Ariel Helwani Hits Back at “Snowman” Tony Khan

Written by James Holder • Published 18th February 2023
Ariel Helwani

Ariel Helwani was on hand in his hometown of Montreal, Canada where he appeared on Friday Night SmackDown.

On the show, Helwani did a short segment in the crowd discussing Sami Zayn’s upcoming clash with Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber. His appearance came after he lent his voice to a promotional video for WWE hyping Zayn’s return to Montreal and his match with the Tribal Chief.

While the appearance passed without much of a second thought from most fans, AEW boss Tony Khan was less than impressed. Khan slammed the MMA journalist as a “fraud” stating that he was as much of a legitimate journalist as AEW announcer Tony Schiavone.

Helwani wasted little time in hitting back, replying that he couldn’t wait for their next chat, before telling Tony Schiavone not to listen to the “snowman.”

“Thanks for watching, old friend! Can’t wait for our next chat. (Also, don’t listen to the snowman, Schiavone. You’re a legend in my books.)”

Khan later replied “Good luck with the unbiased journalism.”

Why Did Tony Khan And Ariel Helwani Fall Out?

Khan’s comments appeared to be in response to remarks made by Helwani after he was interviewed on the MMA Hour back in 2022. During the interview, Helwani repeatedly asked questions in relation to CM Punk, which Khan batted away.

After the interview Helwani stated:

“He didn’t want to answer anything. You’re going to come on and promote X, Y, and Z, great. And I’ll play that dance with you. I did, at the beginning. But you got to give us something, to not even tell me how you were feeling.

I’m not asking for specifics, alright fine I am, but is Punk going to wrestle for you, is he coming back, you don’t want to get into it, fine. But tell me how you were feeling. Give me something.”

Critics of Helwani claim that he is pro-WWE and anti-AEW due to his friendship with WWE CEO Nick Khan.

H/t to WrestlingNews.Co