AEW Star Eddie Kingston Discusses His Character, Desire To Play A Gimmick

When it comes to characters in wrestling, no one is more unapologetically themselves than current AEW Continental Champion Eddie Kingston. Fans and critics have praised him for his raw promos and brutal in-ring style that harkens back to the wrestling he watched growing up, meaning that his character in AEW comes across as him. 

During a recent interview with "Inside The Ropes," Kingston talked about whether it's hard for him to be as authentic as he is in the ring and on the mic. 

"Well, I feel like who else am I going to be?" Kingston said. "My character is me when I was 17 years old, so it's still me just turned up a thousand notches." 

He explained that he heard people like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock say that their characters were pieces of them turned up to a thousand, and given their success in the business, he thought that would be the best formula to follow. Kingston stated that he grew up in a generation where everyone wanted to be something that they weren't, and he was willing to be a more eccentric character because of the generation he grew up in. 

"All of us wanted to be somewhat like The Great Muta in a way," Kingston said. "Or face painted like the Ultimate Warrior and The Road Warriors, so we all at one point in time wanted to do something like that." 

The Continental Crown Champion wearing his heart on his sleeve has got him in trouble in the past, including the most recent "AEW Dynamite," where he walked right into the trap of The Young Bucks and the newest member of The Elite, Kazuchika Okada.

Please credit "Inside The Ropes" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.