As noted, this past weekend AEW had released Spanish announcer Willie Urbina after he was caught on a hot mic on the Fite TV broadcast of AEW Dynamite mocking Hikaru Shida’s accent. Alex Abrahantes, Dasha Kuret and Thunder Rosa were also on commentary for the incident. Kuret and Rosa were awkwardly laughing while Urbina kept mocking Shida, and the two tried to get him to stop.
Hikaru Shida took to Twitter early today and posted the following remarks in response: “I don’t give a shit what other people say about my race because I love it and I proud of it, and because I know which is fool. I don’t even feel anger. So don’t need to worry about me. Thank you.”
Following AEW Double or Nothing, AEW President and CEO Tony Khan addressed the incident in a post-show media scrum.
“I didn’t think there was any excuse,” Khan expressed. “I was not happy with it, so after I heard what was said and having talked to the other commentators involved about what was said about her, who I also apologized to, I thought it was best for the company to make the decision that we made.”