There’s a high probability Eddie Kingston will not win the AEW world title belt on November 7 at Full Gear so Tony Khan can continue working toward a Jon Moxley – Kenny Omega rivalry for the title, but that’s just what motivates Eddie Kingston to prove everyone wrong. He’s pissed that he had to wait 18 years in this business to get a shot at a world title. Moxley may not get over quite as well as an underdog as he does being the top guy in the company. His level of attitude is completely justified when he is champion, but this demeanor may come across as somewhat unnecessary and arrogant if he is chasing the title – but it worked about a year ago when he was not champion, so it might not matter.
Eddie Kingston has reminded wrestling fans that it’s a positive thing for one to feel into their emotions wholeheartedly, and actually shows strength rather than weakness. Eddie was feeling anger about the state of the world many months ago, the fact that he had to leave a tour of the United Kingdom early (surrounded by great people as well as great pay), as well as being forced to sell his wrestling gear in order to pay his mortgage. He wanted to let that anger out in a way that would potentially create some positivity in his life, so he asked the people who ran ICW if he could cut a promo filled with intense language letting out much of his anger.
Kingston did just that on July 4, 2020 and was brought over to AEW for a TNT championship match with Cody (he had mentioned Cody’s name in his expletive-filled promo about a month earlier just to see what would happen). Eddie Kingston’s in-ring work impressed people backstage instead of just simply his promo work. According to Eddie, this was the primary factor that piqued his interest in AEW, because this company viewed him as someone who could be a potential “player-coach” who could be used as not only as a manager for wrestlers but also someone who could get the job done in the ring. WWE had expressed interest in Kingston in the past but only as a promo guy who could get it done on the microphone.
After 18 years in the professional wrestling business, the 38-year-old is finally getting an opportunity to be put in a position where he has the chance to carry a top company. Eddie Kingston is plenty skilled enough but has simply never received the opportunity to do so. According to him, this will serve as justification for why he has done everything in his life and made the decision he has made that his family did not necessarily agree with. Kingston will definitely have his hands full with Jon Moxley, who essentially is the same wrestler who comes from the same type of background and has overcome very similar challenges in life on his journey to find himself.
The thick New York accent Eddie Kingston has (which sounds like a mixture of actor Robert De Niro and the former long–time owner of the Oakland Raiders Al Davis) goes perfectly with his character. It’s essentially not a character but more of an expression of his world view (just slightly more dramatic). Also, the whole reason Kingston signed with AEW is that his mother, who gave him life and “knows me better than anyone else” told him he would be happier with AEW (with more creative freedom) than WWE. This article reminds me of Chris Van Vliet’s recent interview with Chris Jericho, primarily the part in which Jericho talked about how his match in 2018 with Kenny Omega in Japan made him fall in love with wrestling again because he had no “chains” and “pure creative freedom.”