Sign Eddie Kingston Before It’s Too Late
The 17-year veteran is ending his career soon.
Regular readers and followers of The Wrestling Estate will by now have hopefully read our “Best Of 2018” roundtables. While some of the questions were very difficult to answer, there were two questions I was able to respond to without any hesitation.
My feud of the year was always going to be LAX vs. the OGz from Impact Wrestling. A lot of the reason for this was due to my pick for “Who cut the best promos in 2018?” That was the easiest choice of all: Eddie Kingston aka King from Impact Wrestling.
As I said, “The passion, adrenaline and intensity of [King’s] promos were above everyone else’s in the industry.”
This is a very bold statement given the lack of contextualization for my choice, but it’s also very hard to argue against. I could not think of anyone else who came close to Eddie Kingston last year on the mic, and going into 2019, I was anticipating even more great work over the course of the year.
But on January 27, Kingston announced on social media that 2019 will be his final year in the wrestling industry.
Well folks never wanted to say this but if it looks like this is my last year. Unless something crazy happens it is time for me to move on. Next January time to go out on my sheild. #MadKing #StrayDog #OUTLAWINC #OGZ730 #KingsRoadStyle #DHS
— Eddie Kingston (@MadKing1981) January 27, 2019
Understandably, this came as a huge shock to me and many others given how far his career has skyrocketed in the past 18 months. They say a lot of artists and athletes should always leave on a high, and in the case of Kingston, this year might be his chance to leave on said high and ride out into the sunset.
But if he does decide to hang up his boots, it is a complete injustice if he is not signed to a major company before the end of 2019!
Don’t get me wrong, King has been part of a major promotion of sorts, working for Impact Wrestling. But we all know that the true major promotion (as much as it pains me to say it) is WWE, and if anyone has paid their dues and earned their spot in McMahonland, it is Eddie Kingston.
Due to my passion for independent wrestling, I have had the opportunity to follow his career quite closely. My first time encountering Kingston was in 2009 in Ring of Honor, where when he was engaged in a violent and personal feud with long-time rival Chris Hero (now known as Kassius Ohno). Immediately, I was drawn to Kingston’s authenticity and intensity, as well as his great charisma with the ROH faithful.
Because of these traits, he has always reminded me of a hybrid between “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes and New Jack (two names you probably never expected to see in the same sentence, but hear me out!). Much like Dusty Rhodes and New Jack, you feel everything Eddie says or does in a wrestling ring comes from his heart. You are with him every step of the way and everyone can relate to his rawness, good or bad.
On the independent scene, it was well documented how passionate Eddie Kingston was, and still is, to be a part of CHIKARA and be crowned the inaugural CHIKARA Grand Champion. His victory speech and championship celebration was reminiscent of Rhodes winning the NWA World Title at Starrcade 1985, and his upbringing on the streets to his in-ring success was reminiscent of New Jack in ECW.
When Kingston fought Hero in their now infamous “Fight Without Honor” match at Final Battle 2009, Eddie had the Manhattan Center in the palm of his hand. He has always been a mega-star in the making, and his mega-star status was presented in its full glory this past year in Impact, first managing LAX, then the OGz in their ground-breaking feud.
It’s fair to say that for those who watched the feud pan out, Kingston (his name shortened to King) was definitely in his element and the star of the feud. It is rare to see a wrestler today given true creative license to say what they think and be how they want on television. But he thankfully was able to be, and it produced some of the best moments in recent memory.
The twists in the story, the depth of the narrative and the dichotomy of Kingston and Konnan were amazing. Had he not been the main antagonist, I know this feud would not have made such an impression on me and driven the story along as it did. There were so many nail-biting and tense moments across the feud, it was gripping television for 6+ months in any genre, let alone wrestling. But there was one particular segment which immortalized King more than any other.
At the conclusion of the Outdoor Street Fight on Impact, in which LAX were victorious, King berated Konnan about being washed up and past his prime. King then proceeded to spit on the ground where Konnan stood, and antagonized his arch-rival to a point of frenzy unseen since Konnan’s days with the former LAX, now rechristened the OGz. Falling to his knees, King continued verbally attacking Konnan, trying to cause a reaction. I will not give any more of the segment away if you have not seen it, so if you haven’t, I urge you to watch it!
But I can say this: the chemistry between the two rivals was awe-inspiring and King’s promo as a part of this segment is up there with Austin 3:16, Dusty Rhodes’ “Hard Times” and Ric Flair’s Royal Rumble 1992 celebratory speech.
It is one of those promos in which every syllable was delivered with such perfection that every word becomes etched into your brain. It was at Roddy Piper-level, who was the greatest talker in the history of the industry.
In conclusion, everyone can see that I am a huge fan of Eddie Kingston. I could write on and on about his career and how I want to see him wrestle until the end of time. But this article is more than that. This article is a plea.
If he is retiring, Eddie needs to be signed up to a major promotion before the end of 2019. He has paid his dues, worked his way up the ladder and deserves to have his moment in the spotlight. It could be WWE. It could be AEW. It could even be NJPW. All I know is that my parting line to all major promoters is this:
Please sign Eddie Kingston before it is too late!
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