"It's an insult" - Wrestling veteran blasts Tony Khan for recent comments about his influences in booking AEW matches
One of the major selling points for AEW is their tendency to book a wide variety of match styles. A technical spectacle could follow a hardcore bout. A story-driven grudge match could happen right before a multi-person "spot fest." The promotion's ability to vary its product has attracted many fans over its relatively short lifespan.
However, Tony Khan's recent comments about drawing influence in his booking of lucha libre matches from wrestling site luchablog.com attracted the ire of tenured veteran Hugo Savinovich.
According to Savinovich, who has worked in WWE, AEW, and Lucha Libre AAA as a Spanish announcer, luchablog.com is more suited for fans of the business to use as a sort of introductory course into the Lucha Libre culture and lifestyle.
Hearing that Tony Khan's used the site as a prominent influence "scares" Savinovich, he said on the Keepin' It 100 podcast:
"Just having a man that owns NFL teams, and owns AEW, and has a team in England of soccer, it scares me that he will take Luchablog as a source of understanding [lucha libre culture]." [From 02:36 - 02:49]
Hugo Savinovich reveals a major problem with WWE and AEW's understanding of Lucha Libre
Savinovich continued, noting that because the major American promotions constantly fail to grasp a full understanding of Lucha Libre, they, in turn, fail to satisfy the Latin American audience:
"That's why WWE and AEW have such [a poor] Spanish industry because they don't know what the heck they're doing. They think if you speak Spanish, you can go on a headset and talk. But, it's an insult. And, trust me, I think the best of Tony. I worked his first two pay-per-views. [...] But business-wise, when he says that he learned all this from Luchablog, it scares me. Because Luchablog is like English 101, you know. For beginners." [From 03:52 - 04:36]
For the most part, it seems as though Tony Khan's strategy for booking his luchadors has not come back to hurt him. Most fans enjoy the likes of Rey Fénix, Péntagon Jr., and El Hijo del Vikingo whenever they perform in the promotion.
However, one can not help but wonder whether Khan will hear Savinovich's comments and make any major changes.
If you use any quotes from here, please credit Keepin' It 100 and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.