Tony Khan On His Approach To Giving AEW Announcers Info Via Headsets
Since the inception of All Elite Wrestling in 2019, the company has been the home of two of the most legendary wrestling commentators of all time, Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross. The two mouthpieces of the "Monday Night Wars" have added a level of credibility and value to the AEW broadcast team for three years, calling the company's most incredible and memorable moments.
With Ross having spent decades working for Vince McMahon in the WWE and Schiavone working across the wrestling spectrum with Eric Bischoff in WCW, the two-handled commentary differently. Ross has been very outspoken about disliking Vince's style of "coaching" him during wrestling shows, and his new boss Tony Khan said he's taken that into account and handles Ross differently than the other commentators.
"Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone both are two of the greatest wrestling announcers of all time and, like you said, I think they add a lot of credibility to the show," Khan said while talking to Richard Deitsch of Sports Media. " ... Jim probably isn't as great in terms of trying to be himself, which is the greatest wrestling announcer of all time, and process the feedback he's getting in his ear so Jim of the three (Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Ross), he's the one I engage with the least. Because like you said, I'm very hands-on formatting and producing, both going into a show and as it's happening and I do talk to the announcers but probably more to (Excalibur) and Tony than to Jim.
"... I think Jim, since it's not the way he's managed best, I don't try to manage him that way and it's easier to try and make a point, a talking point, get across whatever it needs to be. A story, a moment, something that's happened, something that's going to happen going forward, whatever we need to hit in that moment, I can often address it with Jim but Jim's in the zone, in the flow. It's easy to also talk to Tony and (Excalibur)."
The key difference between Ross and Schiavone was that after the "Monday Night Wars," JR continued to call match after match across different companies while Schiavone transitioned into other avenues. In 2019, Schiavone re-entered the wrestling business when Khan called him to help with AEWs inception.
"They're a huge part of the show and the announcers, for the audience at home, give perspective, they give information, they obviously, not only for the business of the show but also for the emotion, and the excitement, and the action, they are the voices," Khan said. " ... The most famous wrestling announcer in the world is probably Jim Ross, and Tony Schiavone, you mentioned Conrad, had kind of been out of action for a long time and Conrad (Thompson) brought him back into prominence on a podcast and I think myself and a lot of people in America started scratching our heads saying where was Tony Schiavone and why wasn't he working.
"The more you listened to him talk about how much he misses wrestling and how much he wants to be in it, wants to work all the time, and these are all things I've found to be true over the years. That he wants to help the young announcers, that he wants to produce other people's segments and give insights when he's not on the screen, all of these things are true. The more I thought about these things, the more I realized he's a perfect fit for us ... We're very fortunate to have these legendary announcers that bring great insights and add a lot to the show."
The commentary team was back in action this weekend at AEW's "Double or Nothing" pay-per-view, and according to recent reports, the current trio is expected to remain intact until at least 2024.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Sports Media with Richard Deitsch with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.