Report: AEW Releases Willie Urbina
The Spanish language announcer has been let go
AEW has released Spanish language broadcaster Willie Urbina, according to reports from Mike Johnson of PWInsider and Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
During Friday night's live Dynamite, Urbina was caught on a live microphone during a commercial break mocking Asian accents.
The incident occurred prior to a segment in which Hikaru Shida was honored for her one-year reign as AEW Women's champion. During the break prior to the segment, audio from the Fite.tv Spanish feed was picked up, in which Alex Abrahantes (presumably in a producer's capacity) asked Urbina to interpret her remarks for those watching.
Abrahantes instructed to Urbina, "Do Shida", to which Urbina mockingly imitated an Asian accent. Colleagues Thunder Rosa and Dasha Kuret can be heard asking Urbina to stop. The brief clip circulated across social media through the overnight hours.
AEW has not yet issued a statement of any kind on Urbina's release.
Urbina previously worked for Impact Wrestling in the TNA era. He served as Spanish language announcer for the promotion, and also hosted the web series TNA en Espanol.
Written by Justin Henry
In addition to writing lists and commentaries for Cultaholic, Justin is also a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine, and is co-author of the WWE-related book Titan Screwed: Lost Smiles, Stunners, and Screwjobs.