Welcome to the first official blog of The Dark Match. Through the end
of December, and throughout January I am going to be updating The Dark
Match with the major history points of season 11, for every single
wrestler. That is a lot, so I better get started now! To kick-off The
Dark Match I have decided to do a championship series, giving season 11
history for all of the champions. What better place to begin than with
the titan and current Grand Champion, Eddie Kingston.
Eddie Kingston
CHIKARA Debut: October 2002
Affiliations: The Wildcards (w/Blackjack Marciano)
The Toxic Trio (w/Blackjack Marciano, Jigsaw)
The Roughnecks (W/Brodie Lee, Grizzly Redwood)
When I think of the King of Diamonds, I instantly think to Kenta
Kobashi. Some might call this a rather generous comparison, but Eddie
wrestles with the same stiff puro style that made Kenta such a pleasure
to watch. Eddie closed out 2011 winning the first ever Chikara Grand
Championship match over Mike Quackenbush in the finals of the year-long 12 Large Summit. It was a stiff, hard fought battle, both men leaving nothing outside the ring. At the end of Chikara's first ever IPPV, High Noon, Kingston pinned Mike to cap off his amazing season. Though not slated to compete at the season 11 debut event in Easton, Eddie was given time to address the crowd. Before Eddie could utter his first words as champ, he was blindsided by Vin Gerard. During season 10, Vin had been a thorn in the side of the
King of Diamonds. After assaulting Kingston after a match, Gerard was
removed from the Chikara roster. But this didn't stop the brash and
overconfident Gerard from crashing what should've been Eddie's shining
and well deserved moment. After having some forceful words with Wink
Vavasseur, the current Director of Fun, Gerard was reinstated into
Chikara and Eddie's first Grand Championship defense was set for
February 26th in Long Island. There was more on the line though than
just the Grand Championship as Vin decreed if he couldn't beat Eddie for
the title, he would leave Chikara forever...
From the opening bell until Bryce slapped his hand on the mat
for 3, Eddie and Gerard's match felt like a dog fight. Beginning outside
the ring, both combatants crashed through chairs and bounced off walls.
After withstanding Gerard's 2K1 bomb, Kingston struck down Gerard with a
back fist, successfully defending his title for the first time and
ending Vin's Chikara career.
The Big Rig Brodie Lee was injured for part of 2011 and this
stopped him from being able to properly compete in the 12 Large Summit
tournament. On his return to in ring action, Brodie vowed to show that
he deserved to be the number one contender to the belt. After
dispatching Ultramantis Black at Joshimania night 3, he continued his
rampage defeating Jigsaw and Fire Ant. Proving he was more than capable,
Brodie was given his opportunity to take on Eddie in Chikara's debut
event in Ottawa, Canada. The Big Rig rolled into Ottawa with one
thought: take the title that he believed to be rightfully his. In his
first defense, Eddie had to contend with Gerard's assault on his knee
trying to capitalize on an injury Kingston struggled with through much
of Season 10. Even though Brodie was familiar with the injured Kingston,
he ignored the knee. Instead, Brodie and Eddie had a Chikara classic,
matching each other blow for blow, suplex for suplex. Attempting to take
Eddie's spirit out of the match, Brodie gave Eddie a swift kick in the
nether regions. This low blow couldn't stop the surging champ and, with a
sliding D, Eddie retained his title once again. In the four months that
Eddie had held his title, he had dispatched with two of the most
seasoned competitors to step into the Chikara ring. It wouldn't take
long for word to get out that Eddie Kingston was the rightful Grand
Champion and anyone intending on taking the belt from his waist was
going to have to be a monster between the ropes. And a monster did
indeed answer the call.
Chikara and Ring of Honor joined forces for one day in April, creating
the duel promotion event Synergy. Coming out of the ROH shadows came
Eddie's next challenger: the Anti-Christ of Professional Wrestling, Mr.
Wrestling Kevin Steen. For weeks before the match Steen antagonized
Kingston, calling Chikara a Mickey Mouse wrestling company. Kingston,
being a man who has stood with Chikara from shortly after the opening of
the doors, took personal offence to Steen's mockery of his company. On
April 28th the War King rode into battle to face the Bumblebee mask
wearing Steen. Both men are heavy hitters, and Eddie's third title
defence reflected this. Steen's temper however took control, and like
Brodie gave Eddie a crack between the legs. This time however, official
Bryce Remsburg saw the offence and called the match. Mocking Kingston
even further, Steen kissed Eddie and laid across his downed body,
slapping the mat for his own three count. Even though the match ended
with a despicable act, it still stood as Eddie's third successful title
defense.
