_(52292651136)_(cropped).jpg) Kingston in 2022 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Edward Moore[5] (1981-12-12)December 12, 1981 (age 43)[5] Yonkers, New York, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Dragon Dragon Eddie Kingston Eddie Moore King Kingston |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 240 lb (109 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Yonkers, New York[2] |
| Trained by | Kevin Knight[3] Chikara Wrestle Factory[3] Mike Quackenbush[4] Chris Hero[4] |
| Debut | October 12, 2002[3] |
Edward Moore (born December 12, 1981), better known by thering nameEddie Kingston, is an Americanprofessional wrestler. As of July 2020[update], he is signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW). He was the inauguralAEW Continental Champion. Kingston also performs for AEW's sister promotion,Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a formerROH World Champion. Additionally, he makes appearances forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a formerStrong Openweight Champion. All three of these championships were defended jointly under the Continental Crown Championship banner until he lost the Continental Championship.
Moore started his wrestling career in 2002, and has wrestled for numerouspromotions, includingEvolve, theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA),Chikara,AAW Wrestling,Combat Zone Wrestling,Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South,Impact Wrestling (renamed Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2024) andPro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). Outside of brief stints in Impact and ROH, Kingston was a mainstay on theindependent scene for 18 years before signing with AEW. Moore has been praised for his speaking skills and ability to cutpromos, and is regarded by many as one of the best talkers of the modern professional wrestling era. This ability to cut promos has allowed him to stay on AEW programming even through his injury.[6][7]
Edward Moore was born on December 12, 1981, inYonkers,New York, to an Irish father and a Puerto Rican mother. He had a difficult childhood in the suburbs of Yonkers, constantly getting into fights at school; he credits getting into wrestling at an early age from watching old tapes, particularly from Memphis and AJPW as what kept him out of jail and trouble. He estimates he has watched the June 1994 match betweenToshiaki Kawada andMitsuharu Misawa over 1,000 times. Kingston worked as part of the Iron Workers Union (Local 580) early on in his professional wrestling career.[8]
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Moore initially trained alongside BlackJack Marciano andJigsaw under Kevin Knight at theIndependent Wrestling Federation inWoodland Park, New Jersey (formerly West Paterson).[3] After Moore was kicked out of the school, he became part of the second class of students to train at theChikara Wrestle Factory, where he was taught byMike Quackenbush andChris Hero.[9]
Moore made his professional wrestling debut, under the ring name Eddie Kingston, on October 12, 2002, at Chikara's seventh event, where he and BlackJack Marciano, the team known collectively as the Wild Cards, defeated Melvin Snodgrass and Lester Crabtree in a tag team match.[10] In 2003 Kingston and Marciano began feuding with Mister ZERO andUltraMantis, the team known collectively as Ultra/ZERO.[3] The feud came to an end on July 5, when Ultra/ZERO defeated the Wild Cards in the semifinals of the2003 Tag World Grand Prix, after which Kingston and Marciano moved on to feuding with Team F.I.S.T. (Icarus andGran Akuma).[3] The following year the Wildcards teamed up with Jigsaw to form the Toxic Trio, while Icarus and Akuma recruited the help of Mike Quackenbush.[3] On May 22, 2004, the Toxic Trio faced Icarus, Akuma and Quackenbush in anUltimate Jeopardy match, where Kingston's, Marciano's and Icarus' hair, Jigsaw's and Akuma's masks and Quackenbush's various championship belts were on the line.[3] In the match Akuma forced Kingston to tap out and, as per stipulation of the match, both the Wild Cards were shaved bald, effectively ending the feud.[3] On September 18, 2004, the Wild Cards won theIWA Mid-South Tag Team Championship and enjoyed reasonable success outside of Chikara, until a knee injury forced Marciano into retirement, thus disbanding the team.[3]
After taking a break from wrestling, Kingston returned to the ring in July 2005, turningface and teaming withSabian,Equinox and Quackenbush to take on TheKings of Wrestling (Chris Hero,Claudio Castagnoli, Gran Akuma andArik Cannon).[3] On August 13, Hero defeated Kingston in a singles match, that would lead the two into feuding with each other over atCombat Zone Wrestling, while in Chikara they were kept apart from each other following the match.[3] For a majority of 2006, Kingston had a rivalry againstLarry Sweeney.[3] Kingston and Sweeney traded many verbal and physical exchanges for months, and the feud culminated with aNo DisqualificationStrap match between the two at Chikara's last show of the year. Kingston won this match and the overall feud.[3]
In 2007, Kingston turnedheel (villainous) when he waspinned in an eight-man tag team match.[3] Following the loss, Kingston attackedHallowicked and attempted to remove hismask. The resulting feud lasted for over six months. During this time Kingston frequently forced his opponents to wear a replica of Hallowicked's mask.[3] The feud ended when Kingston defeated Hallowicked in aFalls Count Anywhere match.[3]
