10 Wrestlers Who Eventually Rewarded Fans For Sticking With Them

9. Eddie Kingston

Jon Moxley
AEW

As has been reiterated on AEW programming in recent weeks, Eddie Kingston has been in the wrestling business for 18 years.

Having spent those years working for the likes of CZW, IMPACT Wrestling, Ring of Honor, Chikara, and the NWA, Kingston's arrival in All Elite Wrestling has seen the New Yorker get the spotlight that he's so long deserved. From being forced to sell his wrestling boots to pay his bills earlier this year, the Mad King has undoubtedly grabbed the ball and ran with it since making an initial one-off appearance in AEW this past July - to the point that Kingston is now a contracted AEW talent who this month headlined the company's Full Gear PPV.

It's obviously a huge reward for Eddie Kingston to finally be afforded the chance to showcase his skills on an international stage, and it's likewise a reward for those loyal fans who have stuck with Eddie on his journey.

If handled correctly, AEW could have a genuine money-drawing top babyface on its hands with Eddie Kingston over the next few months and beyond - and that's testament to his ability and dogged determination.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.