Eddie Kingston suffered a broken leg, torn meniscus, and torn ACL during his no-rope last-man-standing match against Gabe Kidd at NJPW Resurgence, where he lost the NJPW Strong Openweight Title. The injury occurred when his leg struck the barricade during a suplex. Following the match, Kingston was further attacked by The Young Bucks after a confrontation with Jack Perry.
In a recent interview with Will Turner of Wrestling With The Narrative, Kingston provided an update on his physical and mental well-being.
“Physically, I feel like shit. Mentally, I feel like shit. So every day, I’m just working on getting better, you know what I’m saying?”
Kingston also opened up about the challenges of physical therapy and ongoing stomach issues.
“Physical therapy, it’s been tough just to get to physical therapy because of my insurance. I just got new insurance, and then right when I was ready to start my new PT place, I started getting stomach issues. I had to wait a long time—they had to do a thing where they put a camera down my throat. Good that it’s happening now while I’m off, but I was in a lot of pain.”
While still awaiting full test results, initial findings ruled out serious conditions such as cancer or ulcers. However, Kingston’s doctor noted that stress could be a factor.
“My primary doctor was like, ‘How’s stress for you?’ [laughs] I said, ‘How long do you have? Do we need a therapist to come in here?’ They’re trying to get me to not stress out, calm down.”
Kingston’s recovery process remains a difficult journey, but he continues to push forward despite the setbacks. We wish him a speedy recovery.
Eddie Kingston is working hard on his recovery from the multitude of injuries he suffered earlier in the year but the latest reports suggest that he’ll not be back in the ring anytime soon.
The Mad King last competed during the NJPW Strong Resurgence event in May this year. Kingston dropped the NJPW Strong Openweight Title to Gabe Kidd at the show.
PWinsider recently provided an update on Eddie Kingston’s status. They noted that the 42-year-old is ‘furiously pushing himself’ through physical therapy in hopes of getting back into the ring as soon as possible.
Despite his best efforts, however, the former ROH Champion is not expected back anytime soon. His doctors have warned him that he’ll likely not be cleared to compete until June 2025. When the site reached out to him for a comment, Eddie simply said ‘Health insurance is a scam.’
Eddie Kingston is one of the names who was helped by the inception of AEW. Having wrestled for many indie promotions since his debut in 2002, Kingston was contemplating retirement before being signed by AEW in 2020.
His mic skills and fighting spirit have helped make the wrestling star one of the most loved names of the AEW roster since then and there are many who are waiting for his return to the ring.
Eddie Kingston is getting surgery done, but it’s actually further down the road than one would think.
According to Mike Johnson PWInsider, the former Triple Crown Champion in AEW is set to go under the knife for his torn ACL and meniscus on July 8. The reason for the hold-up is that Kingston has to wait for his fractured tibia to heal.
Kingston suffered the unfortunate injury during the NJPW Strong Resurgance event as he defended his NJPW Strong Openweight Title against Gabe Kidd.
The word is that Kingston will be out of action for at least a year. With his tibia expected to heal over two months, his ACL and meniscus tears are expected to take around 10 months to heal after his surgery in July.
Before getting injured, Kingston was one of the four fighters to go up against The Elite in the Anarchy In The Arena match. Eddie was ultimately replaced by a returning Darby Allin who showed up last week on AEW Dynamite. Team AEW consisted of FTR, Bryan Danielson and Allin while The Elite had The Young Bucks, Kazuchika Okada and Jack Perry.
While Team AEW didn’t win, Allin may have been the unofficial MVP of the bout because he was wielding a flame thrower and lit Jack Perry’s legs on fire.
Even though Kingston is on the shelf, it hasn’t stifled his passion for pro wrestling. While injured, Kingston has shared that he’s been watching watching matches of Asuka, who Eddie named as one of his modern favorites.
We at SEScoops want to wish Kingston a speedy and healthy recovery.
Eddie Kingston lost the NJPW Strong Openweight Title at Resurgence, the final of the triple crown. He also suffered an injury during that match, and the Mad King will be out for about a year.
AEW’s Eddie Kingston met with surgeons today and, due to the nature of his injuries, will likely not go under the knife to repair his ACL and meniscus tears until this July at the earliest.
Kingston relayed to PWInsider.com that he’s been advised that he’ll initially have to wait for his tibia fracture to heal and do some physical therapy before surgeons can then focus on his knee. After the surgery is completed, he’s been advised it will likely be ten months before he’ll be able to return to the ring. That would place his comeback, if there are no changes to the expected timeline, at May 2025.
Kingston told the outlet, “Not mad. I don’t give a f***. It’s what happens when you wrestle. Just gotta get f**king better.”
Kingston was scheduled to participate in the Anarchy In The Arena match at Double or Nothing this weekend in Las Vegas. He was set to join Bryan Danielson and FTR to face The Young Bucks, Okada, and Perry. Then plans changed, as Darby Allin was put in Eddie’s spot.
