And Then There Was King

[EyeofTyr]

So, this dropped a few days ago now.



I felt it was relevant and important enough to get its own thread. Eddie Kingston is one of the biggest names on indie wrestling not currently signed to any major company and, for those that don't know, announced in January that unless something changes about his life this year will be his last in wrestling. For those unfamiliar with him I would explain further who Eddie Kingston is but I think the video itself does an admirable attempt and a better one than I probably could. 

If this is it for him, it's a shame. Kingston has been one of the most consistently great performers in indie wrestling for the better part of his career and he's legit been one of the best talkers in the business for about the same amount of time too by my estimation. Unfortunately for him he's a man born out of his time. 

[honsou]

AEW should of hired him from the start, I really hope he finds a place somewhere

[EyeofTyr]

Jun 19, 2019 1:53:22 GMT -5 honsou said:

AEW should of hired him from the start, I really hope he finds a place somewhere

Yeah, I was surprised he wasn't hired from the word go too. It seems like an obvious choice for the AEW boys, but I guess not. 

I hope he does too, whether it's AEW or NXT or Japan. I feel like anywhere he goes, if they don't try to restrict him and shackle him, he'll give them something truly special. 

[Deleted]

he should be the promo coach at the performance center

[Mozenrath]

I do hope he gets hired somewhere. I've often heard it said he can be difficult and has been his own worst enemy, but given he somehow managed to work in CHIKARA for as long as he did shows he can't be all bad. Quackenbush isn't exactly an undemanding promoter, after all, so if he managed to work there, not sure how difficult he could really be.

[EyeofTyr]

Jun 19, 2019 2:46:57 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

I do hope he gets hired somewhere. I've often heard it said he can be difficult and has been his own worst enemy, but given he somehow managed to work in CHIKARA for as long as he did shows he can't be all bad. Quackenbush isn't exactly an undemanding promoter, after all, so if he managed to work there, not sure how difficult he could really be.

Yeah, a big issue in the past has been him falling off the wagon completely. The last time he did it in a major way he was getting a push in PWG and IWA:MS (back when that still vaguely meant something to tell you how long ago that was) and ended up having to no show shows for both because of his issues, which effectively got him fired from those promotions. Him being outspoken if something's dumb also led to him getting kicked out of CZW after he rightfully called Zandig out on his bull crap decisions (not too long before Zandig ended up needing to sell CZW because of said decisions bleeding him dry). 

The Quack/CHIKARA and Kingston relationship seems by all accounts very complicated, but you're right. 

And while not the best use of him, Kingston behaved himself in Impact too and he's not had any issues in AAW. 

[Wardlow on Wardlow 54]

Loved Kingston in Chikara. I agree that it's shocking he stayed as long as he did and was even pushed as THE guy from 2010-2013. They brought major names in for big weekends just to put Eddie over. Considering these names included Daniels, Daniel Bryan and Homicide(ie not cheap guys!), they were going all in on him. If one thing had gone wrong with him, the company would have been back to square one without a top babyface to rally behind(well, UltraMantis, but shh!). They crowned him as the first-ever Grand Champion and basically built the company around him for a year and a half, until Icarus usurped him. For a guy with his reputation, that's a freakin' miracle lol I would love to see him in NXT, kind of in a Kassius Ohno role, the big indy name who puts over the guys lined up for big pushes.

[EyeofTyr]

Jun 19, 2019 22:03:48 GMT -5 Wardlow on Wardlow 54 said:

Loved Kingston in Chikara. I agree that it's shocking he stayed as long as he did and was even pushed as THE guy from 2010-2013. They brought major names in for big weekends just to put Eddie over. Considering these names included Daniels, Daniel Bryan and Homicide(ie not cheap guys!), they were going all in on him. If one thing had gone wrong with him, the company would have been back to square one without a top babyface to rally behind(well, UltraMantis, but shh!). They crowned him as the first-ever Grand Champion and basically built the company around him for a year and a half, until Icarus usurped him. For a guy with his reputation, that's a freakin' miracle lol I would love to see him in NXT, kind of in a Kassius Ohno role, the big indy name who puts over the guys lined up for big pushes.

Kingston by all accounts is a pretty loyal guy by nature. Honestly if I were to guess, given how Quackenbush and CHIKARA pulled him out of the gutter when he got kicked out of his first wrestling school (along with Jigsaw and Jolly Roger) and always gave him a home promotion no matter what demons he was fighting, I'd say that's a big reason why Kingston lasted as long as he did in CHIKARA and was even at one point one of the few guys Quack let help book things (which in of itself tells you how tight knit the two were for a long time). 

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

Kingston is....yeah, a complicated guy. Absolutely phenomenal talent, who blew the best years of his athletic life being a pain in the ass bridge burner. That being said, when he's on his grind, he's the last guy, the LAST guy, in the business that genuinely, honestly makes this 30 year old man believe that he's REAL. He's truly that good. I hope this isn't the last year for him.