AEW star Eddie Kingston is an avowed student of professional wrestling, studying the greats from the time he was a kid until he was a wrestler himself. Speaking during an appearance on Cezar Bononi’s YouTube channel, Kingston joked that Taz gives him a hard time backstage over not mentioning in interviews how big of an influence he was when Kingston was developing his own style.
“ECW Taz, after Tazmaniac and he became Taz — he was the first kind of shooter guy,” Kingston said. “The way they booked him and promoted him, as UFC-type style, you know what I mean? The way he talked. He was a f***ing New Yorker.”
Because of that, according to Kingston, ECW fans from New York City immediately latched on to Taz as one of their favorite wrestlers. Taz famously hails from Brooklyn, while Kingston calls Yonkers home, just north of the city.
“When I first broke in, … every suplex I threw was because I had ‘The Best of Taz’ on,” Kingston continued. “See, Taz, I knew where to look. I’m not saying I did it well.”
Kingston hasn’t stopped studying wrestling. While dealing with a compound leg injury, the AEW star has been on the shelf for well over a year. In addition to sharing occasional glimpses of his recovery, Kingston continues to watch and learn from classic wrestling.
As for Taz, the “AEW Dynamite” commentator announced earlier this week that he wouldn’t be traveling with the promotion to the United Kingdom for Forbidden Door. However, he should be back on “Dynamite” soon, with the company returning to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the home of ECW, for this week’s show.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Cezar Bononi and Eddie Kingston with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
