Tony Schiavone On Vince McMahon's Reaction To His WWE Departure, Why WWE Won Monday Night Wars
The voice of World Championship Wrestling, Tony Schiavone, joined the Duke Loves Rassin Podcast for an exclusive interview this week. They sent us these highlights:
How the WHW Mondays Podcast With Conrad Thompson Began:
"It was around the time of New Years when Conrad got in touch with me. He said, 'hey I have a great idea for you... let's do a Wrestling Podcast. I said, 'hell no!' But then he convinced me to do it, ya know my daughter is getting married. He convinced me to do it and man, it's been wonderful. It's been wonderful to do a podcast with Conrad even though he's a redneck from Alabama. I don't get along with rednecks from Alabama because I have to check his family tree to make sure he didn't marry his cousin."
Nostalgia being big right now:
"I'm blown away by the reception we've had. A lot of people who grew up in the early 90's are into nostalgia. Nostalgia is really big right now with that age group. Another reason it's been so good is the fact that I'm trying to be a pretty honest person on the show and I'm talking the way Tony Schiavone would have talked had he been able to all those years."
Cussing and being the Bob Saget of pro wrestling:
"There have been a number of people on social media that say 'Ya know what? You need to cut down on the cussing.' Let me tell you this; I grew up in the mountains of Virginia, been married 36 years and I have 5 kids. That trio will make you cuss! I played the straight man for so many years but anyone who really knew me backstage knew that wasn't me."
Why WWE won the Monday Night War and still has no competition:
"With WWE, wrestling is what they do and they are a big time business. Jim Crockett Promotions was a mom-and-pop business. It's like a mom-and-pop trying to compete with a big chain. Just can't do it. Can anyone compete with WWE? No! His television show looks better than everyone else's. That's why he got so many TV clearances in the 80's. His show looked better than Jim Crockett promotions, it looked better than Bob Geigel's out of Kansas City, it looked better than Championship Wrestling from Florida. You can't tell me now that anything that Ring Of Honor puts out or Impact Wrestling puts out looks better than what Vince and WWE is putting out. When I went to work for WWE in 1989 I went, "holy smokes! This is how it's done." We had post production and edits; this is how it's supposed to be done!"
His finest year in wrestling:
"When I went to Vince and told him I was leaving WWE he asked, "do you think Turner Broadcasting is going to care about your family and take care of your family like we do?" And I said, "no I don't." I was right because WWE was very much a family atmosphere. When it comes to Vince McMahon, I've always liked the guy and still have a fond place in my heart for him. I still say of all the years, and I love the Crocketts because they meant so much to me, I had some great years financially in WCW, but one year in the WWF back then was my finest year in pro wrestling. The one where I learned more about wrestling, television production and one where I enjoyed working more than any time ever! "
Tony also discussed Ric Flair's impact on his legacy, how Mick Foley reacted to his "butts in the seats" comment, how Tony's family feels about him getting back into pro wrestling and more. You can check out the entire episode on YouTube at this link.