Tony Khan fires back at Big Swole for criticism regarding "diversity" in AEW
The last day of 2021 ended on a fiery note for Tony Khan and AEW. The Jaguars boss fired back at Big Swole after some controversial comments in an interview.
Big Swole recently gave an interview in which she made a lot of cynical comments about AEW. The comments revolved around the lack of diversity in the company and the scarcity of time given to female wrestlers on national television. While the wrestling community was split in half about the interview, Tony Khan went ahead and defended himself and AEW on Twitter.
The head of creative at the company responded by listing the stars he felt represented diversity in AEW. He also used the TBS Championship Tournament as an example to further highlight his point. The most noteworthy statement made was in the last line of his tweet, as he said he let Big Swole's contract expire as he felt her wrestling wasn't good enough.
"The top 2 @AEW execs are brown (me & Megha)!! Jade, Bowens, Caster, Dante, Nyla, Isiah & Marq Quen all won on tv this month. The TBS Title Tournament has been very diverse. I let Swole’s contract expire as I felt her wrestling wasn’t good enough. #AEWRampage Street Fight TONIGHT!" - Tony Khan tweeted.
The top 2 @AEW execs are brown (me & Megha)!! Jade, Bowens, Caster, Dante, Nyla, Isiah & Marq Quen all won on tv this month. The TBS Title Tournament has been very diverse. I let Swole’s contract expire as I felt her wrestling wasn’t good enough. #AEWRampage Street Fight TONIGHT! twitter.com/fightful/statu…
There will be great debate about Tony Khan's response and whether or not it was necessary. But the one thing that is for sure, is that the wrestling community has got a major talking point for the foreseeable future.
What exactly did Big Swole say about AEW?
Here are Big Swole's full statements on why she chose to leave AEW. https://t.co/0FkXT575Nc
Big Swole spoke explicitly and candidly about the multiple issues she had with AEW.
Her first gripe with the company was the lack of internal structure within the creative process. She wasn't happy that there was just one writer and no booking team. She also had an issue with the amount of TV time women were getting on Dynamite and Rampage. Her final point highlighted the lack of diversity in the company in general. You can read her comments in detail here.
We do not need to debate the merit of her argument right now, as social media is already flush with people criticizing both Tony Khan and Big Swole. Hopefully this gets resolved amicably and there is no more bitterness from either party.