Report: AEW Fires Kevin Kelly Following Libel Accusations

All Elite Wrestling's broadcast booth continues to shift around. Upon the young wrestling promotion's launch on television with AEW Dynamite in Fall 2019, the action was called by a three-man team of Excalibur, Jim Ross, and Tony Schiavone. As the years progressed, JR began to take more of a part-time role while Schiavone split his time between the announce table and backstage interviews. Veteran voice Taz began to tag into the color commentator position. The AEW Dynamite broadcast team was regularly recycled for AEW Rampage, but the launch of AEW Collision led to a completely new booth.

Longtime English voice of New Japan Pro Wrestling Kevin Kelly slotted into the play-by-play spot on Saturday nights while Nigel McGuinness took on color duties. Kelly's final NJPW commitments led to him missing a couple of AEW Collision broadcasts, leading to AEW President Tony Khan tagging in Ring of Honor voice Ian Riccaboni to fill the void when Kelly was unavailable. Riccaboni's work impressed enough to earn him a multi-year contract with AEW, a deal that cemented him as the voice of ROH and the go-to play-by-play fill-in when Excalibur or Kelly are unavailable.

Kevin Kelly Fired Following Libel Accusations

Kevin Kelly is no longer with AEW.

According to PWTorch, Kelly's recent comments on social media led to his firing. Earlier this week, Kelly accused AEW and Ring of Honor commentator Ian Riccaboni of libel, alleging that he was "pushed aside" and placed "on the bench" due to Riccaboni pushing back on polarizing posts on Kelly's social media. The libel accusation was not the sole reason for Kelly's firing, as the report adds that AEW President Tony Khan saw Kelly's performances as "subpar." AEW Collision has been called by Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness in recent weeks.

It's worth noting that AEW originally intended to have Riccaboni be the lead voice of AEW Collision upon its premiere, but Riccaboni wanted to prioritize spending time with his family, leading him to call most Ring of Honor tapings remotely. It was Riccaboni himself who recommended AEW look at Kelly for the AEW Collision play-by-play role.

This is not the first time Kelly and Riccaboni have butted heads. When they were both on the Ring of Honor broadcast team in the 2010s, Kelly called out Riccaboni for responding to a tweet while he was on the air. In 2023, Kelly criticized Riccaboni for wearing a cowboy hat on AEW Collision.