Eddie Kingston isn’t used to the kind of love AEW fans have been giving him.
Kingston won the ROH World Championship on Wednesday in Queen’s, New York at AEW Grand Slam. He told Sports Illustrated that the fans inside Arthur Ashe Stadium that night took the match from a “four to a ten.”
“You know me, I’m always hard on myself,” said Kingston. “I think I always could have done better. But the crowd was the best part. I’m biased, but New Yorkers, they’re the best. They don’t just cheer for you, they fight for you. I saw it all the time at Yankee Stadium. It’s how we are.
“The match was fine, but the crowd made it feel bigger. They took it from a four to a ten.”’
“It feels great when the crowd cheers, but it makes me nervous,” he continued. “I’m not used to this kind of love. It makes me ask myself, ‘Why do they love me?’ Then I start doubting myself. It’s all part of my curse. But as long as people are fans of pro wrestling, that’s good enough for me.”
“Me, I’m the guy who grew up in Yonkers–I’m still that guy. So when people cheer for me, or want to take a picture with me, I get a little bashful. I don’t see the big deal. I’m just me. But I am blessed and lucky enough to do the dream job I’ve wanted since I was nine. I don’t see myself as a big deal. I’m still the kid from Yonkers.”
Kingston dedicated the match to the memory of Xavier, who passed away on August 16, 2020. Xavier was the second-ever ROH World Champion, having defeated Low Ki for the belt on September 21, 2002.
“I know a lot of people miss him,” said Kingston. “I miss him. His family misses him. We celebrate a lot of the past, and we should celebrate him, too. He’s the second champion ever. Let’s put some respect on him.”
Kingston defeated Claudio Castagnoli in the opening match of Wednesday’s Dynamite Grand Slam event. Despite Castagnoli kicking out of a northern lights bomb, Kingston eventually picked up the win after connecting with a backfist and a press powerbomb, winning the ROH World Championship for the first time and retaining the NJPW Strong Openweight title.
After the match, Castagnoli extended his hand. Kingston paused for a moment before the two eventually did shake hands as Castagnoli gave the ROH title to Kingston and walked away. Castagnoli had been champion since December of 2022, defeating Chris Jericho at Final Battle.
Kingston cut a promo that aired on X following his title win, saying he shook Castagnoli’s hand because he was a great ROH World Champion, but doesn’t like him as a person. He dedicated the match to former ROH Champion Xavier and thanked him for his contributions to the business.
The two’s rivalry stems from Kingston feeling disrespected by Castagnoli’s actions prior to leaving the independent scene and heading to WWE in the 2010s. The two first met in ROH back at Supercard of Honor in March, where Castagnoli retained the championship. In the weeks leading to Grand Slam, Kingston and Castagnoli agreed to a match where both the ROH and Kingston’s New Japan Strong championships would be on the line.
ROH has announced three championship matches will air on HonorClub this week.
Athena will defend her ROH Women’s World Championship against Angelina Love on the show.
It will be the first time Love has appeared in Ring of Honor since Tony Khan purchased the company in March 2022. She briefly held the Women of Honor World Championship in 2019 after defeating Kelly Klein for it at Bound for Glory that year. She would drop it back to Klein the following month at Glory By Honor.
Athena’s title reign sits at 284 days and 13 successful defenses. She’s currently in a storyline involving Billie Starkz as her minion.
ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata will put his title on the line against Nick Wayne on Thursday as well. It’s Wayne’s first time wrestling in Ring of Honor. Shibata’s title reign currently sits at 173 days and five defenses.
The Mogul Embassy will put the ROH Six Man Tag Team Championships on the line on Thursday’s show. They will defend the belts against Willie Mack and The Infantry. Brian Cage and the Gates of Agony have held the belts for 284 days and eight defenses.
Matches for this week’s show were filmed on Saturday, September 16 from the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania before and after AEW Collision.