Kingston, along with fellowBLKOUT stable membersJoker andRuckus, went on to the finals of the2008 King of Trios tournament, coming up short against the team ofEl Pantera,Incognito andLince Dorado, when Kingston tapped out to Dorado's Chikara Special.[11] After the tournament Kingston was not seen in Chikara for two months, but when he returned in May, he quickly targeted the man who had forced him to tap out at King of Trios, Lince Dorado.[12] Kingston defeated Dorado in back-to-back singles matches on July 13 and August 10, but both times Dorado refused to stay down and begged for more.[13][14][15] On September 7 Kingston and Dorado face each other in their third singles match, which ended when refereeBryce Remsburg disqualified Kingston due to "excessive punishment".[16] However, once again Dorado refused to stay down and demanded the match to be restarted. After the restart, Kingston had himself disqualified by low blowing Dorado and then walked out, before declaring that he was done with Dorado, since he was making him mentally unstable with his actions.[16]
In late 2008 Kingston would team up withBrodie Lee and Grizzly Redwood to form an alliance that would later be namedThe Roughnecks.[3] In early 2009 The Roughnecks defeated the Order of the Neo-Solar Temple (UltraMantis Black, Crossbones andSami Callihan) to advance to the2009 King of Trios, where they ended up being eliminated in the first round by Team Uppercut (Claudio Castagnoli,Bryan Danielson andDave Taylor).[3] Following the loss Kingston started a feud with Castagnoli, claiming that he had been embarrassed and disrespected.[3] On May 24, 2009, atAniversario Yang Kingston, who had claimed to being able to outwrestle Castagnoli, pinned him cleanly with anOklahoma roll.[3] After Castagnoli defeated Kingston via countout at the 2009 Young Lions Cup,[3] the two of them were booked in a "Respect Match" at the season eight finaleThree-Fisted Tales, where the loser of the match had to show respect to the winner. Castagnoli won the match, but instead of showing respect, Kingston laid him out with a spinning back fist, after claiming that both him and his former tag team partner (Chris Hero) are shady and deserve respect from no one.[17] At the end of the event Kingston's suspicions about Castagnoli were proven right as he turnedrudo and formed the stableBruderschaft des Kreuzes (BDK).[17]
On January 31, 2010, at the season nine premiere Kingston, now a tecnico, replaced Lince Dorado, after he had turned on histecnico teammates and joined BDK, and teamed up with Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw andEquinox in an eight-man tag team match against Castagnoli,Ares, Tursas and Dorado. BDK won the match, when Castagnoli pinned Kingston after a low blow. After the match Kingston once again refused to show respect to Castagnoli and was therefore beaten down.[18] On March 21 Kingston re-ignited his old feud with BDK's newest recruit Lince Dorado by facing him in a singles match. Dorado won by disqualification by taking his mask off behind the referees back and throwing it at Kingston, who was holding it when the ref turned around. This is an automatic disqualification as perlucha libre rules.[19] After the match Kingston attacked Dorado, while also taking care of BDK members Pinkie Sanchez,Sara Del Rey andTim Donst, who attempted to make the save, before he was stopped by Castagnoli, who once again demanded the respect he was owed fromThree-Fisted Tales.[19] On May 23 Kingston was set to wrestle one of his idols,Tommy Dreamer, at Chikara's eighth anniversary show, but the match was ruined by an interference from Castagnoli and Ares. After Dreamer helped Kingston take care of BDK, the two made a challenge for a tag team match for Chikara's July 25 show inThe Arena in Philadelphia.[20][21] On July 25 atChikarasaurus Rex: King of Show Kingston and Dreamer were defeated in a non-title tag team match by Ares and Castagnoli.[22] On October 23 Kingston represented Chikara in thetorneo cibernetico match, where the company's originals faced BDK. He eliminatedDaizee Haze and Sara Del Rey from the match, before being stuck in a two-on-one disadvantage against BDK members Claudio Castagnoli and Tursas. Castagnoli was disqualified from the match, after low blowing Kingston, but Kingston managed to come back and pin Tursas to win the 2010torneo cibernetico.[23] On March 13, 2011, inBrooklyn, New York, Castagnoli defeated Kingston, after hitting him with a chain, in a grudge match fifteen months in the making.[24][25] The following September, Kingston made his first tour ofJapan, with theOsaka Pro Wrestling promotion, which had a working relationship with Chikara. During the tour, Kingston teamed with the villainous Joker stable.[26][27][28]
People ask me why I call theGrand Championship "her". You see, as a 33-year-old man, the only time I've felt love or wanted to give love out was when I had the Grand Championship. When I had her. For 33 years, I've had a hole in my chest that could not be filled by anything in this life but her. When I held her at night, when I defended her in that ring it gave me peace. It gave me calm. It gave me a purpose.Icarus, do you understand?Hallowicked, do you understand how it feels to walk this Earth and not have a purpose? For 33 years, to walk around in life not knowing what you are meant for? Just aimlessly wandering around. When I got her, I knew why I was here. I knew whyGod put me on this green Earth was to protect her. To be with her. To love her. She is more than a title. She is way more than a belt. She is the love of my life and Icarus, you took her from me? I hate you! I hate the air that you breathe! I hate the fact that you're even living. You make me sick! You should not be alive; you should not breathe the same air I breathe! You are scum! You are below me! You will always be number two! And at the season finale (CHIKARA Top Banana), for you taking her away from me, for you taking my peace, my calm that I've been looking for for my whole life, I will bury you. And right before the daylight dies outta your eyes, Icarus, you're gonna see me laughing and smiling.
