Written by Brandon Hoffman
Two Wednesdays ago on AEW Dynamite, Brody King and MJF were at the forefront of a crucial moment in time for television audiences worldwide. Before the match began, the Las Vegas crowd rang out chants of “F**K ICE” with the wrestlers soaking in the magnitude of this vocal support.
The lack of censorship to the chants made this moment a big headliner in the news. It wasn’t just wrestling news, but big television networks even covered it. Outlets put a spotlight on King’s outreach towards assisting families affected by Minnesota ICE raids reinforce American people’s intensifying opposition to ICE’s rampant abuse in America.
It was all such great publicity for AEW and Brody King, and all this newfound attention begs the question…
Is Brody King defeating MJF at Grand Slam: Australia this Saturday and representing AEW as their new World Champion the correct move?
Currently we have the closest possible chance for Brody King during his entire run with the company, which began in 2022. The strong booking of King mixed with the very popular association with the Las Vegas Dynamite crowd’s “F**K ICE” chants places him in quite a mainstream position. Everyone’s initial reactions on how to handle the ICE chants has spun AEW and Brody King into quite a positive light for wrestling fans alike.
Dissecting Everyone’s Reactions in the Moment
Whenever professional wrestling seeps its way into mainstream news outlets nowadays, it usually has to deal with some political association. Dissecting the Las Vegas crowd’s actions during Feb. 4’s episode of Dynamite makes the “F**K ICE” chants all the more important when under the microscope.
When the “F**K ICE” chants started, it was right before the main event of the show, Brody King v. MJF. The wrestlers, referee Bryce Remsburg, the commentators, and the production truck all took note of the chants and reacted accordingly. MJF made his reaction the most known with a stare into the ringside camera directly akin to Jim Halpert from The Office.
It is important to highlight that referee Bryce Remsburg would hold off on ringing the bell to signal the start of the match. The reason for this was to let the chants project out in the arena before the action demanded the crowd’s attention. After the show, Remsburg took to X to insinuate his decision to halt the action before it began was intentional.
Loud *F*ck ICE” chants#AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/ONrbtNfLn4
— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) February 5, 2026
Along with this, the commentators Excalibur and Tony Schiavone remained silent throughout the duration of the chants. While it would be easy to add a comment in the moment, AEW’s commentary understood when it was best to let the crowd speak for themselves.
All of these elements in mind create for a moment that extended past the world of professional wrestling. It was a statement from AEW to advocate for the crowd’s disdain of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Among those who endorse the chants has historically been Brody King, evident by his “ABOLISH ICE” shirt he wore during AEW’s Grand Slam Mexico last year.
That Dynamite moment has also garnered coverage from large networks such as TMZ Sports, NBC News, and FOX News.
This week, reports circulated from Wrestling Observer Radio that Brody King was blocked from featuring on Dynamite this past week due to the chants. However, Fightful Select would report a narrative with a differing point, stating Warner Bros. Discovery’s denial of Brody King’s sudden absence being forced in a statement to Fightful.
The skepticism from WBD’s statement to Fightful Select was comparable to that of the Briscoe Brothers being blocked from their programming years prior. Regardless of truthful statements, the crowd matching Brody King’s enthusiastic beliefs about abolishing ICE proves a lot for the political spheres in the media. But what about the wrestling sphere?
Another New Face in the Main Event Scene
Brody King is currently very popular with the pro wrestling community, and this association with the crowd’s beliefs are sure to make him even more popular. In the storyline though, King’s power over champion MJF has been a focal point in their ongoing storyline. Earlier this year, King’s former tag partner and real-life friend Bandido would unsuccessfully challenge for MJF’s World Title. King would come to his tag partner’s aid to challenge MJF afterwards.
The story of MJF being scared to wrestle King has translated very well when they wrestled their Eliminator match on Feb. 4. “Hangman” Adam Page would distract MJF and lead the match to a quick ending with King undeniably pinning the World Champion. Thus, King has MJF’s number and it is up to the wrestling world to hope for King to “win the big one” without needing any outside interference.
But it is important to think of AEW’s main event roster pool if King were to become World Champion. Currently, MJF is heavily embroiled with challengers such as Hangman, Andrade El Idolo, Kenny Omega, Swerve Strickland, and many others gunning for AEW’s richest prize. It would be quite the jarring shift if MJF suddenly loses the treasure everyone wants to sail towards.
Would the main event scene turn their attention away from fighting AEW’s top heel in favor of wrestling certified babyface Brody King instead? For that reason it is easy to say that Brody King should not win the World Championship this Saturday. However, it is in AEW’s best interest to say that King SHOULD win.
Beyond Fantasy Booking
It has been proven that Brody King’s messages of abolishing ICE can translate into a supportive crowd. Continuing onto the point made earlier, the impact of the “F**K ICE” chants has reached past the wrestling world and garnered talking points from non-wrestling perspectives. Support of the mainstream chants essentially translate into support for Brody King.
The sheer amount of support for MJF’s upcoming World Title challenger should therefore lead to a level of crowd enthusiasm similar to CM Punk at WWE Money In The Bank 2011. Knowing that his outreach can unite non-wrestling fans and wrestling fans alike must make Brody King feel very important.
To make for a feel-good moment in sports entertainment, Brody King should defeat MJF to capitalize on the popular reactions of the “F**K ICE” crowd chants. The flag bearers for AEW should represent messages that cater towards wrestling fans and non-wrestling fans. A proactive man that advocates for a powerful message is the correct man to lead a company when prompted.
At this point, Brody King has not been in the position of a main event-er in AEW, but another face in AEW’s main event pool stacks the importance of the World Title completely. He has previously had great matches against the likes of Darby Allin, Claudio Castagnoli, and Kazuchika Okada. This proves his reputation of working well with just about anybody with star power.
King has been known as a “jobber to the stars” for a long while, only serving as strong until confronted with a Kenny Omega-level talent. But it is truly felt that now is a better time than ever to pull the trigger on a Brody King World Championship run in AEW.
King’s newsworthy “ABOLISH ICE” shirt at Grand Slam Mexico was a big snowball effect built after all this time. Capitalizing on that momentum while it’s at its hottest after the crowd’s full vocal support leading into Grand Slam Australia would be the best move for AEW to commit to.
