AEW had been teasing a marquee opponent for this week’s TNT championship open challenge all week, with advertisements listing Cody’s opponent as one of the top independent superstars in the circuit.
As Dynamite began…champion Cody Rhodes started in the ring, when legend Eddie Kingston answered the challenge. Kingston then cut a promo running Rhodes and coach Arn Anderson through the ringer, before revealing that he talked with President Tony Khan and the bout would be held under a no DQ stipulation.
The match was a bloody brawl that saw the use of thumb tacs, but The American Nightmare squeaked away with another successful defense after applying the Figure-Four. See Kingston’s promo and some of the action below.
Kingston had more recently been appearing on NWA’s weekly episodic Powerrr. He’s previously worked for Ring of Honor, CZW, and popular indies like AAW and PWG.