ROH on HonorClub September 21, 2023 lineup:
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defends against Angelina Love
ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata defends against Nick Wayne
ROH World Six Man Tag Team Champions The Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona, & Bishop Kaun) defend against Willie Mack & The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo) w/Trish Adora
Leyla Hirsch & The Renegades (Charlette & Robyn Renegade) vs. Willow Nightingale, Skye Blue, & Kiera Hogan
Cole Karter & Griff Garrison w/Maria Kanellis-Bennett vs. Darius Martin & Action Andretti
AEW hasn’t clarified whether Claudio Castagnoli vs. Eddie Kingston will be on Dynamite Grand Slam or Rampage Grand Slam. A social media reference to the match being on Dynamite Grand Slam was changed to just Grand Slam.
Dynamite Grand Slam is airing live on Wednesday, September 20. Rampage Grand Slam is being taped that night and will air on Friday, September 22.
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In his hometown of New York, Eddie Kingston will have a high-stakes clash with Claudio Castagnoli.
AEW has revealed that Castagnoli and Kingston will face off in a title vs. title match at Grand Slam on Wednesday, September 20. Castagnoli’s ROH World Championship and Kingston’s NJPW Strong Openweight Championship will both be up for grabs.
The match was made during a sit-down interview that Tony Schiavone conducted with Castagnoli and Kingston on Saturday’s episode of Collision. The sit-down was focused on Castagnoli and Kingston’s history with each other and how their friendship turned into a rivalry.
NJPW Strong Openweight Champ Eddie Kingston just challenged #ROH World Champion Claudio Castognoli for a match at #AEWGrandSlam
Kingston wanted a shot at the ROH World Championship and stated that he would defend his Strong Openweight title too. Castagnoli then brought up a time Kingston wouldn’t shake his hand 15 years ago. Castagnoli’s condition of agreeing to the match was that Kingston would have to shake his hand after Castagnoli defeats him at Grand Slam.
This March, Castagnoli retained the ROH World Championship against Kingston at Supercard of Honor.
Kingston’s team was victorious over Castagnoli’s in a Stadium Stampede match at All In this August. Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta then defeated Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata at All Out.
Grand Slam is a special edition of Dynamite/Rampage that’s held annually at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City.
Thursday’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub will feature one title defense and two Proving Ground matches.
ROH Women’s Champion Athena will look for the 14th defense of the title as she takes on Allysin Kay. This will be their fifth singles meeting and first since 2015.
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli will take on Lee Johnson in one Proving Group match while ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun) vs. Griff Garrison, Metalik & Gravity.
After their disappointing loss at All Out, Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata will look to rebound as they face Gringo Loco & Blake Christian.
Willow Nightingale will once again team with Skye Blue as they face Charlette & Robyn Renegade.
Best Friends will team with Darius Martin & Action Andretti against The Outrunners & The WorkHorsemen.
Leyla Hirsch will go one-on-one with Lady Frost while both Willie Mack & The Infantry and Angelico & Serpentico will be in tag team action.
**********
The show started with a video from Sunday’s Zero Hour, where Athena yelled at Billie Starkz for not sticking to the plan during Athena’s trios match. Allysin Kay entered the scene, not liking how Athena was treating Starkz. After some cajoling, Athena accepted Kay’s challenge for the title.
Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman were on the call in action taped last Saturday from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
ROH Women’s World Title Match – Athena (c) (w/Billie Starkz) defeated Allysin Kay
Kay used her size advantage to put Athena on the back foot. Athena baited Kay to the outside, where she sent Kay into the barricade. Athena distracted the referee, but Starkz refused to physically intervene. Athena kept the advantage, clubbering on Kay and mocking her all the while.
Kay fired up with a lariat and a Sky High for a nearfall. Kay hit a spinout facebuster before locking on an ankle lock. After asking Starkz to push the rope closer to no avail, Athena forced her way up and dropped Kay with a forearm. Kay cut off an O-Face attempt, but Athena shoved Kay down and hit the O-Face to win and retain.
