AEW and its president, Tony Khan, are facing allegations of controversial business practices from singer-songwriter Malover Troye. The California-based musician has claimed the company used one of her songs as an entrance theme for Mina Shirakawa without proper authorization.
The issue stems from the Beach Break edition of Dynamite in mid-May, where Shirakawa returned to AEW for an Eliminator match against Toni Storm, AZM, and Skye Blue. She entered the ring to a new theme song, which was met with immediate fan backlash online. Khan later indicated he changed the music back to her original theme during the post-match exit due to the negative reception.
However, a day after the event, Troye brought a more serious issue to light in a public message to the company president that has since resurfaced.
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“@TonyKhan A song I Wrote was used as Mina Shirakawa’s AEW entrance theme (May 14th) without my permission,” Troye stated. “A 3rd party sold it to AEW after removing my vocals + pressuring me to sign away all rights. I refused it. It aired anyway. Please make this right!”
The accusation adds another layer to the ongoing criticisms directed at Khan’s management and booking decisions. Following the AEW Dynasty pay-per-view on April 6, Khan contended with significant fan disapproval after the main event, which saw Swerve Strickland lose his bid for the AEW World Championship against Jon Moxley after interference from a returning Young Bucks. In the post-show media scrum, Khan acknowledged Strickland was the “more popular man in the house” but defended the outcome as creating an “intriguing situation.”
More recently, criticism has been focused on the booking of AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada, whose title reign has garnered a polarizing reception. Many observers have found his character to be underwhelming and portrayed as weak compared to his celebrated “Rainmaker” persona from his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, a point of concern ahead of the All In event scheduled for next month.
Amidst these various points of contention, Khan made a public call on June 4 for the AEW fanbase to welcome WWE viewers with “arms wide open” and to avoid “gatekeeping” the product. The overture received a mixed response; while some applauded the sentiment, skeptics pointed to the company’s earlier marketing that often positioned WWE as an adversary.
As of now, the status of Malover Troye’s situation with AEW remains unresolved.
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