News

AEW Star Issues Statement After Tag Team Partner Fired

By Lyle Kilbane • Published 10th February 2025
AEW logo over blurred Iron Savages

One AEW star has issued a statement after their long-time tag team partner was fired by the company following their arrest.

Fightful Select reported that Beefcake Boulder has been fired after the company learned he had been arrested for battery by strangulation in January. Boulder – real name Thomas Wansaw – was arrested on January 14. The victim has been identified as his fiancée. As a result, AEW has fired Beefcake Boulder.

During his time in AEW, Boulder was part of the Iron Savages tag team alongside Bulk Bronson. They were previously known as Bear Boulder and Bear Bronson, collectively known as Bear Country. The team had wrestled in AEW since 2020.

Boulder’s final match under Tony Khan’s banner happened on the January 11 taping for Ring of Honor. That match did not air until January 16 which is after Boulder’s arrest.

AEW Star Sorry

Now Boulder’s tag team partner Bulk Bronson has issued a lengthy statement on social media condemning domestic violence and distancing himself from his ally of eight years:

Hey guys, this is one of the hardest weeks of my life.

I’m heartbroken at the news about my former tag partner. To say I feel blindsided by the horrific details of the incident is an understatement. This is someone I traveled the world with as a team for 8 years, full of matches & memories I held close to me. Someone I trusted around my family. He was a groomsman at my wedding this past October with his fiancée. The arrest report provided by the police has made me sick, depressed, and angry.

My phone has been blowing up nonstop since the news broke – I put out a quick statement yesterday so I could put my phone down, spend quality time in the city with my wife, and process everything.

I’ve been made aware that I was wrong for using the victim’s first name in my statement & I apologize. I wasn’t thinking clearly & just wanted everyone to know she was okay.

As of now, I have been advised to fully step back from the entire situation and can only pray nothing worse happens.

Only professionals can help the situation any further & I am not one. The only thing I can do now is move on and focus on my life.

If there is any confusion, I will clear it up now:

My wrestling name is Bear Bronson, I live in NY, not FL, and I do NOT condone domestic violence under any circumstances whatsoever. Zero tolerance. Causing physical harm to your partner is disgusting & vile; people who love each other don’t do that – plain & simple. Don’t let anyone make you believe there are shades of gray or ‘yeah but’ exceptions to that garbage. It’s not shades of gray, it’s very black & white. I don’t care how you spin it, that’s not love.

I’m in a very happy marriage with my wife Gabby. We shower each other with love & support every single day. Her happiness & safety will be my main priority for the rest of my life.

So if you come across the headlines that broke, please read them very carefully.

If you are a victim of domestic violence and feel stuck in a violent relationship/one that you feel could turn violent, please call out for help before it’s too late.

No ‘but what about the good times,’

No ‘but every relationship has problems,’

It doesn’t get better, it only gets worse.

Put your health & well-being first above everything else.