We all knew it was coming. Kingston visited FIP. He managed to remain visible on the indy scene for years. He wrestled an increasingly physical style. He refined his sense of character of speaking skills, things ROH knows it needs. He became a hot act in IWA:MS, which if you ask a Mid-South fan, is a surefire way of getting booked by Ring of Honor. Then Chris Hero got in. Ruckus got in. Larry Sweeney got in. Tyler Black got in. Necro Butcher got back in. Human Tornado got in. The guys indy die hard fans were worried about or buzzing about (and usually both) slowly trickled into ROH, and then it was only a matter of when Eddie Kingston would get the call.
Now there is a firestorm around Kingston. He’s fat. He can’t wrestle. Nobody’s seen his supposedly great promos. This weekend the only thing more annoying than his detractors were his self-righteous apologists. If I may, let’s try to take a level-headed view of Mr. Kingston.
The first and most expectable complaint is that Kingston has a gut. He’s actually not fat, but he’s far from Davey Richards or Austin Aries’ shape. Yet what does that really mean?
Professional wrestling has seen plenty of athletic-but-round guys: Jake Roberts, Bam Bam Bigelow, Terry Gordy, Vader, Mick Foley, Rikishi Phatu and Umaga. These large guys (all of them more portly than Mr. Kingston) managed to come off as legitimate threats. Umaga is one of the best bad guys in the world right now, and he’s both overweight and barely as tall as his General Manager.
Ring of Honor has also featured a share of big butts (I cannot lie). Dan Maff was one of the first strong figures in the tag team division. Colt Cabana was beloved for years. Samoa Joe defined the ROH World Title, becoming one of the most popular and successful guys in company history. And as Joe left, in came all three-hundred pounds of Takeshi Morishima for a nine-month title reign that was another of the best in company history. Bobby Dempsey is making being out of shape an art form.
The truth is that physique isn’t always matched to health or to wrestling ability. Some people are more comfortable being heavier than average – Steve Corino joked about his bigger backside helping cushion his falls. Samoa Joe wrestled hour-draws at a much higher weight than Kingston. Unfortunately Joe had to overcome a significant and ignorant bias about his weight before he became an ROH icon. It’s this same bias that is preventing a lot of juvenile wrestling “critics†from approving of Awesome Kong in TNA. The demand for perfect physiques is something we fans really need to pull back as we recognize the negative effects of steroids and performance enhancing drugs. It’s one thing to pretend we’re smarter than wrestlers just criticizing their physical styles, but it’s a much easier thing to accept their looks as who they are. I may write a column on this some other week.
Someone’s physique is related to his general appearance, and their appearance is related to their persona. Matt Cross’ act is entirely based on amazing aerial offense, so he tries to tone himself up into the tightest athletic look possible. Eddie Kingston thrives off of a vibrant, selfishly, vicious personality that is suitable to his build. That personality is best-displayed when he gets a chance to talk.
A lot of people haven’t seen many or any of his promos yet, but you can check them out for yourself on Youtube. If you watch much Chikara, you may have already seen that Kingston is breaking out of one of independent wrestling’s worst stereotypes: he’s not cussing so much anymore. Say what you will about Shane Douglas, but a big part of his legacy is drawing cheap attention through profanity. Too many guys do that today, and Kingston used to. Now his monologues are more focused on why he actually has grievances with people or what he’s feeling, speaking emotionally and pacing his words for an emphasis that most people ignore in favor of cheap shortcuts. When he is calm he can be eerie and uneasing; when he’s outraged, he can be furious or discordant to a schizophrenic level. He has a habit of smiling like something else is coming into his mind, or tripping over his own words like he’s going to go off the subject. These things draw the viewer in, helping them believe he means what he says – if his mind is going to other topics within the sphere of his character, then he’s approaching a second level of storyline, helping take your mind off the fact that the first is built on top of fiction. He is the guy who forgets his lines; he’s a character who has too much on his mind. His voice will be welcome in ROH.
His wrestling ability is another matter. I’ve seen plenty of Eddie Kingston, and he has had a lot of garbage matches. Not only matches where weapons were overused, but just poorly-constructed stuff. However, he’s drastically improved in the last few years. His primary strength is brawling, and he has a weird brawling ability: he can have really intense fights with guys that don’t normally have a lot of high-quality intense fights. I don’t mind saying that Kingston got the best brawls of Hero’s career out of that man across CZW and IWA:MS. At Chikara’s “Chapter 11,†Kingston had a standout fight with Hallowicked, someone who I’ve never seen praised for brawling ability.
