Hailing from New York, Eddie Kingston will be the hometown hero at Wednesday’s show. He will defend his NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship on the line against ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli in a Winner Takes All Title vs. Title match.

Eddie Kingston doesn’t respect Claudio Castagnoli

Speaking with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Kingston talked about his upcoming battle against the Swiss superstar. While he has mentioned time to time, he once again stated that he doesn’t respect Castagnoli. He also highlighted the fact that he will give everything in order to fight Claudio.

“I don’t respect anything about Claudio,” Eddie Kingston said. “I don’t even respect that Claudio is a great wrestler, even though he is. As a person, I think he’s garbage. I don’t give a f— what he has to say. Talk is cheap. Let’s let our actions do the talking.

“This is not a business to me. I’m not wearing a fancy suit to work like him. This is not just a paycheck for me. If it was, I’d be working somewhere else as a coach. This is my life. I am a wrestler, and I’m going to fight with my heart and soul. If you’re going to beat me in New York, you’re going to have to kill me. Claudio is going to have to put me down for a lot longer than three seconds.”

AEW Dynamite Grand Slam is set to take place at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City tonight.

Eddie Kingston seemingly takes a sly dig at Charlotte Flair

The pro-wrestling fans started circulating Flair’s promo segment on the internet and it gained quite a popularity in no time. As it turns out, Charlotte’s viral phrase has even grabbed the attention of wrestling stars.

A Charismatic Star. 😂💜 pic.twitter.com/ojqU92jlJu

— ‘The Opportunity’ Updates. | Queen2Crowns; Uh, Oh! (@RetroCHARLIES) November 16, 2021

During a recent episode of Dark Elevation, Eddie Kingston was part of the commentary team during a tag team match between Team Taz and Lucas Chase, and Irvin Legend. Kingston at one point mentioned Charlotte’s “Uh oh” phrase when Powerhouse Hobbs was tagged in by Ricky Starks.

Speaking about Charlotte Flair, she recently suffered a disappointing loss against WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch at Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view. She was pinned by a roll-up by ‘Big Time Becks’, who came out on top at the event.

ALSO READ: Bryan Danielson opines how Eddie Kingston could become a better wrestler

While, Eddie Kingston recently suffered a defeat at the hands of CM Punk at AEW Full Gear pay-per-view. During a recent episode of Dynamite, AEW star Eddie Kingston and 2point0’s Daniel Garcia had a confrontation backstage.

This segment has led to a bout between the two stars, which is scheduled for the upcoming episode of Rampage on Friday. Just days before their battle at Rampage, Garcia also took to Twitter to mock his opponent Eddie Kingston. He referred to the ‘Mad King’ as the little brother of AEW star Jon Moxley.

Can’t wait to wrestle Jon’s little brother https://t.co/g8SwbqEiFr

— DG (@GarciaWrestling) November 21, 2021

Highlights:

• Eddie Kingston referenced Charlotte Flair’s “Uh oh” phrase on AEW Dark Elevation
• He is set to face Daniel Garcia on AEW Rampage this Friday

Bryan Danielson wants Eddie Kingston to ‘put in that extra effort’

The former WWE Champion spoke highly of Kingston and said that he is immensely talented. But, Danielson believes that ‘The Mad King’ could be an even better wrestler if he “put in the extra effort.” Bryan also considered his former opponent to be “inspirational.”

“It was interesting because Eddie and I had actually had interviews where I pretty much said the same thing. One, I wanna say this — Eddie is a very inspirational person, a very inspirational human being. But when I look at Eddie, and CM Punk looks at Eddie, and you could see it tonight, right? You look at him, he’s freaking awesome. What would happen if he put in that extra effort, right? You know what I mean? Like he works his a** off when he’s out there,” said Danielson.

Danielson recently defeated Kingston in the semi-final of the AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament. ‘The American Dragon’ further reminisced his first encounter with Kingston years back. Danielson said that he focused on his pre-match preparations while the ‘Mad King’ chose to stay out late and party. He believes wrestlers’ approach, both in and outside the ring play a major role in the career.

ALSO READ: Feel like a Champion: Hangman Adam Page is elated after his AEW World title triumph

Danielson is in line to get a shot at the AEW World title which was recently won by Hangman Adam Page by defeating Kenny Omega at Full Gear pay-per-view. While, Kingston will be moving forward after coming off a defeat against CM Punk.

Highlights:

• Bryan Danielson wants Eddie Kingston to put in extra effort
• He recalled his first match with Kingston

CM Punk recently made his epic return to pro-wrestling after being away for seven long years. He defeated Darby Allin at All Out in September. Punk, who is still undefeated has picked up wins over Matt Sydal, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Daniel Garcia, and Bobby Fish, who recently made his in-ring debut on AEW Dynamite.

CM Punk and Eddie Kingston have finally sparked the feud

It was at last week’s Rampage, Kingston interrupted Punk during a backstage interview after the former lost AEW World Championship Eliminator tournament match against Bryan Danielson. This action from the ‘Mad King’ did not sit well with Punk and he called out Kingston on this week’s Dynamite. ‘The Second City Saint’ demanded an apology and on the latest edition of Rampage, Kingston finally responded to Punk.

