Eddie Kingston Has Advice For Wrestlers Hoping To Get Better On The Microphone

AEW's Eddie Kingston isn't lacking for the gift of gab, and in an interview with the "Under the Ring" podcast he was asked to share communications tips for up-and-coming wrestlers trying to connect with fans.

For starters, Kingston advised having a clear understanding of what the wrestlers are trying to promote.

"Who are you?" he said. "Who is your opponent? What's the date? All that stuff, that's important first — get that all out the way."

Kingston said wrestlers could then add "whatever is honest and what feels right to you. What feels right to you may not feel right to everybody else, but there will always be that little group of people who will relate to you if you're honest."

Kingston warned that wrestling audiences can smell out and reject the synthetic and insincere.

"Wrestling fans, in general, can understand when something is manufactured," he said.

[Featured image by Carter Sterling via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 2.0]

"They know when something's not real. They know when the office is pushing something down their throats; they don't like it. They want to cheer for what they want to cheer, they want to boo what they want to boo. That's what I tell people — I don't change. You either cheer me or you boo me; as long as you're reacting to me, I'm happy."

Kingston's public speaking gifts were responsible for his place in the AEW — he had been a staple of the indie wrestling circuit when he made what was supposed to be a one-shot appearance in a challenge against Cody Rhodes for the TNT Championship during his reign as the ultimate fighting champion, but the AEW audience reacted strongly to both his ring presence and his ability to forcefully address himself. AEW owner Tony Khan realized a new fan favorite had arrived and signed Eddie to a full-time contract.

Kingston acknowledged his AEW success could be transferred to up-and-coming wrestlers.

"I just tell people [to] find out who you are," he said. "Be honest. Find a piece of you. Turn it up 1,000 notches and be honest with the people."