Eddie Kingston – The ‘Mad King’ Cometh

By
Jake Landmesser

Eddie Kingston personifies everything that being an independent wrestler is about. He is the journeyman of all journeymen. Kingston has spent more than two decades traveling the country,  doing what he loves.

He had considered “going out on his shield,” per a tweet he sent this past January. Kingston mentioned seeing some wrestling content that made him go into a spiral. The man was angry and ready to leave the business for good.

When his baby nephew was born, it completely changed his outlook on life. His brother asked him to show him that if you work hard and never quit, you can get whatever you want in life.

So, Kingston could not quit. He decided that he was going to keep going until the wheels fell off. He was going to go until no one would book him anymore.

As of July 31st, 2020 just 6 months after considering his retirement Eddie Kingston signed to AEW. Let’s talk about the Mad King’s journey in the squared circle.

There’s Got to Be Something More Than This

Eddie “Moore” Kingston started his wrestling career after some self-realization. He was an ironworker in New York and noticed his peers being old men smoking and drinking on the job. He knew that there was more to life than this.

At age 19 he made the decision to go to wrestling school in Jersey. His first time on the canvas came at the Independent Wrestling Federation under trainer Kevin Knight. His time at IWF was brief as he was kicked out for reasons that Kingston has yet to reveal.

He then made the move to Chikara and trained under Mike Quackenbush and Chris Hero. Kingston made his professional wrestling debut on October 12th, 2002.

He and his partner, BlackJack Marciano, collectively known as the Wild Cards, won their debut match at Chikara’s 7th show.

The duo would get their first taste of gold as the IWA Mid-South Tag Team Champions. The team did not have much time left together as Marciano suffered a career-ending knee injury.

Kingston would take a small hiatus from the ring but came back getting more and more attention.

Making A Living as A Professional Wrestler

Kingston was starting to excel above his peers due to his passion for the business. He would continue to pave his way and help build Chikara.

He also started to see more opportunities outside of the Philadelphia-based company. Promotions like CZW, IWA, ROH, and even out west as PWG started booking Kingston. He was getting the opportunity to build his fan base and get more national attention.

Most importantly, he was making a living as a professional wrestler. He joined the faction BLKOUT in CZW as their mouthpiece, and this is where Kingston truly started to come into his own.

There is a reason why Kingston made his AEW debut with a mic in his hand. The guy can deliver a promo so well that you must take notice.

On September 9th, 2006, Kingston became the King of CZW. He bested his former trainer, Chris Hero, to capture the CZW World Heavyweight Championship.

He would reign as champion for 91 days, losing in a 3-way elimination match where he suffered a broken ankle. Kingston would return and face Chris Hero in a loser leaves town match.

The finish saw Kingston win as Hero was moving on with consistent bookings at ROH and NOAH. Then things got interesting. The owner of CZW John Zandig booked himself to clothesline Kingston after the match, but Kingston instead left the ring.

Kingston did not want to take the focus off the match they just had, and this upset Zandig. Then, in what seemed to be a work, he fired Kingston. It became apparent that this was no work as he was fired for “ongoing misconduct”.

Kingston wouldn’t let this stop his momentum. He became the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Champion on December 9th, 2007.

Kingston won the championship in a four-way match against Chris Hero, Chuck Taylor, and then champion Mike Quackenbush. He held that title for 127 days until he was stripped of it.

Kingston reportedly did not show up at an event, and owner Ian Rotten stated that he was going through some personal problems.

Eddie Kingston – Battling His Demons

Eddie Kingston has always been very vocal about his demons. He will be the first person to tell you how emotional he can get. Below is a tweet talking about his ongoing battle with depression –

It is important for Kingston to be open about these things because it can help so many by seeing his approach. Kingston also has noted his issues with his own anger.

Kingston went into further detail on Colt Cabana’s “The Art of Wrestling” podcast. He explained his worst moment of self-described “roid rage” in 2011.

“I got into an actual fight with my cousin. No, no, I guess you could call it ‘roid rage,’ I don’t know, but I’m an angry person anyways, but it was heightened and I was outside my cousin’s house with a baseball bat and breaking in his car windows.

And I was like, ‘ahhh!’ I did it anyway and I was like, ‘maybe I shouldn’t do this again.”

–Kingston on his steroid use

Some have described The Mad King as self-destructive. He has had issues with promoters, talents, and, most importantly, himself. He has done his best to better himself and not let his emotions get the best of him.

Grand Champion

In 2011, Eddie Kingston was about to make the run of his lifetime. From May to October  Kingston would be included in a tournament to crown the first-ever Chikara Grand Champion.

Kingston would finish the tournament with a record of 4-1 and was set to face off against Mike Quackenbush in the finals. Victory was Kingston’s on November 13 at Chikara’s first internet pay-per-view, High Noon.

More impressively Kingston would go on to reign as champion for a whopping 924 days. Over 3 years of dominance and 15 title defenses. He would finally lose the championship to Icarus at the 2014 Chikara PPV: You Only Live Twice.

Eddie Kingston Making an IMPACT!

Eddie Kingston made his Impact debut in on November 10, 2016. Kingston was apart of the newly formed faction DCC (Death Count Council).

The group did not last long or see many victories. Their most notable feud came against The Broken Hardys. After just 4 months, the group disbanded after tensions from consistent losses boiled over.

The Mad King would make his return to the IMPACT! Zone on April 25th, 2018. He would align himself with LAX and would rebrand himself as “King”.

Shortly after he would lead an attack on Konnan and formed a new faction with Hernandez and Homicide, the group would be dubbed The OGz.

Kingston ended up moving on to the NWA and took his partner, Homicide, with him. Nothing really came from his stint with the NWA, and come January Kingston was ready to hang up his boots. That is until the opportunity of a lifetime came knocking.

#SignEddieKingston

On July 21st, Tony Khan tweeted that Cody would be defending the TNT Championship against one of the top independent wrestlers in the world.

There was a lot of speculation that it was going to be WARHORSE, but it was none other than The Mad King himself answering the challenge.

Kingston made his AEW debut with a fiery promo about the challenges he’s faced in this industry. In just 3 minutes, he let hundreds of thousands of fans at home know just who Eddie Kingston was.

Even though he fell in defeat, he won the hearts of many that had never seen him perform before. The 18-year veteran was trending on all social media platforms with the hashtag #SignEddieKingston.

The powers that be at AEW listened to their fans and provided The Mad King with a contract. The journeyman has found his home and will live out the rest of his career on national television.

The Mad King has paid his dues and has earned this opportunity. Eddie Kingston has put himself through many trials and tribulations, and it is nothing short of an amazing story when you put his entire career in perspective.

Congratulations to you, Eddie Kingston, for a long career and showing your nephew that if you work hard and never quit, you can get whatever you want in life.

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