AEW Executive claims Tony Khan will "never" make the same mistakes as WWE legend Dusty Rhodes
AEW might have only been around for three years, but it's already been compared to other promotions. In a recent interview, Tony Schiavone claimed that Khan will definitely avoid major mistakes made by the legendary Dusty Rhodes within Jim Crockett Promotions.
Tony Schiavone might never have stepped into the Squared Circle to go toe-to-toe with another wrestler, but has been involved with some of the biggest wrestling promotions. Schiavone made his start with Jim Crockett Promotions back in 1983. In the promotion, he broke into the broadcasting side of the wrestling industry and began a nearly 40-year career.
During his appearance on What Happened When, the AEW color commentator spoke on Jim Crockett Promotion's habit of false finishes.
“You have the fans invested in this match, the match moves along, and all of a sudden, ope, we’re gone. What the hell? It’s like, ‘bases loaded, bottom of the ninth, we’re gonna win the World Series…but we have to go to the Mary Tyler Moore Show."
Did you know Jim Ross & Tony Schiavone first started commentating together in 1987 for Jim Crockett Promotions on TBS! Also tonight, wrestling returns to the ‘Mothership’ as Jim & Tony make the call for #AEWDynamite 35 years later!! https://t.co/43YxsefIHB
Schiavone continued, boldly claiming that Tony Khan would never make the same mistakes that led to Jim Crockett Promotions falling apart.
“We’ve talked a lot about the cracks in Jim Crockett Promotions, the sale of UWF, Dusty (Rhodes) booking himself over in the Bunkhouse Stampede, guys not showing up for bookings, and going off TV without showing finishes. That all, mixed into the pot, is the reason we failed. I don’t think you’ll ever see Tony Khan book a show where he goes off without a finish.” (H/T: WrestleTalk)
AEW has seemingly suffered from a slew of internal issues over the past few months, most notably the "Brawl Out" between CM Punk and The Elite. In a previous interview, Tony Schiavone harshly slammed reports about the perceived internal struggles.
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The AEW color commentator went on a profanity-filled rant about how often promotions "f**k the fans"
With nearly 40 years of experience in the industry, Schiavone is arguably one of the most qualified people backstage in AEW. Due to this, the veteran's passionate rant could indicate that he has some pull backstage.
4/17/95: Dusty Rhodes & Tony Schiavone welcomes us to WCW Prime.
Dusty, as usual on this show, is ridiculous and legitimately makes Tony laugh. https://t.co/k2JH7XW4hf
During the same interview on What Happened When, the 65-year-old seemed to get very heated when asked about his thoughts on DQ finishes in wrestling.
“I never liked f**k finish DQs. F**k finish DQs is f**king the fans. You don’t want to f**k the fans. You can only f**k them so many times. Sometimes, a group of fans are going to feel like they’ve been f**ked over. A lot of times, a group of fans are waiting to be f**ked over and they live for that so they can s**t on you and s**t on your promotion and that’s what they do because they are miserable f**ks.” (H/T: WrestleTalk)
Tony Schiavone seems to have some influence in AEW, especially after most notably getting his son, Matt, a job with the promotion. The veteran's faith in Tony Khan to not allow AEW to follow Jim Crockett Promotions' example could indicate that he has a good relationship with the President.