Allin has also been dealing with his own series of injuries. Following AEW Revolution, he broke his foot in a match against Jay White. Just a few weeks ago, he was hit by a bus in New York City.
We are hoping that Kingston can get back to 100% very soon. He is a huge force for AEW, and the company could certainly use him.
Eddie Kingston wants to push back against pro wrestling tribalism and did just that on his Instagram profile.
Kingston is notorioiusly out of this weekend’s AEW Double Or Nothing Anarchy In The Arena match with a fractured tibula, and tears in his ACL and meniscus.
The injury has not hampered Kingston’s love for the one true sport, however as he’s clearly an active watcher of all wrestling. That’s all kinds of indicated on his latest Instagram post.
While on YouTube, Kingston happened to share a screenshot of Asuka, adding the caption that the Damage CTRL member is “One of my modern day favorites.”
Kingston suffered his devastating injury during his unsuccessful NJPW Strong Openweight title defense against Gabe Kidd at Resurgance. The Elite took Kingston out in an attack after the match, which opened up a spot to be filled for Double Or Nothing. The surprise entrant to fill in for Kingston will be Darby Allin, who returned in the closing moments of last week’s AEW Dynamite.
Kingston isn’t the only member of the AEW roster to tip the cap to WWE names. Kenny Omega recently praised Triple H for being a “body guy” and using that physical presence to his advantage.
Although they also worked together, Ricky Starks recently just went to bat for CM Punk, saying that he was sick of the tribalism that continues to go down in pro wrestling.
Transversely, former AEW EVP Cody Rhodes has taken plenty of opportunities to credit some of his former colleagues.
Unfortunately, Eddie Kingston will likely be out of action for a very long time despite the initial thought that he’d be back in a few months.
After reporting that Kingston was planning to return by AEW ALL IN in London, Kingston not only has a fractured tibula, but he has a torn meniscus and a torn ACL. While at NJPW Strong Resurgance, Kingston lost his Openweight Championship to Gabe Kidd at the event and suffered said injuries.
Kris Statlander was another star to tear her ACL and meniscus. The injury had her out for months on end and only just recently made her return.
The Young Bucks and Jack Perry attacked Kingston following the fight, effectively taking him off television for the foreseeable future. Over the weekend, Kingston posted a photo of himself on Instagram in a massive leg boot. Before his injury, Kingston was a triple crown champion before losing his other titles to Kazuchika Okada and Mark Briscoe.
Kingston was slated to be involved in the Anarchy In The Arena match at Double or Nothing this weekend in Las Vegas. He was set to join Bryan Danielson and FTR to face The Young Bucks, Okada and Perry. However, AEW pivoted in the closing moments of last week’s Dynamite as they replaced Kingston with a returning Darby Allin.
Allin had suffered his fair share of injuries recently as of well. Following AEW Revolution, he broke his foot in his match against Jay White. Then just a few weeks back, was hit by a bus in New York City.
Eddie Kingston is hopeful of making a comeback to the ring in a matter of few months.
Reports of Kingston’s injury emerged after his match at NJPW Resurgence last week. PWInsider has confirmed that Eddie Kingston has sustained a leg injury (tibular fracture). ‘The Mad King’ underwent a string of X-rays in California after the event and it detected the injury.
The former AEW Continental Champion is waiting to be informed on how his injury will be medically dealt with. The outlet has reported that Kingston is hopeful of returning by AEW All In: London which is scheduled to take place in August. However, his return will depend on whether he will have to undergo surgery.
Eddie Kingston’s injury
Kingston unsuccessfully defended his NJPW Strong Openweight Championship against Gabe Kidd in a No-rope Last Man Standing match. In the final moments of the match, Kidd hit a suplex to Kingston through a table which was bridged across the ring to the guardrail. During the move, Kingston’s leg hit the guardrail which might have caused the injury. Reports suggested that the former champion was “limping bad backstage” which raised concerns.
Following the defeat, Jack Perry had a stardown with ‘The Mad King’ followed by a blindsided assault by Nicholas and Matthew Jackson. The EVPs then delivered a promo and attacked him with an EVP trigger.
It was recently announced that The Young Bucks will join forces with Jack Perry and Kazuchika Okada and face the team of FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler), Eddie Kingston, and Bryan Danielson in an ‘Anarchy In The Arena’ Match at the upcoming AEW Double or Nothing on Sunday, May 26. Given Kingston’s injury, his replacement was announced earlier this week on Dynamite.
Darby Allin will replace Eddie Kingston in the upcoming Anarchy in the Arena match following the attack on Kingston by The Elite.
The Mad King was ambushed by The Young Bucks and Jack Perry at NJPW Resurgence after Kingston had lost the Stong Openweight Championship to Gabe Kidd. The attack marked the first time in five years that the Bucks had appeared for New Japan.
