Backstage Rumor on Why Brody King Was Absent From Last Night’s AEW Dynamite

Former AEW World Tag Team Champion Brody King didn’t appear on last night’s episode of Dynamite. Brody is set to challenge MJF for the AEW World Championship at this weekend’s Grand Slam: Australia.

In the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer claimed that Tony Khan didn’t make the decision to not have him on last night’s show. Meltzer noted that the call to not have Brody King appear on the go-home episode of Dynamite ahead of Grand Slam: Australia was made by AEW’s broadcast partner, Warner Bros. Discovery, to avoid the prospect of anti-ICE chants.

According to Meltzer, WBD allegedly made the decision, as it does not want to upset US President Donald Trump because of its pending acquisition by Netflix, which still requires regulatory approval.

“The deal is that they didn’t want the fans in the arena to be chanting that. If Brody came out, there was that risk…when he comes back, it will happen again…. I don’t know how they’re going to handle it. This is again not a Tony call. This is from above. You know what it is; 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 [WBD] got a company they’re trying to sell and get regulatory approval from a guy who is gonna take that stuff personal. That’s just how it is. No Brody King on the show when he absolutely, of course, of course Brody King and MJF should have had a segment on the show,” he said. [H/T: WrestlingNews.co] “

As fans must be aware, massive “F**k ICE” chants broke out in the arena ahead of Brody King’s Eliminator bout against MJF last Wednesday, leading to widespread media attention. Not just Brody, but MJF was also nowhere to be seen on last night’s Dynamite. Their upcoming World Title match was promoted through a video package.

Warner Bros. Discovery denied the claim, saying in a 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.”

Loud *F*ck ICE" chants#AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/ONrbtNfLn4

— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) February 5, 2026