Brody King Talks Hardcore, Hellhounds, and Hiatus on Hey! (EW) with RJ City

On the latest episode of Hey! (EW), AEW's Brody King sat down with RJ City for a raucous and revealing conversation about his straight edge lifestyle, hardcore music roots, statements made, and his dual life as both a pro wrestler and frontman for the band God's Hate.

Equal parts deadpan and deeply principled, King delivered one of the most unfiltered and compelling episodes to date.

▶️ Watch the full episode of Hey! (EW) with Brody King right here:

From Punk Shows to Powerbombs

King explained that his love of wrestling and hardcore music was born from a childhood shaped by creative chaos.

“My dad was kind of a drifter, my mom was kind of a burnout... and that leads you down a road of a little bit of leniency when it comes to freedom, you know?”

A proud advocate of the straight edge lifestyle, King described his journey into hardcore music as an inevitable evolution from punk and metal:

“Hardcore is the mix between metal music and punk music. It's the baby that they’ve made.”

He painted a vivid picture of the hardcore scene’s aesthetic and attitude, contrasting it with more stylized genres:

“Punks have the mohawk with the green hair. Metalheads have the jackets with the long hair. The hardcore guys look like a regular person—with jeans and a shirt and usually a shaved head or something.”

RJ City then challenged him to compare hardcore music and professional wrestling across a series of playful categories. According to King:

• Who wears more black shirts? “Hardcore music, because there’s a lot of ugly colored shirts in wrestling.”

• Who uses more illegible fonts? “Probably wrestling. Hardcore is more bold.”

• Who’s worse at catching dives? “Probably hardcore kids. Numerous times I’ve seen the [mosh pit] part like the Red Sea—and then they go and... yeah. You’re done.”

What Does “Hiatus” Even Mean?

Rumors swirled online after God’s Hate announced they were going on hiatus—but King clarified that the group isn’t stepping away.

“We are taking a break to, it's not even a break. We are now working harder to create a record to come out next year. It was poor wording. It is actually the opposite of a hiatus.”

Pressed further, he explained:

“We’ve done a great job from our last record, and we want to go [into the studio] before it gets stale. Come back with a better record.”

Clarifying the “Parking Lot Attendant” Rumor

Internet lore has long circulated that Brody once worked as a parking lot attendant at the Kia Forum. King cleared the air:

“Yes, I worked in the Kia Forum parking lot. Yes. Not as a parking attendant. I was a lighting technician for Union Local 728... We built the Trevi Fountain and Roman Square for the movie Angels & Demons. I don’t even know if it was the Kia Forum at that time.”

A Double Life: Wrestler and Vocalist

King confirmed that his AEW entrance theme, “Be Harder,” is actually a God’s Hate track. Many fans already know that, of course, but King said there are a fair number of supporters who are actually unaware:

“A lot of fans somehow don’t know. They go, ‘Wait, that’s the same guy?’ As if there’s two people that look like me doing two different things they like.”

RJ jokingly called King using his own band's music as his entrance song “a scam” designed to double-dip, to which King proudly replied:

“Yeah.”

Making Statements

King also addressed one of his most visible political moments recently: Wearing an “Abolish ICE” shirt at Arena México.

“Allegedly,” King said with a grin.

The conversation then turned to the limited-edition shirt he released based on that moment, donating all proceeds--over $27,000--to families affected by immigration enforcement.

RJ pressed:

“How dare you. All the proceeds? What you aren't considering are the other celebrities who only donate partial proceeds.”

“Hang In There” & Chokeholds

RJ brought up one of the most viral images of Brody King in AEW: a poster of him holding MJF in a rope-hung sleeper hold with the caption “Hang In There.” He asked whether it was dangerous to put a cheerful spin on ... well, on autoerotic asphyxiation.

King’s response?

“I’m not here to kink shame.”

Brody King’s appearance on Hey! (EW) was a masterclass in brutal honesty, deadpan humor, and righteous fury—just like his presence in AEW.

▶️ Watch the full episode now to experience the roar behind the ring—and the band.