Kingston denied apologizing to Punk and further said that he had no sympathy for Punk and his ego. He added that he idolized CM Punk, but he claimed people like Punk, Homicide, and Samoa Joe judged him backstage when he started wrestling because of his appearance. Punk replied that he wasn’t wrong to expect greatness from Eddie Kingston 15 years ago, but it was his fault for continuing to expect it from The Mad King, calling him a ‘bum’.

Eddie Kingston then said that no one in the AEW locker room wanted him there. He then challenged CM Punk to a match at AEW Full Gear that Punk accepted. Kingston told him to quit for another 7 years and leave after this match. Punk had heard enough and headbutted Kingston which ended in a brawl.

ALSO READ: Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch: From best friends to bitter enemies?

Eddie Kingston is a perfect rival for CM Punk

In pro-wrestling, storytelling is an important aspect, and as it turns out CM Punk vs Eddie Kingston could be one of the best feuds that will narrate the personal grudge, battle of egos and an intriguing storyline. Punk has mostly fought against opponents without any storyline but now he has a real test in front of him. Eddie Kingston is a hard-hitter and he has even matched Punk’s promo skills if he hadn’t outdone him. Kingston has what it takes to record Punk’s first defeat in the promotion and it could make a huge star out of Kingston.

CM Punk vs Eddie Kingston could be the Match of the Night at Full Gear PPV

The pay-per-view card is stacked with some massive matches but CM Punk vs Eddie Kingston could stand out as the fan favorite. Given the storyline and the wrestling style the stars possess, they could certainly tear the roof down at Target Center. AEW plans Full Gear to be a grand success and such an enticing match on the card would keep the fans at the edge of their seats.

Highlights:

• It took 15 years for the fans to see the match between CM Punk and Eddie Kingston
• CM Punk vs Eddie Kingston will take place on Nov. 13

EDDIE KINGSTON RECENTLY BASHED WWE IN A POST-DYNAMITE PROMO

Whether one calls him Bully Ray or Bubba Ray Dudley, the former ECW, WWE and TNA talent is known for his strong opinions, especially on the current affairs of professional wrestling. This time around, he has decided to bash AEW’s top promo man for his comments on WWE.

After a recent episode of AEW Dynamite stopped airing, Eddie Kingston came out to the ring and started bashing WWE. While he did not name drop the company’s name to the cheering AEW audience, he repeatedly used the term “competition”, which can only mean the Vince McMahon-owned behemoth.

While the promo was heavily cheered by the audience listening to it, it has since enjoyed a divisive status, with the shots taken on WWE being termed unnecessary by some and the promo being appreciated by the others.

BULLY RAY DID NOT APPRECIATE IT AT ALL

Bully Ray, however, falls in the former category: “Eddie Kingston needs to shut the f*ck up and stay in his lane. And his lane is as an AEW guy speaking about AEW and flying the flag for AEW, then I’m on completely on board. Tell me why that you were an indie guy for the majority of your career.”

“Now this company took a chance on you, and you have learned to love it and everything about it. Now I’m on board, Eddie, but to take the easy way out and knock the WWE, there’s no reason to go there,” the former WWE Tag Team Champion added.

According to Ray, wrestlers such as Cody Rhodes and Chris Jericho has the rights to speak out against WWE and bash them through promos, as they have wrestled in WWE for a considerable portion of their career and they may or may not have been mistreated by the company. However, Eddie Kingston has never wrestled in WWE and therefore has no right to speak out against them.

“If Cody wants to destroy a throne, I get it. If Jericho wants to say, Eff you, I got it. Eddie, why? There’s no reason for Eddie to say it,” Ray said.

The technical error took place during the opening match of the night between Lance Archer and Eddie Kingston. The issue was faced by the fans who were watching Dynamite last night on the TNT app, as well as YouTube TV and Hulu.

Many fans addressed the issue on social media as they all faced the same problem during the opening of last night’s AEW Dynamite episode.

Tony Khan apologizes and keeps his promise

The Streaming platforms came back online and broadcasted the show during the end of the Lance Archer vs. Eddie Kingston match, which was won by Kingston.

Tony Khan and AEW both took to their Twitter accounts apologized to the viewers and fans for the incident, and as promised the video clip of the full match was posted on their YouTube account for the viewers who missed it.

He said the streaming platforms faced some issues but later fixed it and also praised the match showcased by Lance Archer and Eddie Kingston.

He wrote, “I’m so sorry that fans streaming #AEWDynamite were unable to see the opening of tonight’s show in their apps. TNT fixed the issue & got it working again. Archer vs. Kingston was a tremendous match. After this show we’ll put it on YouTube, please enjoy the rest of this great show!”

Check out AEW and Tony Khan’s Tweet below:

You can see the full match here.

Kingston and Archer put on a great opening bout and the fans were amazed with multiple spots during the match.

The match even saw Archer hitting a chokeslam on Kingston on the hard part of the ring apron and he also hit a moonsault press which is an unfamiliar scene.

ALSO READ: Tony Khan reveals his father primarily wasn’t supportive of the concept of AEW

The ending of the match saw Butcher and Blade come out with already assaulted Jake Roberts. Bunny ran in and handed Kingston some knuckle duster who hit Archer with the loaded backfist and pinned him for the three count.