{"id":114912,"date":"2026-01-12T12:02:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T12:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/114912\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T12:02:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T12:02:38","slug":"aews-brooding-brawler-brody-king-has-a-softer-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/114912\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW’s brooding brawler Brody King has a softer side"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you get your first look at Brody King, your first impression is probably \u201cbig.\u201d At 6-foot-5, 285 pounds, he towers over most of his opponents in the wrestling ring, and when he scowls or threatens them, you can add \u201cintimidating\u201d to that opening description.<\/p>\n

Then the match starts and you see he has outstanding agility for a big man, and it\u2019s clear that the word \u201cathletic\u201d joins the fray.<\/p>\n

On that first look, you probably wouldn\u2019t say the All Elite Wrestling star was \u201cfunny\u201d or \u201cerudite.\u201d But outside of his character, he was all that and more during his recent conversation with the Sentinel.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll bring the entire package to Addition Financial Arena on Jan. 21 when AEW presents Dynamite, a weekly show which airs on TBS and HBO Max.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone thinks of me as the brooding brawler, scary guy,\u201d said King, a 10-year veteran. \u201cIt takes people off guard when they\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, he\u2019s funny,\u2019 or \u2018Oh, he\u2019s kind of nice, too.\u2019 For the character, it\u2019s almost scarier when the scary guy is kind of nice. You think, \u2018I don\u2019t know if I trust this.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Since his AEW debut in 2022, King has become best-known as a tag-team wrestler through his association with the House of Black and his current \u201cBrodido\u201d team with lucha libre star Bandido. He said he\u2019s comfortable in a tag-team environment but can\u2019t deny that a singles run could be just as rewarding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever I\u2019m in a tag team, I try to educate myself on everything (my partner) does,\u201d said King, 38. \u201cI have a very good memory, so I\u2019m good at remembering and digesting what we need to do in a match. And we love to try to put the other in the spotlight, trying to bring out the best in each other. That\u2019s the fun part of it for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

WWE\u2019s Roxanne Perez is living out her wildest dreams<\/a><\/p>\n

That singles push might be coming soon. Bandido will challenge MJF for the AEW world championship next week, and King alone was the subject of a pre-taped vignette on the Jan. 7 episode of Dynamite.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to see Bandido become AEW world champion, but I would also love to be world champion or TNT champion,\u201d King said. \u201cSingles gold is the goal, but it\u2019s not the ultimate goal for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of King\u2019s other great loves is hardcore music \u2014 since before he was wrestling, he has been a lead vocalist of the band God\u2019s Hate, recording two EPs, two full-length albums and playing live shows, most recently in front of 6,000 people at the Sound and Fury Fest in Los Angeles last July. God\u2019s Hate has recorded entrance themes for King, the House of Black and fellow AEW wrestler Julia Hart.<\/p>\n

\"BrodyBrody King’s tag team with Bandido, dubbed Brodido, held the AEW tag team championship during 2025. (All Elite Wrestling)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve always wanted in God\u2019s Hate was just to be a hardcore band. We\u2019re hitting that at the highest level possible while staying true to our roots,\u201d King said. \u201cThe wrestling career is definitely my bread and butter, so I\u2019ve got to stick with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

King made headlines last June when, shortly after immigration enforcement began to ramp up in his hometown of Los Angeles, he wore a T-shirt to the ring that read, \u201cAbolish ICE.\u201d He said he values the freedom of expression that AEW allows him, but he doesn\u2019t make a point to speak out on the political situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look at things in a very human way of what I feel is right and wrong,\u201d King said. \u201cI like trying to stand up for people who don\u2019t have the voice to speak up for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Central Floridians might have gotten their first look at King during Major League Wrestling\u2019s residency at Orlando\u2019s Gilt Nightclub in 2017-18. King says that time in MLW was a springboard for the rest of his career, in recognition as well as relationships.<\/p>\n

Jeff Jarrett: AEW talent depth is helping squash injury bug<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMLW is where I got to meet a lot of my peers on the way up,\u201d King said. \u201cI wrestled MVP on my first show, and he became kind of a mentor for me after I found out we both went to punk and hardcore shows. \u2026 He guided a young Brody King who wanted to do all kinds of crazy stuff in the ring that may not have been great for my body\u2019s longevity. He helped guide my way, learn how to protect myself and protect my size.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another friend King met in MLW and at hardcore music shows is Darby Allin, who joined AEW in 2019. Allin said he\u2019s long been a fan of King\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a guy who I thought should have been in AEW from year one,\u201d Allin told the Sentinel. \u201cHe understands that there\u2019s no phoning it in, no taking it easy. Every night he goes out there, he performs literally to his limit, and it\u2019s cool to see that he\u2019s finally taking off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many pro wrestlers at King\u2019s level complain about the miles it takes to make it. It\u2019s like the Dan Fogelberg song says, \u201cThe audience was heavenly, but the traveling was hell.\u201d King sees the travel as a glass half-full.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be just airports, gyms and the arena,\u201d King said. \u201cThink about the one thing that you most want to do. If you\u2019re in Philly, go get a Philly cheesesteak. On New Year\u2019s Eve, we were in Omaha and had Omaha Steaks. They were incredible. It\u2019s easy to get jaded, but if you take a minute and just take it all in, think about what you\u2019re able to do and why you\u2019re doing it, then it becomes a lot more special.\u201d<\/p>\n

jreddick@orlandosentinel.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When you get your first look at Brody King, your first impression is probably \u201cbig.\u201d At 6-foot-5, 285…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114913,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140,51224,110],"class_list":["post-114912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-pro-wrestling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114912\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}