AEW Fires Kevin Kelly
Ex-Collision commentator GONE from AEW after recent speculation.
AEW has fired commentator Kevin Kelly, reports PWTorch.
Kelly, 56, was removed from AEW's public-facing roster on Thursday, sparking speculation on his future. This followed a recent series of Twitter/X posts appearing to publically criticise the Tony Khan-helmed promotion and fellow announcer Ian Riccaboni.
PWTorch states that people within AEW, including Khan, saw Kelly's performances as "subpar." The former WWE commentator typically worked on AEW's Saturday night brand, Collision, alongside Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness, having started with AEW in June 2023. Schiavone has since replaced Kelly as Collision's lead announcer.
Per the Torch, Kelly's recent social media activity was behind his sacking. On 2 March, Kevin used X to claim Riccaboni had "libeled him", seemingly expressing frustration at his AEW usage in the process:
But the idea of what I bring to the table is lost there because Ian libeled me. So I sit on the bench, valued by my peers, waiting to get my number called.— Kevin Kelly (@realkevinkelly) March 2, 2024
When you go out of your way to intentionally mischaracterize my raising awareness of the global horrors of child trafficking to a fringe conspiracy theory that everyone knows is bullshit in order to hurt my career and standing in the industry, that at the very least is libelous— Kevin Kelly (@realkevinkelly) March 2, 2024
Kelly has been in the wrestling business since 1991, when he entered the independent scene as a ring announcer. Brought into the then-WWF in 1996, he departed WWE during a series of budget cuts in 2003. Following spells in MLW and ROH in the 2000s and 2010s, Kelly landed a prominent gig as an English-language commentator for NJPW - a position he held until November 2023.