After the match, Athena wanted Starkz to throw Kay into the belt. Starkz refused, so Athena did it herself.
We got a recap of the confrontation from Dynamite with ROH World Tag Team Champion MJF and ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe.
Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling) defeated Silas Young
After Young interrupted Nese’s group training, Nese took the early advantage by sending him into the buckles. Young came back with chops before sending him off the apron with a step-up lariat. Nese sent Young into the post before sending his hammerlocked arm into the apron.
Sterling helped Nese with the attack on the arm before Nese hit a dropkick to the arm. After Nese tore at the arm, Young fired back with a lariat. Young necked Nese on the rope before hitting an over-the-top stomp and a senton for a nearfall. Young rolled Nese up, but Nese kicked out, sending Young into the ring post. Nese hit the running knees for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with a perturbed Dalton Castle. He entertainingly complained about his problems with Samoa Joe & Stokely Hathaway, chugging a bottle of water before leaving.
SAP took care of Priest, but Schaff was able to use his size to get control of Serpentico. Angelico tagged in and quickly took care of Schaff, tapping him out with a knee bar.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Kiera Hogan. She said that she thought she didn’t have any lingering issues with former partner Leila Grey, but she would give her the work anyway.
Blue & Nightingale had control early, but Robyn blind-tagged in and cut off Blue. Charlette hit a Fisherman’s Suplex on Blue for a nearfall. The Renegades clubbered on Blue until she was able to get a tag to Nightingale. Nightingale ran wild, hitting one Renegade with a Pounce before hitting a main event spinebuster on the other one for a nearfall.
The Renegades came back with dual rolling elbows for a nearfall, but Blue cut off the pin. Blue quickly tagged in and scored the win with Code Blue.
ROH World Six Man Tag Team Title Proving Ground Match – The Mogul Embassy (Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage & Toa Liona) (w/Prince Nana) defeated Gravity, Griff Garrison & Metalik
The Embassy clubbered on Garrison to start, sending him down with a double flapjack. Garrison fought out for a tag to Gravity, who got a pair of roll-ups on Cage before getting shut down. Metalik tagged in, hitting a reverse Slingblade and a rope-walk dropkick on Cage. Metalik hit a rope-walk senton for a nearfall before the match broke down into a Pier Six brawl. The Embassy finished off Metalik with an elevated splash from Liona.
Kiera Hogan defeated Leila Grey
Hogan hit a step-up legdrop for a nearfall. Grey came back with a dropkick in the corner before choking Hogan on the ropes. Grey hit a back elbow and a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Hogan came back with a shotgun dropkick and a hip attack before a basement dropkick scored her a nearfall.
Grey came back with a spear. The spear only got a nearfall, so Grey went to hit Hogan with her money fan. Hogan superkicked the fan out of Grey’s hand – and into the referee’s hands – before hitting her twisting neckbreaker for the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Maria Kanellis-Bennett. She spoke of an opportunity for Griff Garrison before Cole Karter brought Garrison into the frame. Maria told Garrison that she saw potential in him and that he needed to surround himself with the right people to reach that potential.
The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean) & Willie Mack (w/Trish Adora) defeated August Matthews, Davey Bang & Jah-C
This was a quick affair that saw Dean score the win after a boot into a Russian legsweep.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Lee Johnson, who has a Proving Ground match against Claudio Castagnoli tonight. Johnson said he was going to win because all he needed was one shot.
Leyla Hirsch defeated Lady Frost
Hirsch focused on Frost’s arm as Maria Kanellis-Bennett and Cole Karter watched from the stage. Hirsch hit a pendulum dropkick in the corner for a nearfall. Frost made a comeback, hitting a handspring cannonball for a nearfall. Hirsch avoided (?) a hurricane kick before hitting a suplex into the corner. Hirsch locked on an armbar to win.
