Tony Khan Blasted By Fired Star As Lawsuit Rumbles On
A former AEW talent has hit out at Tony Khan after a tag team was pulled from a match on an independent show as a lawsuit battle continues.
Kevin Kelly was fired by AEW after going public with his frustrations with the company and comments made by fellow AEW announcer Ian Riccaboni online. The former WWE and NJPW commentator has previously vowed that the company “will get theirs” and soon launched a lawsuit against Tony Khan’s company alongside Brandon and Bret Tate.
The Tate twins are best known as The Boys, having accompanied Dalton Castle to the ring for his bouts for years in Ring of Honor. They were let go from their contracts in April 2024, and Tony Khan had publicly claimed that the Tates had failed to show up for work on several occasions, which is why they joined Kelly in launching a lawsuit.
Tate and Kelly have recently launched an appeal in the lawsuit after it was originally decided that the matter would go into arbitration.
But now Brandon Tate has publicly blasted Tony Khan after AEW tag team The Outrunners were pulled from a planned tag team match against the Tates on an independent show.
Brandon Tate Claims Tony Khan Has Ruined ROH
Taking to social media, Brandon Tate blasted Tony Khan for The Outrunners being pulled from the match and claimed he has “ruined” Ring of Honor’s legacy:
Not only are they causing issues to continue outside of AEW where we no longer work and our personal life, but effecting the independent promotion, wrestlers, fans and everyone involved or planned on attending the show next weekend.
My brother and I have grinded for almost two years trying get our life back from the hole they left us in and were finally able to return to wrestling and make a little money for ourselves to try and bounce back. This dude has ruined over nearly two and a half decades of one of the best companies to ever exist in professional wrestling Ring of Honor and is now pulling talent from the independents just to get his way, but claiming his roster are “independent contractors”.
I hope he realizes the company he once praised about changing wrestling for the better for EVERYONE is going completely backwards and this will one day all catch up to him.
ECC, the promotion running the show in question, confirmed that “Due to no fault of their own but rather the guidelines within their obligation to AEW, the Outrunners have been informed they will be unable to perform in their scheduled match.” They went on to cancel the show due to a number of double-booked talent.
Neither ECC nor the Tates have explained why they were booked in a match with a team that is signed to a company they are currently in litigation with in the first place.