Backstage Update On Adam Cole's AEW Status, Will Ospreay To Be Absent From Dynamite, More

During a recent appearance on the "BodySlam" podcast, Brody King revealed that Darby Allin introduced him to AEW President Tony Khan right after ROH ceased operations.

King and Allin faced off at AEW WrestleDream 2024, and King discussed how Allin assisted him in securing a gig at AEW following the closure of ROH in late 2021.

King said, "I wouldn't say uncomfortable it was definitely different you know I think a lot of people know that I'm a little more reserved on camera. As far as like my personal life you know, I'm not shy about it in interviews or anything like that, but I feel like the general casual audience probably doesn't know a lot of that and they don't know the inner workings. Like they're used to seeing me as this like more cold robotic, like House of Black member. That's like -- you know, I feel like when me, Malakai, and Buddy are together, that's a whole different Brody King in itself. It's like a hive mind of the three of us. But yeah, it was definitely different."

He continued, "But I hope that the audience kind of gets a little bit of that backstory and they know why this is so personal. I mean, Darby is right. The day that Ring of Honor closed, he texted me the very next day and said, hey this is Tony Khan's number he's expecting you to call him and it's like you know that stuff like that is like not is nothing I can ever repay but you know me and Darby don't see eye to eye in all facets of our life so you know where I think that there's a baseline of respect and you know maybe love there somewhere but sometimes you got to fight it out to to get through the weeds."

Swerve Strickland returned at AEW WrestleDream 2024 to counter MVP's business proposal but opted for Prince Nana.

During the post-show media scrum, Swerve addressed his experience in the ring with Shelton Benjamin and highlighted the significance of his tenure in Defy Wrestling during the post-show press conference.

You can check out some highlights from the presser below:

On what it felt like to be in the ring with Shelton Benjamin (question asked by Jason Jones, Athletic): "It's pretty surreal. Honestly, over the last year, I've been doing that. I got into the ring with RVD, childhood hero, I got in the ring with Jeff Hardy, childhood hero, I got in the ring with Bryan Danielson at Wembley. These are guys I've been studying since I was a kid. With Shelton, we've had a match before but to do it on a new stage, once again, AEW does a great job bringing in these guys, these legends, and really bringing that shock back into them, revitalize them for the next stage of their career."

"With Shelton, it's gonna be a true gift to the AEW fans."

On how important Defy Wrestling was for his career (question asked by Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer): "Huge. I love Defy. That's a flag I'll always plant, and every time I get the chance to shout them out, especially in this state, I'm gonna do it. Defy really was the birthplace for a lot of us to really get to the next level, especially on the independent level, that was really where elite wrestling came from, especially for this area, Pacific Northwest, there's only a handful of guys who have made a name for themselves out of this area. Defy introduced a whole new crop, a new wave, like myself, Darby, Nick Wayne, Brody, there were so many matchups, when they happened in Defy, they sparked a wave of attention across the country and then across the pond, in UK, and you had PROGRESS coming over and doing these things, New Japan started doing some work with them, it was instrumental. It really taught me how to truly be a star."