Hot on the heels from his brutal match with Darby Allin at AEW’s WrestleDream, we sat down with Brody King to discuss wrestling as a singles competitor, the constant rumours surrounding House of Black and his future ambitions in wrestling…
Going into WrestleDream, Brody King was yet to suffer a pinfall defeat by his daredevil opponent. Considering the trajectory of both performers, that feat is made all the more impressive when that particular record spanned multiple promotions including EVOLVE, AAW, PWG, and AEW.
A couple of weeks on from having his shoulders pinned by Allin for the first time, just how was the former AEW World Trios Champion feeling?
“Well first I used a lot of ice and ibuprofen! I’ve been watching the match back and taking it in for what it was to other people. Obviously when you’re in the moment and you’re in that atmosphere, it’s much different than watching it back.” Said Brody.
“Across the board I’m really proud of that match and of course the outcome is not always what you want, but sometimes that doesn’t matter. I proved that I can be a singles competitor once again, when the time comes, and if there’s an opportunity to do that, I will always jump at it.”
Brody vs Darby
When answering Darby’s open challenge at WrestleDream, there was a lot of excitement online that Brody would finally get a singles match on an AEW PPV. Unlike the online noise, Brody remained a lot more balanced when asked about his own preference.
He said, “I feel like you always get this certain reassurance and confidence from really knocking it out of the park in a singles match, because it’s just you and the other guy.”
“You never know in a tag match or a trios match who the fans are really connecting with, but to do it yourself is always very rewarding. That’s not to say I don’t love tag team and trios wrestling because that is a whole different art form of its own.”
“Having to mesh all these different styles and different personalities is always very hard and I think House of Black is always top notch at that. Whether it be me and Malakai, or me and Buddy, all three of us together or Malakia and Buddy. We all just kind of know what page each other is on, we all know how to balance each other out, and we all have very different styles and I think they mesh very well.”
Always a divisive voice, wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer awarded the match between Darby Allin and Brody King, four and a half stars in his ratings. When discussing match ratings Brody once again proves level headed when accepting praise or criticism.
“It’s easy for people to say ‘they’re not a wrestler, so they don’t know what they’re talking about’, but across the board you have to take everybody’s opinion good and bad for what it is.”
“You can find little things in each one to critique yourself with and Meltzer loves modern wrestling. I mean he loves wrestling in general, he’s a wrestling historian. So of course it’s cool when you get a good score from him, but it’s not the be all and end all, because you’re going to have the opposite end to the spectrum telling you that it was the worst match they’ve ever seen.”
Although she may have been the latest addition to the House of Black, Julia Hart has transformed not just her look but her career since joining the group and Brody is full of praise for the former TBS Champion.
He said, “I think you’ve seen someone come out of their shell completely and mature into the performer that they are today. I don’t think anybody would have ever thought that the bubbly little cheerleader would have been this gothic powerhouse, coming in with fire and the crazy hat and all that stuff.”
The House Always Wins
“It’s night and day from what she started with and what she is now, whether she’s the same Julia her entire career or that changes, I think it shows range. It shows what she can evolve into as a competitor and as an entertainer.”
“She’s 22 years old and I think that the future is literally endless for her! She’s athletic, she has the full package of what you would want in a professional wrestler or even if she wanted to translate that to film or TV, she’s got it all.”
There are a few things in life that are guaranteed: Death, taxes and constant social media speculation about members of the House of Black. But does that noise ever get through?
“It’s probably a weekly discussion of ‘what is going on this week’ that type of thing and it’s always very funny what people are speculating! But it’s always nice to be part of the conversation and have people excited about what you’re going to do next…” Said Brody with a smile.
So exactly what is next for Brody King and the House of Black?
“I would love to go back to New Japan, in Japan specifically, and do some matches there. I would love to do a trios match with the House of Black in Japan, I think that would be really amazing!” Said Brody.
“Of course having a title is cool, because it is another accomplishment under your belt, but that’s never been my ultimate goal in wrestling. Obviously with titles comes more money or more validation to certain people, but I look forward most to wrestling different people and pushing myself in different directions.”
You Can’t See Me…
“This program with Darby kind of came out of leftfield when he made that open challenge and I feel like I was able to express myself in a different way than I have been the last couple years with House of Black. You got to see a little bit more behind the curtain and there was a little bit more personal life of Brody King, even kind of throwing it back to coming out with the camo jacket and face mask.”
“I would love to wrestle Samoa Joe. That’s always the day one person in AEW (that I’ve wanted to wrestle). He was someone that I watched early on in my training career and ever since he’s just been one of my top favourite wrestlers.”
“Just stepping with people that I haven’t and going different places and having them experience what my brand of wrestling is…that’s what my goals are. I want to be AEW Heavyweight champion, that would be really awesome someday, but I’m not going to hang my hat on that!”
