Kemo
09-26-2023, 12:32 AM
Fresh off winning the Ring of Honor World Championship at AEW Grand Slam, Eddie Kingston has announced a significant change to his upcoming schedule.
Kingston is on an incredible run as of late, despite dealing with injuries throughout the year.
"The Mad King" was expected to appear at Defy Wrestling to defend his New Japan Pro Wrestling Strong Openweight Championship against Rocky Romero. However, a lower back injury has led him to the difficult decision to pull out of all independent dates and focus solely on AEW/ROH until he’s healthy. He wrote on Instagram:
"Due to being NJPW Strong Openweight Champion and ROH Champion, I have come to the hard decision that I will have to stop doing independents.
Dealing with a lower back injury right now that I need to get fixed (And will), so I can be ready for all NJPW Strong shows and all three AEW shows," wrote Kingston.
Kingston apologized to fans and independent wrestling promotions but noted that he had to put his health first and complete commitments to AEW and NJPW.
AEW fans may recall that Kingston was out earlier in the year due to a hernia injury he suffered in 2022. After he lost his match to Claudio Castagnoli for the Ring of Honor World Championship at ROH SuperCard of Honor on March 31, he had surgery to fix his injury, which he shared on May 10.
He made his return to competition at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door on June 25 to team with The Elite (Adam Page, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) and Tomohiro Ishii against the Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta), Konosuke Takeshita & Shota Umino.
He also competed in the NJPW G1 Climax 33, which was a goal for him to accomplish. He had a great showing while competing in the tournament, with notable victories over NJPW stars Shingo Takagi and Tama Tonga. However, it's unclear if the grueling tournament could've resulted in Kingston injuring himself again.
One of the most significant achievements of his career happened recently when he defeated his longtime rival Castagnoli at the AEW Dynamite Grand Slam on Sep. 20 to become the ROH World Champion.
The injuries have forced Kingston to step back in his activity, and it's unclear how soon he will lose both titles. Hopefully, Kingston will be able to fix his back injury and be at full strength to continue to make a return to the independent wrestling scene.
Kingston is on an incredible run as of late, despite dealing with injuries throughout the year.
"The Mad King" was expected to appear at Defy Wrestling to defend his New Japan Pro Wrestling Strong Openweight Championship against Rocky Romero. However, a lower back injury has led him to the difficult decision to pull out of all independent dates and focus solely on AEW/ROH until he’s healthy. He wrote on Instagram:
"Due to being NJPW Strong Openweight Champion and ROH Champion, I have come to the hard decision that I will have to stop doing independents.
Dealing with a lower back injury right now that I need to get fixed (And will), so I can be ready for all NJPW Strong shows and all three AEW shows," wrote Kingston.
Kingston apologized to fans and independent wrestling promotions but noted that he had to put his health first and complete commitments to AEW and NJPW.
AEW fans may recall that Kingston was out earlier in the year due to a hernia injury he suffered in 2022. After he lost his match to Claudio Castagnoli for the Ring of Honor World Championship at ROH SuperCard of Honor on March 31, he had surgery to fix his injury, which he shared on May 10.
He made his return to competition at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door on June 25 to team with The Elite (Adam Page, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) and Tomohiro Ishii against the Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta), Konosuke Takeshita & Shota Umino.
He also competed in the NJPW G1 Climax 33, which was a goal for him to accomplish. He had a great showing while competing in the tournament, with notable victories over NJPW stars Shingo Takagi and Tama Tonga. However, it's unclear if the grueling tournament could've resulted in Kingston injuring himself again.
One of the most significant achievements of his career happened recently when he defeated his longtime rival Castagnoli at the AEW Dynamite Grand Slam on Sep. 20 to become the ROH World Champion.
The injuries have forced Kingston to step back in his activity, and it's unclear how soon he will lose both titles. Hopefully, Kingston will be able to fix his back injury and be at full strength to continue to make a return to the independent wrestling scene.