony around as her gopher. Schiavone eventually plucking up the courage to say “Sometimes she can be a real bitch” was a fantastic line even better for its timidity.

This careful, disciplined approach to speaking his mind was used to sensational effect when Mariah May turned heel on Toni Storm in one of the very best angles in modern wrestling history.

Brilliantly, Tony didn’t even bother waiting for May to explain her actions when she cut a promo the following week; he had seen enough, and as Mariah gloated to the crowd, Schiavone said “Speak bitch, come on now”.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!