AEW’s Tony Schiavone has been the voice of many professional wrestling promotions throughout his decades-long career, from the newest game in town of Tony Khan’s company, to MLW, and even a short stint in the then-WWF, in addition to Schiavone’s time with WCW. With his knowledge of commentary and interviewing skills, Schiavone was asked about his thoughts on Vince McMahon as a “stick guy,” or in-ring interviewer, on an episode of “What Happened When.” Schiavone said that he always thought McMahon was “one of the best announcers in the business” during his run on the mic.

Advertisement

“I go back, when you think about great commentary teams, I think Vince McMahon and Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura were one of the best commentary teams ever,” he explained. “Just like Gorilla and Bobby Heenan or Jerry Lawler and JR… Vince, realistically, it was his company, so he knew what to say. He knew how to promote things, so I thought he was great in this area.”

He went on to explain that his only issue with McMahon as an interviewer was the fact he was often taller than the talent he was interviewing, and the “idea” is that your announcers should be smaller than the talent. Schiavone said McMahon was smart, and wouldn’t often be on screen with guys he would make seem smaller. Schiavone worked for McMahon briefly, from April 1989 to April 1990. Notably, he was the play-by-play announcer for SummerSlam and the Royal Rumble in that year, alongside Ventura. He has previously said he worked closely with Kevin Dunn and Bruce Prichard in McMahon’s company, and was glad he didn’t have the boss “screaming in his ear” during his WWF tenure.

Advertisement

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “What Happened When” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.