Eddie Kingston just wants to fight Chris Jericho, plain and simple.
The rivalry between the two stars has raged throughout the majority of 2022 up to this point. From Anarchy in the Arena to Blood & Guts, they’ve gone to war multiple times. Now, on the July 20 episode of AEW Dynamite, the two men are set to face off in perhaps their most brutal bout yet — a Barbed Wire Everywhere Death Match.
Speaking With Scott Fishman of TV Insider, Kingston was asked about the way Shark Week has been attached to the contest, as the Jericho Appreciation Society will be suspended above the ring in a shark cage. The fan-favorite star made it clear that he doesn’t care about this thematic connection. He’s happy as long as he gets to fight Jericho, and if it happens to check the box for the company’s mission to have synergy, he’s all for it.
“I don’t give a f–k about Shark Week,” said Kingston. “I just wanted to fight Jericho, and whatever the company needs to do to have — what is that word? — synergy, I’m all for it. I don’t care if it’s a shark cage or a dog cage. I just want to fight Jericho and throw him through barbed wire.”
The name of the contest has inherent connotations of violence, and Kingston stated that he’d like to literally put barbed wire everywhere so he can hurt Jericho as much as possible.
“A spiderweb barbed wire bed.,” said Kingston. “I would like to wrap up the barbed wire around the ring ropes. If I had my way, there would be more weapons for me to hurt Chris with. Let’s put barbed wire on the ring bell. Let’s put barbed wire on the microphone. Let’s put barbed wire on a baseball bat. Whatever I can hit him with would be great.”
When asked whether there’s such a thing as too many gimmick matches, “The Mad King” responded by noting that he doesn’t use that term. To him, it’s a fight, and as long as fans are into it, he’s ready for battle.
“My thing is I don’t call them gimmick matches,” said Kingston. “I just call them fights. This is a fight, and I like fights. I don’t care if there is a whole show of quote “gimmick matches.” As long as the people are into it, and they have a reason for it and legit beef, let’s do it. Don’t just throw people into these matches.”
