Eddie Kingston's Rude Ass Carries Three Weapons, He'll Give Your Face a C-Section and Keep Stepping

Eddie Kingston just main evented a PPV that got a lot of buzz, and it felt like a good time to find any Kingston AEW matches we hadn't yet watched and review them, for the purpose of science. 

Eddie Kingston vs. Lee Johnson AEW Dark 9/8/20 - FUN

PAS: This was Eddie's first singles match post being signed, and he methodically worked over Johnson, gave him his one run of offense and then finished him with a running knee and backfist. Johnson's had the least impressive offense run of all the guys Kingston squashed, but he did seem to move well, and took a solid beating from the King. 

ER: Kingston is a guy who fights from underneath so often in his matches that it's cool to see how he works shorter squash matches. He's really punishing with hard chops and a cool delayed high crotch lift suplex, but then runs temple first into a back elbow and jaw first into a boot, and it's cool that even in a one sided match he plausibly worked in Johnson hitting a blue thunder bomb. I dig how much of a comeback he's given to the kitchen sink. He's been using that low running knee to set up the backfist. In a promotion where Omega does 6+ running knees to the face in every one of his matches, Kingston has shown the value of one expertly timed knee to the breadbasket. 

Eddie Kingston vs. Brian Pillman Jr. AEW Dark 9/22/20 - GREAT

PAS: This ruled, unlike the other AEW Dark matches, this was back and forth and competitive, and Kingston is a master at the Tenryu style beat a rookie into looking great matches. Pillman gets in all of his spots and has a bunch of moments, but Kingston is fully kicking his ass throughout. I loved Pillman firing with a bunch of huge overhand and traditional chops and Kingston responding with line crossing slaps to the ear and face. At one point Pillman lights him up, turns his back to celebrate and Eddie half clotheslines and half punches him in the back of the head.  Kingston used the running knee to the stomach as a set up for the backfist in all of these matches and this was the nastiest, I thought Pillman might puke blood.  BPJ looks so much like his dad in his movements, this at times felt like a time machine match. Man, a Brian Pillman Sr. versus Kingston feud would have been incredible. 

ER: Damn have we seen Kingston in the sleeveless Mad King duster and rosary beads before? He's like a character in a Robert Rodriguez movie. I thought this was great. This felt like if WCW had given us Dick Murdoch vs. Brian Pillman in 1991. Kingston gave Pillman such a hard beating that at one point Tazz broke and just started laughing, saying that Pillman must owe Kingston money. Any time you get an announcer to genuinely break character to marvel at the violence it's always memorable violence. Pillman really does take a beating in this match, a real sit up and take notice Kingston beating. He kicks Pillman in the back, lands heavy chops, and then really steps it up with a thunking downward strike clubbing arm to the back. He throws a few of those clubbing downward shots and every one of them looks and sounds painful. 

Kingston also has the kind of excellent, honest selling that keeps brawls interesting and avoids ever feeling same-y. He doesn't react the same to every shot, he really tailors his reaction to a specific strike. Pillman hits him with a weak overhand chop at one point and within a split second of it landing light he was already shaking his head and asking him to re-do it. Most strike exchanges are sold by selling each shot by guessing ahead of time how hard it will be. Kingston's candid selling gives this really one sided brawl a great energy, and makes Pillman's comeback feel like a big deal. Pillman gets a great nearfall off a nasty inverted driver, and Kingston had this dirt off shoulder way of dealing with Pillman. He hits this intentionally sloppy bodyslam, just scooping and dropping Pillman, drops him fast and low with a hotshot on the guardrail, and late in the match hits an all time great uranage. The kitchen sink used at the end of this match is one of the best running knees I've seen. It was a straight running shot right below the bellybutton, not a running blow with the leg held out to the side. He just runs knee first into Pillman's stomach, like a knee to the balls that went high. Is AEW Dark harboring a bunch of under the radar beatings like this one? 

