Tony Schiavone Explains His Viral Reaction to All In Footage Being Shown on AEW Dynamite

Tony Schiavone recently addressed the reaction to his reaction during Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite, where backstage footage from AEW All In featuring an altercation between CM Punk and Jack Perry was aired.

As the announcers tossed to the Young Bucks, Schiavone was depicted with his head down and appearing dejected. Some fans likened his demeanor to his appearance during WCW 2000, a period of decline for the company.

On his What Happened When podcast, Schiavone offered his perspective on his reaction: “I think it’s hilarious, not hilarious; I think it’s probably apt that people can take screenshots and assume anything from a screenshot. My facial reaction to what happened was my facial reaction trying to put more heat on the Bucks for being assholes. Within the storyline itself. I did not have any reaction to the footage we saw because I don’t give a damn.”

When co-host Conrad Thompson pointed out that it wasn’t the first time Schiavone had seen the All In footage, Schiavone emphasized, “So what. So f*cking what. I was not upset at the promotion. I was not upset at Tony Khan. I was not pIssed off about what we had shown. I was trying to be fully in the moment of the angle.  which is the Bucks bitching about FTR not wanting to shake their hands and getting fucked around. That’s what I was doing. “

He continued, “Of course, everyone wants to create their own story and that’s fine. That’s what social media is about. Social media is about idiots coming together and trying to come up with their own ideas. Maybe I was still upset about Bug [Schiavone’s dog who recently passed], I don’t know, but I didn’t give a shit about the footage, and still don’t. I’m sincere when I say that I don’t care. I don’t care. It has no impact on my life. Some people are saying, ‘Oh the footage you were showing was like the Finger Poke of Doom moment for AEW.’ That’s what you want it to be because you want to see us fail.”

Schiavone dismissed comparisons between the AEW segment and WCW’s decline: “There is no way, because I was in both companies, there is absolute no way that you can compare us to WCW. You can’t. You may want to. You may think you’re right. You’re wrong. You cannot compare us to WCW. I was there for both. You were not.”

Tony’s remarks shed light on the complexity of on-screen reactions and the tendency of social media to craft narratives. What did you first think of Tony’s reaction? Let us know in the comments.