6 Ups & 3 Downs For AEW Collision (Dec 9 - Results & Review)
5. The Pig-Headed Iron Will Of Eddie Kingston
From the moment Eddie Kingston stomped to the ring like an agitated, angry toddler - in the best possible way - you knew the Mad King was in no mood to put up with Claudio Castagnoli's BS.
As soon as the bell rang, Castagnoli dominated Kingston, using his superior strength and technique to easily take control of the bout. From a narrative standpoint, Eddie was on his ass and on the cusp of being effectively eliminated from the Continental Classic. A loss here would've made it impossible for Kingston to progress in the tournament, and making it an even more bitter pill to swallow would be the fact that this L came against long-time rival Claudio Castagnoli.
The body language of Eddie Kingston was utterly exceptional here, whether that was outwardly showing his frustration at being dominated by Claudio, whether that was in how he at times mocked the Swiss Superman in an attempt to knock him off his game, or whether that was as part of Kingston's spirited attempts to get back in the game; spirited attempts that were constantly shot down by the one-time Cesaro.
No matter what Eddie threw at Castagnoli, the Blackpool Combat Club man forever had an answer. The only reason why Claudio couldn't score the win, was down to the sheer pig-headed stubbornness of his opponent. Kingston would be damned if he'd lose this match, and he'd be damned if his Continental Classic adventure - which of course has his ROH World Title and NJPW Strong Openweight Title on the line - was brought to a halt by, of all people, Claudio Castagnoli.
Even when Eddie did get the victory, it wasn't particularly definitive. Instead, it was a case of Kingston somehow surviving Claudio's plentiful onslaughts for long enough that he was able to take advantage of a minor opening to reverse Castagnoli into a pinning predicament and score the underdog 1-2-3.
The Continental Classic rumbles on, and Eddie Kingston is still just about alive and kicking in the Blue League.