Eddie Kingston would appear on every AEW and ROH show every week, but it’s not his call.
Ring of Honor World Champion Eddie Kingston recently sat down with WrestleZone’s Managing Editor Bill Pritchard. Kingston has been a fixture on AEW programming, but has not wrestled on ROH TV since he won a Proving Ground match in December.
When asked if he’d like to work more matches in Ring of Honor, Kingston said that he would. However, he doesn’t book the shows, and he’s happy just to do what’s asked of him.
“Yeah. I’ve proven I would,” Eddie Kingston said. “Trust me. I’ve been there, and I’ve done two matches, one after another, on the days of recording. And I would definitely love to do that. But then again — I love it, but I don’t book the shows, guys. I’m a worker. I’m not in the office, that’s not my job. My job is to take orders and do my job.
“So, whatever the bosses or the boss wants, I will do because that’s my job,” he added. “People like to separate pro wrestling from other things and not make it like it’s a job. My man, this is still a job. Just like when I would do Iron Work, I would tell my foreman, ‘No, I’m not going to work on that opening.’ I wouldn’t tell my boss in wrestling, ‘No, I’m not going to do that.’”
Kingston said he’d love to be on every Ring Of Honor show, just like he’d be willing to be on every Dynamite, Rampage and Collision. However, that’s out of his control.
“When it is time for me to go out there, I’ll do my job. That’s it. It doesn’t matter if I like it or not, dawg. I’ve got bills to pay, and I like getting in the ring. I love pro wrestling,” he said. “I love fighting. So when I get my chance, I do it. Would I do it every day? Yes! But again, not my show, not my call.”
Eddie Kingston gives his take on fan outrage regarding free agency in pro wrestling
Pritchard pointed out that pro wrestlers get more criticism about things like this, but the “big four” sports get a little more slack. Kingston agreed the situation is similar to getting big contracts in free agency, calling it a double-edged sword.
“Or when everybody signs with the Yankees because I know everyone gets mad about that,” Eddie Kingston said. “I just think it’s — everybody wants to make pro wrestling different, and it’s a double-edged sword. You make pro wrestling different and make it cool. But then, in another way, you try and make it too different from where you don’t see that it’s a job and it’s what we do. Like any other combat sport or any other sport in the world. We do our jobs.”
You can check out our complete interview with Eddie Kingston in the embedded video below:
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