Tony Schiavone says he has no plans to retire from announcing.
Schiavone first worked for Jim Crockett Promotions before he became an icon in the wrestling world through his run as a member of the WCW commentary team in the 1990s. Following the company's downfall, he briefly worked for TNA, but he left wrestling for several years. He returned to the business when he landed with MLW in 2017, and he later signed with AEW in 2019. Schiavone has been one of the voices of AEW ever since, and he received more responsibilities in August 2022; he was promoted to Senior Producer and Special Advisor to Talent.
Speaking on a recent episode of his What Happened When podcast, Schiavone stated that he doesn't have many years left in the wrestling business, as it's a young man's game, and he's tired. He explained that he had this realization the day he turned 65.
"I ain’t got many more years left in this business. I don’t. It’s a young man’s business, and at the age of 65, I realized it. It’s a young man’s business. The day I turned 40, I needed glasses that day. It was like, ‘What the fuck?’ I woke up that day, and I would try to read something. I’m like, ‘Man, this is out of focus.’ So the day I turned 65, I just woke up tired. I’ve been tired ever since then. I’m just tired. So I just think that life is on the way downhill right now," Schiavone said.
On the newest episode of What Happened When, Schiavone clarified his comments. He emphasized that he's doing well before he stated that he never meant to give anyone the indication that he was retiring because that couldn't be further from the truth.
"Never been better in my life, thank you for asking. I‘m saying that because Adam Demois, I talked to him yesterday with our bonus podcast, and he said, ‘So you’re retiring, huh?’ I went, ‘What the fuck are you talking about?’ Apparently, one day I was tired, and I was like, ‘Man, I’m just tired. Maybe I’ll just do a podcast with you and do video games the rest of my life. Well that became a clickbait [story]," Schiavone said.
Schiavone made it clear that any story that claimed he said he's retiring isn't true, and he reached out to someone who published an article that indicated otherwise. He read the message aloud and went on to state that he enjoys his job, and he just meant that he gets tired sometimes due to the schedule, which he described.
“I said, ‘I know you and your readers hate me, that’s fine. But I have no plans to step away from announcing.’ I’m the luckiest guy in the world, so why would I leave? Sure, I get tired. I stay up all night on Tuesday night and I get no sleep on Wednesday night, and I end up sleeping most of the day on Tuesday until the late afternoon, when we gotta do some work to her Rampage out the door. So I’m doing great," he said.
The full episode of What Happened When drops on Wednesday, January 4 on all podcast platforms. Fans can check it out at the show's official website or on YouTube at What Happened When. Fans can also subscribe to AdFreeShows for early access to a number of podcasts including shows with Dax Harwood, Mick Foley, Eric Bischoff, Ric Flair, and more.
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