Hallowicked ... There's nothing personal with you. There's nothing deep with you like there is with Icarus, but you hold her. You hold my wife. You hold my love. So I'm gonna bust your gut open and I'm gonna watch you die at the season finale and then she will finally come back to me. And days before I turn 34-years-old, 14 years in this great sport, I will have my purpose again and I will have my life one more time. This is deeper than anything in the world. Anything in wrestling. This is life. This is purpose. This is everything.
From May to October 2011, Kingston took part in12 Large: Summit, a tournament used to determine the first everChikara Grand Champion. Kingston ended up winning his block of the tournament with a record of four wins and one loss to set up a final match with the winner of the other block, Mike Quackenbush.[11][30] On November 13 at Chikara's first internet pay-per-view,High Noon, Kingston defeated Quackenbush to become the first Chikara Grand Champion.[31] On February 26, 2012, Kingston made his first defense of the Grand Championship, defeatingVin Gerard, with whom he had developed a rivalry during the12 Large: Summit.[32] On March 25, Kingston defeated Brodie Lee in his second title defense.[32] Kingston made his third successful title defense on April 28, defeatingKevin Steen via disqualification in an interpromotional match between Chikara andRing of Honor.[32] Kingston followed up by making successful title defenses against Jigsaw on May 20 at Chikara's tenth anniversary event,Dasher Hatfield on June 24 and Sara Del Rey on July 28.[32] On September 15, during the second night of the2012 King of Trios, Kingston made his seventh successful title defense against Osaka Pro Wrestling representativeTadasuke.[32] Afterwards, Kingston was attacked by Tim Donst.[33] On November 18, Kingston led a team to take on Team Steen in the ninth annualtorneo cibernetico match. After Kingston managed to eliminate Steen, he was himself pinned for the win by Tim Donst.[11] On December 2, Kingston defeated Donst in the main event of Chikara's third internet pay-per-view,Under the Hood, to retain the Grand Championship for the eighth time.[32] Kingston's ninth successful defense took place during Chikara's first weekend of 2013 on February 10, when he defeated Kevin Steen.[32][34] Kingston was next scheduled to defend his title againstGreen Ant on March 9, but ended upno-showing the event.[35] Kingston later revealed that he had gotten drunk the previous night, punched a mirror in his hotel room and injured a tendon in his hand.[36] On April 6, Kingston defeated Hallowicked for his tenth successful defense of the Grand Championship.[32] During the weekend of May 3 and 4, Kingston made two more successful title defenses against Green Ant andMark Angelosetti.[32] Kingston's thirteenth successful title defense took place on May 18 againstArchibald Peck.[32] Kingston's fourteenth defense on June 2 atAniversario: Never Compromise ended in controversy, when, just as his challenger Icarus had locked him in a submission hold, the ring was attacked by a group named "Condor Security", ending the match in ano contest.[37]
After a one-year hiatus, Chikara returned on May 25, 2014, withYou Only Live Twice, where Kingston lost the Grand Championship to Icarus, ending his two and a half year reign.[38] Afterwards, Kingston turnedrudo and joined the Flood stable in order to regain the Grand Championship.[39] The alliance, however, was short-lived with Kingston turning on the Flood on September 21.[40] This led to a rivalry between Kingston and Flood's second-in-command,Jimmy Jacobs, which culminated on December 6 atTomorrow Never Dies, where Kingston defeated Jacobs in a grudge match.[41]
Kingston has made on-and-off appearances forIndependent Wrestling Association Mid-South since 2003. From his debut through the end of 2004, most of his activity involved tagging with Marciano as the Wild Cards. The duo won theIWA Mid-South Tag Team Championship once, and successfully defended them on numerous occasions. After Marciano's retirement, however, Kingston's Mid-South work mainly involved one-on-one matches, including a lengthy feud againstIan Rotten. He also rekindled his feud with Hero during the 2007Ted Petty Invitational, and on the final night of the tournament, Kingston defeated Hero in aLast Man Standing match, which is considered the 2007 Match of the Year for the company.