In addition, for all the bluster that moves aren’t everything, moves are awesome, and moves alone could very well get Kingston over. He does a Suplex where he drops the guy on his head. He chops really hard. He has a running kick to the face. ROH crowds eat that stuff up. People are going to be mimicking the Spinning Backfist as they walk to their cars after shows. And if Kingston can connect through a few pieces of vicious offense, he’ll have the hook he needs to fine-tune his sense of timing and really get things going in ROH.
That said, Kingston is imperfect, and both people who hate him and people who haven’t heard of him should be skeptical of fans that say he’s the best guy on the indies. Don’t inflate your expectations. He’s not a flyer, and he’s not particularly adept against aerial opponents. He can be downright awkward in technical wrestling encounters. If you haven’t seen him, expect a mouthy brawler that’s willing to experiment. His greatest skill is using what talents he has to tell stories. If he turns out to be right for your tastes, then bravo.
The last and most disconcerting complaint is that Kingston is yet another CZW guy coming into ROH. This belies more than a little ignorance of two major factors: Kingston isn’t from CZW, and ROH doesn’t invent most of its talent. Low Ki, Bryan Danielson and Christopher Daniels were indy superstars before the company started. CM Punk, Colt Cabana, Chris Hero, Jimmy Jacobs and Delirious were IWA:MS guys – all of them champions there before they came here. Kevin Steen, El Generico and Davey Richards were all in PWG long before they were ROH regulars. Austin Aries walked out of ECWA’s Super 8 and into ROH’s heart. Samoa Joe was from UPW, and if not for a killer debut against Low Ki at Glory By Honor I, he might never have become a godfather of ROH. Much like ECW, ROH doesn’t train or invent most of its stars, but finds them and tries to give them an optimal platform. Most of the above wrestlers improved during their time in Ring of Honor, and some created or further developed personas, but they weren’t originally ROH guys, even if they became such later.
And we hardly criticize Takeshi Morishima, Go Shiozaki, KENTA and Naomichi Marufuji for coming from somewhere else.
Eddie Kingston is, if anything, a Chikara guy, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Delirious visits there frequently. Chris Hero is a trainer at the Chikara school. Claudio Castagnoli, Jigsaw, Gran Akuma and Hallowicked were all students of the school. Kingston actually ran through a storyline of bitterness towards other students for getting opportunities in companies like ROH while he was left behind – something he may be converting to ROH now, considering he heckled Jigsaw’s team over the weekend.
And don’t ignore that Kingston’s travels through Chikara, IWA:MS and other groups has given him experience with members of ROH’s current roster. He had a critical darling of a feud with Chris Hero, and the chemistry they found together elsewhere could easily be converted to entertainment here. Experience wrestling Jigsaw or Necro Butcher elsewhere can only help when he crosses their paths in ROH.
But even then, Kingston shouldn’t be “a Chikara guy.†He’s not an IWA:MS guy. He’s not a CZW guy. He’s a talented professional wrestler who deserves to work where he can. This is a sad root argument that diehard fans of any company seem to fall into. El Generico isn’t a PWG guy that ROH stole – he’s a great wrestler that got a break in two companies, and he gave his all to both. If Kingston gives his all to ROH, he shouldn’t deserve to be “a _____ guy.â€
The latest complaint I’ve read is about his attire. If you hate Eddie Kingston’s baggy pants, I really don’t have anything to say to you. Naomichi Marufuji wears baggy pants and tears it up every time he visits ROH, but perhaps it’s the combination of Kingston’s ponch and baggy pants that drive you nuts. I’m sorry that they ruined him for you. E-mail his mom and tell her to dress him better.
This could be a short-term deal for a few matches or a small storyline. This could be Kingston’s opportunity to prove himself on the undercard against one of ROH’s weaker stables, and if he thrives, he’ll earn a regular deal. Or he could already have that deal. He could be out as soon as the Vulture Squad feud ends. We don’t know. But we do know that he made it in. Now we’re left to count the hours to Chuck Taylor’s arrival.
