Warner Bros. Discovery has formally denied claims that it intervened to keep Brody King off the February 11, 2026 episode of AEW Dynamite due to the potential for “F*ck ICE” chants from fans.
According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, multiple sources confirmed that King was never scheduled to appear on that episode in the first place. Johnson reported that King and several others flew out of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) that night en route to Australia, meaning the travel schedule alone prevented him from being at the Dynamite taping.
Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, who had initially stated that the decision not to feature King came from “above” AEW President Tony Khan, later clarified the situation via Twitter/X. Meltzer wrote that individuals within AEW told him that no one from Warner Bros. Discovery requested King be pulled from the show and that the booking plan was always to feature him only in a video package.
Meltzer did note that there had been discussion over the weekend regarding how much public attention the situation had drawn and that there were concerns on the Warner Bros. Discovery side about the publicity. However, AEW sources reportedly maintained that they were not instructed to keep King off television.
The clarification follows speculation that King’s absence was tied to the chants heard during the February 4 episode of Dynamite, when fans directed “F*ck ICE” chants at the start of his match with MJF. Both King and MJF were promoted via video package on the February 11 show ahead of their scheduled AEW World Championship bout at Grand Slam Australia.
Those at AEW have said nobody from WBD asked them not to use Brody King on last night's show and this was just how it was booked to only use him in a video package. We had heard over the weekend that there were concerns about how much pub the situation had gotten from the WBD…
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) February 12, 2026