On December 7, 2007, Kingston won a four-way elimination match against Hero, then-champion Quackenbush, andChuck Taylor to win theIWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship. On April 11, 2008, Kingstonno-showed a scheduled event, resulting in IWA Mid-South owner Ian Rotten stripping him of the championship. Rotten told the crowd that Kingston was "going through some personal problems", but that he was welcome back to the promotion once he got his act together. Kingston participated in the2008 Ted Petty Invitational tournament, defeating Necro Butcher in the first round on Night One, but losing toSami Callihan in the quarter-finals.[42][43]
Kingston made his debut inCombat Zone Wrestling (CZW) in early 2004, competing in a series of tag team matches showcasing Chikara wrestlers, before joining the roster as theenforcer and mouthpiece in the BLKOUTfaction. Kingston and fellow BLKOUT member Joker won theCZW World Tag Team Championship from the Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli) on February 11, 2006, atSeven Years Strong: Settling The Score.[44][45] Seven months later on September 9, Kingston defeated Chris Hero to win theCZW World Heavyweight Championship after an extended feud.[44][46] As a result of winning the CZW World Championship, BLKOUT vacated the tag team championship, and the Kings of Wrestling won them in a tournament, but were attacked by BLKOUT afterwards.[47] After a successful world title defence againstJustice Pain atNight of Infamy 5, due to Hero interfering and accidentally hitting Pain, Kingston lost the title to Pain in athree-way elimination match, also involving Hero.[48][49] Kingston was eliminated first, after suffering alegitimate broken ankle, afterbotching a backdrop.[49][50]
At the following show, Hero challenged Kingston to aLoser Leaves Town match when he returned.[51] In his return match atRedemption on March 10, 2007, Kingston defeatedHydra.[52] On April 7, atOut With the Old, In With the New, Kingston defeated Hero in a Loser Leaves Town match. Following the match, CZW ownerJohn Zandig went to the ring and publicly fired Kingston for "ongoing misconduct".[53] This was suspected by many to be an angle, but was later found out to have been legitimate. Kingston released a public interview onYouTube discussing the matter, but the footage was removed only hours later.
Kingston did not appear in CZW for nearly a year following this, but eventually made his return atNew Years Resolutions on January 12, 2008, in the main event for the CZW World Heavyweight Championship.[54] Kingston returned to Combat Zone Wrestling on February 14, 2009, at its10th Anniversary Show, in a losing effort toCZW World Heavyweight ChampionDrake Younger in a No Rope Barbed Wire Deathmatch.[55] Kingston and Younger went on to defeat The Best Around (TJ Cannon and Bruce Maxwell) on April 10, 2010, to win the CZW World Tag Team Championship.[44] After a successful title defense on June 12 against Cult Fiction (Brain Damage andMasada), Kingston threw his World Tag Team Championship belt down and once again quit CZW.[56] Kingston's title reign officially ended on July 10, when CZW ownerD. J. Hyde stripped him and Younger of the title.[56]
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Kingston first appeared inWestside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) in 2004, as part of aChikara exhibition match. On August 21, at "Broken Rulz", the Wild Cards andHallowicked were defeated byGran Akuma,Jigsaw andMike Quackenbush.[57] He then appeared two years later, as part of the Joint@Venture event in February 2005. On day one, he and Hallowicked were defeated by Dark Dream (Darksoul and X-dream).[58] On day two, he, Hallowicked andSkayde were defeated by Akuma, Jigsaw and Quackenbush.[59] On March 13, 2010, at The Vision, Kingston was defeated byBig Van Walter in a singles match.[60]
Kingston was brought back to wXw for the 2013 edition of 16 Carat Gold. On night one, he defeatedChuck Taylor in the first round.[61] On night two, he was defeated byShinobu in the quarter-final.[62] On night three, he partnered Kim Ray in a defeat to Hot & Spicy (Axel Dieter Jr. andDa Mack).[63] Seven years later, Kingston returned to the promotion for the 2020 edition of 16 Carat Gold.[64] On night one, he defeated Daniel Makabe in the first round.[65] On night two, he defeated The Rotation in the quarter-final.[65] On night three, he was defeated byCara Noir in the semi-final.[65]
Kingston made his first appearance in Ring of Honor atDeath Before Dishonor IV on July 15, 2006, as the fifth member ofTeam CZW in the Cage of Death match, which Team CZW lost.[66]
Kingston's next appearance was on March 14, 2008, when he showed up in the audience during a match between the Vulture Squad andAustin Aries and Bryan Danielson. During the match, Kingston harassed Ruckus, a member of the Vulture Squad in ROH and Kingston's stablemate in BLKOUT in other promotions, and claimed he'd be in Philadelphia on March 16, 2008, during ROH'sTake No Prisoners pay-per-view. During the non-pay-per-view portion of the show, Kingston, Sabian and Robbie Morino of BLKOUT got into a brawl with Jigsaw andJulius Smokes of The Vulture Squad, while Ruckus tried to restrain both factions.
