Kevin Kelly Blasts Tony Khan for Overreacting to Chris Charlton’s Remarks at Wrestle Dynasty

The Wrestle Dynasty pay-per-view was full of memorable moments, but the fallout has caused some controversy, particularly with NJPW English commentator Chris Charlton. He has been suspended after making controversial remarks during the show and now, Kevin Kelly has called out Tony Khan in response to the situation.

It was reported that Chris Charlton called Tony Khan a “money mark” and criticized AEW’s decisions regarding the signings and use of wrestlers like Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay, and Jay White and this led to Chris Charlton getting suspended from NJPW for two months.

While speaking on the In The Ring podcast, Kevin Kelly stated that NJPW fans have been upset because AEW has taken a lot of wrestlers, including Chris Charlton, and this has hurt New Japan’s business. They’ve lost top wrestlers like Okada, Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, and the Young Bucks, all of whom came from New Japan. During the broadcast, Chris talked about things Gabe Kidd had said. Kidd is known for being an outspoken heel and has called Tony Khan a “money mark” before.

“He was criticized at Wrestle Dynasty, which was the night after Wrestle Kingdom, so January 5th, during the match between Kenny Omega, Omega’s return match, and Gabe Kidd, a New Japan guy who’s outstanding. They tore the house down, had an incredible match.

Advertising

Advertising

A lot of people have been critical of New Japan fans because AEW has taken a lot of talent, including me. They took me and others from New Japan into AEW, and it’s affected New Japan’s business. They’ve had to rebuild, losing a lot of top guys like Okada, Will Ospreay, and even before that, Kenny Omega and the Bucks, who all came from New Japan. So, during the broadcast, Chris was talking directly about what Gabe Kidd had said. Gabe Kidd is a very outspoken heel; he doesn’t care. He’s called Tony Khan a ‘money mark’ a number of times.

Chris mentioned that Gabe Kidd said a lot of things about Tony Khan, and when talking about Khan being a “money mark,” he said it’s hard to compete with someone like that. When Tony Khan heard this, he started texting people and got Chris in trouble. To avoid making things worse, New Japan decided to take Chris off TV for a while. Chris was upset about it, and although Kenny Omega reassured him, things didn’t improve.

“Chris said, ‘Gabe Kidd has said this, this, this, and this,’ and when you talk about a money mark like Tony Khan, it’s hard to compete. Well, Tony Khan heard that, started texting everybody, and got Chris in trouble. New Japan, just to make everybody happy and appease whoever is upset, decided to pull Chris off TV for a while. It’s not the end of the world, but Chris was upset by it. He talked to Kenny about it, and Kenny said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll smooth it over,’ but obviously, it didn’t get smoothed over.”

Kevin Kelly was frustrated, asking why Tony Khan would get upset about an announcer just saying what a wrestler like Gabe Kidd had said. He felt that Tony Khan should have handled the situation better and not taken it so personally. Kelly recognized that Tony Khan brought a lot of new money into wrestling, which made WWE improve, but he thought Khan’s reaction to this situation was too much.

“It’s not the end of the world, but how dare you, Tony Khan, be so sensitive that an announcer, who’s talking about what the heel in the match is saying, gets you upset? You start texting people and complaining? How dare you? Come on, man, grow a set and take the punches. Yes, it’s a fair critique. Yes, you came in with a lot of money, and I’ve given you credit for that. It’s the first new money introduced into wrestling in years, and thank God it forced WWE to change what they were doing, making the industry as a whole better.

But for him to turn around and be that sensitive about it? Are you kidding me? I said to Chris, ‘I’m glad they didn’t listen to what we used to say about T.’ We knocked him left, right, and center, we didn’t care, but it was all in the context of him being the boogeyman, the heel that we pointed the finger at. ‘Hey, there’s money out there, and the money mark came and bought the boys.’ That’s just the way it is. Then, he’s a mark for himself. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, right? You get critiqued as a money mark, and then you act like one.

Kelly also pointed out that in the past, people used to criticize Vince McMahon in the same way, but it was part of the business. He explained that Chris was just repeating Gabe Kidd’s words, not giving his own opinion. Kelly felt that Chris didn’t get enough support and that people were focusing too much on criticizing Tony Khan for being too sensitive, instead of standing up for Chris Charlton.

“You could call Vince anything; it didn’t matter. It was business, it was always business, and it was going to make money. And he did it not because Chris is bad at Tony Khan; not at all. He did it because he was saying, ‘This is what Gabe Kidd has said.’ And I just felt like nobody has really stood up for Chris in this whole thing. A few people have knocked Tony Khan for being super sensitive, but nobody’s really stood up for Chris. Did you listen to the quote? Did you listen to what he said? Because I did. I listened to it twice to make sure I heard it right. I totally got it. Could he have said Gabe Kidd more? Yes. Could his broadcast partners have jumped in and said, ‘Now, Chris, you’re just talking about Gabe Kidd’s point of view, right?’ And he would have said, ‘Yes, that’s what I’m talking about, Gabe Kidd said this,’ and everything would have been better.”

Kelly also suggested that if Chris had been clearer about quoting Gabe Kidd’s views, the situation might have been better understood. But in the end, Kelly believed that Tony Khan overreacted, especially considering the bigger challenges he faces in the wrestling industry.

“I don’t know, but still, the fact that Tony had rabbit ears like that and got so sensitive about it—so butt hurt—that he had the poor little non-English commentator suspended from his job, it’s like, come on, give me a break. Man, you’ve got bigger fish to fry. You’ve got bigger problems.”

Chris Charlton’s comments created controversy in the wrestling community, with fans divided on whether he went too far or was simply playing his heel character. With his two-month suspension now in place, it’s clear he crossed a line, even if he was trying to enhance his role. Many fans feel it was wrong for him to criticize AEW, especially given the ongoing partnership between AEW and NJPW, but Kevin Kelly definitely believes Tony Khan was in the wrong here.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.