Eddie Kingston Speaks Out After AEW Return, New Champion Crowned At NOAH

Eddie Kingston made his AEW return last night on Collision, defeating Jake Doyle in round one of the Continental Challenge Cup.

It was Kingston’s first appearance on the show since February, though he kept busy with several ROH bookings in between.

In a backstage digital exclusive, Kingston opened up about missing his fans and admitted their constant support pushed him to call Tony Khan for a spot in the tournament.

The Mad King declared this run is not for himself but for every fan and promotion that stood by him during his time away from the AEW spotlight. He said,

“Hey Zane! You were bothering me when I was at the doctor’s getting stretched out and iced up and all that. So this is what you get, bro. Raw and uncut, here it is. No fake tan, no fake whatever, here it is, right here. This is pro wrestling. This is your athlete.”

“Now, I’m done joking. I’ve been away too long. Granted, my own doing. That’s for you guys to wonder and for me to know, okay? But I missed every single one of you fans. And I’m not saying that being the corny, ‘hooray!’ Nah, man. I missed every single one of you, because you guys give me energy. You guys give me energy to keep fighting when I don’t want to. All those people that I met when I was doing the independents, when I was off TV, coming up to me [and saying], ‘When are you getting back on, Eddie?’ ‘Eddie, we need to see you back on.’ And I told each and every one of them, ‘you inspire me.’ They didn’t believe me.

“Well, this is for all of y’all that didn’t believe me. I’m the one who made the phone call to Tony Khan. And I said, ‘You put me in this tournament, I don’t care what it is, what it’s called. You put me in it, cause I want that. I wanna be that champion. I wanna be the first one.’ Just like I was the first Continental Champ, I wanna be the first Continental Cup Champion. And it’s not for me, folks; it’s not for me. Other things will be. I ain’t gonna lie, I’m not perfect, I’m gonna be selfish later, trust me. But this tournament, this cup is for every single person that I met, and all the promotions that I worked for who came up to me and said, ‘I can’t wait to see you back on TV, Eddie.’ This is all for you. I fight for you in this tournament for you. Because to be honest with you, if y’all didn’t bother me, I wouldn’t have made that phone call.”

Tetsuya Naito defeated Shane Haste to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship at NOAH Legacy Rise on Sunday.

This marks his first reign with the title and brings an end to Haste’s 99-day run.

Naito left New Japan Pro Wrestling last May following almost two decades there and has spent recent months working indie shows.

After the win, he thanked the Korakuen Hall crowd and promised to keep competing in the Pro Wrestling NOAH ring for the foreseeable future.