"That locker room becomes toxic" - WWE veteran warns Tony Khan about ramifications of not granting AEW talent releases (Exclusive)
Tony Khan currently seems to have his hands complete with the AEW locker room, considering the recent backstage chaos. Vince Russo recently warned Khan about his alleged stance regarding not releasing AEW stars and its potential consequences.
The AEW President reportedly noted that he would not be granting releases to the company's talent amidst the recent backstage turmoil. Instead, Khan will seemingly opt to allow their contracts to expire and not extend them in the future.
During the latest episode of Writing With Russo, the former WWE head writer warned Tony Khan that his rumored stance might result in a toxic locker room atmosphere.
"Tony Khan came out the other day and said ‘nobody is going to get a release!’ Bro, if you have people on your team that are disgruntled and don’t wanna play on your team – this is what I mean about this guy, bro – because if they’re not happy and you’re not gonna let them go that locker room becomes toxic," Russo said. (04:42 onward)
Check out the full episode below:
Russo also suggested that Malakai Black might have been one of the wrestlers Tony Khan directed his statement at.
"So he came out and made that statement, ‘nobody’s getting their release, I’m not letting them go’ and Malakai Black was probably one of those people!'" (05:10 onward)
Amidst all the fan theories and speculation, Malakai Black has officially addressed the rumors of his AEW exit and the reason behind his recent hiatus.
Tony Khan is currently dealing with some backstage issues among talent
AEW has allegedly experienced its second backstage brawl in the last two months, as Andrade El Idolo and Sammy Guevara got into a scuffle after their social media spat.
According to reports, Andrade was sent home while Guevara was kept on the premises and allowed to main event AEW Dynamite. While some fans initially criticized the decision, a Fightful report has indicated that El Idolo was the aggressor.
Andrade and Eddie Kingston when they see Sammy Guevara leaving Dynamite: https://t.co/Td5WqNIKPr
While fans may still be divided on the actual aggressor or instigator, the altercation has seemingly had an adverse impact on the AEW locker room. It will be interesting to see how Tony Khan and company bounce back from this unfortunate development.
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