This past Tuesday’s AEW Dynamite saw a segment between world champion MJF and Bullet Club Gold (Jay White, Juice Robinson, The Gunns) that received a ton of backlash online. If you missed it, Juice Robinson threatened MJF with a roll of quarters, a shot at the real-life bullying that the champ endured as child when older kids would throw quarters at him for being Jewish. Many called AEW out for allowing the “Anti-Semitic ” angle to happen due to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Travis Akers, a candidate for the Duval School Board Dist. 7 in Jacksonville, was one of the many accounts that called out AEW and Tony Khan for allowing the segment to go on. Akers even shared an article that TMZ wrote about AEW insensitively including the “quarters” storyline. This is what prompted Tony Khan to reach out to Akers to start a dialogue.
We were watching @AEW when this happened live last night. It was tasteless and a horrible decision by @TonyKhan to pursue an angle woven with anti-Semitism.
We changed the channel. AEW lost me as a fan with this one, which sucks because I really enjoyed their product. https://t.co/qUO5OqRh9D
— Travis Akers (@travisakers) October 12, 2023
Ok. So then let’s keep talking. pic.twitter.com/60vsf2fphF
— Travis Akers (@travisakers) October 13, 2023
Akers later told Awful Announcing, “Yes, Tony reached out via DM. However, we are having an on-going conversation now regarding the angle and my concerns about the anti-Semitic content.”
MJF himself commented on the decision to go forward with the angle, stating that as a Jew he is happy that a pro wrestling storyline can start some tough conversations. You can read about that here.