In a recent appearance on Robbie Fox’s “My Mom’s Basement” podcast, AEW wrestler Brody King highlighted the increased crossover that punk music has had with wrestling in recent years, and credited former AEW World Champion CM Punk for bringing the punk music genre to the wrestling industry.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On there being more punk representation now in wrestling: “100%. It is unique that, when we were growing up, there was The Headbangers, Mosh and Thrasher, and it was like, that’s not them. That’s a fucking gimmick, someone dressed them up. It was all just a gimmick. I think anything like that, aside from Jerry Lynn, Jerry Lynn is the best, and he is a true metalhead and lives by what he says.
“But now there is actual representation for kids like myself that were growing up, wanting to see these people be the real thing in real life. CM Punk was really the one that kind of blew the door open for that. He was six-foot-one, six-foot-two, normal body guy, tattoos. He looks like someone that would be going to a punk or hardcore show. He’s not Batista-big or whatever, but he had that attitude, and he had that fire behind him that you could tell that he was real.”
On helping get people into punk music: “Now you have me, you have Darby Allin, you have The Butcher, Andy Williams, who is from Every Time I Die, or as just says, from music now. You got Ruby Soho. You got all these people that are actually representing punk and hardcore music in a proper way, know what they’re talking about. You put them on a podcast, they can talk about music forever. I’ve hung out with Darby. Just the other day, he’s just like, ‘Hey, you want to meet Raymond Pettibon?’ I was just kind, ‘What the fuck, dude?’ The guy did all the Black Flag artwork. I’m like, ‘Hey, man, nice to meet you, big fan.’ He was kind of a weirdo, but he was great. But it’s cool that kids can listen to a podcast like this and be like, ‘Oh, I want to know more about Brody,’ and it’s like, ‘Oh, what’s God’s Hate, or what’s Dead Body, or what’s King Nine?’ I’ve had a lot of kids come up to me and be like, ‘Hey, I got into hardcore music because of you, and now I like this band and this band. Do you have any other hands you’d like to recommend?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, listen to all this.”
On several AEW stars coming to a hardcore music show during Full Gear weekend: “Like King Nine was saying in their podcast, during Full Gear, we played a show in Brooklyn. It was King Nine, God’s Hate, Living Weapon, and Eternal Bleeding. A lot of wrestling fans came to that show, and a lot of wrestlers came to that show. It was Darby, Santana, Ortiz, Eddie Kingston, Ethan Page, Danny Garcia, Isiah Kassidy. They were in the pit, stage-diving. But it was a lot of their first experience in a hardcore show, and watching their faces was really funny. Darby is used to that, he knows what he’s doing. But a lot of those guys are just like, ‘What the fuck is happening?’”
On going viral for stage diving: “It’s funny, the people that don’t understand that that is allowed in that environment. There was the picture of me going viral stage-diving at Sound and Fury, and wrestling Reddit was not having it. They were just like, ‘This is dangerous, you’re gonna paralyze somebody.’ They’re just harping on me. I’m like, those people knew what was happening, I knew what was happening. It was safe, it’s fine, shut up.’”
During a recent interview with SI.com, NJPW star David Finlay shared his experience training with WWE power couple Natalya and Tyson Kidd.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
David Finlay on training with Tyson Kidd and Natalya: “I watch wrestling every day. My three go-tos to watch are Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and my dad, Fit Finlay. The last year, year and a half, living in Tampa, I live pretty close to [WWE’s] Tyson Kidd and Nattie Neidhart, and I’ve trained with them in their ring. I’ve been picking [Kidd’s] brain for the last year and a half in their version of the dungeon. I grew up with a ring in my backyard, just like Nattie did. I’m in there on a regular basis fine-tuning my skills. It’s not so much training. It feels more like a Fight Club, and that’s translated well for me in New Japan.”
On learning through trial and error in his career: “I’ve been wrestling for a decade. For too long, I was trying to be someone I’m not.”
Meanwhile, former WWE Superstar Matthew Rehwoldt (Aiden English) took to Twitter to announce that he is currently accepting bookings and is willing to get back in the ring. Rehwoldt tweeted,
“Here’s your reminder that the Drama King is an unsigned free agent with availability coming up to add a little drama to your shows. Announcing/hosting/managing/…maybe a few bumps left in the tank. BOOKING: [email protected]”
Here’s your reminder that the Drama King is an unsigned free agent with availability coming up to add a little drama to your shows
Announcing/hosting/managing/…maybe a few bumps left in the tank 😳
BOOKING: [email protected] pic.twitter.com/r5lBIhRa6T
— Matthew Rehwoldt (@DramaKingMatt) April 19, 2023
I can attest to that statement. He hosted the "Battle for Texas" in San Antonio for The Overwatch League in 2022 and was off the charts..and he was great during the "RUSEVVVV DAAAY" era. Best part? More than willing to take photo ops with me and my son.
— Vince 22 (@VinceG222) April 19, 2023
Wait, so you're on Impact with a per-appearance deal? I thought you were signed full-time there
— Kimi Martinez #JB17 (@KimiMtz17) April 19, 2023
