Summary

Brody King said AEW has remained a distinct wrestling product since the promotion launched, and he argued that the wrestlers still there are the ones who genuinely want to work in that environment.

Speaking during a Squared Circle Expo panel, King pointed to Eddie Kingston as an example of the kind of talent AEW has embraced. He said it was "criminal" that Kingston had to wait so long to land on national television, adding that Kingston only works because he is allowed to be himself.

King has also stayed active outside AEW, with a match against Zilla Fatu at HOG Culture Clash already on his calendar.

Quote from Brody King

"I feel like AEW now, and since its inception, has always been a different product for different people. Someone like Eddie [Kingston] should’ve been signed to a contract 20 years ago. For it to take that long for him to be on a national television product, it’s criminal. But, it’s because he is him and you can’t change that."

King later went on to say:

"There’s a lot of people like us that you just — we are going to be who we are. I feel like some people came to AEW thinking that it was going to be something different and they didn’t last, for better or for worse. Some of them have succeeded, some of them haven’t. But the people that are there now want to be at AEW because they want to do the product that we provide."

AEW's identity through Brody King's comments

King's remarks do not set up a new storyline, but they do offer a clear read on how some of AEW's roster views the company in 2026. By centering Eddie Kingston and the idea of wrestlers succeeding as themselves, King framed AEW's identity around presentation and in-ring style rather than trying to mirror another promotion.

That also makes his comments a quiet statement about roster fit. King suggested the current locker room is made up more of talent that actively wants AEW's version of wrestling, which helps explain why voices like his continue to speak so strongly about the promotion's direction.

Sources

As reported by Fightful.