During the January 27th episode of AEW Collision, The House of Black squared off against FTR in an ‘Escape The Cage’ match. The format was originally supposed to be a steel cage elimination match, however it was changed without any explanation. This last minute change created a lot buzz as fans speculated what could be the reason for it. Now, Brody King has finally cleared up all the speculation around the controversial decision.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez talked about AEW changing the match to steel cage as critics noted that the initial match graphic advertised the bout as an Elimination Trios Steel Cage Match. They claimed that the format was changed at the last minute because someone in the House of Black complained about doing a job.
Soon after, The House Of Black star took to Twitter/X to respond the controversy surrounding the match. Brody clarified on the platform that the format and stipulation of the match was carried out as it was originally planned. He further claimed that it was not their fault that the wording on the promotional graphic was changed. Brody’s response surely answered all the questions surrounding the match.
“Funny how someone’s opinion just becomes fact because they’ve been watching wrestling a long time. The format and stipulation of the cage match was always what it was going to be. It’s not our fault the wording on the graphic changed.“
Brody also responded to a fan who claimed that Dax Harwood had mentioned that the match was going to be a “eliminating cage match” in a backstage promo. He explained that promo was filmed live right after a brawl and suggested that Harwood might not have been perfectly composed during that moment.
“Ah yes CLEARLY a pretape. That’s why they let bossier city, Idaho fly? The promo was filmed live after a brawl, please forgive Dax for not being perfectly composed while cutting it. Good try though bud.”
Moving on, Will Washington, AEW Wrestling Administration Coordinator took the opportunity to share his take on the topic. He emphasized in a tweet that the alteration in wording on the graphic was made for the sake of clarity. He further said that the match had always been designed with escape rules from the get go.
“I usually don’t comment on stuff like this, but before this idea spreads or gets out of hand, the wording change was just for clarity. It was absolutely escape rules when the first match graphic dropped.”
In case you need a refresher, FTR and Daniel Garcia ultimately emerged victorious in their match against The House of Black and it’s likely that their beef with them is over. We’ll have to wait and see what AEW does next for this storyline. Meanwhile, Stay tuned to RingsideNews for more!
Are you satisfied with Brody’s explanation? Do you think the change was intentional ? Let us know in the comments.