AEW is drawing attention well beyond the wrestling bubble this week.
Following the anti-ICE chants that were heard during a recent episode of AEW Dynamite, the story has now made its way into mainstream media coverage, with CNN publishing a feature in its business section examining the situation.
The article includes commentary from Eero Laine, a professor of theatre at the State University of New York at Buffalo who studies the history of professional wrestling. Laine pointed out that what made the chants stand out is that they were not directly tied to the in-ring action and were not part of the traditional fan chant playbook.
“They are interesting in that they support a political stance associated with one of the wrestlers, but they are not necessarily directly related to what’s happening in the ring,” Laine said. “And the chant is not part of the repertoire of standard wrestling chants.”
Laine went on to frame the situation within the broader context of wrestling’s long-standing relationship with controversy and attention. Referencing the famous book Controversy Creates Cash by Eric Bischoff, Laine emphasized that attention has always been central to the business model.
“That’s the bottom line with wrestling, it’s attention,” Laine explained. “They’re selling attention.”
He also noted that professional wrestlers often “embody” larger ideas or ideologies, allowing audiences to react emotionally based on what those characters represent.
“You can actually watch two ideas fight each other in the ring, and you can cheer and boo for each of them,” he said. “So there’s a kind of morality play at work in the ring.”
The article stated that representatives for Brody King and MJF did not respond to requests for comment. Neither All Elite Wrestling nor WWE issued a statement to the outlet.
CNN’s piece also described the ongoing battle between AEW and WWE as a “politically-shaded” rivalry, while disclosing that Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, holds a minority stake in AEW.
“The embrace of contemporary issues is part of a larger, politically shaded rivalry playing out in the industry, between the 7-year-old AEW and the industry’s ruling juggernaut for generations, WWE (Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent corporation, owns a minority stake in AEW),” Michael Ballaban of CNN wrote.
I don't usually share or post spoilers, but here's Australian crowd chanting F**k ICE during Brody King vs MJF match at AEW Grand Slam in Sydney
📹: @stvnktzms#AEWGrandSlam pic.twitter.com/Fv4iCXeHk0
— Gaurav ❤️🔥🇳🇵 (@GTXShrestha13) February 14, 2026
