Eddie Kingston Says Relative Was A ‘Big Factor’ In His Decision Not To Sign With WWE
AEW Star Eddie Kingston was known to audiences of Impact Wrestling, CZW, & other indie promotions before finally making it to national television with All Elite Wrestling.
His first match with the company came as a surprise challenger for then-TNT Champion, Cody Rhodes. He did so well with his presentation and match that Tony Khan ultimately offered him a contract to be an ongoing character in AEW.
But at the same time interest to sign Kingston came from AEW, it apparently also came from WWE. According to Kingston, there was one relative, in particular, that would sway him away from signing with Vince McMahon and WWE.
"[WWE] never gave me any inkling that they wanted me, so I never really thought I was ever going to go there or even get a look at. I got the look at more seriously after my match with Cody, when I debuted. And yeah, there was a consideration ... My mom was a big factor [in my decision]. Me and her talked about it, I had a chance to pick and choose ... My mom was just like, 'Look, you ain't going to be happy at WWE.' That was her feeling, and she's an outsider, so she doesn't know any of the ins and outs, or the rumors, or any of the clickbait stuff."
Being in AEW gives Kingston a bit more leniency in what he wants to say on live TV, as opposed to WWE where a PG rating is the target. But even in AEW, Kingston once said something that caused enough of an issue that they had to re-tape the segment.
"I went out there, I started talking sh*t to Cody and to Arn, and I called him Cody Rhodes. And at the time, they didn't have the Rhodes name. So my first day on the job, Tony Khan runs out and goes, 'Hey, we've got to re-do it.'... Now I'm turned up 1,000, you know what I mean? And I feel someone tap me and I turn over and I go, 'What the fu*k do you want?!' And I go, 'Oh hey, Tony.' So that was probably the last time I had to be stopped or said [to], 'Hey, don't say that.'"
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Weekend Joe with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the podcast.