Eddie Kingston calls out WWE Wrestlepalooza, says counterprogramming AEW All Out is ‘bulls—‘

AEW All Out and WWE Wrestlepalooza take place on Saturday. It’s a busy day for professional wrestling, but not everyone thinks the competition is in good faith. Eddie Kingston, who returns from a year-long injury layoff at All Out, takes issue with WWE’s efforts to draw attention away from AEW.

WWE announced Wrestlepalooza one month in advance and well after AEW booked All Out. WWE stacked its inaugural card with the return of Brock Lesnar and AJ Lee, plus appearances by John Cena and CM Punk. It was a bold statement in its growing trend of counterprogramming the smaller, but nevertheless popular promotion. 

AEW founder Tony Khan moved All Out to an earlier 3 p.m. ET start time to avoid running directly against WWE and booked Kingston’s return to add more drawing power to the card. Kingston was honored to receive the call but didn’t care for the external factors contributing to his comeback.

“Humbly, it’s flattering that they think I matter that much and can help them,” Kingston told CBS Sports. “I don’t think too highly of myself. It’s not a beat yourself up thing. I was taught that the meek shall inherit the Earth. So I’m very humbled that they believe I can help in whatever bullshit war or bullshit that’s going on. ‘Cause all it is, is bullshit. It’s competition, and it’s one place wanting to monopolize.”

Kingston wouldn’t label WWE as the villain in the equation, acknowledging that “power corrupts,” and he couldn’t be certain that AEW wouldn’t do the same in a position of power. Kingston accepts how corporations function but urged fans not to adopt that mindset. He emphasized that rooting for a team is great, but healthy competition is in the best interest of consumers and workers.

Check out the full interview with Eddie Kingston below. 

“WCW came with Nitro, and they had the cruiserweights. I remember them putting Brian Pillman and Jushin Thunder Liger on. I was stuck watching it,” Kingston recalled. “Imagine if I had said, ‘No! They’re WCW. I’m not watching it. I hate them!’ I would have missed Rey Mysterio, Psichosis, Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero. Imagine if I never saw the NWO or Hulk Hogan turning heel because I cut myself off?

“I don’t want any place to close,” he continued. “Am I going to talk shit about WWE? Yes! Why? ‘Cause I’m not there and I’m with the other team right now. That’s it. There’s no hatred. I have friends there, and I don’t have a lot of friends. But the people I do consider friends, some of them are there. Do you think I want them to be out of a job? Hell no.”