Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
FANatic
Writer, Lover of all things Wrestling. Analytical, Critical, Lovable (hopefully). Lets all have fun!
Posts: 235,512
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Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Jan 3, 2022 22:52:23 GMT -5
I'm glad guys like Dean, Lio, and Hobbs have been more outspoken when it comes to AEW and how hard they're working at continuing to make it a diverse place, putting over the work being done to make it so Eventually though, I really hope Tony says something, maybe he's waiting as others say things, but I hope he puts the final pin in it so to speak.
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The Ichi
Patti Mayonnaise
AGGRESSIVE Executive Janitor of the Third Floor Manager's Bathroom
Posts: 37,295
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Post by The Ichi on Jan 3, 2022 22:57:54 GMT -5
Will Hobbs seems like a really good stand up dude. Brian Cage on the other hand
Unlike Swole, Cage actually deserves that burial for being a total idiot.
I'm a bit concerned that he only "probably" won't murder his family.
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kidkamikaze10
Dennis Stamp
Trying to think of a new avatar
Posts: 4,274
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Post by kidkamikaze10 on Jan 3, 2022 23:15:58 GMT -5
Tony needs to stop hiding behind his employees and own up to his crap.
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Celgress
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
The Superior One
Posts: 19,009
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Post by Celgress on Jan 3, 2022 23:23:50 GMT -5
What is the name of that big hoss billed from Nigeria (I'm not sure if he is really from there, or not) who has been featured on Dark and Elevation alongside BB at different times, Uhtra, or something? He could work in a Wrdlow-like bodyguard role to Baron Black if they want to stick with the faux royalty gimmick for BB. AEW could also add the statuesque woman (she has a great look and presence about her) with the African Princess gimmick (I forget her name it starts with A I think) if they want to have a ready made stable M’Badu & Queen Aminata? Yeah, those are the two. I think the three could make an interesting stable.
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Post by polarbearpete on Jan 3, 2022 23:51:29 GMT -5
I do think it's kind of f***ing weird that it's all these guys coming out and saying things and not the person who said the thing in the first place. This is not a shot at Will Hobbs in any way, shape or form. He seems like a good dude. It’s definitely odd to have these guys coming to his defense with official-looking statements essentially saying what Swole said is wrong, and Khan and the company are good. It’s a different form of doubling down, but unfortunately with no sign of an apology or anything like that coming. And the tweet remains up. Hopefully a statement from Khan is coming soon.
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Post by Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) on Jan 4, 2022 0:01:36 GMT -5
At this point it has been a few days, anything TK says will probably be complete bullshit
Feels more like he is waiting for it to blow up than being truly sorry and I get where Hobbs is coming from and he seems like a really good dude but that's two statements he put out and this last one while nice feels like company man. I ain't knocking out at all and glad he feels comfortable with TK but it is weird to be speaking more than the guy who caused the trouble
Has anyone that released statements said they spoke to Swole?
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Post by "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik on Jan 4, 2022 0:08:26 GMT -5
I think there are two discussions going on. There's the issue with diversity at the company which I think anyone in AEW can address and I welcome their perspective just as Swole and others are free to share their perspective. That's all fine and good and I don't see Hobbs or anyone else taking the heat off the company for Tony or anyone else. They're important players in all this and I want to hear from them.
And then there's the issue with Tony where he directly attacked her for absolutely no reason and he should apologize for that. Tony is more than welcome to defend his record at AEW if he wants to but that shot was out of line and I haven't seen anyone at AEW defend him for that. I hope he takes a step and addresses that but I don't think a lack of a statement from him on that front should detract from the other conversation people are having.
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mistery
King Koopa
Posts: 11,425
Member is Online
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Post by mistery on Jan 4, 2022 0:18:46 GMT -5
Nothing against Will, but as someone who worked in PR for awhile, this is definitely not something he would write on his own. It hits way too many company keywords and feels incredibly corporate. While he may actually feel the way in the message that was released, this feels like something a PR firm told him to tweet out. It feels more like they are trying to paper over Tony's outburst, because he refuses to actually apologize for it. And that's not going to happen. He refused to apologize for the Urban Meyer stuff, and constantly gets into very public slapfights with fans and players of his other sports teams (Fulham and Jaguars). The dude is a complete embarrassment and like I've been saying for months, he desperately needs to hire on a PR firm (AEW executives in particular seem to constantly blunder on the PR front to varying degrees), and either hand over all of his social media accounts to a handler (who is trained in this stuff), or start taking classes.