After the attack, it was reported that Kingston had suffered a legitimate leg injury during his battle with Kidd. During the May 15th edition of AEW Dynamite, The Elite took center stage to announce Kingston’s withdrawal from the match. In a heated segment, the AEW World Tag Team Champions attacked Dax Harwood, leading to Cash Wheeler and Bryan Danielson rushing to his aid.
Despite their efforts, they were outnumbered until Darby Allin intervened, attacking The Elite with his skateboard. The former TNT Champion was then confirmed as Team AEW’s new fourth member.
DARBY ALLIN RETURNS to become the fourth member of Team #AEW for Anarchy in the Arena at #AEWDoN against The Elite!
Double or Nothing 2024 will feature the third-annual Anarchy in the Arena match, with all three bouts happening at the annual AEW event. 2022 saw The Jericho Appreciation Society defeat the Blackpool Combat Club, Eddie Kingston, and Sanata, while last year’s match saw the BCC victorious over The Elite.
This year’s match will also mark the return to the ring of Allin, who has been out of action since the Big Business edition of Dynamite in March. The risk-taking wrestler suffered a broken foot at the event that (among other issues) led to him postponing his attempt to climb Mt. Everest. Allin has said he fully intends to do the climb but it is unclear when it will happen.
AEW has experienced several injuries that have sidelined key members of their roster. Eddie Kingston is the latest addition to that list.
Kingston suffered an undisclosed injury during NJPW Resurgence, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reports.
Kingston lost the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship to Gabe Kidd at NJPW and sustained injuries during the match. He was hurt during a table suplex spot.
Eddie Kingston in AEW
After the incident, Eddie required assistance but managed to walk backstage with a noticeable limp. The extent of his injury is not fully known, but it was confirmed that he sustained a legitimate injury during the match.
The Openweight Championship match was also significant as it marked the return of the Young Bucks to NJPW. Matthew and Nicholas Jackson made their a surprise return during the NJPW Resurgence event, targeting Eddie Kingston in a brutal assault.
The Elite in NJPW
After Kingston failed to defend his NJPW Strong Openweight title against Gabe Kidd in a No-rope Last Man Standing Match, Jack Perry approached the ring for a staredown with Kingston. This distraction allowed the AEW EVPs to enter the ring and launch a surprise attack on Kingston. After a brief promo, they executed an EVP trigger, effectively taking Kingston down.
This Young Bucks spot during NJPW Resurgence was obviously planned ahead of time, and Kingston went through with it despite his injury. We’re sending out our best to the Mad King for a speedy recovery.
Eddie Kingston may have suffered a serious injury during his appearance at NJPW Resurgence which has raised questions about upcoming plans in AEW.
At the event, Kingston lost the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship to Gabe Kidd in a No-Ropes Last Man Standing Match. Kingston had held the title since 311 days after winning the title at NJPW Independence Day in July 2023.
Eddie Kingston was seen limping backstage after his match.
Unfortunately, it appears that Kingston may have suffered an injury during the match. As Bryan Alvarez explained, Kidd delivered a suplex to Kingston to the outside of the ring and noted that Kingston’s leg “hit that barricade so hard.” Dave Meltzer agreed, adding that it “scared the hell out of me.”
Alvarez noted that Kingston immediately grabbed his leg after the spot which proved to be the finish of the match. It was also stated that Kingston was “not moving” for minutes after the match but was able to pull himself up for the post-match segment with The Elite.
Kingston was “limping bad backstage” in another worrying sign for the now-former Openweight Champion. There were concerns at the event that the Mad King would not be able to do the post-match angle.
There’s no update on Kingston’s status but this situation could jeopardize plans for AEW Double or Nothing. During the May 8, episode of AEW Dynamite, Kingston was revealed as part of Team AEW that will battle the Elite in Anarchy in the Arena. Kingston will be joined by Bryan Danielson and FTR if this situation doesn’t keep him from the upcoming pay-per-view.
AEW EVPs The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) made their surprise return to the promotion during NJPW Resurgence and Eddie Kingston is the latest victim of their brutal assault.
Edde Kingston was unsuccessful in defending his NJPW Strong Openweight title against Gabe Kidd in a No-rope Last Man Standing Match. After the disappointing loss, Jack Perry made his way to the ring and had a staredown with ‘The Mad King.’ The distraction led to Nicholas and Matthew entering the ring and launching a blindsided attack on Kingston. After delivering a promo, they eventually went on to take him out with an EVP trigger.
This marks The Young Bucks’ first appearance in the promotion sinch Wrestle Kingdom 13 where they competed for the IWGP Tag Team titles.
