WWE Hall of Famer and former WCW President Eric Bischoff took to an episode of his 83 Weeks podcast, where he talked about a number of topics including Tony Schiavone’s extended role in AEW of taking over play-by-play for Collision in addition to his work on Dynamite.
Bischoff said, “Not surprised, but I’m a little concerned. But Tony is one of the best. It’s not a question of whether or not he has the ability or the credibility or whether or not he’s that TV dad. Because I agree with you, he is the voice other than Jim Ross. You know, nobody out there is as recognizable of a personality as Tony Shivani when it comes to doing color and play-by-play or play-by-play. But the man only got so much energy and spread him thin. From a personal point of view, I don’t think it is a good long-term or short-term idea. It’s going to work great. Tony is a pro. Tony is a pro’s pro. Tony will. Tony will do what he has to do to deliver. But no matter how good someone is, it’s a little like our discussion with Logan Paul. I mean, how good somebody is. You want to be careful that you keep them special and help them maintain that. Mike Seaver of television fame. You need to be aware that you can overexpose great talent. Who then, after some time, doesn’t feel quite as great to the audience because there’s just. Audience fatigue is a real thing, no matter how good somebody is. Audience fatigue is a real thing. That’s my only concern. It’s not whether or not he can do the job or should do the job or anything like that. Let’s see where it is four months from now. Six months from now, when the newness of it wears off. And Tony has been exposed a lot. And on a personal level, what will it do to his energy levels? You know, it’s not an easy job. Play-by-play and color if it’s done well is a really difficult job that takes a lot out of you mentally and physically if you’re doing it right. Suppose you’re just showing up like some people do. And I’m not suggesting Tony is by any stretch. In fact, Tony is the opposite. But unless you just show up and call it improv ING, not really putting the research into it, not putting the time into it, not thinking about what you’re trying to get over and how you’re going to get it over, and when you’re going to get it over, and how you tie it all together so that it seems like it’s a seamless arc that’s taking you to the end of the show and building just like everything else should. That’s a lot of work. And I’m just a little concerned that Tony’s going to get physically and mentally fatigued. And the combination of that and the overexposure is going to create audience fatigue. You know, at some point, those two things meet and it’s not good.”
Bischoff also talked about TNT Champion Christian Cage battling Bryan Danielson on Collision.
“Yeah, I will watch it today. I will go back and watch that because I love watching seasoned performers who understand psychology and can deliver in the ring. I don’t care how old they are. By the way, I read a post from Dave Meltzer about one problem. They have too many old guys. Well, I got news for you. Those guys are performing at a level far above some of the younger talent on that show, and that’s not a knock on the younger talent. They’re going to get there, but you don’t really get to perform at the level of Bryan Danielson, Christian, Adam Copeland, or Chris Jericho until you’ve been in that ring for a while. It takes time, folks. It’s not just about going out there and being able to do athletically what a lot of. Younger talent, dude, because that shit ain’t working. To be honest, it’s the story. It’s the psychology. It’s the characters. And I think Christian and Brian Johnson, without even having seen the match yet, probably put out a clinic that I hope many people are paying attention to.”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
