Tony Schiavone is impressed with the WWE machine.
He spoke to the Duke Loves Rasslin podcast about WWE. He knew even back then that WWE came across as a bigger entity than Jim Crockett Promotions was during that time, and even today, no one else in terms of production values can compare to what WWE puts out:
With WWE, wrestling is what they do and they are a big time business. Jim Crockett Promotions was a mom-and-pop business. It's like a mom-and-pop trying to compete with a big chain. Just can't do it. Can anyone compete with WWE? No! His television show looks better than everyone else's. That's why he got so many TV clearances in the 80's. His show looked better than Jim Crockett promotions, it looked better than Bob Geigel's out of Kansas City, it looked better than Championship Wrestling from Florida. You can't tell me now that anything that Ring Of Honor puts out or Impact Wrestling puts out looks better than what Vince and WWE is putting out. When I went to work for WWE in 1989 I went, "holy smokes! This is how it's done." We had post production and edits; this is how it's supposed to be done!
Surprisingly, when asked about his favorite year in wrestling, he chose his very short run with the WWE in 1989-90, citing that there was more of a family atmosphere over there than what WCW and Turner were providing:
When I went to Vince and told him I was leaving WWE he asked, "do you think Turner Broadcasting is going to care about your family and take care of your family like we do?" And I said, "no I don't." I was right because WWE was very much a family atmosphere. When it comes to Vince McMahon, I've always liked the guy and still have a fond place in my heart for him. I still say of all the years, and I love the Crocketts because they meant so much to me, I had some great years financially in WCW, but one year in the WWF back then was my finest year in pro wrestling. The one where I learned more about wrestling, television production and one where I enjoyed working more than any time ever!
For a very long time, Tony Schiavone had been away from professional wrestling. But now he's back for Major League Wrestling, where he calls the action with former WWE announcer Rich Brennan.