The Young Bucks continue their onslaught
The Young Bucks are abusing their power as EVP and even AEW President Tony Khan has fallen prey to them. After recruiting Kazuchika Okada to The Elite, they recently got Jack Perry on their side to bolster their force. A few weeks back on Dynamite, the Jackson brothers shockingly took out Khan. The Young Bucks have established their control over AEW and they seem to be unstoppable. The duo has also recently attacked a returning Kenny Omega, who was not even medically cleared.
On this week’s Dynamite, AEW EVP Kenny Omega announced that The Young Bucks will join forces with Jack Perry and Kazuchika Okada to take on the team of FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler), Eddie Kingston and Bryan Danielson in a ‘Anarchy In The Arena’ Match at the upcoming AEW Double or Nothing on Sunday, May 26.
AEW Continental Champion Eddie Kingston may not have made it big in WWE, but the Mad King isn’t going to lose sleep over it.
Before AEW was launched in 2019, Kingston had an ultimately unsuccessful try out with WWE. Speaking to Inside the Ropes recently, Kingston recalled his ‘attitude’ when stepping foot in the Performance Center.
“A friend of mine hooked me up with it… but I went there with this attitude of ‘whatever f**k it, I don’t really care.’ I didn’t really care, I was like ‘they’re not looking at me anyway.”
Kingston added that at the time, WWE were more interested in hiring female talent for the Mae Young Classic. The all-female tournament meant Kingston walked in believing he had slim chances of being signed.
Another WWE Offer
Kingston didn’t receive a WWE talent contract, but the company saw something in him, as he was approached about being a coach. During the interview, Kingston explained that he turned the offer down as the role didn’t suit him. Kingston also recalled being approached by his old friend Kevin Owens and how that made a lot of people take notice.
“As soon as they saw me say hello to Kevin Owens and he gave me a hug, and a couple of other people that were there, next thing you know the next day everybody was my friend.”
No Regrets
Looking back on his try out, Kingston had no issue with how things went. He explained that he already had a number of independent bookings on the horizon that would have paid him good money. Things would work out for Kingston, who in addition to his AEW gold in the NJPW Strong Champion and the reigning ROH World Champion.
Sunday’s match between Eddie Kingston and Bryan Danielson may have been contested for a trio of championships on paper, but in reality, it meant much more.
Danielson challenged Kingston for the Continental Crown Championship (ROH World, NJPW STRONG Openweight, and AEW Continental Championships) at Revolution 2024. The contest stipulated that if Danielson lost, he’d have to shake Kingston’s hand out of respect. In the weeks leading up to this face-off, ‘The American Dragon’ demonstrated repeated signs of disrespect toward Kingston, such as spitting in his face and flipping him off.
Danielson later revealed that his disregard stemmed from his belief that Kingston had fallen into several bad habits, and never lived up to his true potential. After Kingston defeated him at Revolution, though, Danielson came to a pivotal realization.
“I thought it would hurt me more than anything to shake Eddie’s hand and say that I respect him.” Danielson said in a post-match promo. “But there was a moment in that match where I knew I f***ed up his wrist. I’m good at that. I’m good at f***ing people up. And I know exactly how hurt he was, and he fought through it. There was this just this internal moment, this internal click that me not respecting Eddie, it wasn’t Eddie.”
Danielson Says The Underachiever Has Finally Realized His Potential
Though it may have taken longer than expected for Kingston to push past some of his struggles, Danielson is proud that he eventually did. In that same vein, Danielson is also proud of himself for seeing through his own “bull****” so he could give Kingston the nod that he well-deserved and earned.
“All the things that we said about Eddie 20 years ago, about how much potential he had, about how he needed to work harder, about he needed to do this, and how he needed to do that, and how he needed to change his bad habits, and all of that. It took him a while, but he f***ing did it.
Here I was holding on to this petty bull****, and I realized it might have taken him longer, but the things that he’s battled through and the things that he’s struggled through, I should have given him my respect a long time ago.”
Eddie Kingston Is Grateful
For Eddie Kingston, the element of respect is all he ever wanted from his peers.
While championships are great resume boosters, Kingston believes that one’s legacy is truly based on the amount of respect one garners from their cohorts. In his case, he was specifically aiming to impress the Blackpool Combat Club members — Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, and Claudio Castagonli.
“I don’t care about promoters. No offense to the Twitter fans or fans that came out there. I appreciate y’all, but what I care about is the respect from the boys, because at the end of the day, you guys are the ones that are going to be talking about me,” Kingston told Danielson.
“Whether I was good, whether I was bad, whether I was a waste or not. I don’t want to get too emotional, so I’m gonna get out of here. I just want to say thank you, Bryan. Dude, thank you for everything.”
With the round-robin format, there have been plenty of matches from the AEW Continental Classic, which fans will have no trouble finding. On YouTube, the AEW account has created a playlist of every match from the tournament in the order they took place. The playlist starts with the kick-off match between Swerve Strickland and Jay Lethal.