After the match, Maria offered Hirsch a handshake. Hirsch blew her off and left on her own.
Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata defeated Blake Christian & Gringo Loco
Kingston and Shibata hammered Christian before Christian hit an enzuigiri on Kingston. Loco tagged in and hit Kingston with chops and a moonsault before landing a senton for a nearfall. Loco hit a moonsault before Christian hit a springboard 450 for a nearfall. Christian went for a frog splash, but Kingston put his knees up.
Shibata tagged in and hit his hesitation dropkick on Christian before Loco sent him to the floor with a chop. Kingston dropped Loco with a backfist. Christian sent Kingston to the floor before hitting a Fosbury Flop. Shibata moved out of the way on a 450 before slapping on a choke. Shibata hit the Penalty Kick to score the win.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Josh Woods & Smart Mark Sterling. Sterling said that Woods should be getting a Pure Title match soon.
ROH World Title Proving Ground Match – Claudio Castagnoli (w/Wheeler Yuta) defeated Lee Johnson
Castagnoli forced Johnson into the corner before pummeling him with uppercuts. Johnson fought to his feet, but Castagnoli caught him on a moonsault attempt. Johnson spun him around into a satellite DDT for a nearfall. Johnson hit a superkick for a nearfall. Castagnoli dropped Johnson with an uppercut for a nearfall.
Castagnoli went for another uppercut, but Johnson turned it into a rollup for a nearfall. Castagnoli hit a big lariat for a nearfall. Castagnoli hit the hammer-and-anvil elbows, then stopped the referee from stopping the match. Castagnoli hit the Swiss Death uppercut for the win.
Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) (w/Jacked Jameson) defeated Ren Jones & Caleb Konley
The Iron Savages quickly won this match with their elevator drop splash.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Athena & Billie Starkz. Athena wasn’t happy with Starkz, noting that she gave Starkz more grace than she gave her own mother. Athena decided that Starkz needed some training to get up to speed.
Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta), Action Andretti & Darius Martin defeated The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd) & The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)
The Outrunners and the Workhorsemen kicked the match off with a jumpstart, quickly turning this match into a Pier Six brawl. They isolated Beretta, with Henry hitting a double stomp at the end of a flurry of offense for a nearfall. Beretta made the tag into Martin, who ran wild before getting cut off by Drake. The match broke down into a flurry that ended with a Strong Zero from Best Friends for the win.
AEW head Tony Khan took to Twitter less than an hour before Dynamite was set to go live to say he “changed some plans” for tonight’s show.
Khan said the reasons for the unspecified changes were due to both “minor illnesses to big talent traveling this week” in addition to Hurricane Idalia (currently affecting the southeast United States) causing issues with flights.
Khan tweeted several new matches for the show from Chicago’s NOW Arena for the final Dynamite before Sunday’s All Out:
NJPW Strong Champion Eddie Kingston defends against Wheeler Yuta: Both men were part of the Stadium Stampede match at Sunday’s All In
Jon Moxley vs. Komander: Komander will be trying to get revenge on behalf of Rey Fenix who Moxley “injured” last Wednesday, taking him out of Sunday’s All In Stadium Stampede match in storyline.
TBS Champion Kris Statlander, Hikaru Shida & Britt Baker vs. Nyla Rose, Emi Sakura & Marina Shafir: Shida lost her AEW Women’s title in the four-way match at All In while Statlander defends against Ruby Soho this Sunday.
The previously announced Adam Cole promo segment and AEW International title defense featuring champion Orange Cassidy vs. Penta El Zero Miedo are still on.
Due to minor illnesses to big talent traveling this week, + Hurricane Idalia affecting flights, I've changed some plans for #AEWDynamite TONIGHT!
Coming off All In, @AEW's greatest night + the most tickets sold for any wrestling show ever, expect a great Dynamite TONIGHT on TBS!
