Vince Russo says a WCW veteran is very loyal to Tony Khan and has tried to "smarten up" the AEW boss (Exclusive)
WWE veteran Vince Russo recently addressed Tony Schiavone's loyalty to AEW CEO Tony Khan. Schiavone was the voice of WCW in the '90s and also worked for the global juggernaut between 1989 and 1990.
Tony Khan and The Elite started All Elite Wrestling in 2019. He is very new to leading a pro wrestling company. However, Khan has done an exceptional job in making AEW one of the top promotions in the US. The 41-year-old has also managed to sign many legendary wrestling personalities to the organization like Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Dean Malenko, and others.
On Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws, Vince Russo claimed that Tony Schiavone has tried to groom Tony Khan after the latter seemingly revived his professional wrestling career.
"I really think Tony Schiavone has tried to be that guy. That seems to everybody that that would be a JR [Jim Ross] role but JR is the type of guy that if you're not gonna listen to him, he's not gonna bother. He's only gonna tell you for so long. But I kinda get the feeling that Schiavone is that guy that is constantly trying to smarten him up. I think Tony [Schiavone] is very loyal to him. He gave Tony [Schiavone] a rebirth and he's got a great spot in that company and wears a lot of hats. I think Tony Khan looks at it like, 'Bro, this is the dude that signs my checks and it is my responsibility to be honest with him.'" [9:01 - 9:56]
Eric Bischoff has no interest in being a booker for AEW
WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff is one of the most notable names in professional wrestling. He was the Senior Vice President as well as Executive Producer of WCW. He also worked with WWE's creative team during his stint as RAW's general manager in 2002.
On his 83 Weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff revealed that he wouldn't accept an offer to become a booker in AEW. The veteran noted that he wanted to live his life on his own schedule and the decision had nothing to do with his falling out with Tony Khan.
"No, I wouldn't. It's got really nothing to do with how I feel about AEW or Tony Khan, it's really not that, it's more about where I'm at in my life right now, and every day that goes by I'm appreciating my freedom, and my flexibility, and more important, my ability to live where I want, to do what I want on my own schedule. So committing to anybody, whether it be Tony at AEW, or anybody - WWE or TNA, or anybody else that would happen to call, or anybody outside of wrestling that would offer a position that would be as intense as an Executive Producer or booker [I hate to use the term booker, it's dated]," Eric Bischoff said. [From 9:02 to 9:44]
Tony Khan is currently the head booker of All Elite Wrestling. He gets help from minds like Bryan Danielson and Dean Malenko in the creative department.
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Vince Russo thinks Tony Khan does not care about AEW's TV ratings. You can check out his full comments in the exclusive video below: