10 Wrestlers That Became Stars In ONE SECOND

5. Eddie Kingston (AEW Dynamite, July 22nd 2020)

Donovan DanHausen
AEW

Eddie Kingston had always been considered one of the best talkers in wrestling even when many had (errantly, as it transpired) noted that his best in-ring days might have been behind him.

Landing in AEW via Cody Rhodes’ transcendent 2020 TNT Title open challenge run, Kingston biliously opposed the notion that Rhodes - or indeed anybody in a position even close to approaching his privilege - knew what it was to be tough.

Calling himself "one of the dirtiest fighters in independent wrestling", he went further, noting; "...you grew up around used-to-be-legends like Arn Anderson. You know what I grew up around? Alcoholics. Junkies...I had to survive. I had to grind. You couldn't last a day in my shoes, so you don't tell me nothing about grinding."

With Cody welcoming the challenge and Kingston finalising the fine print on the deal he was destined to be offered, 'The Mad King' continued; "I am a grown-ass man and I will put you in the ground and smile. Here's the best part about this whole thing...Tony Khan paid me to show up and now he's gonna pay me to kick your ass and take that championship."

He didn't manage the latter, but the former remains true to this very day.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett