Tony Khan Denies Claim of AEW Pulling Mance Warner from 5/22 AAW Event & Warner Clarifies Reason for Pulled Booking Situation

AAW Wrestling had announced prior to the start of their Homecoming event on Friday in Merrionette Park, Illinois that they had pulled Mance Warner from the event due to a sudden request from AEW.

“Mance Warner will unfortunately NOT be appearing at #AAWHomecoming per AEW’s request. We are immediately restructuring the show accordingly and will announce updates as soon as possible.”

Following the announcement, AEW CEO Tony Khan responded on Twitter denying AEW having any involvement with Warner being pulled from the event. Khan stated that this was the first he and anyone in AEW’s office had heard about this situation and Warner was welcome to work for AAW’s show.

“That’s the first that I’ve heard of this, and it’s the first time anyone in AEW’s office has heard of it. He is welcome to do your show.”

That’s the first that I’ve heard of this, and it’s the first time anyone in AEW’s office has heard of it.
He is welcome to do your show.

— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) May 22, 2026

Following Khan’s tweet, Warner responded on Twitter confirming that AEW had to no involvement in the situation and instead his removal was due to him and AAW being unable to agree to terms for his pay rate for the event. Warner also apologized to any fans who were looking forward to seeing him at AAW’s event.

“Want to clarify this situation. AEW did not ask me to pull out of this show:

-my rate was never agreed upon
-I sent $400 to the promoter to cover the flight costs

“I am sorry to any fans who were looking forward to seeing me at AAW. With transparency, I made a decision to withdraw from the show to avoid any % chance of travel issues or any fuck ups ruining a big opportunity. I hope y’all can understand.”

Want to clarify this situation. AEW did not ask me to pull out of this show.
-my rate was never agreed upon
-I sent $400 to the promoter to cover the flight costs
I am sorry to any fans who were looking forward to seeing me at AAW. With transparency, I made a decision to… https://t.co/k2WjBs230S

— Mance Warner (@ManceWarner) May 23, 2026

Warner has made several appearances for AEW for their Ring of Honor brand since this past April.