"Tony Khan has been very fair to me" - Top AEW star weighs in on the company's diversity issue
In light of recent criticism directed at Tony Khan and All Elite Wrestling regarding diversity and inclusion, AEW star Powerhouse Hobbs was one of many performers to give his thoughts on the idea that the company is not diverse enough. The argument was originally put forward by former AEW star Big Swole, who left the company at the end of 2021.
On New Year's Day, Swole stated that there was a diversity issue within All Elite Wrestling. She cited a lack of opportunities for female wrestlers and wrestlers of color, to which AEW president Tony Khan responded with a tweet that garnered a mixed reception.
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…
As a black wrestler in AEW, Powerhouse Hobbs responded professionally at the time of the confrontation, as he did when speaking to Jonathan Hood on the latest edition of "Tuesday Wrestling Tuesday."
"I can only speak from my own experience, I don’t know about anybody else’s experience in the company, I can tell you from my experience everything has been really well. I’ve had ideas that I’ve pitched that worked, ideas that I haven’t pitched that haven’t worked. Overall the company is very diverse, like I said before, and there’s no secret it’s out on the internet, Tony Khan has been very fair to me, so I can’t speak on anyone else’s situation, only I can speak on mine." said Powerhouse Hobbs (H/T Tuesday Wrestling Tuesday.).
While supportive of Tony Khan in his comments, Hobbs stated that a diversity problem does exist within most major companies in the world.
"Same thing can be said for Google, for Facebook for any company. So it can be said for any company on this planet and what I said is what I said and that was just my personal experience and I back that up 100%, 120 thousand, million times over and over again." said Powerhouse Hobbs (H/T Tuesday Wrestling Tuesday.).
Tony Khan's AEW will celebrate Black History Month with a Hip-Hop album
If fans want to hear the life story of Powerhouse Hobbs told through song, now is the perfect time as AEW will soon celebrate Black History Month with the release of the Hip-Hop album "Who We Are: A Celebration Of Excellence, Vol. 1."
Available for pre-order NOW! #AEW Music Presents: Who We Are Volume 1! Free commemorative poster is included with the first 300 orders. Find it at ShopAEW.com! @AEW https://t.co/pUefEFVpqJ
20 black wrestlers from AEW's roster will have their stories told through music with the help of the "Boosty Collins Foundation" alongside AEW's in-house producer and composer Mikey Rukus. The album will be released on ShopAEW.com on February 18th 2022.