Tony Schiavone Details How AEW Backstage Changes Came About

After criticism from many in the wrestling world - including several former talents - AEW refreshed and reorganised their management structure, promoting several backstage staff to key positions.

One such member of staff given a new role was Tony Schiavone, and the veteran commentator revealed how these changes came about on the latest AEW Unrestricted podcast:

"My job is now Senior Producer and Special Advisor and Talent Relations. I love that special advisor role, it's like, 'Would you go advise him on something?' I do a lot of running during the day, trying to talk to talent," Schiavone said. "Basically, what I do [is] walk around during the day and ask people how they are doing and ask them if they're happy, if there's anything we can do to make it better and that's very, very important. I think we're really making good strides, I really do but I can tell you this, it's a slow process. I really think that of all the things that I do for this company, talent relations is the most important.”

Schiavone continued, revealing how a talk with Tony Khan at an NFL owners party helped set the wheels in motion:

"He and I talked at the party and we talked flying back and I said, 'Listen, I know your EVPs are the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, they wrestle and they have the final say on a lot of things. I said, 'But I'd like to work closely with them and help out in any way I can.' He was very receptive to it. Then he brought us all in at Universal during a taping at Universal Studios and he says, 'Guys, I really need your help. This company is going gangbusters but I feel that I can use you in these ways.' And we said, 'sure' and then the announcement was made.

"A lot of times things can get crazy in a negative way, that's the way it happens in wrestling, but now we have the tools in place, the staff in place, to try to remedy that before it breaks bad. We're not going to be perfect at it but I think we're going to make it a better place to work, which has already been a great place to work. Throughout the years in pro-wrestling, there have been a lot of people treated like s**t and we want to change that dynamic, we really, really do. You can't please everybody and everybody wants to know what their creative is and what their vision is and there is so much to gather up that sometimes you just cannot give each individual person the attention he or she needs.

"Now, I'm put in the position to help Tony out with that and let them know, 'Hey, we care about you, here's where you are, you're a big part of this or you know what? You're not a big part of this right now and here's your role and just communicate, that's all, communicate,’” continued Schiavone.