After defending his belt consistently, Eddie was given a few
events to rest. The Grand Championship was not defended in Lafayette or
in Chikara's return to Easton. At Anniversario: A Horse of Another
Colour, Eddie and Jigsaw stood on opposites sides of a eight man main
event. A enjoyable contest that saw Eddie fall and be pinned for the
first time in 2012, succumbing to the super-brain buster. When Jigsaw
went to shake his long time friend's hand, Eddie refused, raising the
ire of Jigsaw. These two men were set to battle for the Grand
Championship the next evening and Kingston was showing that, in
wrestling, there are no certainties in friendship. Eddie and Jigsaw
faced off during the 12 Large Summit (with King coming out on top) and
if that match was any indication of things to come, the fans at the
Highline Ballroom were in for a hard-fought battle.
As expected, Jigsaw and Kingston put on a clinic of passion and
heart. These two came up through the Wrestle Factory together, and are
highly familiar with each other. In the end, Jigsaw's skull received
three crushing back fists. With four title defenses, each more
compelling a duel than the last, Eddie was beginning to look
unstoppable. One man believed that he had the makings of a champion, and
why not? Dasher Hatfield has decades more experience on this earth than
Eddie. Sure, most of it might have been baseball experience, but all
those years give Dasher a competitive edge. Coming off a win over
Canada's adopted son El Generico, Dasher squared off against Eddie in
Syracuse. It only took one underhand pitch to the behind, and Eddie
showed Dasher that Grand Championship matches were no sunny day at the
baseball field. Dasher rose to meet Eddie's challenge, tossing Kingston
over his head twice with dragon suplexes, and crashing Eddie down with a
suicide squeeze. It was for naught though, and after rolling backdrop
drivers, Kingston was victorious again.
After five defenses, who was going to challenge Eddie for his
Grand Championship now? Kingston had gained hard fought victories over
all of his opponents and the question on everyone's lips was who would
be next to face the King? The answer: Why the Queen, of course. On July
28th, the War King met with the Queen of Wrestling, Sara Del Rey. In her
second last match with the company, talk was all about the possibility
of seeing a Summer of Sara. The answer was no and Kingston kept his
throne, but the Queen gave Kingston his toughest defense to date.
The remainder of the summer was quiet for Eddie. He did not
defend the title once in the month of August. During the semi-finals and
finals of the Young Lions Cup (we will be getting to Mr. Touchdown
after the CdP) Kingston did win two non-title matches against the rising
Shard, and always dapper Harlem Bravado. Kingston's next title defense
came during this years King of Trios. Amongst the multi-man mayhem that
only KOT can produce, on night 2, Eddie defended against Tadasuke, the
Young Lions Cup holder from 2011. We had not seen him in over a year,
but it was clear during his time away from Chikara he had been training.
These two monsters clashed with heavy strikes and bone jarring
suplexes. Eddie was victorious, but his celebration was ended abruptly
by one Tim Donst. Tim's had quite the history with the Grand Champion
facing him in a series of matches in 2007 shortly after his wrestling
debut. To say Kingston layed beatings on Donst would be a gross
understatement. He brutalized him and Tim had clearly never forgotten.
Tim called Eddie a monster, accused him of being everything wrong with
current wrestling. Putting Eddie on the receiving end of a STO, Tim left
him downed in the ring.
After Eddie's encounter at King of Trios, he disappeared from
action for quite some time. As the acclaimed Cibernetico approached,
Eddie was faced with some unfinished business in the form of one Kevin
Steen. Kingston and old rival Steen were named team captains for the
Cibernetico match. Steen was allowed to choose his own team, but our
trusty DOF Wink chose Kingston's team for him. Wouldn't you believe it,
Mr. Tim Donst was placed on Eddie's team. During the Cibernetico match,
Tim didn't even try to be a productive member of his team. However, if a
member of Team Steen dumped Eddie over the ropes, Tim was there quickly
to capitalize. After more than an hour, only Eddie, Steen and Tim
remained. Finally gaining a measure of revenge, Kingston eliminated
Steen. Cibernetico rules however are unlike your typical team matches.
There can only be one winner so it can come down to teammates having to
face off and that's just what happened here. Using a rather suspicious
object obtained by Jakob Hammermeier, Tim knocked out Eddie and won the
match. He didn't stop there though and he and Jakob then tied Kingston
to the ropes where Donst continued the beating and inform the Champ that
he was giving him "two weeks notice".
Those two weeks just happened to coincide with Under the Hood,
Chikara's third IPPV, and second to be hosted at the Troc in
Philadelphia. Tim had been granted his title shot and promised to change
Chikara forever on this night, and destroy what was wrong with
professional wrestling, Eddie Kingston. Tim gave it his all, suplexing
Eddie out of the corner onto his head, and slamming his body onto the
wooden ramp outside the ring. This wasn't enough and even the reluctant
interference by Hammermeier couldn't turn the tide and Eddie finally
silenced the young Donst.
Wow! Eddie Kingston had a all-star year in season 11. Only being
pinned to the mat twice, Eddie cemented his legacy in Chikara history.
Next up for The Dark Match will be the current reigning CdP, the Young
Bucks
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