Tony Schiavone Reflects On First AEW Dynamite: ‘It Was Special Right Away’

Tony Schiavone recently looked back on the first episode of AEW Dynamite and said he knew they had something special from the start. Schiavone has been with AEW since August of 2019 and has been on commentary for AEW Dynamite since its opening episode. He joined the AEW Collision team in October of 2023.

Schiavone appeared on The Danny Ocean Show and during the conversation, he was asked whether he knew they had something special from the jump or if that feeling took time. He said it was an instant thing and recalled thinking so after the opening match. You can see highlights below:

On If He Knew It Was Something Special Right Away:

“No, it was special right away. We were in Washington DC. We were at the Wizards Arena, I don’t know what it’s called now, but we sold out that venue. And I knew something. I got to work with JR again for the first time. Got to work with Excalibur, who I still work with and is like one of the best announcers that I’ve ever worked with in my life. What a great announcer Excalibur is. I knew we had something great.”

On His Memories of the Show:

“The first match, I’ll never forget it. It was Cody Rhodes, who now has gone on as most know to be the world champion at WWE, and has become a big star. The first match we had was Cody against Sammy Guevara. And I went in the ring and held the microphone for Cody, and I just knew we were on to something big when I was standing in the ring with Cody at that time.

“So, I knew it was something. And you know, we were re-signed by TBS and Warner Brothers Discovery, and it’s just — it’s been great. It’s been — you know, TBS and TNT are legendary, if you want to consider it that, wrestling channels. So, for us to be on those two are really big for us and big for the industry too, I think.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Danny Ocean Show with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.