WWE Legend Lays Into AEW’s Eddie Kingston Over Controversial Promo

Eddie Kingston of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) gained attention this week for his controversial promo, taking jabs at WWE. And while it could have been a way to boast AEW, one WWE legend doesn’t see it that way. Bully Ray (best known as Bubba Ray Dudley in WWE ECW) was on Busted Open Radio this week and laid into Kingston for the promo.

“I love Eddie Kingston – to death,” Ray said, as transcribed by Cageside Seats. If we were having promo wars, and I was the captain of the team, and somebody said, ‘you get to pick one person to do the promo for you,’ I’d most likely pick Eddie. Because of his believability, his tone, his inflection, everything about Eddie. Obviously, we kind of sound alike, so I appreciate Eddie’s delivery, the same away I appreciate Taz’s delivery. Taz, another master on the stick.

“But in this case, Eddie needs to shut the f— up and stay in his lane. And his lane is as an AEW guy speaking about AEW, and flying the flag for AEW. Then I’m completely onboard. Tell me about how great AEW is, fly the flag for your company, show me that you wear your heart on your sleeve. Tell me why that you were an indie guy for the majority of his career, now this company took a chance on you, and you have learned to love it and everything about it. Now I’m on board, Eddie.”

Ray (who is also known for his run in TNA Wrestling as Brother Ray) went on to say that there was no reason for Kingston to go after WWE. “Because if you go back and you listen to the fans, they really didn’t pop that hard when he took a jab at the WWE,” Ray added. “You didn’t get the reaction you were looking for. Because people are mostly likely thinking, ‘Alright Eddie, stay away from them. There’s no reason to go there.’”

Kingston made the comments about WWE during AEW Dynamite. “Because the competition (WWE) sometimes doesn’t want to hear there fans. Oh, I guess I’m burning another bridge,” Kingston said. “Surprise! Ladies and gentlemen, AEW cares about their fans. Because we are not here just to get ourselves a paycheck. We’re here every week with you people, without you people and we come out here and we bust our asses. We love professional wrestling!”

“You saw a match between Kenny Omega and my dude, Jungle Boy, that you will not see on the other channel,” he added. “You will not see legends who are respected on the other channel. You will not see people like me and my best friend (Penta) on the other channel. And you will not see the heart that everybody in that locker room has on the other channel.” Kingston has been with AEW since July 2020. He has wrestled in more than a handful of promotions since debuting in 2002 and is known as one of the best speakers in pro wrestling.