Tony Schiavone Comments On Production Differences Between WWE And AEW

When it comes to putting on a show, AEW commentator Tony Schiavone freely admits that WWE knows how to entertain its audience. But he also wonders if WWE is putting too much emphasis on showmanship and less focus on the wrestling itself.

Speaking on the "WHW" podcast, Schiavone – who worked with the company in 1989 and 1990 when it was WWF – admitted that the WrestleMania events are remarkable experiences to behold.

"It's an unbelievable production that they continue each and every year," he said. "With the exception of the pandemic, of course, but [they] continue each and every year to top themselves with the presentation."

But when asked if WWE was more focused on production values while AEW was more concerned about the quality of the matches, Schiavone acknowledged that he does not watch the current WWE broadcasts but recalled his impressions when he resumed watching wrestling in 2017 after being away from the sector for 14 years.

"On a regular television show, the entrance has become so spectacular with the WWE that it's almost like the entrance is better than the match sometimes," he said. "And I don't think it should be. Now the exception is WrestleMania because this is WrestleMania – they do some great camerawork."

While Schiavone believed "your entrance should be good," he pointed out that "not everybody gets pyro with AEW – it's just reserved for the special ones. And you have some of that, but it's not over the top."

Schiavone, who joined AEW in 2019, insisted that "obviously I like great wrestling matches better than I do fantastic entrances.