Tony Khan: Eddie Kingston Is New York’s Jerry Lawler, Claudio Castagnoli Is His Nick Bockwinkel

At AEW Dynamite Grand Slam, Eddie Kingston and Claudio Castagnoli will clash in a title vs. title bout. Kingston will put his NJPW Strong Openweight Title on the line while Claudio defends his ROH World Title. 

The rivalry between Claudio and Kingston dates back nearly a decade to their time in IWA Mid-South, CHIKARA, ROH and more independent promotions. In AEW, the two have been teammates in Blood & Guts, but largely on opposite sides of the ring as Kingston hasn’t been happy since Claudio arrived in the company. 

Speaking on Superstar Crossover, Tony Khan was asked about Kingston vs. Claudio. 

“I don’t think it’s ever happened. Nobody’s ever held singles championships in Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling at the same time, and this is taking place on an AEW show. We’re open to pro wrestling from all over the world. We’ve got huge matches up and down the card. It’s really exciting because this reminds me a lot of the territory wrestling I grew up on. The biggest wrestling territory, in many ways, was always New York. For me, Claudio Castagnoli is a throwback to a great wrestler, Nick Bockwinkel. Claudio Castagnoli is the thinking man’s wrestler. He’s very classy, but he’s a thorough professional. He’s a tough guy, but he’s highly intelligent. I think those guys would go on the Mount Rushmore of the most intelligent pro wrestlers, Claudio and Bockwinkel. I really believe Claudio is a great World Champion.

“This match reminds me a lot of when I was a kid going back and tape trading. In Memphis, there was Nick Bockwinkel versus Jerry Lawler. I think New York, as a market, this city is 100 times bigger than Memphis ever was, but if you’re a real wrestling fan, you know Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler versus Nick Bockwinkel was great wrestling. To me, Eddie Kingston is that kind of a hero to New York City, what Lawler was to the Memphis market. This is 100 times bigger and he is this city’s hero. Eddie Kingston is a great New York wrestling hero. I really believe the whole city’s going to be rallying behind him and it’s a great match because it’s a double championship match. It’s got international implications.”

Kingston had a shot against Claudio and the ROH World Title at Supercard of Honor in March, but came up short in his effort to capture the belt. 

AEW released a 90-minute video package on Claudio vs. Kingston, which fans can view in the video above. 

Fightful will have live coverage of AEW Dynamite Grand Slam beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday. 

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