AEW: Tony Schiavone on Reason for On-Screen Reaction to AEW Airing All In Backstage Footage, Thunder Rosa on Back Surgery Being Likely in Future, Nikki Bella

Apr 16, 2024

Tony Schiavone Comments on Reason for His On-Screen Upset Reaction to AEW Airing All In Backstage Footage

As noted before, this past Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite show featured AEW airing never before seen backstage CCTV footage of the infamous backstage altercation between Jack Perry and CM Punk at this past August’s All In event. Following the airing of the footage, AEW commentator Tony Schiavone was visibly seen at AEW’s commentary table giving a miserable reaction, which was later discovered to have been for storyline purposes.

In a recent episode of the What Happened When with Tony Schiavone podcast, co-host Schiavone confirmed that his miserable face reaction was not genuine and instead just simply to generate more storyline heat on the Young Bucks.

“I think it’s hilarious, not hilarious; I think it’s probably approx that people can take screenshots and assume anything from a screenshot. My facial reaction to what happened was my facial reaction trying to put more heat on the Bucks for being assholes. Within the storyline itself. I did not have any reaction to the footage we saw because I don’t give a damn.”

Schiavone also gave his thoughts about the online criticisms over people comparing AEW’s airing of the footage to WCW in 2000.

“No, that’s right. So what. So fucking what. 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 bitching about FTR not wanting to shake their hands and getting fucked around. That’s what I was doing. Of course, everyone wants to create their own story and that’s fine. That’s what social media is about. Social media is about idiots coming together and trying to come up with their own ideas. Maybe I was still upset about Bug [Schiavone’s dog who recently passed], I don’t know, but I didn’t give a shit about the footage, and still don’t. I’m sincere when I say that I don’t care. I don’t care. It has no impact on my life. Some people are saying, ‘Oh the footage you were showing was like the Finger Poke of Doom moment for AEW.’ That’s what you want it to be because you want to see us fail. There is no way, because I was in both companies, there is absolute 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.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

Thunder Rosa Comments on Back Surgery Being Likely in the Future

A recent episode of The KiddChris Show podcast featured Thunder Rosa as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Rosa providing an update on her recent recovery from a back injury and surgery being likely for her in the future.

“I think the possibility of surgery will be probably in the future. There were two things happening at the same time. I had tears on my lower back and I had herniations. Before you can do anything, you have to wait for the tears to not be tears. After, that’s when you can do the exercises. It took me about seven to eight months to exercise properly. There are a lot of things I had to change with training and in my life. I was a runner, I can no longer run. You have to pick and choose what you ca do. I want to still be at 100% in the ring, so I had to change everything.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

Nikki Bella Comments on How She Considered Joining AEW After Mercedes Mone’s Debut

A recent episode of The Nikki & Brie Show podcast featured co-host Nikki Garcia, former Nikki Bella in WWE, revealing that she had considered the idea of joining AEW after seeing Mercedes Mone’s debut in the company.

“Since you and I have been lifting so much, we always say, we start to get that wrestling mindset. Like, ‘We’re going to go back and do this story, and cut this promo..’ You get it but like how serious I got where I was like, ‘Okay, I think I can do maybe a year at AEW and I could do it every week.’
When I saw Mercedes debut and cut her promo and that line stuck with me, ‘Here we can make our evolution worldwide.’
It goes into many leagues, is what she means. It doesn’t have to be at one place, it could be at all the places where all these women are wrestling at.”

Garcia stated that she ended up dropping the idea due to her not being willing to take time away from her son Matteo.

“Wasn’t I talking to you? I go,”Brie, so I think I can do it for a year. I can do it from here to here, I can go every week, I can be good and then I thought of Matteo. I had a good week of like this is it, I’m going to call Tony Khan, I’m your girl, I can commit, and then I was like I can’t do that to my son right now, like, he needs me.”

Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com