Tony Schiavone has addressed his recent absence from AEW Dynamite, which had fueled fan speculation about a potential suspension following a social media incident involving NJPW announcer Chris Charlton.

During the January 8 episode of Dynamite, Schiavone was notably missing from the commentary desk. Excalibur was joined by Matt Menard and Ian Riccaboni instead. This absence came after a contentious week in wrestling circles, as Charlton was reportedly suspended for calling Tony Khan a “money mark” and criticizing AEW’s booking of NJPW stars like Jay White, Kazuchika Okada, and Will Ospreay.

Schiavone defend TK on social media, posting a sharp response telling Charlton to “GFY” and suggesting he shower more often.

The post was quickly deleted, but the timing of Schiavone’s disappearance led to rumors that he had been disciplined for his remarks.

Why Has Tony Schiavone Been Off AEW TV?

Schiavone addressed the situation on his What Happened When podcast, explaining that his absence was due to a family matter. Adding his trademark humor, he playfully dismissed the rumors. Schiavone shared that his wife had undergone hip surgery and was discharged from the hospital the same day as Dynamite. In his characteristic joking style, he quipped about prioritizing work over family:

“As a matter of fact, she got out of the hospital on Wednesday, so I just let her walk home from the hospital instead of picking her up, and I went to TV and got suspended. But she made it home about six hours later with her walker on 285 in Atlanta.”

Tony Schiavone explains his absense from AEW

Schiavone’s clarification ends speculation about any disciplinary action, confirming that his absence was entirely unrelated to backstage drama. The veteran announcer continues to manage his personal commitments alongside his role at AEW.

“What Happened When” is a comedy-packed retro wrestling podcast hosted by Tony Schiavone and Conrad Thompson. Catch new episodes every Wednesday at 6 a.m. ET on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, or the Cumulus Podcast Network.

When Samantha Irvin announced her exit from WWE earlier this week, fans quickly speculated on a move to AEW, where her fiancé Ricochet is currently competing. Given that part of Irvin’s decision to leave stemmed from her family life, it makes sense for her to at least consider an AEW role, but Tony Schiavone doesn’t see it happening.

On his What Happened When podcast, Schiavone gave his thoughts on Irvin possibly being All Elite and argued that the popular announcer isn’t needed in the company.

“We already got the best ring announcer in the world with Justin Roberts. And Arkady Aura is a great ring announcer, who’s a great person and is doing a great job. [Samantha Irvin] ain’t coming here. I wouldn’t think. And of course, I’ve been wrong so many times, but why would we?”

Later on, though, Schiavone did acknowledge that wrestling is unpredictable and seemingly didn’t count out Irvin making a surprise debut for the promotion.

“I could show up tonight in Salt Lake City and there she could be.”

For what it’s worth, Ricochet has said that his fiancée doesn’t intend to join, and it’s been reported that Samantha wants to explore her opportunities outside of pro wrestling. While AEW could make a move to sign Irvin, it appears that an All-Elite arrival isn’t on the cards, though we know to never say never in the world of pro wrestling. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest on Samantha Irvin, and her moves both in and outside of wrestling.

AEW has reached a new deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, one that’ll keep Dynamite and Collision on TBS and TNT respectively for years to come. The deal is estimated to be worth between $150 to $185 million a year and will feature plenty from the voice of AEW: Tony Schiavone.

Speaking at the post-show AEW WrestleDream media scrum, Schiavone shared his excitement over the new deal, adding that he will remain on the broadcast for at least four to five more years.

“We’re very very excited about our renewal with Warner Brothers Discovery and Fox Sports Mexico. We’re very very excited about that. I’m personally excited that my long-time career is going to continue for at least another four to five years or so. I’m honored to be here.”

AEW is estimated to earn $95 million in additional revenue from the deal, the Wrestling Observer reports, which would leave AEW within a profit window of between $61 million to $76 million in 2025. It’s added that this window could be slightly lower if attendance, merchandise sales, or pay-per-view sales decline in the coming years.

As always, it’s worth remembering that these are estimated figures, and since AEW is not a publicly traded company, they are under no obligation to disclose their real numbers. Nevertheless, the future of All Elite Wrestling looks very bright with the company’s new deal, and Tony Schiavone is thrilled to be a part of that future.

