Anthony Ogogo is weighing in on a controversial crowd trend that has been popping up at recent AEW events.
During shows featuring Brody King, some fans have broken out into “F**k ICE” chants, reportedly tied to the wrestler’s publicly expressed views regarding the U.S. organization.
The reactions have sparked discussion among fans and talent alike about the role of real-world issues in professional wrestling.
Speaking in a new interview with ITR Wrestling, Anthony Ogogo didn’t shy away from sharing his honest take on the situation.
“I don’t like sitting on a fence,” Ogogo said. “I’ll say what I feel. I have talked to Jerry Lynn. It’s a strange one really. It’s one of those ones where, I can talk about myself, when I was growing up as a kid, or when I was a young man, it’s weird that I watch less wrestling now, or since I have since I became a wrestler, than I did before, since I am doing it all the time.”
He continued by explaining how wrestling once served as an escape during stressful times in his life, something he feels can be disrupted when real-world politics enter the equation.
“I’d put the TV on, and I’d settle down and I’d watch wrestling. If life was stressful for whatever was going on, I’d watch for two hours, enjoy my wrestling and I’d get back to my life. I’d get back to whatever I was facing at that time. When you start bringing up political things into the show, it then brings real life into the show, which should be an escape.”
That said, Ogogo acknowledged the passion of wrestling audiences and their desire to express themselves.
“That’s one perspective to have, like there’s lots of crazy crap going on in the world, I want to avoid that and watch wrestling for two hours. However, that being said, we have lots of fans, lots of passionate fans, and it’s one of those things where people want to voice their opinions.”
He also referenced Ricky Gervais and his well-known Golden Globes hosting style to make a comparison about keeping things concise in entertainment.
“Ricky Gervais says it very well. Ricky Gervais was hosting the Golden Globes. He’d be like come up here, say thank you and pss off. Don’t start doing monologues and this and that. It’s almost like that. Come in, wrestle, p*ss off.”
Still, Ogogo admitted he’s not entirely removed from mixing wrestling with political themes, pointing back to his own past work.
“That being said, when I was doing promo, when I was with Cody, I did a promo, five years ago, I was obviously bashing America and I was talking about ICE, so all about leaving politics out and all that, I have done it. I did it five years ago before it was cool to talk about it. It is what it is at the end of the day. Wrestling is all about emotion.”