The teams for the all star tag team match on the All In go-home edition of Saturday’s AEW Collision have been revealed.
CM Punk will team with Darby Allin, Sting & a mystery partner to take on Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White, Swerve Strickland, Brian Cage & TNT Champion Luchasaurus with Samoa Joe on commentary.
Punk will face Joe at Sunday’s All In while Allin & Sting will face Strickland & Christian Cage. White will be part of a trios match against The Elite.
In a trios bout, Eddie Kingston, Orange Cassidy & Penta El Zero Miedo will take on The Butcher, The Blade & Kip Sabian. Kingston, Cassidy and Penta will be in a Stadium Stampede match on Sunday.
In a segment originally announced for Dynamite, Jack Perry is claiming he will retire the FTW title.
There will also be plenty of promos from “the stars in London” as they prepare for All In.
Those matches will be taped following Wednesday’s Dynamite in Duluth, Georgia, as the crew is heading to London.
Here’s the current lineup:
CM Punk, Darby Allin, Sting & a mystery partner vs. Jay White, Swerve Strickland, Brian Cage & Luchasaurus
Eddie Kingston, Orange Cassidy & Penta El Zero Miedo will take on The Butcher, The Blade & Kip Sabian
AEW signings Kenny Omega, Young Bucks and Adam Page, lots behind it with comments from any going into details on the reason the decision was made, their pact to stay together and far more
WWE financials for quarter two, including why the next TV deal is taking longer to negotiate, how every sector of business is doing, USA Network with and without WWE and looks to the future
SummerSlam, why matches were changed, the huge Saturday night of events, ticket sales and more
Updating All In, where it stands on all-tie records, two straight weeks of PPV shows, the last time it happened and the history, rumored matches and more
G-1 Climax, what everyone needs to advance to the final eight, cards for the rest of the tournament and running down the shows from the past week
UFC 291 coverage, the stories behind the stories, what is next, business notes
NXT Great American Bash notes with full coverage
The life and times of Adrian Street, his death, his start, the famous photo, his U.K. heyday, why he came to the U.S., thinking wrestling was real, meeting Linda and his life after wrestling
The most detailed look at the television ratings for all the pro wrestling and MMA shows, including what the numbers mean, rankings, segment-by-segment and how shows are doing compared with one year ago.
Promotion shooting new star to the top
One of the best matches of the year in Mexico
Top pro wrestler worked as an Uber driver during the pandemic
Why Stardom is bringing back 80s and 90s legends
Wrestle Kingdom notes
Minoru Suzuki match in a unique location
Second generation star celebrates his 50th birthday on show this past week
Update on the number of homes and carriage rates for the shows that carry wrestling and MMA
More on a new television wrestling promotion starting in the fall
More matches on All In weekend in London
Who Giulia is likely defending her New Japan Strong title against next
Men’s All Japan Strong title match in Defy
Business of AEW and its value
Tony Khan talks business growth
Update on WBD business
Health updates on AEW & WWE wrestlers out of action
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Tuesday Update
WWE
In an interview with People, Carmella said she plans on returning to WWE after her pregnancy, but isn’t rushing to return: “I for sure plan to come back,” she said. “I think it’s important to show you can have a baby and still have a career, especially a very physical one at that, but I’m not going to rush.”
Top Dolla reflected on the one year anniversary of Hit Row’s return to WWE on X: “Saturday will be One Year since we Returned on #SmackDown and in that year we’ve worked with the Shinsuke, Bobby Lashley, Bray, Ricochet, Sheamus, Braun, Drew, The Usos, The New Day, The Street Profits, LA, The OC, A.J. & many more great talent in the greatest company in the world… & got paid to do it.”
A CM Punk Best in the World Trans Pride t-shirt has been released and will be available through August 22. 100% of the royalties will go to The Trevor Project.
The New York Post has an article on MJF’s recent babyface turn.