In June it was announced that BLKOUT was planning on disrupting ROH's pay-per-view taping,Respect is Earned II, on June 7. The Vulture Squad responded with Jigsaw challenging Kingston to face him in a match. Kingston appeared with BLKOUT, but failed to defeat Jigsaw, while Ruckus again tried to calm down both of his stables.[67]
Kingston wrestled at theRing of Honor Wrestling tapings on March 1, 2009, in Philadelphia, defeating Sami Callihan. Kingston then appeared on the March 18 ROH videowire, and soon after re-developed his feud with Chris Hero. On December 19, 2009, atFinal Battle 2009, ROH's first live pay-per-view, Kingston defeated Hero in a "Fight Without Honor" match to win the feud.[68]
Kingston returned to ROH on March 4, 2012, at the10th Anniversary Show, where he represented Chikara as the Grand Champion and had a confrontation with Kevin Steen.[69] This led to a Grand Championship match in Chikara, where Kingston defeated Steen via disqualification.[32] Kingston returned to ROH at the June 29 tapings ofRing of Honor Wrestling, savingMike Mondo from Steen and Jimmy Jacobs.[70] He then went on to unsuccessfully challenge Steen for theROH World Championship on August 11 atBoiling Point.[71]
On August 17, 2013, Kingston returned to ROH, forming a new tag team with Homicide. In their return match, the two defeated Marshall Law (Q.T. Marshall andR.D. Evans).[72] Following the main event of the evening, Kingston and Homicide attacked new ROH World Tag Team Champions,reDRagon (Bobby Fish andKyle O'Reilly), before announcing their intention of taking down "corporate ROH" and revealing their team name as "Outlaw Inc.".[73] Kingston and Homicide, however, claimed that they had come to ROH to help Match MakerNigel McGuinness and take out those they felt were bad for the promotion. As part of the gimmick, Kingston and Homicide wore suits and followed theCode of Honor.[74] After defeatingThe American Wolves (Davey Richards andEddie Edwards) on November 16, Outlaw Inc. were named the next challengers for the ROH World Tag Team Championship.[75] Outlaw Inc. received their title shot on December 14 atFinal Battle 2013, but were defeated by reDRagon. Post-match, Kingston and Homicide announced that they were no longer going to play by ROH's rules.[76] Kingston's last few ROH appearances were in the spring of 2014. After Homicide and Eddie jumped Kevin Steen and Cliff Compton during their No DQ match a tag team match was announced. This tag match saw Outlaw Inc. losing and they were never seen again.[77]
From 2007 to 2010, Kingston competed regularly in the New Jersey–basedJersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) organization.[4] After winning a number one contenders match on February 24, Kingston defeated Bandido, Jr. on February 28 at JAPW'sJersey City Rumble to win theJAPW New Jersey State Championship.[78][79] He would hold the title for little over two months before losing it to Archadia.[80] On January 23, 2010, at JAPW's 12th Anniversary Show, Kingston had his biggest match to date in the promotion, unsuccessfully challengingDan Maff for theJAPW Heavyweight Championship.[81] Kingston returned to JAPW on April 14, 2012, when he andHomicide defeated Philly's Most Wanted (Blk Jeez and Joker) to win the vacantJAPW Tag Team Championship.[82]
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On November 11, 2007, Kingston debuted inPro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) asHuman Tornado's mystery tag team partner. It was revealed earlier on that Tornado's opponent,Chris Hero, had also picked Kingston as his partner, but Kingston had chosen to side with Tornado. Kingston and Tornado lost aHandicap match to Hero via adisqualification caused byClaudio Castagnoli.[83] Post-match, the three men collectively attacked Hero and showed signs of the forming of a newstable.
On January 5, 2008, Tornado, Castagnoli and Kingston defeated the three-person unit of Hero,Necro Butcher and Hero's then-valetCandice LeRae in a No Disqualification match. The competing stables would have a variety of matches against each other throughout the year, with various members facing off one-on-one. As ateam, Kingston and Castagnoli were also involved in a brief feud against The Dynasty (Joey Ryan andScott Lost), which began when they interfered in aPWG World Tag Team Championship match between The Dynasty and challengersthe Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe andMark Briscoe) on May 7. A title match was booked between Castagnoli and Kingston and The Dynasty on two consecutive shows, both of which Kingston missed. Soon after missing the second event, Kingston's name was removed from the roster page.
On August 30, it was announced that Kingston would return forAll Star Weekend VII. OnNight One, he competed in afour-way match for thePWG World Championship; participants included Necro Butcher, former championLow Ki, and defending champion Hero, who pinned Kingston to retain.[84] Following the match, Kingston assaulted Hero, forcing PWG officials to pull them apart. OnNight Two, Kingston was defeated by Necro Butcher in aNecro Butcher Rules match.[85]
During 2011, Kingston worked for the newly founded Urban Wrestling Federation (UWF) promotion.[86] On June 23, 2013, Kingston and Homicide were defeated byThe Steiner Brothers (Rick andScott) atHouse of Hardcore 2.[87] At the following event on November 9, they were defeated byDevon andMatt Hardy.[88]
On September 29, 2016, Kingston was part of a group of about 40 wrestlers invited to aWWE tryout at theirPerformance Center and was offered a coaching role in the promotion, but turned it down.[89][90] Kingston lost toBull Dempsey on January 26, 2018, atHouse of Hardcore 37. On September 9, 2018, Kingston lost toBrody King atPCW Ultra's Vision Quest in Wilmington, California.