The final two videos are from this week’s Dynamite and see Jon Moxley Vs. Swerve Strickland Vs. Jay White in the Gold League finals and Eddie Kingston Vs. Bryan Danielson in the Blue League finals. The playlist also features weekly updates of the rankings as well as promos and segments connected to the Continental Classic.
Either Jon Moxley or Eddie Kingston will be crowned the Triple Crown Champion at AEW Worlds End in the finals of the inaugural AEW Continental Classic.
On this week’s AEW Dynamite: New Year’s Smash. Moxley defeated Jay White and Swerve Strickland in the finals of the Gold League. All three men had earned 12 points in the tournament, leading to a triple-threat match. On the same show, Kingston, the reigning ROH World Champion and NJPW Strong Openweight Champion, defeated Bryan Danielson. Kingston amassed nine points in the tournament to Danielson’s ten.
The winner of the match at Worlds End will become the inaugural Triple Crown Champion. This accolade will come about as the victor will be the AEW Continental Champion, the ROH World Champion, and the NJPW Strong Openweight Champion.
The Road to the Finals
Jon Moxley has perhaps been the most impressive performer in the AEW Continental Classic from either league. In week one, Moxley defeated Mark Briscoe to earn three points and defeated Jay Lethal the following week. Moxley defeated Rush via technical submission in week three and earned a hard-fought win over Swerve Strickland in week four. In week five, Moxley took his only first-round loss of the entire tournament when he was defeated by Jay White on the AEW Dynamite: Holiday Bash episode.
Eddie Kingston’s road to AEW Worlds End was far less smooth. In his first two matches in the tournament, he lost to Brody King and Bryan Danielson respectively. It wouldn’t be until his third match against rival Claudio Castagnoli that Kingston earned his first win. Kingston would go on to defeat Daniel Garcia and Andrade El Idolo to earn enough points to advance to this week’s Blue League Finals.
Wrestling fans were surprised when New Japan Pro Wrestling announced on June 4 that Eddie Kingston would compete in the G1 Climax 33. It was Kingston’s first time participating in the tournament and a goal he wanted to accomplish for his career. Although he didn’t make it to the semi-finals, Kingston has shared that the experience was something he’ll never forget.
“I threw up before my match against Shingo,” said Kingston. He explained, “I always get nervous before matches, but I’ve never been that nervous. So I got to the ring, talked to myself, and said, ‘Yup, I’m in the G1.’ That helped. Then Shingo hit me really hard with the first forearm, and I knew I was ready.”
The NJPW Strong Champion would win four matches to earn eight points in the G1 Climax 33. Kingston was eliminated from the tournament after losing to David Finlay.
Despite not winning, Kingston enjoyed traveling to Japan and competing in famous venues like the Sumo Hall.
“Walking through the curtain at Sumo Hall, and I’ve seen so many great matches there, like the first G1 Finals between Keiji Mutoh and Masahiro Chono, I couldn’t believe I was there,” said Kingston. He added, “There’s a picture of me with my mouth open, looking around in astonishment, at Sumo Hall.”
Eddie Kingston On NJPW Locker Room Environment
In the interview, Kingston also spoke highly of the NJPW locker room. The NJPW Strong Champion expressed that he had a great time being around roster members and went as far as to say that it was the best locker room he’d been a part of.
“I had a lot of good guys around me in Japan. The New Japan locker room is the best locker room I’ve ever been part of,” said Kingston. He continued, “They showed me around, and I tried everything. I don’t like fish, but I did in Japan. I loved it there.”
It’s unclear when Kingston will return to Japan for NJPW. He’s competing in AEW’s Continental Classic, putting the NJPW Strong and Ring Of Honor World Championship on the line for the tournament winner. Kingston is currently scheduled to face Bryan Danielson in the Blue League finals at Wednesday’s Dynamite.
If he can make it through as NJPW Strong Champion, he could have a match at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 on January 4, 2024. An opportunity to potentially return to Japan and compete in the Tokyo Dome would be another career highlight for the “Mad King.”
Eddie Kingston will be facing Bryan Danielson in the finals of the Blue League of the AEW Continental Classic, and the build-up for the match is already off to an intense start.
The main event of Collision this week featured The Mad King taking on Andrade El Idolo in the final league stage match of the tournament. Kingston won this match after hitting Andrade with Northern Lights Drive.
After the match, Bryan Danielson came out to confront the winner and the show ended with both the AEW stars staring at each other.
This wasn’t the end of the night, however, and AEW later posted an extended video of the confrontation between the two. In the video as seen below, Eddie Kingston cuts a passionate promo, declaring himself as the King of The Underground.
AEW’s First Continental Classic Champion
Bryan Danielson faced Claudio Castagnoli in his last league match in the opening of tonight’s show. Bryan ended the league stage on the top with ten points after this bout ended in a draw.