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Post by Slammy Award-Winning Cannibal on Jan 4, 2022 5:14:52 GMT -5
It’s only a matter of time that Tony has to address it publicly. Given that he’s super friendly with a lot of people in the wrestling media, if he doesn’t address it on Twitter, he’s inevitably going to be asked on Busted Open or anywhere else. And if he’s NOT, well then you know the fix is in and everybody is kowtowing to this f***ing guy. But I really don’t see the latter happen because they’ll lose supporters as well. So yeah, he can stay quiet but he’s gonna have to speak out soon enough.
That being said, the damage is done and the fact that it’s been more than 24 hours (4+ days!!) with no apology, we know this man is just a stubborn asshole. He reminds me of other known figures out there. He LOVES all the praise but he’s thin skinned and lashes out at the smallest criticism and doesn’t apologize. He is a privileged asshole and it’s sad to see.
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kidkamikaze10
Dennis Stamp
Trying to think of a new avatar
Posts: 4,274
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Post by kidkamikaze10 on Jan 4, 2022 5:57:10 GMT -5
Gotta say, maybe Hobbs is cherishing his paycheck a little too much. Maybe he actually believes that stuff.
But I damn sure wouldn't burn a bunch of a potential goodwill with my black peers just to defend my boss' cowardice.
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Ben Wyatt
Crow T. Robot
Are You Gonna Go My Way?
I don't get it. At all. It's kind of a small horse, I mean what am I missing? Am I crazy?
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Post by Ben Wyatt on Jan 4, 2022 7:33:33 GMT -5
Will Hobbs seems like a really good stand up dude.
Brian Cage on the other hand
Unlike Swole, Cage actually deserves that burial for being a total idiot.
Oh. Oh no. Noooooooooooooooooo
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markymark
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 18,279
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Post by markymark on Jan 4, 2022 7:39:18 GMT -5
I'm glad guys like Dean, Lio, and Hobbs have been more outspoken when it comes to AEW and how hard they're working at continuing to make it a diverse place, putting over the work being done to make it so Eventually though, I really hope Tony says something, maybe he's waiting as others say things, but I hope he puts the final pin in it so to speak.
I mentioned the Cage stuff because if Khan fired him and buried him in the process instead of what he said to Swole the IWC wouldve done a quick 180 imo.
Dont expect Khan to say anything until tomorrow, he still has to address in person to the roster.
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pinja
Unicron
Posts: 2,998
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Post by pinja on Jan 4, 2022 9:07:20 GMT -5
While it might be nice for Hobbs to see his boss being a person of color, Tony Khan of all people isn't a from-rags-to-riches story. I'm sure there are many people oblivious about who he is, but ultimately he is in a position of power and always has been. Which is the problem to begin with.
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Post by CeilingFan on Jan 4, 2022 9:08:41 GMT -5
While it might be nice for Hobbs to see his boss being a person of color, Tony Khan of all people isn't a from-rags-to-riches story. I'm sure there are many people oblivious about who he is, but ultimately he is in a position of power and always has been. Which is the problem to begin with. His father is definitely a rags-to-riches story.
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Post by Slammy Award-Winning Cannibal on Jan 4, 2022 9:44:09 GMT -5
While it might be nice for Hobbs to see his boss being a person of color, Tony Khan of all people isn't a from-rags-to-riches story. I'm sure there are many people oblivious about who he is, but ultimately he is in a position of power and always has been. Which is the problem to begin with. His father is definitely a rags-to-riches story. I mean, that’s not true either. His father’s parents weren’t billionaires but they were well off and they lived a very comfortable upper middle class lifestyle. That’s not exactly “Rags”.. like at all.
