Eddie Kingston defeats former WWE Superstar to win major championship

AEW star Eddie Kingston has always seemed to have come up short when it comes to winning "The Big One." But that all changed after he won a major World Title.

Kingston was one of many AEW stars who took the trip over to Japan this week to take part in the NJPW STRONG Independence Day events on July 4th and 5th, with other stars including Jon Moxley and Willow Nightingale.

The Mad King competed in one of the July 5th event's featured bouts as he took on the former WWE Superstar KENTA for the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship, and after a hard-fought bout, we have a new champion.

WrestleTours

@WrestleTours

🏅 HE’S ONLY GONE & DONE IT!

Eddie Kingston has defeated KENTA to win the #NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship!

#njpwSTRONG

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🏅 HE’S ONLY GONE & DONE IT!

Eddie Kingston has defeated KENTA to win the #NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship!

#njpwSTRONG https://t.co/38Oxdpf1Qq

Eddie defeated KENTA to become the new NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion, becoming only the fifth man in history to hold the title. The big win is also the first singles title Kingston has won since his reign as the Crown of Glory Champion in 2019.

This title is Eddie's first reign as champion in a major international promotion, and everyone at Sportskeeda Wrestling would like to congratulate him on his big win as we look forward to seeing what he does next as champion.

Eddie Kingston will return to Japan later this month for the G1 Climax

The Mad King's New Japan Pro Wrestling journey isn't over yet though, not by a long shot. In fact, his big win over KENTA is just the start of what is going to be a very eventful month for Eddie Kingston in NJPW.

Kingston has been announced as a participant in the annual G1 Climax Tournament, where the winner of the month-long tournament earns themselves the main event spot at Wrestle Kingdom 18 in January 2024.

NJPW Global

@njpwglobal

Heading into his first G1 Climax, could the Mad King Eddie Kingston be the king of C Block once the dust settles?

Check out the block breakdown!

njpw1972.com/154338

#njpw #G1CLIMAX33

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Heading into his first G1 Climax, could the Mad King Eddie Kingston be the king of C Block once the dust settles?

Check out the block breakdown!

njpw1972.com/154338

#njpw #G1CLIMAX33 https://t.co/D6Uth0YMQj

The AEW star has been assigned in to the C Block where he will cross paths with seven of NJPW's toughest competitors. Kingston will face former IWGP Heavyweight Champions Shingo Takagi and EVIL, New Japan mainstays like Tama Tonga, Tomohiro Ishii and David Finlay, and stars like Aaron Henare and Mikey Nicholls who he has never faced before.

Do you think Eddie Kingston will win the G1 Climax? Let us know in the comments section down below.

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