CNBC reported that Warner Bros. Discovery is planning on simulcasting live games on Max starting in October.
Other Wrestling
Just one day prior to release, Skybound Games announced that WrestleQuest is being pushed back from August 8 to August 22: “When performing final checks on one of our launch platforms, we discovered it was possible for players to lose their save game progress when playing WrestleQuest on multiple different devices. Because this is a game filled with hours of content and player progress is so important, we could never bodyslam our fans like that. We are truly proud of this game and believe that we have a product that delivers on all counts. We’re blown away by the support we’ve seen from players excited for WrestleQuest and we can’t wait to share the finished game with everyone on August 22.”
The season finale of Dark Side of the Ring will premiere tonight at 10 pm ET, with the subject being Marty Jannetty.
Tomohiro Ishii is making his Dragongate debut on August 20. He will team with Masaaki Mochizuki and Don Fuji to take on Yuki Yoshioka, Ben-K, and Strong Machine J.
With Blood & Guts on AEW Dynamite Wednesday and Ring of Honor Death Before Dishonor set for Friday, Tony Khan spoke to the media Tuesday afternoon about the difficulties in putting together Friday’s PPV, an update on Bryan Danielson, the potential of a third hour of AEW Dynamite, and more.
Due to technical difficulties, partial audio from the call is available below with the full audio available later today/tonight.
Bryan Danielson injury update
Khan said Danielson’s injury suffered at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door was a bit worse than they initially thought. There is no timetable for his return, but that he wants to come back as soon as possible. Danielson hasn’t been coming to shows or meetings since the injury, but Khan has been in contact with him frequently on ideas and thoughts.
DBD difficulties
In acknowledging the grumbling online about the lateness of the announced Death Before Dishonor card, Khan said putting Friday’s show together was up there with last year’s Forbidden Door PPV in terms of difficulty.
He opened up about the sequence of events that caused issues with the main event including his approval and blessing on letting Eddie Kingston travel to Japan for the annual NJPW G1 tournament — something he felt would be great for Kingston and that will put him in a much better position when he returns.
He intimated the initial direction was for Kingston and ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, but they had to pivot to Mark Briscoe who was originally scheduled for something else on the PPV that had to change due to injuries. He had an idea of having Kingston and Briscoe have a moment together that would help add some emotion to Briscoe challenging for the ROH title.
However, Briscoe’s injuries were worse than he ever let on and were kept on the down-low, even from AEW doctors who were surprised when they arose. Khan said if Briscoe needed anything, he would do it and when Briscoe said the injuries were affecting his quality of life, a change had to be made. They had done a lot of pre-taped promos to help build to the match.
The new opponent for the Castagnoli match will be announced this week, according to Khan.
He also said he wanted to announce Athena vs. Willow Nightingale earlier, but the Owen Hard tournament changed that. He also said there’s been other changes to the card including for the TV title match due to issues “that you wouldn’t believe.”
All In
Khan will confirm in “due time and soon” about how to watch AEW All In. He says everyone will be able to watch it live in the evening in the UK/1 PM Eastern/10 AM Pacific in the “NFL Sunday” slot.
He said matches will begin to be announced in the next few weeks and that the show will be their greatest ever. He also said the success and current standing of All In as one of highest-grossing wrestling events ever has helped AEW become the “industry leader” in the UK.
Third hour of Dynamite?
Asked about interest in a third hour of Dynamite, Khan took a long pause and said, “It’s an interesting question.” This question came up in a tie-in to the ratings for both Collision and Battle of the Belts being strong for Saturday. Khan said he couldn’t comment on whether they will do more three-hour blocks in the future, but felt they have found a good weekly rhythm with Dynamite, Collision and Rampage but how those hours are allocated are to be discussed.
Banned moves
Khan downplayed the recent stories about the updated banned moves list, saying an informal list has always existed. He said requests for specific moves are on a case-by-case basis and that someone like Kenny Omega will have more leeway than a young wrestler who has come up through Dark.