In September 2023, Kingston announced that he will no longer be taking independent bookings due to championship responsibilities and a back injury.[91]
Kingston was revealed as a member of the masked gangDeath Crew Council (DCC) on the November 10, 2016, episode of Impact.[92] The DCC made their Impact Zone debut on the October 20 episode ofImpact Wrestling, when they attackedThe Tribunal, following the latter's loss toTNA World Tag Team Champions,The Broken Hardys. The DCC continued their assault on TNA wrestlers, attackingRobbie E andGrado on the October 27 episode ofImpact Wrestling. On the November 3 episode ofImpact Wrestling, the DCC attacked the Tag Champions. As the faction was leaving, the Hardys challenged them to an immediate match and put their titles on the line; whether this was a handicap match or not and what its official result was have never been specified. The match devolved into a backstage fight during which Matt Hardy suffered amnesia after being knocked off a forklift by one of the DCC members. The DCC unmasked themselves on the following episode ofImpact Wrestling after laying outTNA World Heavyweight ChampionEddie Edwards following his successful title defense againstEli Drake. On the November 17 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Kingston made his Impact in-ring debut teaming with Storm and Bram to defeat Edwards andBrother Nero in a No Disqualification 3-on-2 handicap match. On the December 1 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Kingston and Bram faced The Broken Hardys for the TNA Tag Team Championship, but were ultimately defeated. Bram and Kingston would face Decay in a losing effort, after James Storm attacked Abyss, resulting in a disqualification. At Genesis, the DCC were defeated by Decay and The Broken Hardys in a three-way tag team, thus not winning their TNA World Tag Team Championship. On the January 19 episode of Impact Wrestling, Bram and Kingston competed in the first ever Race for the Case, capturing the yellow briefcase when Kingston knocked it out of Jessie Godderz's hands and into Bram's, later learning they have the #2 call out spot for the February 2 Open Fight Night episode of Impact Wrestling. On the February 2 episode of Impact Wrestling, the DCC used their Race for the Case briefcase to call out and defeat Decay in a Fall Count Anywhere match. At the end of the show, they would attackEthan Carter III after his match againstEli Drake, only to attack him and his bodyguard Tyrus after. On the February 9 episode of Impact Wrestling, the DCC defeatedEli Drake andTyrus in a handicap match. On the April 6 episode of Impact Wrestling, Kingston andBram interruptedJames Storm kicking him out of the DCC after Kingston spat in Storm’s face and Storm laid both guys out with superkicks. Kingston would return to Global Force Wrestling, which he was involved in a 20-man Gauntlet for the Gold match for the vacatedImpact World Championship which he was unsuccessful. In October 2017, Kingston announced his departure from Impact Wrestling.[93]
On the May 24, 2018, episode ofImpact, Kingston, now renamed "King", returned as a member of theLatin American Xchange (LAX). After the group leaderKonnan was attacked, andHomicide andDiamante went missing in action, King assumed leadership of the faction and guided Ortiz and Santana back to beingImpact World Tag Team Champions. In June, Konnan and Diamante returned, both showing suspicion about King's involvement with the group. On the July 5 episode ofImpact, King confirmed that he had been behind the attack on Konnan, before former LAX members Homicide andHernandez returned and attacked LAX, joining forces with King. The group later became known as the "OGz". At theBound for Glory in October 2018, the OGz lost to LAX in aConcrete Jungle Death match. Kingston subsequently left Impact Wrestling once more.