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Post by The Dark Order Inferno on Jan 4, 2022 10:01:13 GMT -5
His father is definitely a rags-to-riches story. I mean, that’s not true either. His father’s parents weren’t billionaires but they were well off and they lived a very comfortable upper middle class lifestyle. That’s not exactly “Rags”.. like at all. Middle class by the standards of wealth in post partition, post colonialism Pakistan, certainly not even close to the kind middle class wealth that could provide him with an affluent life when he headed to north America. Let's not pretend he was Elon Musk, backed by the wealth of daddy's colonial emerald mine or any of the other pretend rags to riches stories of the tech industry where they were just slacker kids in a garage and totally not people with a vast network of contacts, money and ivy league educations thanks to their families. 'His mother was a mathematics teacher in the Government College for Women (now the Government College for Women’s University), while his father had a shop of the survey and drawing accessories in Anarkali. ' en.dailypakistan.com.pk/14-Sep-2020/early-days-of-shahid-khan-one-of-the-richest-pakistani-americans-in-lahore
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ghost
Don Corleone
Posts: 1,747
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Post by ghost on Jan 4, 2022 11:02:27 GMT -5
Gotta say, maybe Hobbs is cherishing his paycheck a little too much. Maybe he actually believes that stuff. But I damn sure wouldn't burn a bunch of a potential goodwill with my black peers just to defend my boss' cowardice. Or maybe his experience and perspective is different from Swole’s. Not everyone is going feel the same way about situations like this. If I worked somewhere and a fired coworker with the same boss as me talked about how racist it was over there, it doesn’t mean that person is wrong. It also doesn’t mean I have to agree with it, and if my perspective was the exact opposite of that person’s, then I too would have every right to feel that way (as Hobbs does). Just because Hobbs is black and defending Khan, it doesn’t mean it was written by a PR team and signed by Hobbs with a gun to his head. Maybe he just sees things differently. If he’s just kissing up to management, then he certainly wouldn’t be the first in wrestling to do so, but it’s unfair to just assume that he is.
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Post by Magic knows Black Lives Matter on Jan 4, 2022 11:28:18 GMT -5
Being blunt about it, TK not making a statement is pretty ridiculous. Your poc talent should be involved in this convo but no, you don’t just get to dip out the back door while nuance is happening. Epitome of being loud as a motorbike but not busting a grape in a fruit fight.
Power and respectability politics is a huge part of this convo and Tony’s abusing the f*** out of that to avoid the fire. Real gross stuff.
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Oak: Certified Jade Hater
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Edgier than Wayne Brady, Harder than Chinese Arithmetic, and Higher than the ratings for Blade: The Series
TOP ROPE CATCH A VIBE YEAH I SWERVE WHEN I DRIVE
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Post by Oak: Certified Jade Hater on Jan 4, 2022 11:46:04 GMT -5
I don’t like Swole. I thought she was bad in the ring and wasn’t sad that she left. If you take color out of it, there were plenty of women who are more talented in the ring and don’t phone in their performances on DARK and Elevation. Sure, Britt was terrible in ring too and then got the Reigns push, but that doesn’t negate the fact that there were women who were busting their ass in every match who deserved a spot, not just Swole. I think how she carried herself, especially with the TBS Title announcement and switching it up once the person she tried to dismiss entered the conversation, speaks volumes on her character.
That said? TK should directly apologize to her for what he said. It’s one thing for a fan to say “oh they aren’t good”, it’s damn near detrimental to a wrestler’s career for a promoter to say “yeah they suck”. I don’t see Vince responding in that manner to released talent, or even speaking about it on investor’s calls. But since TK said something publicly, he should swallow his pride and apologize.
Does he need to do it publicly? I don’t think so. I don’t think he should make this grand gesture. If he wants to, cool. If he decides to do it privately in a one on one setting, that’s his right. I don’t get to tell him how he should apologize so that I feel appeased, nor should anyone. The apology, much like this whole conversation, should be between Swole and TK. Going public about it has only shifted the topic from what it originally was to questions of racism, attacks on POC who have shared their stories and people deciding they were in the wrong, and people going so far as to make stuff up and offer halfhearted apologies when called out, just to try and force an apology. An apology shouldn’t be performance, it should be genuine, and however TK decides to go about it (if he does at all) should be reflective of that. But again, who am I to tell him how to do it?
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Post by eJm on Jan 4, 2022 12:00:57 GMT -5
I feel like some of us are losing track on the wider issue here and it’s a simple one: Tony said his statement publicly. If after what he and Swole said publicly before all this, TK thinks she was actually not worth a damn and a headache or whatever and it’s all in his head, whatever, man, we all have people like that in our lives we don’t tell that stuff to. But he didn’t. So, you know, that sort of is the bottom line here.
Lio, Hobbs etc…I’m not going to say they don’t matter but I sort of put them in the same category as Kevin Owens re-signing with WWE when others let their contracts expire. If they’re happy staying considering everything we know, or in Lio and Hobb’s case anything accused, cool. The only thing that makes is different is, like others are saying, they’re doing the stuff Khan should be doing. Whether he deletes the tweet or not, he should be apologizing not just to Swole but to those he put out there to take heat which is just not fair on any of them.
Now if Swole accepts the apology herself? Honestly, it almost doesn’t matter. She obviously feel burned and that isn’t likely going to change her mind. And if it does? Cool, great. But something needs to happen at this point. It’s gotten way too big to be ignored.
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