Kevin Kelly on AEW: “I just felt like it was a very different kind of place and very stressful”

Appearing at a virtual signing for K & S WrestleFest, former AEW commentator Kevin Kelly explained his side of his story after he was fired from the company a few months ago.

Kelly and his broadcast colleague Ian Riccaboni had a falling out in AEW, with the ROH announcer making several accusations against Kelly online, including being a QAnon conspiracy theorist among others.

Kelly said that he and Riccaboni were supposed to be friends and this whole thing could have been ironed out if he just called him and talked about it. Eventually, the two spoke and Riccaboni accused Kelly of doing things to him over the years which angered him, things which were never explained because Kelly said he doesn’t know what they are.

He noted that he went to AEW’s management to discuss the issues and complained that HR refused to tell him what the outcome of the disciplinary committee was when he reported Riccaboni’s libelous comments.

Kelly said that he had several mental health issues during his time in AEW which also affected his marriage and was set to visit an AEW-appointed psychiatrist before he was fired the day before the appointment.

“I was not a fit for AEW,” Kelly said. “I just felt like it was a very different kind of place and very stressful. So many people, there was so much chaos, and it just really stressed me out a lot.”

Kelly joined AEW in June 2023 where he was part of the Collision commentary team but was removed from his position in March of this year.

Colin Vassallo been editor of Wrestling-Online since 1996