AEW Fires Announcer Willie Urbina After Racist Mockery Of Hikaru Shida

AEW Spanish language commentator Willie Urbina mocked Hikaru Shida’s Japanese accent by using a very stereotypical and offensive imitation of her. This sparked outrage within the fan base. Now he is no longer with the company.

Tony Khan did not wait long to release Urbina from his position with the company according to PW Insider. He will not commentate at Double or Nothing as AEW Friday Night Dynamite was his final appearance in the company.

The release came hours after audio of Urbina, who apparently was not aware his mic was broadcasting, mocked Hikaru Shida’s accent during a conversation with other announcers where they were discussing who was going to translate Shida’s promo for the Spanish language broadcast of Dynamite.

This did not come as a huge surprise for fans. His mockery was very offensive and everyone with him in the commentary booth was in a very tough situation due to his remarks. AEW did not wait around to fire him before the controversy snowballed into questioning why they haven’t taken action.

Are you surprised by this firing? Sound off in the comments!