Podcast 17: Tony Schiavone talks Atlanta Braves, AEW, and his broadcasting career

AEW’s Tony Schiavone is living in a sports broadcaster’s dream. On our latest podcast, he joins me to discuss his time with the Atlanta Braves, his career in sports broadcasting, and more.

If you don’t live in Georgia you may not know Tony Schiavone because of Atlanta Braves baseball or more specifically, as the play-by-play radio voice of the Triple-A Affiliate in Gwinnett.

You probably know him as the voice of professional wrestling. Tony was the voice of World Championship Wrestling when Bill Goldberg, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, and the NWO were on top of the wrestling world.

If you are a fan who spent your time in the 90s watching Atlanta Braves baseball on TBS, the odds are you also watched Turner Broadcasting’s WCW with Tony Schiavone at the helm.

The man whose voice can be heard putting the signature touches on nearly every great wrestling moment from the 1990s is the man who joined me on our most recent podcast.

He is the voice who announced that Hulk Hogan could “go to hell” when he turned his back on all of the Hulk-a-maniacs around the world at Bash at the Beach 1996. He is the same voice that declared “Acuna Matata!” when Ronald Acuna hit his very first Triple-A home run.

Tony is currently an announcer and senior producer for All Elite Wrestling’s Wednesday night show on TNT entitled AEW Dynamite. His acceptance of the position with AEW marked the end of his 11-year run as the Gwinnett Braves/Stripers radio announcer.

Tony has lived a sports broadcaster’s dream. He has written, produced, hosted pregame and postgame shows, and worked for the Atlanta Braves, Georgia Bulldogs, and the Atlanta Hawks… to name a few.

Tony was kind enough to take some time out of his day to talk about how his pursuit of a career in baseball broadcasting led to him becoming one of the most well-known names (and voices) in professional wrestling history.

He tells us an incredible story of how his last day at WCW turned into his first day with the Braves Radio Network.

The direct download link is available here if you prefer to listen in that manner. This is also available via iTunes, Spreaker, and a variety of other podcast outlets.

The man who called the Triple-A games from 2009 through last season gives us his take on Johan Camargo and Austin Riley. His insight and thoughts on who has the higher ceiling may surprise you.

Tony has done everything in sports broadcasting from assuming janitorial roles to keeping the official score with Atlanta Braves lengeds Greg Maddux and John Smoltz pitching.

Ever wonder how different calling a baseball game is compared to doing play-by-play on a professional wrestling television show? Check out the podcast.

AEW – All Elite Wrestling

All Elite Wrestling debuted in October of last year and what better way to establish themselves as a major league wrestling organization than hiring Tony Schiavone?

Beyond acquiring Tony’s legendary voice, AEW brought in the top professional wrestling talent the world had to offer. If you are currently a wrestling fan, you are a former fan, or you have never watched before, AEW is the pinnacle of televised and live entertainment…second only to Braves baseball, of course.

You can catch Tony, Jim Ross, Jon Moxley, Cody, Kenny Omega, and the rest of the stars of AEW Dynamite on TNT every Wednesday at 8 pm EST.

Thanks again to Tony Schiavone and AEW for their time and insight into Tony’s incredible career.

I leave you with a very just a few of his best calls below.

Some of Tony Schiavone’s Best Calls

Let’s take a look at a couple of great calls from his career.

Ronald Acuna Jr.‘s first Triple-A home run

Goldberg defeats Hollywood Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship

Epic Ending of AEW Dynamite’s first episode

Tony gives play-by-play on his two lazy dogs

It’s a fun and fascinating interview with a guy who’s been at the forefront of a lot of Georgia sports:  hope you enjoy the listen!