10 Biggest AEW Scandals
3. Commentary Racism Furore
Willie Urbina used to handle AEW's Spanish commentary duties before he was fired for mocking Hikaru Shida.
The timing was particularly cruel, not that there is ever an acceptable time for Urbina's deplorable conduct; after spending so long as AEW Women's Champion, parading a title that physically mirrored her small presence on television, Shida's reign was commemorated on May 28 with an overdue redesign in a belated gesture of her accomplishment. It wasn't enough, but it was something. Urbina overshadowed what was a nice moment nonetheless.
Unaware that his mic was hot, Urbina was asked to translate Shida's promo by Alex Abrahantes. It's unclear if he was asking in earnest. Regardless, Urbina launched into a caricature of an impersonation, to which Thunder Rosa and Dasha Gonzalez exploded into what you would dearly hope was nervous laughter. Worse still, Shida conducted the promo in English. She had made an additional, concerted attempt to connect with the AEW audience. The vile scene was caught instantly, and Urbina was fired the very next day.
Khan personally apologised to Shida in the aftermath, who is thankfully involved in an all too rare development at time of writing: a feud outside of a women's title picture.