AEW veteran commentator Tony Schiavone has made it clear that he still feels excited when the former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho gets inside the ring.

Jericho and Schiavone both have been in the pro wrestling business for decades. They were once a part of WCW back in the 90s. They then reunited in AEW following its inception in 2019. Over the years, ‘The Learning Tree’ has been criticized for being out of shape but Tony said that he enjoys watching Jericho perform in the ring.

Speaking on his podcast What Happened When, Tony responded to the critics. He spoke highly of the 53-year-old wrestler for his efforts in his performances and explained that being out of shape is understandable given his age. Tony Schiavone explained:

“I’m always pumped when Chris Jericho is in the event or is wrestling for us or is doing an angle because he’s so cool and I know he gets a lot of heat because a lot of fans say ‘Well, he’s not [in] the shape he used to be.’ Of course, he’s not. None of us are at that age, but I really enjoy everything he does and all the effort he puts into it.”

Chris Jericho recently locked horns with The Conglomeration’s Orange Cassidy on this week’s AEW Dynamite. The duo has reignited their feud and it doesn’t seem to end anytime soon. In the final moments of the match, Cassidy hit an Orange Punch on Jericho with a stack of quarters to get the pinfall. The former AEW World Champion was furious with the outcome and sent out a stern message to Cassidy.

• Chris Jericho Seeking Revenge On The Conglomeration

Bryan Danielson’s full-time wrestling career is slowly ending this year. He shared in 2023 that he plans to take a step back from wrestling more to spend time with his family. While he is still expected to continue his wrestling career, it’s unclear if he’ll make sporadically appear for AEW moving forward. 

Ahead of his upcoming match at AEW Double or Nothing on May 25, legendary commentator Tony Schiavone praised Danielson’s run with the company. On his podcast What Happened When, Schiavone spoke highly of Danielson and explained why he is one of AEW President Tony Khan’s best hires in the company’s history. 

“…Bryan Danielson was one of Tony Khan’s best hires as far as a talent is concerned for a number of reasons. Number one because of his performance and number two because he just has great ideas and he is a great leader and he also knows talent, said Schiavone.

He continued, “…He can pick out out talent. He can pick out guys that he thinks, ‘Hey, we need to use them a lot more, and so he is so valuable to this company for everything.”

What’s Next For Bryan Danielson?

‘The American Dragon’ will team with Darby Allin and FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) to take on The Elite (Jack Perry, Kazuchika Okada, Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson) in an Anarchy In The Arena match. Danielson hopes to gain a victory for the ‘Babyface’ group as they try to humble The Elite. 

Although Danielson’s focus is on AEW Double Or Nothing, fans are monitoring the countdown to the end of his current run with the company. He has shared that his contract with AEW will expire before All In on August 25.

Danielson hopes to compete at the Wembley Stadium event and AEW WrestleDream on October 12. It’s possible Danielson can reach a new deal or an extension before shifting to being a part-time performer.  Regardless of what will come in August, all eyes will be on Danielson this weekend as he prepares to bring chaos against The Elite.

• Bryan Danielson: ‘I’m Fighting The Elite Because I Love AEW’

Tony Schiavone and Taz have decades of experience in the wrestling business. Their chemistry is evident when they commentate for AEW, but a recent video offers a candid glimpse into their real-life relationship.

In the video recorded at Dynamite, Schiavone playfully mocks Taz by imitating the way he used to wear a towel back in his ECW days. The original FTW Champion was known for taking to the ring with a black towel over his head, and Schiavone couldn’t resist himself.

Tony Schiavone mimicking Taz with his ECW towel on the commentary booth during last week's Dynamite. ?

This man is literally having so much fun at this place. pic.twitter.com/Eejhoe8Wt7

— Drainmaker ?? ? (@DrainBamager) May 22, 2024

This lighthearted moment also showed off the genuine camaraderie between the two, a dynamic that fans wouldn’t have imagined prior to AEW. When Taz caught a glimpse of his commentary partner, he had to chuckle.

Taz is a two-time ECW World champion. He competed for the promotion from 1993-1999. His son Hook currently wrestles for AEW.

Learn more about Taz’s wrestling career:

Tony Schiavone was not upset that the backstage fight at AEW All In: London 2023 was aired, despite what some insist to be the case. 

