As AEW Dynamite prepares to air a historic episode tonight—officially surpassing the total number of episodes produced for WCW Monday Nitro—AEW commentator and senior producer Tony Schiavone took to the What Happened When podcast to share emotional reflections on the milestone and to offer heartfelt praise for AEW President Tony Khan.
“It is pretty cool,” Schiavone said of the milestone. “I need to say something here, and most people are going to say, ‘Oh, you’re a suck up.’ Yeah, I am.”
Schiavone, who was a defining voice during Nitro’s original run, opened up about AEW’s behind-the-scenes journey, stating that while the road hasn’t been perfectly smooth, the impact Khan has had on the lives of AEW’s staff is immeasurable.
“There’s been bumps… bumps that have not been reported by 411 f*ck sheets and all the other stooges that pretend to be journalists,” Schiavone said bluntly.
He emphasized Khan’s transformative influence:
“When I think about what this company has done, and what Tony Khan has done for everybody who works backstage—he gave us new life. He completely changed our lives, especially people in the front office. So that means a lot.”
Schiavone noted that Khan’s deep passion for wrestling and its legacy is what drives AEW’s mission:
“He loves wrestling on a nostalgia level, like we do. Tony has done a lot for us.”
A standout example of Khan’s creativity, according to Schiavone, is the widely acclaimed “Timeless” Toni Storm character. He revealed that the idea for Storm’s cinematic, old-Hollywood gimmick originated directly from Tony Khan:
“Timeless Toni Storm is probably the biggest woman’s star that we have… and that’s because it was a character that Tony Khan developed.”
He added:
“Tony came up with the idea. RJ City wrote scripts for it, but the concept was Tony’s.”
Schiavone further credited Khan with shaping AEW’s most memorable innovations: Stadium Stampede, Blood & Guts, and Double Cage Matches.
“He’s come up with some very good ideas for us over the last six years,” Schiavone said. “We are charged to implement them, which we have done the best of our ability.”
Looking forward to tonight’s Dynamite, Schiavone concluded:
“I really feel that this is going to be a very special night for many, many reasons.”
With AEW continuing to make history and evolve, tonight’s episode marks more than just a number—it’s a celebration of how far the company has come, the people behind it, and the man driving it forward.
