Tony Schiavone Explains Why He Looked So Sad Before Airing Of CM Punk-Jack Perry AEW All In Footage

All Elite Wrestling’s decision to air the footage of CM Punk and Jack Perry’s backstage altercation at All In 2023 wasn’t well received by many, with some online suggesting that AEW commentator Tony Schiavone’s body language during the broadcast suggested the veteran announcer believed the decision was ill-advised.

Comparisons were soon drawn up between AEW and latter-day WCW, with some - gleefully or otherwise - suggesting AEW had pulled their own ‘fingerpoke of doom’ moment and would soon go the way of WCW. Schiavone himself disagrees, fervently denying any comparisons between the two companies during the latest episode of What Happened When with Conrad Thompson and revealing he was reacting in kayfabe to the footage:

“My facial reaction to what happened was… trying to put more heat on The Bucks for being a*******. I did not have any reaction to the footage we’d seen because I don’t give a damn. So what? So f***** what. So I was not upset at the promotion, I was not upset at Tony Khan, I was not pissed off about what we had shown, I was trying to be fully in the moment of the angle, which is The Bucks b******* about FTR, not wanting to shake their hands and getting f****** around… I’m sincere when I say I don’t care. It has no impact on my life,” said Schiavone.

Schiavone continued, pouring scorn on the comparisons to WCW:

“Some people are saying oh, the footage you were showing is like the ‘finger poke of doom’ moment for AEW. Well you know what, that’s what you want it to be because you want to see us fail. And there is no way because I was in both companies, there is absolutely no way that you can compare us to WCW, you can’t. You may want to, you may think you’re right, you’re wrong. You cannot compare us to WCW, I was there for both, you were not,” said Schiavone.

AEW President Tony Khan has since defended his decision to air the footage.

H/T: F4WOnline