The infamous footage was broadcast during the April 10, edition of AEW Dynamite, seemingly in response to CM Punk’s comments about the incident during Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour podcast. After the footage was shown by the Young Bucks, Schiavone looked dejected at the commentary table with fans believing this reaction was genuine. 

On his What Happened When podcast, Schiavone acknowledged his reaction but made clear that he wasn’t genuinely mad at the decision to air the footage. 

“My facial reaction is trying to put more heat on the Bucks being assholes… I was not upset at the promotion, I was not upset at Tony Khan. I was not p***ed off with what we had shown. I was trying to be fully in the moment of the angle.”

In kayfabe, the footage was aired by the Young Bucks to justify their loss at AEW All In: London. The pair’s reasoning was that because of the backstage issues, they were unable to sufficiently prepare for their match with FTR at the event. 

Though Schiavone does not have an issue with the footage airing, many have said it backfired on AEW and did more damage to the company’s reputation than it did to Punk. Some have even gone as far as to deem it a cheap ratings ploy akin to the dying days of WCW, a claim that Schiavone also rejects. 

“Social media is about idiots coming together and making up their own ideas… There’s absolutely no way you can compare us to WCW… I was there at both, you were not”

Ultimately, the decision was made to air the footage and AEW can’t un-open that can of worms. After giving up a portion of their show to showcasing of WWE’s most popular Superstars though, it remains to be seen how this development plays into FTR Vs. The Young Bucks for the vacant AEW World Tag Team Championships at AEW Dynasty. 

AEW fans were surprised to see Ian Riccaboni on Collision this week. It was a nice change of pace, but there was a deeper reason for this behind the scenes.

Tony Schiavone, who is usually on the AEW Collision commentary table every week, had a big loss in his personal list. His dog passed away, so AEW arranged for Riccaboni to be there as a fill-in for the veteran play-by-play specialist.

Why Riccaboni was on AEW Collision

Ian Riccaboni was on AEW Collision this week, but it doesn’t appear that is a long-time change for the show. Tony Schiavone dealt with a big personal loss as his dog died, so that called for a change of plans for AEW.

During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained what happened. It turns out that Tony Schiavone was at Collision anyway, but Riccaboni was brought in just in case.

“So, Ian Riccaboni was there. It’s not a permanent move for him to be there. What happened was, Tony Schiavone’s dog died, and best wishes to Tony Schiavone, really, really hard day for him, but he came, he was there. They didn’t know, but he was there. Tony could have certainly taken the day off and, you know, there would have been no heat. Because of that, they brought Ian up there.”

Meltzer went on to say that, “if Tony didn’t want to work, then Ian would be there, and lead the show.”

https://twitter.com/AEW_Blog/status/1774251113677570510

Kevin Kelly’s AEW Release

Kevin Kelly was released from AEW, but Ian Riccaboni will not be his full-time replacement. He only worked Collision this week because of Tony Schiavone, who is dealing with a terrible personal loss.

Kelly Kelly’s posts on social media several weeks ago cost him his job with AEW. In those posts, he also shaded Ian Riccaboni as he claimed his career was being sabotaged.

Our thoughts are with Tony Schiavone as he deals with the terrible person loss of losing a pet. They call dogs man’s best friend for a reason, and we hope that he can find peace through this difficult time.

Arn Anderson is already a legend in pro wrestling, but that legacy will get further cemented later this summer.

It was revealed this week that Anderson will be the 2024 recepient of Frank Gotch Award and becoming a new inductee of the National Wrestling Hall Of Fame. The venue’s official website describes the Frank Gotch Award as follows:

The Frank Gotch Award is given to a professional wrestler who brings positive recognition to professional wrestling through work outside the ring. It is named in honor of professional wrestler Frank Gotch, a Humboldt, Iowa native who became one of the best-known athletes in the world during the early 1900s.

The Enforcer joins quite the list of names to receive the Frank Gotch Award including Mick Foley, Stan Hansen, Ted DiBiase, Bruiser Brody, Lex Luger and Jesse Ventura. Anderson first received word of his induction on the upcoming episode of The Arn Show and it was courtesy of fellow National Wrestling Hall Of Famer, Gerald Brisco.

Anderson will be joining fellow AdFreeShows.com family member, Tony Schiavone as a 2024 inductee. Schiavone will be receiving the esteemed Gordon Solie Award, following in the footsteps of his “What Happened When” co-host, Conrad Thompson.