Eddie Kingston vs. M'Badu AEW Dark 10/6/20 - FUN

PAS: Short squash, but nifty stuff. M'Badu is a big jacked guy listed from Nigeria, he had a good look and nice height on his Stinger splash. Mostly Kingston taking it to him though, and ending the match with a backfist and a kimura. Kingston gets on the mic and calls out Moxley, and says he will make him say I Quit with the Kimura like his buddy Josh Barnett. Certainly served it purpose, although a squash is a squash.

ER: This accomplished as much as a squash match could accomplish, and AEW is smart using some larger guys in squash matches and not just making it established guys running over juniors. I wouldn't mind seeing more M'Badu, and squash match Kingston is really good at giving guys one big spot (here an awesome rotating M'Badu powerslam). This finished with King's tried and true kitchen sink > spinning backfist, but I loved the wrinkle of him lifting M'Badu for before 3 and locking in a nasty kimura for the tap, looking into the camera while doing it. Heels need to make crazed faces while locking in a finishing sub, bring that Backlund chicken wing energy. 

Eddie Kingston vs. Baron Black AWE Dark 10/13/20 - FUN

PAS: Another squash match, which sees Kington end it with a really great looking backfist and front chancery choke. Black gets one Exploder and a spinning clothesline which looked OK, although I wasn't a fan of his chops. This was a 3 minute match which got it's point across. They must have a deal with Mr. Hughes' school or something, because they have a ton of black job guys but hardly any black people on the actual roster. I mean Eddie beat as many different black wrestlers on AEW Dark than are on the whole main roster. 

ER: Going through all of the AEW Dark Kingston matches is the first time I've watched any AEW Dark, and I didn't realize the show got its name because all of the job guys are black. I liked Black's spinning lariat/Exploder combo (the guy has a really strong Exploder), and while his strap takedown could use some work it's a good sign that he at least incorporates a strap takedown. This match continues the cool trend of a King kitchen sink/backfist combo (this was one of his best backfists too), then locking in a sub for the actual finish. Establishing Kingston as a guy with several ways to finish a match, not just a guy who needs to focus on the backfist. His standing front chancery choke looked sick, great finishing sub. 

Eddie Kingston vs. Matt Sydal AEW Dynamite 10/28/20 - GREAT

ER: I really liked this. I loved the looks of it on paper and thought it delivered in a bunch of cool ways. I wasn't sure if they had a singles match before (apparently they had one in 2005, anyone know if it's cool?) but they matched up great. Kingston starts us off with an effortless promo, calling out wrestlers at ringside, making inside jokes with sly grins at the camera, really the only guy who can do that kind of stuff and not have it come off like some dumb shooty shoot comments. Kingston is so great at being flustered by Sydal's speed, throwing clotheslines over his head, leaning cheek first into a great solebutt, staggering excellently into position for a hard dropkick; that Chikara background has always made him a compelling worker against speed guys (but really, is there anyone he is not compelling against?). I really loved Sydal's cradle and backslide variations. Sydal really moved around Kingston's body with grace, especially love when he slipped around out of a headlock and swung into a grounded crucifix. Kingston basically had only chops and elbows to work with, and the way he worked made it feel like something could end quickly if he just got Sydal's timing down. Sydal stayed ahead of him, got him on wobbly legs, flipped him off the top with a headscissors, almost took him out with knees. Kingston could not keep up, until I saw it in his face right when he was going to turn things. He missed a clothesline that almost seemed intentional and then knows right when to catch Sydal with a low knee and then locks on that bully choke for the tap. The bully choke is a great finish, really does feel like something that would leverage an immediate tap. Kingston is so good at fighting from underneath against any type of opponent, that even though it felt like Sydal took a ton of this it always felt like Kingston just had to catch that timing. 

PAS: This was a really solid TV match, I thought it was a step below the Pillman match, but not a giant step. I agree with Eric about how smooth Sydal is, he spins around Kingston's body like a breakdancer. I loved Kingston's wobbly leg sell of the high knee, and he has really developed that running knee to the gut/backfist as a television wrestler finishing combo. It is a nice adjustment to the change in his circumstances, he can use it to finish off the Baron Black's and Sydal's of the world, and it will make a great near fall in a bigger match. 

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