Tony Schiavone Reveals How He Would Have Handled Disrespect from Vince McMahon

Tony Schiavone made his professional wrestling debut in 1983 with Jim Crockett Promotions as a broadcaster. Although he took a few years off from the business, his career in the industry has been extensive and ongoing. Recently, Schiavone has shared some intriguing thoughts about what he would do if Vince McMahon had disrespected him.

Tony Schiavone has been part of Tony Khan’s company since the very beginning as a commentator and occasional announcer. He is also part of the company’s talent relations department as AEW’s Senior Producer and Special Advisor to Talent since mid-2022.

Tony Schiavone, who didn’t work for WWE during McMahon’s peak years behind the scenes, mentioned that he would have walked out if McMahon had spoken to him in a certain way while speaking on the What Happened When podcast. Schiavone talked about who he hears in his ear at AEW and noted that he primarily hears Tony Khan and Mike Mansury, the show’s producer. If Mansury isn’t producing, Schiavone hears Darryl Marshall, who has worked with them in the past and returned to AEW after stints with WCW and WWE.

“I hear Tony Khan, but mostly I hear Mike Mansury, the producer of the show. If Mike is not producing, we’ll hear Darryl Marshall. Darryl was with us in WCW and then he went to WWE and he’s back now with us after working at Turner for quite a while. I hear the producer and I hear Tony Khan.”

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Schiavone praised Mansury as an exceptional producer and a good friend, emphasizing that Mansury, along with Tony Khan, not only produces but also provides encouragement. Reflecting on his past, Schiavone criticized the approach of talking down to announcers, as he believes it undermines their performance and excitement. He mentioned that if he had ever been treated the way some announcers were under McMahon’s production, he would have immediately walked out.

Schiavone shared that during his brief WWE tenure, Bruce Prichard was his producer and handled the role well, offering constructive feedback rather than harsh criticism. He noted that Tony Khan, like Prichard, understands the importance of maintaining announcers’ enthusiasm and is mindful not to speak negatively to them.

“Mike Mansury is truly a phenomenal producer and has become a very good friend. I’m so glad he is with us. He, and Tony does this too, but Mike not only produces but Mike encourages us. I often had thought and heard the horror stories about announcers with Vince in their ear. I would have never been able to do that. I know how I am. You know what, I’m going to be very critical of Vince here, that’s the wrong thing to do. You do not talk down to your announcers or tell your announcers that they are a piece of a s*** or that they screwed up because you’ve got to keep their excitement level up. If somebody is talking down to you, you’re doing a disservice for your whole show. I can tell you right now, and this will never happen because the way things are now. Had I ever worked in WWE with Vince producing me the way he produced some of those announcers, I would have dropped my headset and walked off the show immediately. Guaranteed, I would’ve walked right out of the building. When I was with the WWE that one year, Bruce Pritchard was my producer. Bruce did a great job in my ear. You have to coach them, you just can’t talk s*** to them. Tony does not do that to me, he knows not to do that to the announcers. Sometimes he will raise his voice up, he’ll be excited about what’s going on.”

Schiavone also suspected Vince McMahon had a hidden agenda for wanting to hire him in 2019. Nonetheless, Schiavone is more than happy with his current run in AEW and it is likely he will stick with the company for many years to come. 

What do you think of Tony Schiavone claiming he would’ve walked out had Vince McMahon disrespected him in WWE? Sound off in the comments section below!