Tekken champion Arslan Ash has questioned fellow pro Knee for amplifying a tweet about his past anti-doping ban. On stream, he suggested the retweet may have been motivated by a grudge, stating: “If you share something that can damage my career, what can I think of you?”
Tekken 8's most successful player Arslan Ash has called out fellow Tekken pro Knee for pro-actively sharing a recent tweet relating to his IESF anti-doping violations from 2022.
Arslan Ash expressed his belief that his South Korean rival is rooting for his downfall and that Knee's actions might be part of a "grudge" against him. Almost a month after the tweet, Arslan Ash is demanding Knee explain his actions.
Arslan Ash's comments on Knee were made on the Final Judgement 2025 stream. Final Judgment is a community Dojo 96+ event on the Tekken World Tour 2025, the largest regional format, the results of which counted towards the Pakistan Regional Rankings.
What did Knee share on social media?
On July 2, Knee retweeted the following tweet by Twitter user onibakuman, outlining IESF's official statement on Arslan Ash's violation of the anti-doping rule. The tweet now has over 1.3 million impressions.
Important context for Arslan Ash's frustration is that the IESF's ruling was regarding the World Esports Championships back in 2022 which was played on Tekken 7. Arslan Ash was given two years of ineligibility from April 2023 to April 2025, which makes it more bizarre why IESF decided to share the ruling in June 2025.
"You can think of this like he's [Knee] ready for my downfall"
Arslan Ash claimed on the Final Judgment stream that the tweet by onibakuman gained massive reach primarily because Knee shared it. However, the Pakistani pro believes Knee should have approached the situation differently, and hinted it may have been done deliberately to damage his reputation.
"I didn't think he had beef, but I still don't understand why he shared that tweet," said Arslan Ash on stream. "He [Knee] was the first our person to share that tweet, and the rest of the world knew because of him."
"I didn't answer, otherwise this thing will stay inside me. You can think of this like he's ready for my downfall. If you retweet a tweet that can damage my reputation or career, then what can I think of you?"
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"Why did he do that?" ArslanAsh demands answers from Knee
Knee's involvement in promoting the IESF anti-doping ruling on social media is clearly still a pain point for Arslan Ash. Over a month has passed since the post, but Arslan Ash is now actively looking for a response from the South Korean to explain his actions.
"Everyone took my side, but I was like why did he [Knee] do that? What was he thinking? What i think is he might have a grudge but I don't understand why," added Arslan Ash. "Is it because I said Bryan is Top 3?*"
"This is why I've been doing all this stuff. I need an answer, Why did he do that? Because of him, other people starting doing that [sharing]. He could ask in person about it. That's weird."
Has Knee responded to Arslan Ash?
Knee has not yet replied to Arslan Ash regarding the IESF doping retweet. However, Arslan Ash recent comments on stream have resparked the debate and led to Tekken 8 fans choosing their champion.
This debate is running in tandem with an going back and forth between Knee and Arslan Ash on social media over whether Bryan - Knee's character of choice - is overpowered. To prove he is not, Knee even challenged Arslan Ash to a FT10 Nina vs Bryan reverse battle.
When will Knee and Arslan Ash next play on LAN?
Knee and Arslan Ash will both be at EVO 2025 on Aug. 1 to Aug.3, meaning we could even see the two players face off on LAN. A top 4 finish for Arslan Ash would also secure his spot at the Esports World Cup from Aug 13. to Aug. 16, an event Knee already qualified for.
Let us pray the Tekken 8 gods give us what we want, Arslan Ash vs Knee on LAN would be incredible given recent events.
*Bryan being Top 3 is a reference to an ongoing discussion on Twitter/X, which has led to Knee being memed on for claiming his main Bryan is not top 5.
