Tony Khan is publicly disputing an independent wrestling promotion after they claimed AEW pulled Mance Warner from one of their events.
AAW Wrestling initially announced on Friday that Warner would no longer appear at their Homecoming event in Merrionette Park, Illinois. The promotion blamed the situation on AEW and told fans they were restructuring the show.
“Mance Warner will unfortunately NOT be appearing at #AAWHomecoming per AEW’s request.”
The situation quickly got attention online because AEW Double or Nothing weekend is currently underway, leading many fans to assume Warner had been pulled because of obligations connected to the pay-per-view weekend. Tony Khan then directly responded on social media and completely pushed back on AAW’s claim.
“That’s the first that I’ve heard of this, and it’s the first time anyone in AEW’s office has heard of it. He is welcome to do your show.”
Khan’s response immediately created confusion around what actually happened with Warner’s booking situation. Warner has not been featured regularly on AEW television recently, but he has continued appearing for Ring of Honor, including tapings that took place on May 18.
The situation also comes only months after Warner and Steph De Lander abruptly left TNA earlier this year. De Lander later stated their exit happened after TNA’s medical team would not clear her for in-ring competition despite her saying she had fully healed from neck fusion surgery.
Since then, Warner and De Lander have continued working independent wrestling events and GCW appearances. Now the focus has shifted to why AAW publicly blamed AEW in the first place when Tony Khan is insisting nobody in his company even requested Warner be pulled from the event.
What do you think about Tony Khan publicly disputing AAW’s statement, and who do you believe was responsible for Mance Warner missing the show? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
