Why Eddie Kingston Was Moved To ROH & Why He's Been Off Television, Explained
Rachel Young
Updated on September 21, 2026
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Ever since he delivered an incredible promo before his debutAEW match against Cody Rhodes, Eddie Kingston has been one of the most popular wrestlers in the company. Kingston’s time in AEW has seen him face some of the very best in professional wrestling. In all of these feuds, he has also shown that he is one of the greatest on the mic not only in wrestling today, but of all time. In 2023, Kingston moved from AEW to ROH, both of which Tony Khan controls. However, due to a long time injury that Kingston had been dealing with, he has been off of television.
RELATED: 10 Things Fans Should Know About Eddie Kingston's Wrestling Career Before AEW
Eddie Kingston "Quits" AEW
During his time in AEW, Kingston faced off against the likes of Jon Moxley, The Young Bucks, Chris Jericho, Miro, CM Punk, and more. In late 2022 to 2023, Kingston and Ortiz entered into a rivalry with Malakai Black and his group, The House of Black. The feud saw Black drive a wedge between Kingston and Ortiz. Black and Brody King, collectively The Kings of the Black Throne, defeated Kingston and Ortiz. In the end, Black was successful, as Kingston ended up hitting Ortiz with a steel chair, thus ending their alliance.
During The Face Of The Revolution Ladder Match on the March 1, 2023, edition of Dynamite, Kingston and Ortiz brawled. Neither one of them ended up winning the bout. In a clip on social media during an interview with Lexy Nair, Kingston dropped an announcement out of nowhere that he was “quitting” AEW. Tony Khan addressed the matter on the AEW Revolution media call (h/t Fightful) saying, “I have talked to Eddie since [Wednesday], and I would encourage people to stay tuned to pro wrestling. Stay tuned to AEW and other forms of pro wrestling. Of course, there are a lot of exciting things happening in the sport, in AEW, and also out metaverse of pro wrestling, including New Japan and the launch of the new Ring of Honor. A lot of exciting things happening. I have had the chance to talk to Eddie about that and I say stay tuned to the wrestling business and you'll see what happens next.”
Eddie Kingston Goes To ROH To Challenge Claudio Castagnoli
The storyline ultimately was used in order to bring Kingston over to Khan’s other promotion, ROH. Kingston had made appearances in Khan’s ROH prior. At the Jay Briscoe Tribute and Celebration of Life, he defeated QT Marshall. In addition, he also defeated Ben Dejo and Jeeves Kay on other episodes. He appeared in the company and immediately went for the top star and ROH World Champion, Claudio Castagnoli. After a number of back and forths on the mic, Kingston was granted an opportunity to challenge for the ROH World Title against Castagnoli at ROH Supercard Of Honor 2023 on March 31, 2023. He also defeated Christopher Daniels in the lead up to this. However, Kingston was unsuccessful in that match.
RELATED: 5 Wrestlers Eddie Kingston Loves (& 5 He Doesn't)
Unfortunately, Kingston had to make an announcement in the weeks following the match that would need to step away from active in-ring competition for the time being. Addressing this in a video (h/t Wrestling Inc), he said, “I'm going to make this short and sweet, I've been dealing with a hernia injury.” He further added, “The reason why I'm gonna most likely need surgery for this hernia, or the hernia acted up really bad and I've had it since September was because you beat my ass that much that I couldn't sleep that night.” Kingston was pulled from an NJPW event prior to this announcement. While he did address what the injury was, as of writing, there is no date as to when to expect Kingston back in a ring.
Eddie Kingston's Future Could See Him In ROH Or AEW
It is truly unfortunate that Kingston is going to be off of television for the foreseeable future. He has been a staple part of AEW ever since he made his debut. His promos are among some of the very best, as he delivers them with an emotion and passion that very few can. He has shown that he has great in ring skills as well. There is an immense amount for Kingston to do whenever he is back and healthy again in the ring. Whether it be in ROH or AEW, there are numerous feuds fans want to see him in. It could be in ROH, where his business with Castagnoli is far from over. Or it could be in AEW, where MJF has called him out and insulted him. Regardless, fans cannot wait for Kingston to return to a wrestling ring.
