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WBD Responds to Claims they Blocked Brody King From Appearing on AEW Dynamite

Warner Bros. Discovery has told The Takedown on SI that no one there stopped Brody King from appearing on Wednesday's episode of AEW Dynamite.
Rick Ucchino|
Brody King
Brody King | Lee South - All Elite Wrestling

Brody King did not appear on Wednesday night's episode of AEW Dynamite in Ontario, California, but Warner Bros. Discovery claims his absence had nothing to do with the possibility of more 'F--- ICE' chants coming out over the airwaves.

Despite the fact that he's just a couple of days away from headlining Grand Slam Australia, which will air on TNT and HBO Max Saturday night beginning at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT), a report from the Wrestling Observer Thursday morning said that King was blocked from being booked on Wednesday night.

It was a decision that Dave Meltzer said came from above AEW President Tony Khan's head, and stemmed from concerns that the Ontario crowd would pick up where the Las Vegas crowd left off regarding a very public display against immigration and customs enforcement.

"You know what it is, nobody wants to get on [President] Trump's bad side," Meltzer said. "If it wasn't for that, nobody would care, it's just a chant, but unfortunately [Warner Bros. Discovery are] trying to sell and get regulatory approval from a guy who is gonna take that stuff personal."

Those "F--- ICE" chants from the February 4 edition of AEW Dynamite ended up making national headlines.

Neither King nor AEW Men's World Champion MJF was on Wednesday night's episode of Dynamite. A video package hyping up their title fight this Saturday night was aired instead.

Warner Bros. Discovery vehemently denies pulling Brody King from AEW programming

Brody King
Brody King | Lee South - All Elite Wrestling

In the hours after that Wrestling Observer report came out, The Takedown on SI spoke to a source at Warner Bros. Discovery who denied that the company had any involvement with keeping Brody King from appearing on Dynamite. The company has since release the following public statement:

“Warner Bros. Discovery did not have any involvement in Brody King’s upcoming AEW schedule. 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 Takedown on SI has reached out to representatives from All Elite Wrestling in an official capacity for comment, but have yet to hear back. We'll provide more information or a response from AEW, just as soon as one becomes available.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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