Eddie Kingston has addressed his enemy ahead of tonight’s AEW Grand Slam.
In just a few hours time, Eddie Kingston will walk into one of the biggest matches of his career, as he attempts to dethrone Claudio Castagnoli of the Ring of Honor World Championship.
The match will take place in front of Eddie’s hometown crowd in New York, with the showdown unfolding at the iconic Arthur Ashe Stadium, renowned as the primary venue for the US Open tennis tournament.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, published today, Eddie Kingston addressed Claudio Castagnoli.
“If you’re going to beat me in New York, you’re going to have to kill me.”
“Claudio is going to have to put me down for a lot longer than three seconds.”
It is not only Claudio’s ROH World Title that is at stake in this bout, either. Eddie Kingston is the proud holder of the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship, which is also up for grabs. It is very much a “winner take all” affair.
Eddie had more to say about Claudio Castagnoli in the interview. True to character, he pulled absolutely no punches.
“I don’t respect anything about Claudio.”
“I don’t even respect that Claudio is a great wrestler, even though he is. As a person, I think he’s garbage.”
“I don’t give a f— what he has to say. Talk is cheap. Let’s let our actions do the talking.”
Why Does Eddie Kingston Hate Claudio?
Eddie Kingston and Claudio Castagnoli were embroiled in a vicious feud in 2011 while competing for the now-defunct Chikara promotion.
At the Creatures From The Tar Swamp event in March of 2011, Castagnoli defeated “The Mad King” in Kingston’s hometown of New York, in an affair surrounded by controversy.
Their match featured endless interference from multiple sources, and post-match, Claudio Castagnoli added insult to injury by lashing Eddie Kingston repeatedly with a belt.
Before Kingston could get his revenge, Castagnoli signed with the WWE, where he would spend the next eleven years.
Tonight at AEW Grand Slam, Eddie Kingston finally has a chance to get his own back at Claudio, by fighting the Ring of Honor World Champion in the very same city where he received those brutal lashings twelve years ago.