AEW Rumors: Legendary WCW commentator reportedly signs with All Elite Wrestling
According to WrestleTalk, it's being reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that Tony Schiavone has signed or currently is in the process of signing with AEW and will potentially join the commentary team of Excalibur and Jim Ross.
Who is Tony Schiavone?
For those who are unaware, Schiavone was the lead voice of WCW Monday Nitro for many years. He earlier worked with Jim Crockett Promotions and even had a one-year stint with WWE. It's fair to say that Schiavone is synonymous with WCW as Ross was with the WWE.
When WCW closed its doors in 2001, he was not retained by WWE. Tony Schiavone made a move into Baseball, becoming a commentator on radio for local stations. Since 2017, he has been signed with MLW.
Why does this matter?
Tony Schiavone has recently been spotted on several occasions in AEW videos and fans were under the impression that they had already signed the legendary announcer. Currently contracted with MLW, their owner Cort Bauer has revealed Tony signed an exclusive contract barring him from appearing on AEW TV.
Unless AEW elects to reach out, Tony Schiavone cannot proceed with AEW or any other company doing anything. I was unaware of him doing the digital stuff until I read it in this week's Observer," Bauer said.
Tony Schiavone has himself denied any rumour that he was actually signed with AEW. Instead, he maintains that he'd just been helping Cody Rhodes out, per the tweet below:
Where do we go from here?
If this is true and AEW has worked out a deal with Schiavone, it would be a huge development. When it comes to the commentary, the reactions have been mixed. The person who seems to stand out is Alex Marvez, who has garnered poor reviews from fans.
Will Tony Schiavone replace him? It's possible that wrestling fans may be treated to a "Dream Team" consisting of both Ross and Schiavone. Fans will have to tune in and find out.