The American Dragon will now face Kingston in the finals of the Blue League at the December 27 episode of AEW Dynamite. That show will also feature the finals of the Gold League between Swerve Strickland, Jay White and Jon Moxley.
The survivors of both these matches will face each other at the upcoming World’s End PPV on December 30. The winner will then be declared the first-ever AEW Continental Classic champion.
— Proud~N~Powerful Ortiz (@Ortiz_Powerful) March 2, 2023
Kingston in Ring of Honor
While Eddie Kingston’s time in AEW is up, he has now found work in Tony Khan’s other promotion: Ring of Honor.
After winning his match against AR Fox to retain the ROH World Championship, Claudio was met by Kingston on the first episode of the new ROH.
Kingston didn’t mince his words when speaking to the two-time ROH World Champion:
“Guess what? I’m an Independent Contractor, dawg. I’m 1099. Know how I promised Mox I wouldn’t beat your ass at AEW? This ain’t AEW, I’m coming for your Championship.”
Eddie Kingston.
Following a spectacular main event in the first episode of the New Era of Honor, the #ROH World Champion @ClaudioCSRO gets an unexpected visit from a familiar face
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) March 3, 2023
ROH Honor Club
The closing moments of the first Ring of Honor show of the new era was a fitting way to end an explosive night of entertainment.
In the first match, Mark Briscoe, who remains a Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champion, defeated Slim J.
The Kingdom made quick work of The Infantry, while NJPW World Television Chamber Zack Sabre Jr. stepped through the Forbidden Door to defend against Blake Christian.
Christopher Daniels defeated Rohit Raju and Konosuke Takeshita bested Josh Woods.
The Embassy picked up a six-man-tag win over Joe Keys, Rex Lawless and LSG, while Ari Daivari defeated fellow WWE alum Metalik.
In Women’s action, Madison Rayne and Skye Blue defeated The Renegades and Willow Nightingale defeated Lady Frost.
New Japan Pro Wrestling held its event, Battle in the Valley, on Feb. 18 at the San Jose Civic in San Jose, California.
One of the featured matches was IWGP Women’s Champion Kairi defending her title against Mercedes Monè. The event marked Monè’s first wrestling match since leaving the WWE. Another match on the card was Jay White vs. Eddie Kingston in a Loser Leaves NJPW match. It’s rumored that White could leave the company when his contract expires.
NJPW: Battle in the Valley aired live on FITE TV for $19.99 at 10 PM ET/ 7 PM PT. Fans who missed the event can watch it on replay with an NJPW World subscription.
NJPW Battle In The Valley Results
Alex Coughlin def. JR Kratos
David Finlay def. Bobby Fish
Kushida, Volador Jr., Kevin Knight & The DKC def. Máscara Dorada, Josh Alexander, Adrian Quest & Rocky Romero
KENTA def. (C) Fred Rosser- Strong Openweight Championship match
(C) The Motor City Machine Guns(Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) def. West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson and Royce Issacs)- Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship match
Eddie Kingston def. Jay White- Loser Leaves NJPW match
Tom Lawler def. Homicide- Filthy Rules Fight match
(C) Zack Sabre Jr def. Clark Connors- NJPW World TV Championship match
Mercedes Monè def. (C) Kairi- IWGP Women’s Championship match
C) Kazuchika Okada def. Hiroshi Tanahashi- IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match
NJPW Battle in The Valley Highlights
Eddie Kingston def. Jay White- Loser Leaves NJPW match
Popular AEW star Eddie Kingston is officially out of DEFY Wrestling’s Year6 event tonight.
After almost 20 years as a stalwart of the US indies scene, Kingston found new life in the wrestling mainstream back in 2020 when he debuted on AEW Dynamite. His gritty, authentic promos and character work have made him a fan favorite in the years since.
Kingston remains a constant presence on the independent scene, and was expected to butt heads with Artemis Spencer at tonight’s DEFY show. In a recent tweet from the promotion’s official profile, it was revealed that the Yonkers-born brawler has had to pull out due to an unspecified injury.
“[ BREAKING ] DEFY has learned that due to injury EDDIE KINGSTON will no longer be able to compete at tonight’s YEAR6. EDDIE is super bummed and we wish him a speedy recovery. We’ll have him back for a future event! DON’T FEAR, Defyance- a stacked card remains, 6 YEARS LOUD!”
[ BREAKING ]
DEFY has learned that due to injury EDDIE KINGSTON will no longer be able to compete at tonight's YEAR6.
EDDIE is super bummed and we wish him a speedy recovery. We'll have him back for a future event!
Earlier this week, Kingston had some incendiary words regarding AEW World Champion MJF, Oritz, and The House of Black, before essentially dissing the whole roster. For now, it’s hard to tell whether or not the expletive-laden rant was in kayfabe or if ‘The Mad King’ has genuinely had enough of his peers.