Eddie Kingston wants to face Shingo Takagi in AEW.
Kingston defeated Takagi in Hokkaido on Sunday on night two of the G1 Climax 33. He then challenged Takagi to a rematch at AEW All In or All Out during his post-match media scrum.
Shingo, I’m not going to talk a lot of trash, or try to sell tickets. This is a sport, so I’m going to treat it like a sport. Thank you for the fight and I hope we do it again. I’m praying, Tony Khan I put you on the spot, me and Shingo for All In or All Out,” Kingston said.
“Give us time. Me and Shingo will show the world, Strong Style, King’s Road combined. Thank you, Shingo.”
Kingston defeated Takagi with a Northern Lights Bomb in a match that went 12 minutes and 20 seconds.
Next up for Kingston in the G1 Climax 33 will be a match against EVIL on Wednesday in Miyagi. EVIL defeated Tama Tonga thanks to interference from House of Torture in his first round-robin match.
As for Takagi, he’ll face Aaron Henare on Wednesday’s show. Henare comes into the bout 0-1 after losing to Mikey Nicholls on Sunday.
New champions were crowned on night two of NJPW Strong Independence Day from Korakuen Hall.
Eddie Kingston is the new Strong Openweight Champion. He defeated KENTA in the semi-main event of Wednesday’s show to win the title. The finish of the match saw Kingston block a GTS, deliver multiple spinning back fists and then hit a Northern Lights Bomb for the win.
Kingston becomes the fifth wrestler to win the title since its inception in April 2021. KENTA’s second title reign concludes just 45 days after defeating HIKULEO for the belt at Resurgence.
Giulia is the new Strong Women’s Openweight Champion. She defeated Willow Nightingale on Sunday’s show to win the title. The finish of the match saw Giulia duck a lariat attempt and deliver a knee strike followed by a Northern Lights Bomb for the win, the same move Kingston would use to win his match later in the show.
Giulia becomes just the second wrestler to win the belt after Nightingale became the inaugural champion after defeating Mercedes Mone in the finals of a tournament at NJPW Resurgence.
ジュリア「（ウィローに）またいつかどっかの場所で、いつか必ず、あなたとまた戦いたい。To Be Continuedってことで、サンキュー・ベリーマッチ！…あとこの（※ベルトを叩く）“チケット”を手に入れたんで、行き先はどこかなぁ～？ 楽しみだなぁ～！」
The main event of the show saw Jon Moxley defeat El Desperado in a Final Death match. Moxley cut a promo after about getting to share the ring with Jun Kasai the night before and called Korakuen Hall the heart of professional wrestling.
In other news from the show, NJPW officially announced that Wrestle Kingdom 18 will take place July 4, 2024 from the Tokyo Dome. They announced the official logo for the event as well.
Rocky Romero convinced the Bullet Club War Dogs team of Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors to put their newly won IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag titles on the line in their match against him and YOH. However, the champions ended up retaining when Connors pinned Romero.
After heaving his head wound opened up on night one of the two-night event, JR Kratos was pulled from night two. He was replaced by Satoshi Kojima, who defeated Oskar Leube.
John LaRocca and I are back with a brand new Fight Game Podcast.
We got right into our Top Five of the week where we discussed the following:
The best pro wrestling show of 2023 including feedback from listeners
A short review of last weekend’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door
“Jungle Boy” Jack Perry’s first heel promo and the problem with the actual heel turn
The angle leading to Blood & Guts in Boston
The contrast of Jon Moxley’s story with Eddie Kingston and the one with The Elite and the Dark Order
The silliness of the Blind Elimination tag team tournament teams so far
WWE Money in the Bank preview
We then kicked off our new segment called Wrestling Prospectus where John gave us a name to look out for soon who has the qualities of being a star down the road. We also let listeners know which match we’re breaking down next week in our second Break It Down segment.