Kingston debuted for theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) at their television tapings on September 30 for NWA Powerr. At the tapings he reunited with Homicide as Outlaw Inc., feuding with The Wilds Cards (Thom Latimer andRoyce Isaacs) and The Dawsons (Dave and Zane Dawson) over theNWA World Tag Team Championship.[94]
Kingston made his debut forAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) on the July 22, 2020, episode ofDynamite, where he faced againstCody for theAEW TNT Championship in aNo Disqualification match, but lost.[95] On July 31, it was announced that Kingston had signed a contract with AEW.[96] On the August 22 episode ofDynamite, Kingston created an alliance withThe Butcher and The Blade and theLucha Brothers (Pentagón Jr. andRey Fénix).[97] At theAll Out pay-per-view, Kingston participated in theCasino Battle Royale, where he was lastly eliminated by eventual winnerLance Archer.[98] Despite this, Kingston would claim that he was never eliminated from the match as he went under the bottom rope and began touting for anAEW World Championship match.[99] On the September 23 episode ofDynamite, Kingston received his AEW World Championship match against his former friendJon Moxley, where he was defeated after passing out to a chokehold.[100] Kingston would later attack Moxley after the latter's match with Lance Archer on the October 14 episode ofDynamite, protesting that Moxley had never made him submit.[101] Due to this, an"I Quit" match between the two was set up for theFull Gear event on November 7, which Kingston lost.[102][103]
On the November 18 episode ofDynamite, the Lucha Brothers turned on Kingston after he and Butcher and Blade attackedPac.[104] AtNew Year's Smash on January 13, 2021, Kingston was defeated by Pac.[105] AtRevolution on March 7, Kingston rescued Jon Moxley after Moxley's main event match againstKenny Omega, turningface in the process.[106] The two would later resume their friendship and begin an alliance.[107] Furthermore, Kingston would end his association with The Butcher and The Blade, after they were hired byMatt Hardy as part of his entourage.[107] Over the next weeks, Kingston and Moxley feuded with Omega, as well as his alliesThe Good Brothers (Doc Gallows andKarl Anderson) andThe Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson).[108][109] At theDouble or Nothing event on May 30, Kingston and Moxley challenged The Young Bucks for theAEW World Tag Team Championship, but were defeated.[110] After Moxley took an absence for the birth of his first child,[111] Kingston allied with Pentagón Jr. to face The Young Bucks for the championship in aStreet Fight at theRoad Rager event, but they were defeated.[112] Kingston eventually began a feud withMiro, whom he challenged for theTNT Championship atAll Out, though he was defeated.[113]
After his loss to Miro at All Out, he participated in an eight-man,single elimination tournament for an opportunity for the AEW World Championship, where he would be eliminated in the semi-finals byBryan Danielson.[114][115][116]
Immediately following his loss to Danielson, he would interrupt an interview segment withCM Punk, beginning a feud between the two of them.[117] Kingston would face Punk at theFull Gear event in November, but lost.[118] The following month, Kingston would initiate a rivalry withChris Jericho,[119] but suffered an orbital bone injury in January 2022, temporarily sidelining him.[120] The rivalry would continue after Kingston returned the following month, with the two agreeing that they would wrestle each other at theRevolution event.[121] At Revolution on March 6, Kingston defeated Jericho by submission, his first victory at an AEW pay-per-view event.[122] Soon after, Jericho would attack his former friends Santana and Ortiz and form the villainousJericho Appreciation Society and continue to feud with Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz as well as theBlackpool Combat Club. The Jericho Appreciation Society went on to win the Anarchy in the Arena match atDouble or Nothing.[123] Kingston, Santana, Ortiz, and the Blackpool Combat Club would avenge this loss with a win atBlood and Guts.[124] AtFyter Fest on July 20, Kingston was defeated by Jericho in aBarbed Wire Everywhere Deathmatch.[125]
After this, Kingston began a feud with Jericho's allySammy Guevara. The two were scheduled to face in a match at theAll Out, but the match was cancelled after Kingston was suspended by AEW for getting into alegitimate backstage dispute with Guevara.[126] Instead, Kingston facedTomohiro Ishii on the All Out pre-show in a winning effort.[127] He resumed his feud with Guevara shortly after, with the two facing in a match onRampage: Grand Slam; Kingston initially won by submission, but the decision was overturned after he refused to release his submission hold.[128]
AtFull Gear on November 19, Kingston defeatedJun Akiyama.[129] After losing the Face of the Revolution ladder match on the March 1, 2023, edition ofDynamite, during an interview with Lexy Nair, Kingston was asked what was going on with him, Kingston, who had already packed his bags, said "I quit AEW", and then walked out the nearest door.[130]
After Tony Khan purchased Ring of Honor, Kingston began to work on the promotion, challengingROH World ChampionClaudio Castagnoli for the title. He was defeated atSupercard of Honor,[131] On the June 15, 2023, episode ofDynamite, Kingston returned to AEW, laying outWheeler Yuta and bitter enemy Claudio Castagnoli, before being stopped by Jon Moxley. Kingston was attacked from behind byKonosuke Takeshita.[132] At theForbidden Door event on June 25, Kingston teamed withAdam Page,The Young Bucks andTomohiro Ishii to take on Moxley, Yuta, Castagnoli, Takeshita andShota Umino in a ten-man tag team match, which they won.[133]
