Claim Suggests 'Legitimate Wrestlers Believe Tony Khan Doesn't Give A Damn About Women's Wrestling'

The women's division within All Elite Wrestling has been a hot topic over the past week, ever since the AEW Dynamite broadcast panned to a 'Book the Women's Division Better' sign following Britt Baker vs. Taya Valkyrie on July 26. Indie Wrestling Hall of Famer LuFisto has found herself at the centre of the controversy, having initially tweeted: "It's cute how people blame booking for a bad women's division. Talent with too much power; talent denigrating each other; talent trash-talking potential employees so they never get in as soon as they walk in… It starts here - The one you called FN French Canadian a**hole" alongside a GIF of Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka looking on in disbelief.

LuFisto has since clarified her tweet in a long interview with Fightful, during which she detailed issues she had while backstage for an AEW Dark: Elevation match in April 2022, with the indy talent stating that talents were sat around backstage "talking s**t" about each other. She noted that she was initially brought in to possibly become a coach in AEW, which went nowhere after the Dark: Elevation Match, and she was ghosted by the likes of QT Marshall and Shawn Dean soon after. LuFisto also detailed issues she had with Ruby Soho.

The indy talent then continued, commenting on the issues she believes exist within AEW: 

"I'm telling my story and my experience for people to understand that the reason why this division doesn't work is the gatekeeping of it. It's not going to get any better as long as somebody doesn't stand up. Everybody is afraid to talk. Everybody doesn't want to say what I'm saying right now. I'm even struggling right now, but someone has to say it. Unfortunately, it's the 43-year-old that's doing it because everybody is so afraid to lose their freaking jobs that they don't say anything and they accept things that should not be. Somebody has a tryout and you make sure they look bad? I'm not even talking about myself because I didn't look that bad. I was told following discussions, some girls are asking for guidance and 'Make sure they look bad so they don't come back because there is genuine interest in them.' The girls fighting with each other. I hear it all the time. My ship has sailed, I'm aware of that. 

"One thing, though, I love wrestling with all my heart, so if somebody wants to say I'm bitter, I say, 'F**k you.' I go out there every weekend, I love what I do, I've been to court to defend women's wrestling. The thing that I do not accept, and it's what's going on at AEW right now, women are sh*****g on women when we should be helping each other and lifting each other up. If you're not good enough to be out there and prove you can go and you have to go through politics and people you're with, you don't belong in the sport. Right now, it's filled with people who use wrestling to have that fame. The ones that really fought hard for women to be seen as athletes, that we work together. 

"One of the problems, men are in charge of the women's division. I'll be honest, they don't care. They will put their friends in spots before the women. If you stay up there because you're in your comfort zone, it's not going to change. You need to stand up, you need to speak your mind. Do it politely, but you can't have people running the whole thing with their friends, with their clique, and expect women's wrestling to change and people give it time so it matters. It's not going to change if you don't have people who are passionate about what women's wrestling should be when it's just the people who are out there who want to be there and have a certain power and it doesn't go with what is the best product you can put up. When you look at the talent they have, in and out of the ring.

"You have Jerry Lynn, Christopher Daniels, Chris Hero, Sarah Stock, Leyla Hirsch, Kris Statlander, Jamie Hayter. There is so much talent. Why is it not working? It's not a question of booking because if a wrestler is good and passionate, they make chicken salad out of chicken s**t. I always think about Dusty Rhodes and the polka dots. He made that work. Mizdow could've been terrible, but he got himself over, embracing it. Not telling them what to do. You work with strengths, weaknesses, you work together. You, as the veteran, don't go, 'You're going to do this, you're going to do this. That's the way it works here.' I know I'm going back and forth between so many things, but it shows how chaotic it is. There are so many little problems. Yes, it's booking-related. Yes, it's someone that doesn't put their pants on and say, 'You are talent, give me your ideas, I want to work with you. Don't tell me what to do, I'm the boss, I pay out.' If there is something you don't want to do and are not comfortable, never push your talent to do something they are not comfortable doing, wrestling someone they don't want to. That's creating more problems, injuries, and they're not going to have a good product on TV. 

"You want things to work. If it means this person, this person, and this person creates problems, fire them. You have 60 women who want to be on top and want to give you good matches. You're not using them because you have that core that wants to stay there and will do everything they want to stay there."

Following the publication of Fightful's interview, LuFisto has claimed on social media that she has had a one-hour phone call with a current AEW talent, with the indy wrestler noting that "legitimate wrestlers believe Tony doesn't give a damn about women's wrestling."

"Had a one hour phone call with a current AEW talent. The women who actually addressed the problems I did today were the ones sent home by Tony Khan. There was a meeting to shoot on Thunder Rosa that Khan attended. Before leaving, he reminded them that their segments were the lowest. When some girls arranged a meeting to talk about Baker's crew, one of them ran to Britt to let her know. The girls that wanted to address the problem were the ones punished. Things didn't better. They got worst. The legitimate wrestlers believe Tony doesn't give a damn about women's wrestling and feel like they are going back to the Divas era. Ask me who the f**k am I. Tell me I'm irrelevant and that I'm doing this for attention. Call me a liar. Tell me to kill myself. You keep on closing your eyes and supporting human beings with s****y behaviour. With the messages of support and especially this phone call I received from AEW employees…This nobody did the right thing," she tweeted.