Tony Schiavone Explains Why He Was Given AEW Talent Relations Role

Current AEW announcer Tony Schiavone is one of pro wrestling's most familiar faces, spending the better of four decades dedicated to furthering the industry. Though fans today know him best for his excellent work as an AEW announcer, Schiavone is now playing another role backstage, which could be considered of greater importance to AEW running smoothly: talent relations. "I think I was put in this position [with talent relations] because I really ... I can say this about myself: I really know how to treat people, and I think that's one of the reasons that I was put in this position," Schiavone said on the "AEW: Unrestricted" podcast. "I really think that is important to any type of business is to be able to treat your athletes with respect and with their concerns and try to intervene when there is a problem. And as we know in any sports team, there's problems."

Schiavone recognizes that many pro wrestling stars have felt like they were treated poorly by promotions throughout the years, so their main goal in AEW is to change the dynamic. "You can't please everybody, and everybody wants to know what their creative is and what their vision is, and there's so much to gather up that sometimes you're just not going to be able to give every person the attention that he or she needs for where they're going."

Regardless of the progression by the talent relations team, it is still somewhat common to hear about former AEW stars that had communication issues with management when their contracts were nearing expiration, including Marko Stunt, Brian Cage, and Joey Janela, and, more recently, Jonathan Gresham.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "AEW: Unrestricted" and give a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.