Tony Schiavone Calls This Controversial AEW Figure The Backstage MVP

Figuring out who AEW's MVP onscreen isn't always easy, with so many talents to choose from between AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, Orange Cassidy, Darby Allin, Swerve Strickland, "Hangman" Adam Page, "Timeless" Toni Storm, Mariah May, Mercedes Mone, and, fittingly, MVP himself. Regarding who the backstage MVP of the promotion is, however, it would seem the easy answer would be AEW owner Tony Khan, who has been the driving force of AEW ever since its inception.

And yet, long-time AEW announcer Tony Schiavone has another candidate for the backstage MVP award; QT Marshall. On the latest episode of "What Happened When," Schiavone began gushing about Marshall after he and Conrad Thompson listened to Marshall's recent diss track, which targeted his Full Gear: Zero Hour opponent, "Costco Guy" AJ. He also defended Marshall, disagreeing with the criticism Marshall had received, or the idea that he was/is controversial.

"QT is...over the years, he's gotten some heat, right?" Schiavone said. "We all laugh, right, but QT is, like, backstage MVP. MVP, MVP, MVP. I'm not talking about the MVP you see on television, he's just tremendous. He knows more about wrestling than just about everybody today. And that [match] should be a lot of fun."

While he once was a fixture both on and offscreen with AEW, Marshall has focused more on his behind-the-scenes roles ever since he returned to AEW earlier this year followed a brief departure. As such, his match with AJ, whom Marshall has history with dating to the latter's days wrestling on the independent circuit, will be Marshall's first televised AEW match in almost a year.

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