Obviously Arn is no stranger to being a hall of famer. Back in 2012, Anderson, along with his fellow Four Horsemen Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham and JJ Dillion were inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame.

After an in-ring career, Anderson further established his legacy in wrestling as an agent with WWE and then later found a great resurgance as an on-air talent with AEW.

AEW broadcaster Tony Schiavone wants to see AEW do more to utilize Renee Paquette.

Schiavone spoke about his new colleague on the latest episode of his What Happened When podcast. During an ‘Ask Tony Anything’ round of Q&A, Schiavone spoke very highly of Paquette. He’s thrilled to have her on board as part of the team. She is a polished performer, the consummate professional and is so good that she makes other peoples’ jobs easier.

Paquette debuted on the first-ever AEW Dynamite in Canada, over two years after departing WWE where she worked as Renee Young.

Paquette recently joined All Elite Wrestling nearly two years after leaving WWE. During that time, she became a mother, released a cook book and worked on several other projects outside of wrestling.

She performed several functions during her extended run with WWE. She conducted backstage interviews, hosted television and digital shows and was was the first full-time female announcer on Monday Night Raw for a short period of time.

On a recent episode of her own podcast, The Sessions, Paquette said she’s not really interested in calling matches in AEW, but did not rule that out entirely.

Capable broadcasters can make a huge difference on the overall product of a wrestling show. Paquette has only been with AEW for a few weeks, but Schiavone is already convinced she’s been an important addition to the team.

“She looks so great on camera,” he continued. “She’s so cool, one of our best hires in a long long time, she really is.”

AEW has another Schiavone working behind the scenes as Tony Schiavone’s son, Matt, is now in the promotion. 

Tony is one of the most accomplished wrestling announcers of all time, and after years away from the wrestling business, he joined AEW to return to calling the action. Schiavone has various responsibilities behind the scenes in AEW

Matt Schiavone’s AEW Role

On the latest episode of AEW Unrestricted, Tony announced that his son Matt is also working behind the scenes in AEW. It started at last week’s AEW Rampage in Jacksonville, Florida.

“I’ve really kind of wrestled with even mentioning this, but I’m going to, we have just hired a brand new producer to help us backstage. It’s a producer who’s had 15 years of network TV experience, and really knows what he’s doing. I really wrestled with even wanting him to come to work for us, and it’s my son, Matt. He will start as a producer in Jacksonville, and as this thing airs, it’s already happened. He had such a good job, but he just like us, just absolutely loves pro wrestling and wanted to do it. I went, ‘Matt, are you sure? Because it’s freaking crazy back there!'”

Tony noted that AEW President Tony Khan told him that his son will be working under Sonjay Dutt.

Matt previously worked for Fox News as his LinkedIn notes that he was a producer for America’s Newsroom w/ Bill Hemmer & Dana Perino.

H/T to Fightful for the transcript

Over the last week multiple reports have surfaced stating that there have been a number of backstage issues going on in AEW, specifically citing the CM Punk promo on Adam Page as Punk “going into business for himself” for being upset at something Page said during their Double or Nothing match build.

Aside from that there were rumors that things were incredibly hectic backstage and several talents were unhappy. However, one top AEW name refutes those rumors.

Tony Schiavone, who recently got promoted to a Senior Producer and Special Advisor to Talent, appeared on the What Happened When podcast with Conrad Thompson to discuss the matter and to confirm that most of the reports have been completely overblown.

“There are some challenges, as you know, and of course the internet is going crazy about this or that. I’m not going to get into it because… I’m going to say this right now, things are not as bad as bullshit people on the internet would say. Not even close to it.”

Schiavone Enjoying His New Role with AEW

Schiavone adds that certain plans are in motion that are going to make thinks in AEW better than ever.

“We’ve got some things in place now that I think are going to make us better than ever.”

The backstage turmoil wasn’t the only thing Schiavone touched on. He also spoke about his his new position and how much he’s been enjoying the new responsibilities.

“[I] enjoy my job, enjoy my new responsibilities with the company. They are challenging, but those are challenges that I readily accepted when I took the job. I’m seeing a whole new part of wrestling and wrestlers that I didn’t see before.”

