"Has to start thinking before he speaks" - Twitter erupts to Tony Khan's comments on disparity of TV time between CM Punk and top female AEW star
AEW President Tony Khan has come under fire for his recent comments regarding two of his top champions, CM Punk and Thunder Rosa, and how one has gotten significantly more promo time than the other.
The debate started when Thunder Rosa announced she was injured and couldn't defend her AEW Women's Championship at All Out. Later, a four-way match was booked for the upcoming pay-per-view to crown an interim champion.
While Rosa was given less than a minute to make her announcement, CM Punk was provided with an elaborate in-ring segment on the June 3rd, 2022 edition of Rampage to do the same thing. The apparent disparity was brought up in the recent All Out media call by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com.
Tony Khan says he strongly disagrees with the criticism of Thunder Rosa vs. CM Punk's promo time for their title situation. He says if we're speaking honestly, an 8 minute promo with CM Punk is going to draw more than an 8 minute Thunder Rosa promo, and that's what he books for
Khan's response to the question prompted varied reactions from fans on social media. Meanwhile, many were angry about the AEW President's opinion of the women's division.
Here are some of the notable tweets:
Tony Khan comparing a massive star like CM Punk with Thunder Rosa is not exactly a level playing field re: ratings. apart from throwing AEW’s Women’s Champion under the bus this is just a total false equivalency on Tony’s part. the man has to start thinking before he speaks.
I respect Tony Khan as a booker, but he has totally fumbled the women's division. How hard would've it been to give Thunder Rosa seven minutes to annouce her injury instead in a one minute backstage segment? twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/s…
the entire tl @ tony khan rn https://t.co/HRbMOVlidJ
tony khan when somebody asks him about his thoughts on women's wrestling https://t.co/VW2qKdQIQB
Tony Khan trying to find out who put the belt on Thunder Rosa. https://t.co/KjvF6GAy0j
While some quickly jumped on the AEW President for his comments, others thought his statement carried merit.
Maybe, and just hear me out, Thunder Rosa can't cut an 8 minute promo.
Maybe backstage 30 second to 1 minute promos are used so people get stronger at promos and then get longer ones.
Maybe Tony Khan Doesn't hate women, he's just using the hand he has as strong as he can.
Tony Khan on Thunder Rosa wanting to vacate the AEW Women's Championship
The idea for an interim champion is apparently borrowed from combat sports such as MMA, where alternate belts are used to keep the division moving when an injury occurs. Tony Khan has used the concept for the AEW World, TNT, and now the Women's Championship.
BREAKING NEWS: #AEW Women's World Champion @ThunderRosa22 announces that she is injured and cannot defend the championship leading to an #AEW Interim Women’s World Championship 4-way: @realbrittbaker vs #ToniStorm vs @shidahikaru vs @jmehytr at #AEWAllOut Sunday 9/4 LIVE on PPV! https://t.co/ez4hDXaZHS
However, Thunder Rosa wanted to vacate the belt, much like CM Punk earlier this year. Speaking on a recent episode of Busted Open Radio, Tony Khan explained the situation surrounding the women's championship.
"Both of them offered to relinquish the title and I told each of them, separately, when they came back from their injuries, they would still be recognized as the champion but by the time they came back, there would be an interim champion which would set up an exciting situation.” (H/T POST Wrestling).
In Rosa's absence, Toni Storm, Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter, and Hikaru Shida will lock horns in a four-way match to crown the interim women's champion at All Out 2022. Fans will have to wait and see which star will reign supreme on Sunday night.
Who do you think will become the Interim AEW Women's Champion this Sunday at All Out? Let us know in the comments section down below.