AEW's Tony Schiavone on what he felt during the last episode of WCW Nitro [Exclusive]
AEW broadcaster Tony Schiavone recently claimed that he was relieved when the last episode of WCW Nitro went off the air in 2001.
Schiavone worked in WCW's commentary box then and was present throughout the tumultuous time the promotion went through in the early 2000s, with its ratings dwindling and fan interest fading.
In a chat with Kevin Sullivan of Sportskeeda Wrestling, Schiavone revealed that while many employees cried after the final show on 26th March, he instead drove off, feeling relieved that WCW had folded for good. However, Schiavone added that he was uncertain yet excited about what was next in store for him.
"That last episode of Nitro for me was kind of a big relief that all of this was going to end. I know for some people backstage, especially some of the girls who worked in the PR and the production, I remember they were crying. I remember when I walked through the curtain, it was over. The WWF had taken over, and they were crying. I wasn't crying, I took my card and took off. It was like a big relief. For me, there was a certain concern because I didn't exactly know what I would do next. But there was a certain excitement as it was important for WCW to end for me," said Schiavone.
Schiavone further elaborated, claiming that he wasn't angry or upset over WCW going out of business. He also disclosed that he had a feeling WWE wasn't going to keep him and others from WCW around, which turned true a couple of days later when the promotion showed them the door.
"That night was, I was not upset, I wasn't angry, I wasn't hurt, I guess I was relieved. I drove from Panama City all the way to Atlanta overnight by myself, alone with my thoughts, which is what I enjoy anyways. It was not a terrible time. Of course, it was a great unknown, are all of us going to work for WWE? I had a feeling we were not. Maybe it was two days later when they brought us all in and told us to hit the bricks. So, I knew I had to something, but it was alright," said Schiavone.
Tony Schiavone details the backstage atmosphere in WCW during its final days
Tony Schiavone also opened up about how low the backstage morale was in the weeks leading up to the final episode of WCW Nitro. The AEW broadcaster revealed that everyone was talking about the company being either purchased by Vince McMahon or TBS dropping the show from its programming.
Schiavone blamed the declining ratings and toxic backstage situation on a lack of leadership role during a time in the company when it needed someone to hold the fort.
But leading up to that time, it wasn't good at all. You try to do your job, you try to work hard, put out the product you knew. But every time you go backstage, they always want to talk about, "Is it going to our last show? "Are we going to be bought by Vince"? "Are we still going to be on TBS"? "Is so and so gonna do the job tonight"? There was so much freaking drama. It wasn't a good place to work with. It was a terrible place to work. Everybody was on the edge, everybody was unhappy. Ratings were going down. It was just a lack of leadership in the end," said Schiavone.
However, in hindsight, the fall of WCW allowed the emergence of AEW recently as an alternative and a genuine competition to WWE in nearly two decades.
Do you think WCW going out of business affected WWE's creative direction in subsequent years? Do you want AEW to go head-to-head with WWE RAW as Nitro did? Sound off in the comments section below.
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