This interview with Schiavone came out ahead of this evening’s AEW Dynamite, which will featured the highly anticipated undisputed world title matchup between CM Punk and Jon Moxley.

(Quotes via Fightful)

Veteran wrestling commentator Tony Schiavone has received a big promotion in AEW. In addition to his broadcast duties, he is now working in a talent relations role as well.

The AEW commentator opened up about this on the most recent episode of AEW Unrestricted. He revealed Tony Khan has promoted a number of people recently:

“I’m very honored to have been promoted by Tony Khan. It’s a crew of us that have been promoted. It’s QT Marshall, Sonjay Dutt, Pat Buck, and myself. [We all] have been promoted within the confines of what’s going on.”

Tony Schiavone’s New Job Title

Tony Schiavone also confirmed his new job title and explained his role behind the scenes. Schiavone noted that when he is not helping Khan with something, he makes sure that all the talents are happy:

“My job is now Senior Producer, Special Advisor & Talent Relations. I love that special advisor role. I do a lot of running during the day, trying to talk to talent. Then what I’ll do is when I don’t have a specific thing to do, like run go get this person because Tony wants to talk to them and we need to hammer out some things and bring him back into Tony’s office.

Basically, what I do [is I] walk around during the day and ask people how they’re doing and ask them if they’re happy. If there’s anything we can do to make it better. That’s very very important, I think we are really making good strides. I really do.”

More Originals From SEScoops:

• Hangman Page Reveals the Most Difficult Matches of His Career
• Becky Lynch Reveals How Much Creative Freedom She Has On The Mic
• ‘I Am Done’: Goldberg Is Not Apologizing To Bret Hart Anymore
• Miro Details His Struggles In America Before Wrestling Success
• John Cena Reveals The Advice He Got From The Rock

If you use any quotes from the article, please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

Tony Schiavone is sharing his reaction to Cody Rhodes leaving AEW.

Schiavone’s relationship with the Rhodes family goes back to the 1980’s. He’s very close to their family and considers Cody and Brandi to be dear friends.

On the latest episode of his What Happened When podcast with Conrad Thompson, Schiavone opened up about the Cody Rhodes situation.

Aside from Cody being a driving force behind AEW’s formation, Cody is also the man responsible for introducing Schiavone to AEW President Tony Khan.

“Cody Rhodes, to me, was one of the faces of AEW,” said Schiavone. “Cody was the one who got me in touch with Tony Khan, and that’s why I signed,” he said.

“Of course, I’m very close to the family. We took many bus rides together to Jacksonville. I consider him and Brandi friends. I think we’re a better organization today because of them.”

Tony Schiavone wishes Cody and Brandi Rhodes the best and is grateful for everything they’ve done for him and for AEW.

Schiavone has seen it all since he started with Jim Crocket Promotions in 1983. That said, Cody Rhodes was an integral part of AEW and his departure is nothing short of shocking.

“But, after you get over the shock of it, you kind of think, ‘You know what? It’s wrestling. It happens. This is the first one that’s left our company, but it’s one of our biggest names that left the company, so that’s why it’s the biggest shock.”

• Cody Rhodes Could Have Been AEW’s Greatest Heel. What Happened?

Listen to Tony Schiavone discuss Cody Rhodes’ AEW departure on the latest episode of What Happened When:

H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription

AEW has extended Tony Schiavone’s contract. The promotion picked up an option to extend the deal by 2-years after it was originally set to expire this year. He is now under contract with the promotion until mid-2024. Schiavone originally signed with the company in August of 2019. He revealed the news on a recent episode of his “What Happened When” podcast.

In addition to providing commentary on AEW broadcasts, Schiavone also co-hosts the AEW Unrestricted podcast with Aubrey Edwards. Schiavone also frequently hosts “Road to” and “Control Center” videos on AEW’s YouTube channel.

Someone else who is likely happy that Schiavone is committed to AEW for the next 3.5 years is AEW Women’s World Champion, Britt Baker. Baker recently appear on the “In The Kliq” podcast and spoke about how important Schiavone has been to her success.

“I will never be able to thank him for how much he’s helped me in all aspects of my life. He’s one of my best friends,” Baker said of Schiavone. 

“Anytime there’s anything going on, good, bad, you know, he’s one of the first I call, first I talk to when I’m excited or to vent about [something] but just how he helped me, especially early on with those promos.”

