AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida is one of the mainstays of the women’s division in AEW and is one of the most talented female pro wrestlers in the world right now.
Shida won the AEW Women’s World Championship from Nyla Rose at Double or Nothing last year and she has managed to remain the champion for one full year. This achievement was celebrated on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite.
The segment commemorated Hikaru Shida being the AEW Women’s Champion for over a year and saw her getting a brand new AEW Women’s Title. However, before the segment started, the Spanish announce team’s microphones were left on and their conversation could be heard during the commercial break on Fite TV.
Alex Abrahantes asked Willie Urbina to do translation for Shida’s promo and then Urbina proceeded to make a racist joke as he mocked Hikaru Shida’s accent. Luis Pulido provided the translation of the exchange below.
Alex Abrahantes: “Do Shida.” (As in translate her promo)
Willie Urbina: Speaks incoherently using a stereotypical accent.
Thunder Rosa: “Shut up, holy crap!” (Laughs)
Willie Urbina: Continues on with accent.
Thunder Rosa: “I will throw the pen at you if you don’t stop.” (Said in a joking manner)
Dasha Kuret: “Stop it! You are mean.” (Seemingly addressing Urbina, sounding crossed about it)
Naturally, this has caused an outrage as many fans stated that Hikaru Shida worked hard to learn the English language and making such racist jokes at her expense is simply intolerable.
We will have to see if Willie Urbina will be punished for his unprofessional behavior. Regardless of that, Hikaru Shia is set to defend her AEW Women’s Championship against Britt Baker at AEW Double or Nothing on May 30. We will have to see if she will be able to retain her title at the pay-per-view.
What’s your take on this? Should AEW release someone over the situation? Sound off in the comments!