Following Forbidden Door, Eddie was in Japan to participate inG1 Climax 33, while also winning the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship. (See the section on New Japan below.) During one of his off-days, NJPW staff brought him by surprise to the Ramen shop operated by Kingston's idol,Toshiaki Kawada. The two spoke at length, both off and on camera, with Kingston stating "Sitting down with him and some of the things I told him offscreen and some the things he told me offscreen, I will hold forever dear...[the advice he gave me] was translated to me and sent to me; I read it every day."[134] Kawada also suggested that Eddie cease using theNorthern Lights Bomb as his finisher, recommending apowerbomb instead.[135] The two continued their discussion atStarrcast that year, in a conversation translated bySonny Oono.[136]
Kingston continued to feud with The Blackpool Combat Club, due to his hatred for Castagnoli, leading to him teaming with their common enemies,Pentagón Jr.,Best Friends ( Chuck Taylor andTrent Beretta) andOrange Cassidy to face off against BCC (Moxley, Castagnoli and Yuta) and the recently reunited Santana and Ortiz, atAll In on August 27 in aStadium Stampede match. At the event, Kingston's team was victorious.[137] The following week atAll Out, Kingston teamed withROH Pure ChampionKatsuyori Shibata to face off against Castagnoli and Yuta, in a losing effort.[138] Kingston and Castagnoli finally faced off on September 20 atDynamite: Grand Slam, in a title vs title match for Castagnoli's ROH World Championship and Kingston'sNJPW Strong Openweight Championship, where Kingston defeated Castagnoli via powerbomb, becoming a double champion. Following the match, the two men adhered to theCode of Honor, shaking hands thus ending the two men's 15+ year rivalry.[139]
Kingston announced his participation in theContinental Classic and that his ROH World Championship and NJPW Strong Openweight Championship on the line in the tournament final.[140] Kingston lost both of his initial matches, and had to win all of his remaining bouts to avoid mathematical elimination. In the League Finals atDynamite:New Year's Smash, Kingston defeated Danielson for the first time to clinch the Blue League Finals, while Jon Moxley won the Gold League Finals, setting up the Championship Finale atWorlds End.[141] At the event, Kingston defeated Moxley for the first time in his career, retaining both the ROH World Championship and NJPW Strong Openweight Championship while also becoming the inaugural holder of theAEW Continental Championship. As a result, he was dubbed the inaugural "American Triple Crown Champion" (also referred to as the Continental Crown Champion) for holding all three titles.[142] On March 3, 2024 atRevolution, Kingston successfully defended his titles against Bryan Danielson.[143] On the March 20 episode ofDynamite, Kingston lost the Continental Championship toKazuchika Okada. AtSupercard of Honor, Kingston lost the ROH World Championship toMark Briscoe.[144] Kingston was originally scheduled to team withFTR (Cash Wheeler andDax Harwood) and Bryan Danielson as Team AEW againstThe Elite (Kazuchika Okada, Matthew Jackson, Nicholas Jackson, andJack Perry) atDouble or Nothing in Anarchy in the Arena, but was pulled from the event due to a tibial fracture, a torn ACL, and a torn meniscus and would most likely be out of action until May 2025 and was subsequently replaced byDarby Allin.[145][146][147] Despite the injury, he returned on-air for the August 17 episode of Collision in a pre-recorded promo from his home to discussAll In and the Title vs Career match between Swerve Strickland and Bryan Danielson.[148]
On September 20, 2025 atAll Out, Kingston returned from injury, defeatingBig Bill. After the match, Kingston was attacked by Bill andBryan Keith, only to be saved byHook.[149]
Kingston made his debut forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) on the November 27, 2021, episode ofStrong, teaming with Jon Moxley to faceMinoru Suzuki andLance Archer in aPhiladelphia Street Fight, in a losing effort.[150] On the January 8, 2022, episode ofStrong, Kingston returned to defeat Gabriel Kidd.[151] At theCapital Collision event in May 2022, Kingston facedTomohiro Ishii, but was defeated.[152] On February 18, 2023, atBattle in the Valley, Kingston would defeatJay White in a Loser Leaves NJPW match.[153]
On May 21 atNJPW Resurgence, Kingston issued a challenge to whoever is theStrong Openweight Champion betweenKenta andHikuleo.[154] On June 6, atDominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall, Kingston was announced as participant in the upcomingG1 Climax.[155] Before the start of the tournament, on July 5's night 2 ofIndependence Day, Kingston defeatedKenta to become theStrong Openweight Champion.[156] Upon the start of the tournament, Kingston competed in the C Block, finishing with 8 points, failing to advance to the quarterfinal round.[157] Following the tournament, on August 12, after Kingston was victorious in an eight-man tag team match,Henare came to the ring and subsequently attacked Kingston, before motioning toward his Strong Openweight Championship belt. The following day, after an eight-man tag team match, Kingston returned the favour and attacked HENARE. The two brawled to the back, where Kingston suggested they face each other for the title atFighting Spirit Unleashed on October 28. Kingston retained in their match, and also defending his NJPW title againstRocky Romero,Katsuyori Shibata, andMinoru Suzuki on American television.
After theContinental Classic in AEW, the NJPW Strong belt became part of the "American Triple Crown," thoughGabe Kidd insisted that he only wanted the Strong Belt during the run-up toBattle in the Valley. Kingston retained via double count-out, and later in the show came out to helpWill Ospreay fight off an attack from Bullet Club. He was later defeated by Kidd in aNo Ropes Last Man Standing match on May 11 atResurgence, failing to retain the championship, ending his reign at 311 days. Afterwards, he was attacked by The Elite (Matthew Jackson, Nicholas Jackson and Jack Perry), with whom he was feuding in AEW.[158]
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| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gran Akuma (mask) | Eddie Kingston and BlackJack Marciano (hair) | Emmaus, Pennsylvania | Aniversario 3: Dodging the Sophomore Jinx | May 22, 2004 | [Note 1][177] |