Tony Schiavone started his wrestling broadcasting career in 1983. Once WCW was purchased by WWE in 2001, however, he found himself on the outside of the business. He spent several years working as a sports anchor on the radio covering the Georgia Bulldogs and the Atlanta Braves minor league system.

In 2015, Schiavone began working at Starbucks to supplement his income from sports broadcasting, something Britt Baker has mentioned on AEW programming. He’d return to wrestling broadcasting in 2017 with MLW and then in 2019 with AEW.

During a recent interview with SI.com, Schiavone says his time with AEW has been the best of his career. He also noted how pleased he is with how fans have responded to his return.

“It’s been the best two and a half years of my career,” Schiavone said. “It’s worth your weight in gold to work for good people, and it’s a pleasure to work here. And I can’t stress this enough—the acceptance of the fans for my return has been mind-blowing. So for me, it’s really easy doing what I do because I love it so much.”

“It almost makes me numb how much people care about me,” Schiavone continued. “I never thought I’d be back in wrestling. It’s like I was reintroduced to an old love. Wrestling fans welcomed me home, and I’m forever grateful.”

Butts In Seats

A kickstarter for a biographical graphic novel on Tony Schiavone’s career raised over $135,000. The book, titled “Butts in Seats”, is currently available for pre-order. Schiavone spoke about what fans can expect from it.

“This is my story of loving wrestling as a fan, getting involved with the Crocketts, working with Ted Turner, spending a year with WWE, then being out of the business for 18 years before coming back.”

Tony Schiavone recently commented on AEW fans booing Cody Rhodes as of late during an episode of Ask Tony Live! on AdFreeShows.com. Schiavone noted that there are plenty of fans still cheering for Cody.

“Cody has a reality show and he gets his own special entrance. I understand he’s getting booed, but he gets cheered a lot too. I’m in the arena so I can hear it and see it much more than you guys can. I think he got cheered as much as he got booed in Orlando, it’s just the people who boo are much louder and more obnoxious,” Schiavone said.

“I even saw pictures afterwards of guys who were taking selfies with him saying, ‘Hey, I booed him, but he’s a great guy’, which he is. When Justin Roberts started calling him ‘The Prince of Wrestling’, that kind of stuck in people’s craw as well,” Schiavone continued.

Schiavone continued to say that Cody being an EVP in the company plays a role in how fans are responding to him. There may be a perception that he receives preferential treatment because of his role in the AEW office.

“Obviously, he’s an EVP so everybody thinks that he gets preferential treatment, and that’s not true. I mean, he lost the first two matches to Malakai Black, so he hasn’t won all of his matches. He lost to Brodie (Lee). It’s not that he wins every match he’s in. Some people just don’t like him. I happen to like him because I like his family.”

Cody Rhodes and Malakai Black React To Match On Dynamite

Rhodes cut a promo this week on Dynamite making it clear he would never turn heel. He stated that would be the easy thing for him to do. Rhodes also stated that he would not go back on the stipulation that says he can never challenge for the AEW World Championship again.

Following his loss to Cody Rhodes in their 3rd match, Malakai Black took to social media to offer comment. He stated that their rivalry was not about wins and losses and that he’s made it so that the world hates Cody. Black made his comments in an Instagram post not long after the loss.

Transcriptions via EWrestlingNews

Adam Cole has responded to his girlfriend, Britt Baker, hugging Tony Schiavone on AEW Rampage.

Throughout Baker’s heel run, her friendship with Schiavone has played out on television. It’s an interesting dynamic as Schiavone is a face commentator. It’s also led to some funny segments but Cole isn’t exactly laughing.

Cole took to his Twitter account to give his reaction to Baker hugging Schiavone and he was at a loss for words.

Britt followed up by asking Cole what the problem is.

“I don’t get it?”

Cole once again didn’t have any words in his response.

Cole confronted Schiavone on the Sept. 8 edition of Dynamite. He made it clear that he feels Schiavone has been getting too cozy with Britt.

“I know that you’re close with Britt Baker and I swear to God if you even look at her the wrong way, I will slap those stupid glasses off your face and whoop your ass. Do you understand me? Now, get out of our ring now, you nerd.”

Schiavone recently explained why he stood in the ring for as long as he did during the segment with Cole. During a recent edition of his What Happened When podcast, Schiavone said he had to remind Cole to deliver the “nerd” line.