Eddie Kingston has commented on CM Punk’s return to AEW.
Speaking to the NY Post ahead of tonight’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view, Kingston said he was not surprised with how Punk handled his return on the debut episode of AEW Collision last week.
Kingston said:
He did it his way and that’s the way [he] wanted to do it. I expected it. I knew it was happening, knowing Punk and what he thought was right for him. That’s it. I see the reports. I see the clickbait on YouTube. But the locker room is not divided, not the people I hang out with. Punk’s gonna do what Punk does and if whatever Punk does helps this company, no one can say anything.
Kingston continued to say that the people he spends time with backstage have not been impacted by Punk’s return.
Not me, man. Not my crew of people I hang out with. Maybe there’s that one percent that are bothered but the people I chill with, they’re good. They don’t care.
Kingston will team with The Elite to face The Blackpool Combat Club on Sunday’s pay-per-view from Toronto. Later this summer, he will enter his first G1 Climax. Kingston spoke to the NY Post about how excited he is to be in the tournament:
I worry every time I go to sleep I’m going to wake up and it’s not true and it’s all a dream. That’s how worried I am about that. The first New Japan Wrestling match I really sat down and watched as a teenager was finals of the G1 in 1991 between Keiji Mutah and Mashiro Chono.
I always wanted to be in the G1 and to actually have it happen I kind of look around going ‘I can’t believe it’s real.’ I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. I wake up one morning and they go, ‘Ha, ha we’re joking’ I’m also the kind of guy, ‘OK, cool this is a dream, but I’m also not going there to go ‘OK I’m here, beat me I’ll lose.’ I’m going there to win it.
Sunday will be Kingston’s first match back after having hernia surgery in May. He hasn’t wrestled since being defeated by his longtime rival Claudio Castagnoli at ROH Supercard of Honor 2023 on March 31.
AEW has announced that Kingston will speak on Dynamite this Wednesday night. Last week, Kingston made his return by helping The Elite during a brawl with Blackpool Combat Club.
Kingston targeted Claudio Castagnoli during the brawl. While Kingston and his friend Jon Moxley went face-to-face, they didn’t fight each other.
The appearance was Kingston’s first time back in AEW since “quitting” the promotion in storyline this March. After quitting, Kingston showed up in ROH and unsuccessfully challenged Castagnoli for the ROH World Championship at Supercard of Honor.
Kingston underwent hernia surgery in May.
Wednesday’s Dynamite is the go-home show for Forbidden Door. Here’s everything that’s been announced for the episode:
Bryan Danielson calls out Kazuchika Okada
TBS Champion Kris Statlander defends against Taya Valkyrie
Concession stand brawl: Jeff Jarrett vs. Mark Briscoe
Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara & Minoru Suzuki vs. Action Andretti, Darius Martin & AR Fox
Blind eliminator tournament for an AEW Tag Team title shot
The Hardys vs. The Gunns
Orange Cassidy & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Daniel Garcia
Eddie Kingston made his AEW return on Wednesday’s Dynamite after being sidelined due to injury.
Kingston appeared in the show-closing angle that followed the Blackpool Combat Club vs. The Elite trios match main event. Kingston ran in to make the save for The Elite after The BCC jumped the trio of The Young Bucks and Hangman Page following the match.
Kingston went after Claudio Castagnoli of the BCC, the ROH World Champion. Kingston had been involved in a program with Castagnoli over the World title on ROG programming before being sidelined due to a hernia. It was reported on May 7 that Kingston would be undergoing surgery to repair the hernia on May 9. He had since been announced as challenging KENTA for the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship in Japan on July 5 so he was expected back in action soon.
Jon Moxley and Kingston had a faceoff in the ring on Dynamite, but Kingston and Moxley did not attack one another, as Kingston focused his attack on Castagnoli. Moxley and Kingston have been linked in past AEW storylines as allies.
