Why AEW Didn't Keep Eddie Kingston's All Out Return A Surprise (AEW News)

AEW didn't keep Eddie Kingston's return a surprise because...

by Andrew Pollard
Eddie Kingston
AEW

With Eddie Kingston's long-awaited return to the ring now confirmed for AEW All Out 2025 this coming weekend, some fans have questioned why AEW didn't opt to keep the Mad King's return a surprise.

On that topic, Fightful Select reports that the reason AEW announced Kingston's return ahead of time was simply as a way to generate further buzz for All Out on Saturday, where Eddie takes on fellow New Yorker, Big Bill, after the Red Wood laid down the challenge to Kingston.

For Eddie Kingston, this will be his first match in 16 months. The former Triple Crown Champion suffered a broken leg and torn ACL and meniscus in a match against Gabe Kidd at NJPW Resurgence in May of last year, and the veteran was forced to undergo surgery that July. It's been a long road to recovery for Eddie, but we now have the great news that he'll be lacing up his boots once more in Toronto in just a matter of days.

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Before we get to All Out, of course, there's a combined three-hour Dynamite and Collision broadcast tomorrow night, so it remains to be seen whether Tony Khan opts to feature Eddie Kingston on TV in some capacity prior to All Out, or whether it's a case of holding Eddie off until Saturday. Either way, the hugely charismatic star is guaranteed to get a huge reaction at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena, with Eddie having been one of the most popular, beloved figures in AEW since arriving in the promotion back in the summer of 2020.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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.