AEW commentator Tony Schiavone believes CM Punk elevated Darby Allin.

Punk returned to the wrestling industry on the Aug. 20 edition of AEW Rampage. After addressing the fans who had been missing him for seven years, he turned his attention to Darby. This led to a match at the All Out PPV. Punk ended up winning the match after hitting the GTS.

Schiavone, who called the match between Punk and Darby, appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast. During his appearance, he explained why he feels Darby benefited from sharing the ring with CM Punk.

“I know there’s a lot of trolls on here, as they are on social media. They’re gonna say, ‘CM Punk put Darby over? No he didn’t. CM Punk beat Darby.’ It’s not about wins and losses you freaking dumb asses. It’s about making stars, and CM Punk made Darby an even bigger star, elevated Darby’s career that night. What she’s talking about, and I wholeheartedly agree that, these veterans and known stars coming in working with our younger talent is making everybody better. It’s not wins or losses anymore.”

Punk has moved on to feud with members of Team Taz. He’s due to face Powerhouse Hobbs on the Sept. 24 edition of Rampage. As for Darby, he’s got some issues with Tully Blanchard and members of The Pinnacle. Darby and Sting will meet FTR in a tag team match at the AEW Grand Slam Dynamite on Sept. 22.

Tony Schiavone confirmed on the latest Dynamite post show that former WWE star Erick Rowan is not part of the AEW roster just yet.

The AEW commentator was asked if fans can expect to see the former Wyatt Family member in action again.

Replying to it, Schiavone said that his appearance was only for the tribute show though he did not rule out the possibility of Rowan returning to the company in future:

“I believe Erick’s appearance only came on that tribute show to his former tag team partner. Then again, I say that but who knows? He might show up tomorrow,”

Erick Rowan made a surprise appearance during the Brodie Lee Celebration Of Life episode of Dynamite to pay tribute to his former tag team partner.

The former WWE star was released from his contract in April earlier last year as part of the company’s coronavirus budget cuts alongside several other stars.

• Erick Redbeard Reveals New Tattoo Honoring Brodie Lee

Many of the released stars such as Miro and The Good Brothers have since signed new contracts with different promotions but Erick Rowan remains a free agent.

Now it would be interesting to see if the indie star makes any more appearances for AEW in future and which company he eventually joins as a full time star.

Tony Schiavone has enjoyed a career resurgence since he joined All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The legendary broadcaster was away from pro wrestling for nearly two decades following the demise of WCW in 2001. Longtime fans have called him “the voice of their childhood.” He now reaches a new generation of wrestling fans every week on AEW Dynamite.

Schiavone co-hosts the ‘What Happened When’ podcast with Conrad Thompson and the AEW Unrestricted podcast with referee Aubrey Edwards. On this week’s Unrestricted, Schiavone was in the ‘hot seat.’ He spoke about what he knew about Sting joining AEW, Kenny Omega hijacking the AEW Championship, working through the pandemic and much more.

The most interesting part of the discussion focused on Tony Schiavone’s path to AEW. Prior to joining the company, he negotiated with not just Tony Khan but also WWE. Believe it or not, Khan encouraged him to sign with WWE if they offered him enough money.

Tony Schiavone’s Road to AEW

Schiavone says Bruce Prichard reached out to him in 2019 and informed him that Vince McMahon wanted to hire him at WWE. Schivaone was interested and asked what the position would be. Prichard said it would probably be a producer role and they’d be in touch. He told Conrad Thompson that he was in talks with WWE and got a text message from Cody Rhodes “two minutes later.”

Cody told him, “I don’t want you to work for WWE” and set up a call between Schiavone and AEW President Tony Khan.

“Tony called me, we talked for over an hour and said he was going to have me come to Jacksonville,” said Schiavone. “During this time, WWE kept talking to me and I never told WWE that Tony Khan had an interest, I was just listening. They called and said, ‘We don’t have our ducks in a row yet, we’ll be back in touch.'”

Schiavone continued speaking with Bruce Prichard, who told him that Vince McMahon wants him to end his career with WWE. He received a call from someone in WWE’s HR department, who asked how much money he was interested in. He threw out a big number and was told they would be in touch.

