AEW’s Tony Schiavone Explains Why He Had Heat With WWE Hall Of Famer Over WCW Firing

AEW announcer and former WCW broadcaster Tony Schiavone opened up about his strained relationship with WWE Hall of Famer Bobby “The Brain” Heenan following Heenan’s firing from WCW.

Speaking on his What Happened When podcast, Tony Schiavone detailed the events that led to their falling out and expressed regret over how he handled the situation. Schiavone explained that he first learned of Heenan’s dismissal from WCW supervisor Craig Leathers, who also warned him against contacting Heenan due to potential legal complications.

Craig Leathers said, ‘We’ve just fired Bobby Heenan, and I think you should know,’ I said, ‘Well, I guess you want me to call him.’ He said, ‘No, he’s been called. I just wanted to let you know he has threatened a lawsuit against WCW, so as your supervisor, you should have no more contact with Bobby Heenan.’

Following Leathers’ directive, Schiavone decided not to reach out to Heenan, a decision he later regretted.

I thought about it and said, ‘Well, you know what, I’m going to do what a good employee should do.’ So, I didn’t talk to Heenan. I should have said, ‘Okay, I won’t talk to him,’ hung up, and called Heenan right back. That was the right thing to do, which I didn’t do, and Heenan got very angry at me.

The fallout created years of tension between the two wrestling icons, but Schiavone revealed that they eventually reconciled in 2003 while collaborating on voiceovers for a video game.

We kind of made up at that time.

What Bizarre Initiation Ritual Did Tony Schiavone Have To Partake In When He Joined WWE?

Tony Schiavone spoke about the strange initiation ritual he had to participate in when he first joined the company in 1989. The ritual was that anyone who was new to the production team had to go into the lunchroom and sing Hulk Hogan’s “Real American” theme song.

H/t to ITRWrestling.com