Schiavone broadcast for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) alongside David Crockett starting in 1985 until 1989. Together, they hosted World Championship Wrestling.
He was signed by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) for a one-year contract from April 1989 through April 1990. During his time with the company, he was most notable for being the main play-by-play announcer for their SummerSlam 1989 and Royal Rumble 1990 pay-per-views alongside Jesse "The Body" Ventura. While in the WWF, Schiavone commentated alongside Lord Alfred Hayes, Gorilla Monsoon, Hillbilly Jim, Rod Trongard, and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.
Schiavone returned to WCW in 1990, and later became the lead voice for WCW's flagship program, Monday Nitro. He also served as the lead announcer of Thunder, typically working alongside Mike Tenay, Bobby Heenan, Larry Zbyszko, and later with Mark Madden and Scott Hudson. Before the advent of Nitro and Thunder, Schiavone, hosted WCW Saturday Night and WCW WorldWide. When WCW's main assets were bought by the World Wrestling Federation in 2001, he was not retained by the WWF.