Kingston has had a lot of choice words for MJF in particular on social media of late.
Warning: the tweet below contain explicit content.
In a more humorous jab at ‘The Salt of the Earth’, Kingston likened the Long Islander’s controversial promo on this week’s Dynamite to one of WWE’s worst-ever angles. Backstage, after his match with rising star Konosuke Takeshita, MJF cut a shocking promo. He claimed to have been in a car crash with his then-girlfriend prior to junior prom back in high school. The champ then claimed he’d switched seats with her so it looked like she crashed the car.
For Eddie Kingston, the promo, rather than effective heel work, was reminiscent of the infamous Triple H/Kane rivalry from ’02. The notoriously tasteless angle involved a deceased cheerleader named Katie Vick who Kane had a bizarre, highly improbable history with. One portion of the bizarre story involved a fatal car accident.
Whether these tweets are all part of an angle Kingston’s working remains to be seen. It’s worth noting that a Kingston vs. MJF feud has been rumored for later this year.
Would you like to see an Eddie Kingston vs. MJF feud this year?
Eddie Kingston and Ortiz battled Jun Akiyama and Konosuke Takeshita in the main event of this week’s episode of Rampage live from the Prudential Center.
Akiyama and Takeshita picked up the victory after isolating Ortiz in the ring. Jun planted Ortiz with an Exploder Suplex for the pinfall victory.
After AEW Rampage went off the air, Eddie Kingston cut a promo for the crowd.
“Tony doesn’t like me talking after shows because I curse a lot but f*ck it.”
Another match was added to the card at Full Gear as well. Orange Cassidy, Best Friends, Rocky Romero, and Danhausen will battle The Factory in a 5 vs. 5 match.
Here is the full updated card for tonight’s AEW Full Gear PPV:
Zero Hour
Eddie Kingston vs. Jun Akiyama
Ricky Starks vs. Brian Cage (World Title Eliminator Tournament)
Orange Cassidy, Best Friends, Rocky Romero, Danhausen vs. The Factory
Main Card
Sting & Darby Allin vs. Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal
Saraya vs. Britt Baker
Steel Cage Match: Jungle Boy Jack Perry vs. Luchasaurus
TNT Championship: Wardlow (c) vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Samoa Joe
TBS Championship: Jade Cargill (c) vs. Nyla Rose
Trios Championship: Death Triangle (c) vs. The Elite
ROH Championship 4-Way Match: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Sammy Guevara
AEW Interim Women’s Championship: Toni Storm (c) vs. Jamie Hayter
AEW Tag Team Championship: The Acclaimed (c) vs. Swerve in Our Glory
MJF has no interest in wrestling Eddie Kingston, who he calls a “slob.”
Recently, a fan took to Twitter to tell MJF that he wants to see him wrestle against fellow All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Eddie Kingston. However, MJF said he’ll never wrestle against Kingston, who he calls a “slob.”
MJF is one of the hottest topics in professional wrestling today. He made his long-awaited return at All Out in September as the Joker in the Casino Ladder match, winning the bout. Now, he has a guaranteed title shot against the AEW World Champion at a time of his choosing.
While he waits for the perfect opportunity to pounce, MJF has aligned himself with Stokely Hathaway and his faction on retainer, The Firm. He has also been very adamant about his intentions to test free agency once his contract with AEW is up.
MJF will be a free agent in 2024, and will be selling his services to the highest bidder. Of course, that means he could potentially be looking at WWE as a legitimate landing spot when the time comes.
It will be interesting to see where he ends up when it’s all said and done in 2024.
Sammy Guevara and Eddie Kingston are set to battle this Friday night at AEW Rampage Grand Slam from Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Grand Slam is one of All Elite Wrestling’s biggest events of the year and there are several exciting matchups on both Dynamite and Rampage this week. Friday’s Grand Slam edition of Rampage will be a special two-hour show.
Guevara and Kingston were supposed to square off at All Out but real-life personal issues prevented the match from happening. The issue stemmed from a Rampage taping in August. Sammy cut a promo in the ring with Tay Melo and called Eddie a “fat piece of sh*t”. Kingston got heated about the comments and confronted Sammy backstage.
The altercation led to Eddie getting suspended for two weeks and their match at AEW All Out being canceled. Eddie apologized for his actions, Sammy issued a statement, and the two men have apparently put the real-life issue behind them so that they can work together again. The promo never aired on television but a fan uploaded the footage and you can check it out below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zYSIwrxvMg&t=42s
The Benefit of Using Real-Life Drama In Storylines
Eddie Kingston cut a promo about the upcoming match and stated that he doesn’t respect Sammy Guevara and thinks he’s a horrible person. Kingston vowed to “beat the piss” out of Guevara this Friday at Rampage Grand Slam.
