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For the most part, AEW’s Tony Khan is well-liked in the wrestling world. His love for professional wrestling and his laid-back personality makes him the exact opposite of the former imposing boss of WWE, Vince McMahon. There have been reports here and there about AEW workers not being happy backstage, and the battle with MJF has fans confused about what is a shoot and what is a work, but whatever is going on, it’s been kept quiet. Tony Khan would have been well served by staying silent after releasing women’s wrestler, Big Swole, but his ego got in the way and led to Khan humiliating himself in a rare fashion.RELATED: AEW's Big Swole Denounces Discrimination In Pro Wrestling
Big Swole Was A Dependable Women’s Wrestler In AEW
Starting in August 2019, women’s wrestler Big Swole became a prominent part of AEW’s women’s division. While she was never champion, she served her part well, especially in a prominent feud with the face of women in AEW, Britt Baker.
During the summer of 2020, Big Swole and Britt Baker’s feud helped to carry AEW during the pandemic era. Big Swole, with her athletic look and badass gimmick, was a fan favorite against the villainous Baker. It even resulted in Big Swole beating Britt at All Out 2020 in a Tooth and Nail match. It would end up being the highlight of Big Swole’s time in AEW. While she would appear on AEW TV from time to time, she mostly found herself reduced to AEW Dark. On November 30, 2021, Big Swole took to Twitter to announce that she was leaving AEW, a rare instance of a wrestler leaving the young company.
Tony Khan Comments On Big Swole After Her Release
Shortly after leaving AEW, Big Swole revealed during her Swole World podcast why she left the company. Some of it had to do with her reduced role and how women in general were used in AEW. “I felt like the women shouldn't have gone through everything they went through just to get on TV or get time. You're signed to this big company, you should get time. All these men are getting time, but the women weren't getting anything or you're not putting people on TV because more people are coming in. Okay, there are more people coming in, but you don't have enough product for all of these people.”
Big Swole then took it a step farther, speaking about the lack of Black female wrestlers in AEW. "There is no representation, truly, and when there is, it does not come across in the black community as genuine. At all. I don't know why everybody is so afraid to accept it or say it, but it's not a good look. What happens is, you have this wonderful company that treats people like family, but there is nobody that looks like me that is represented at the top and in the room with them.”
Whether you disagree with Big Swole or not, she had a right to her opinion. Tony Khan should have recognized that she was hurting and let it go, but his pride got in the way, seemingly feeling like he was being called a racist who didn’t care about women’s wrestling.
Khan tweeted about Big Swole’s release, riling up fans and wrestlers alike.
Tony Khan Speaks To Lio Rush But Not Big Swole
In a short tweet, Tony Khan disregarded everything Swole had said. Worse, he took a shot at her wrestling ability. It made him look petty and childish instead of the head of a major company. His own talent was not happy about it, including the likes of Lio Rush, who let his anger be known in a since-deleted tweet, saying, “I’m not cool with any of this sh*t to be honest. If nobody says something, then I will. Because this is f**ked up and now I’m pissed. APOLOGIZE. @TonyKhan @AEW”
In an interview with the Public Enemies Podcast, Big Swole commented on how Tony Khan’s tweet had hurt her. “You said that we’re friends. I called you, we’ve text [sic]. It’s just upsetting because I thought that it was genuine and I’m a cancer [zodiac sign], I’m an emotional person and when I let people inside of my heart, when I let people inside of my circle, my family, that’s important to me and for someone to break that line of trust is just — it’s unbelievable. It’s heartbreaking. Really it is because I thought we were friends. But damn.”
RELATED: Lio Rush Issues Statement Amid Big Swole Fallout, Says He's Proud To Work For Tony Khan
Tony Khan later apologized to Lio Rush, who later said he felt proud to work for Khan. He has yet to apologize to Big Swole, however. In April, during an interview with Renee Paquette on The Sessions, Big Swole spoke of the Tony Khan controversy. “Everything that went down kind of just went as a surprise for me. I didn’t necessarily know [Tony Khan] was going to react like that, but I mean, that’s just his God-given right. But my line is still open for T.K., for AEW, because I don’t like to burn any bridges. I just like to tell the truth.”
Whether wounds will heal and Tony Khan reaches out to Big Swole, only time will tell. If Khan truly wanted to apologize, it seems that he would have by now. Even if Khan decides to hold his grudge with Big Swole forever, one can only hope that he’s learned his lesson about letting out one’s frustrations all over social media.
