Tony Schiavone doesn't envision himself retiring.
Tony Schiavone is one of the most legendary broadcasters in the wrestling world today. He worked for Jim Crockett Promotions in the 1980s before he had a brief run in WWF. Schiavone then became the voice of WCW Monday Nitro until WCW folded in 2001. He eventually took several years away from wrestling and returned to work for MLW in 2017.
Schiavone then signed with AEW in 2019, and he has been with the company ever since. In 2022, he was promoted to f Senior Producer and Special Advisor to Talent.
Speaking on What Happened When, co-host Tony Schiavone was asked what he would want the end of his career to look like. Thompson asked him to describe the perfect scenario for riding off into the sunset.
“I would say, ‘Hi everybody, welcome to another episode of [makes croaking sound]. Yeah [when Thompson asked if he would die in the seat.] That doesn’t mean I’m gonna be 80 when I do it. I don’t think I’m slowing down. I just don’t think I’m slowing down. I’m really honored that Tony would allow me to do play-by-play again at this stage in my life. Right now, I’m 66. I turned 66 on November 7th. I still got…realistically, I think I’ve got one more contract in me, if Tony will go with that, and then we’ll see what happens," Schiavone said.
Schiavone continued by stating that he doesn't see himself retiring. He noted that Tony Khan had told him he did not need to come to every show for AEW Collision. However, Schiavone responded by saying he would be there for every Dynamite and Collision. He stated that potentially sitting around and doing nothing did not suit him.
“I just don’t envision myself retiring. That’s why, when we started doing [AEW Collision], and this is before Tony put me on the broadcast team, Tony told me, he said, ‘We’re gonna start doing a Saturday show.’ He said, ‘You don’t have to come.’ He said, ‘We’re can have two different crews. I’m the only one who’s gotta come.’ I said, ‘Tony, I’m going to be here every day for you. I’ll be here on Wednesdays, and I’ll be here on Saturdays.’ It’s a case of just being away two nights out of the week. He said, ‘Okay.’ But then I got to thinking, it’s like, if I’m not doing it, what am I gonna do? Just sit at home and do nothing? That’s not me at all," Schiavone said.
Schiavone previously said his current AEW contract expires in April 2024. Check out his comments here.
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