“You may think I don’t like you or I don’t respect you because of the things you say, or because you are so in love with Twitter, and the only reason why you are in this great sport is to be famous. You don’t care, but nah Sammy, it is not because of any of that. No man, I don’t like you and I don’t respect you because inside when I look into your eyes, I see nothing but a horrible, rotten human being. You make me sick and that is why I am going to beat the piss out of you in Queens.”
Eddie’s brief promo above is a great example of how a real-life issue can be spun into a positive in the wrestling business. He clearly does not like Sammy personally, but that doesn’t mean they cannot provide an entertaining product to fans as professionals. The Mad King is always passionate in his promos, but you can tell when there is something extra behind it.
There was nothing cute about what he said about Sammy Guevara and there were no jokes. He simply called Sammy a horrible person that he wants to beat the hell out of in the match. Enough said, I’m sold. Kingston also got personal in his memorable rivalry with CM Punk leading up to their match at Full Gear and it added to the rivalry. This was before CM Punk decided to get offended about such things.
It seems ludicrous to suggest that CM Punk, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks could put their issues behind them at this point, but some fans are still holding out hope. In case you’ve been under a rock, CM Punk went on an expletive-filled rant about Colt Cabana, Hangman Page, and The Young Bucks following winning the title at All Out.
Instead of talking about becoming champion again, Punk opted to go on a twenty-minute rant while eating muffins. To make matters worse, he was also injured during the match and relinquished the title again. He is a two-time AEW Champion without making a single title defense.
The former AEW Champion claimed that the EVPs (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) could not even manage a target and blamed them for starting the rumors that he wanted to get Colt Cabana fired. The EVPs then confronted CM Punk in his locker room and a wild Ace Steel appeared. Ace Steel is/was an AEW producer that was unknown to the audience until the Wednesday before All Out, in which he delivered a passionate promo to convince CM Punk to accept the match against Jon Moxley.
The circumstances surrounding the brawl make it seem highly unlikely that CM Punk and The Elite could work together in the future, but they would have everyone’s attention if they did. AEW Brawl Out remains one of the biggest stories of the year and people are still awaiting to find out the repercussions for everyone involved.
While CM Punk probably shouldn’t be relied on to carry the company anymore as he’s injured again, a Trios match with FTR against The Elite would be instant money for AEW. One can only hope that CM Punk and The Elite can follow in Eddie Kingston’s footsteps and put the past behind them. Hopefully, a positive can be found in Punk’s injury and it might actually allow the time needed for cooler heads to prevail.
CM Punk is Probably Not Returning to AEW
Whoever made this CM Punk – Dark Side Of The Ring parody deserves a bloody raise… pic.twitter.com/NlcODNdD6K
One thing that AEW excels at is bringing the spotlight to talented workers who haven’t received a break in the industry. One such name is Eddie Kingston. He had been wrestling for 18 years before he was brought into the limelight by the company. Chris Jericho, who has been feuding with the AEW star recently admits that he hadn’t even heard of the Mad King before he joined the promotion.
Y2J talked about it on the latest episode of Talk Is Jericho. Chris noted that at the first look of Eddie Kingston, he thought Kingston to be a jobber:
“When Cody first brought him in, I thought it was Eddie Edwards that he’s bringing in. I didn’t know who Eddie Kingston was.” recalled Chris Jericho, “[I was like] ‘Eddie Kingston, is that Eddie Edwards?’ [Cody said] ‘No, it’s Eddie Kingston. [I said] ‘Which guy is that, who is this?’
So he walked in there. Just looking at him I was like ‘God this guy looks like a jobber. Who is this guy?’ Then I watched his match and it was good, but then he did a promo and I was like, ‘Holy shit. This guy’s f*cking great. Where’s this guy been for 25 years of my wrestling career. Why do I not know this guy?’ So I kind of watched his stuff. I told him from [day one] ‘You are gonna be a huge babyface in this company.’ [Eddie’s like] ‘No I’m not [a babyface]’ I said ‘You’re babyface, just trust me.'”
The Mad King announced his diagnosis on Twitter earlier today, revealing that because of the virus he will be unable to compete at this weekend’s NJPW STRONG tapings. Kingston adds that the situation sucks, and that there is a chance he might miss this week’s AEW Dynamite from Albany, New York.
He writes, “So here we go, got covid won’t be able to make Strong this weekend. It fucking sucks going to test again to see if I can make tv this week.”
Kingston is coming off a huge victory over top NJPW talent Tomohiro Ishii at the Zero Hour pre-show of ALL OUT. The match was a brutal and hard-hitting contest that Kingston won by using Ishii’s brainbuster finisher, evening their score at 1-1. He was originally set to face Sammy Guevara at ALL OUT, but due to a backstage incident the match was called off, and Kingston served a temporary suspension.
We will keep you updated on Kingston’s condition ahead of next week’s AEW Dynamite.
