Last week, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) attracted some unexpected mainstream attention as fans chanted “F*ck ICE!” ahead of a main event featuring Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Brody King. The chants were largely viewed as a show of support for King, who has been vocal in his opposition to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in recent months.
As such, it was certainly curious that King didn’t appear on the following episode of AEW Dynamite, especially as he’s just days away from main-eventing one of the promotion’s biggest shows of the year. Yet despite speculation to the contrary, Warner Bros. Discovery is publicly denying that it blocked the pro wrestler from appearing on the show out of concern that such chants would be replicated.
“Warner Bros. Discovery did not have any involvement in Brody King’s upcoming AEW schedule,” WBD said in a statement to Awful Announcing. “Any speculation to the contrary is categorically false. Brody is scheduled to appear during the next AEW event, which will air this Saturday on TNT and HBO Max.”
The primary source of that speculation was longtime pro wrestling insider Dave Meltzer, who indicated on his Wrestling Observer Radio podcast that WBD was responsible for King not making an in-person appearance on Wednesday night. According to Meltzer, the decision for King not to appear was made above AEW owner and president Tony Khan, with the Wrestling Observer Newsletter publisher suggesting the precaution was taken due to Warner Bros.’ pending sale to Netflix, which will require regulatory approval.
“The deal is that they didn’t want the fans in the arena to be chanting that,” Meltzer said. “If Brody came out, there was that risk.”
Meltzer added, “This is not a Tony call. Nobody wants to get on Trump’s bad side. If it wasn’t for that, nobody would care, it’s just a chant, but unfortunately, they’ve got a company they’re trying to sell and get regulatory approval from a guy who is gonna take that stuff personal.”
While WBD has publicly denied Meltzer’s report, it still remains odd that King didn’t make an in-person appearance on Wednesday night (a video package for his upcoming match did air). Not only did AEW seemingly fail to capitalize on the mainstream attention from last week’s viral moment, but King and Friedman are set to have a rematch in the main event of Saturday’s episode of AEW Grand Slam: Australia, one of the pro wrestling promotion’s biggest shows of the year.
While WBD noted that King is scheduled to take part in Saturday’s show, it’s worth noting that the crowd in Sydney, Australia, may be less apt to chant “F*ck ICE!” than Wednesday’s audience in Ontario, California, would have been. In any event, it will certainly be worth monitoring how King is utilized on AEW airwaves following the second consecutive week in which he’s helped generate publicity — wanted or otherwise — for the company.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.