“Meanwhile, I met with Tony Khan. It was an all-day meeting at the stadium and I knew immediately that I wanted to work there. My wife also told me, ‘If you take a job at WWE, I’ll divorce your ass.’ I didn’t play two sides against the middle, I was just waiting to hear.”

Khan made Schiavone a “phenomenal” offer, but he still owed WWE courtesy of making an offer as well. Khan told Schiavone, “If they offer you $1 million, take it!” He replied, “Don’t worry, I will.”

Schiavone’s wife Lois urged him not to work for WWE, no matter what they offered him. WWE said they would be in touch with him after SummerSlam. He received a phone call from WWE the day after SummerSlam 2019. They informed him, “Thank you for your interest Mr. Schiavone, we have nothing for you.” He replied, “You guys contacted me!” He called Tony Khan that day and said, “I’m in.”

You can listen to this week’s AEW Unrestricted at iTunes and other podcast platforms.

AEW President Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone returned to Impact on AXS TV this week with another sponsored ad spot. Khan said they are continuing the holiday spirit of helping the less fortunate by funding Impact with the paid ad.

Schiavone ran down the card for Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite. It will be the first night of a 2-week special, New Year’s Smash.

Tony Khan then denied Don Callis’ claim that he was partially responsible for the formation of AEW. Khan said that he was the man responsible for AEW’s funding, resources, television relationships, booking, hiring talent and more.

Khan told Callis, “You do nothing for the wrestling business. You’re a parasite on this business.” The Tony’s will be back on Impact next week with another ad, and he’ll pay for the air time with a $100 bill his grandmother sent him for Christmas. Tony Schiavone’s reaction to this line was priceless.

Watch Tony Khan & Tony Schiavone’s latest paid advertisement from this week’s Impact Wrestling in the player embedded below:

Bullet Club for Life

Kenny Omega, Don Callis and The Good Brothers also appeared on Impact on AXS TV. They hyped their upcoming match at Hard to Kill on January 16th.

Omega, Gallows and Anderson addressed their opponents, Impact World Champion Rich Swan and the Motor City Machine Guns. Omega said those guys are teammates for now, but they’re not family like Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers.

The gang said they are Bullet Club for life. Watch the promo below:

AEW commentator Tony Schiavone talked about the untimely death of Brodie Lee on the latest episode of What Happened When podcast and opened up about the events before his passing.

Reports have revealed that the original plans were to keep the former TNT champion off TV for only a few weeks after his Dog Collar match with Cody Rhodes on the October 7 episode of Dynamite.

Talking about how the sudden decline in Lee’s health forced them to change plans, Schiavone revealed that Brodie was hospitalised the day after they interviewed him on the AEW Unrestricted podcast:

“Unfortunately, the AEW Uncensored podcast that we do, the one we did with Brodie, we did it the day before he got sick.

Then we heard he had been airlifted to the Mayo Clinic and Amanda, his wife, came and met with the entire group and told us how bad a shape he was in and please don’t say anything to anybody.”

Discussing how everyone at AEW kept his condition secret, Tony Schiavone said that everyone at the company did a good job and he then revealed how they all found out about Brodie Lee’s passing:

“I think everybody did a great job keeping it close to the vest as the old cliche goes. We all knew it didn’t look good but we were all hoping he would kick out.

The day that he passed away, we received an email that we were going to have a company wide zoom call in 30 minutes and I knew that if we were going to have a zoom call that quickly, something was bad.”

Tony Schiavone also opened up about the segment they filmed with Brodie Lee’s son at last week’s Dynamite tapings where he beat Kenny Omega for the AEW world title.

The AEW star revealed that the company actually signed Brodie Lee Jr. to a contract and said that he will join the company when he gets old enough.

• Brodie Lee’s Wife Shares Final Text Conversation With AEW Star Before His Passing

AEW President Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone of the What Happened When podcast returned to Impact Wrestling with another paid advertisement this week.

Both Tony’s took shots at Impact and ‘public access’ channel AXS TV. Khan is glad to purchase time during Impact and addressed the Kenny Omega and Don Callis situation. He welcomed both men to Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite on TNT.

Impact Wrestling executives Scott D’Amore and Don Callis reacted to the ad spot. D’Amore and Khan exchanged trash talk. ‘The Invisible Hand’ thanked Khan for generating revenue for Impact.