"I didn’t want to collect the paycheck I didn’t earn" - Eddie Kingston opens up about why he turned down WWE

WWE wanted to hire Eddie Kingston to train the next generation of WWE Superstars, but he's not done being a wrestler yet.

AEW's Eddie Kingston was the most recent guest on Swerve City Podcast to discuss a variety of subjects. When Swerve Strickland mentioned that Kingston turned down a WWE contract to train talent at the Performance Center, The Mad King was very honest about why he didn't take the job.

"I didn't want to collect the paycheck I didn't earn, you know what I mean? Because I knew if I was there, and I had that resentment of 'I know I have ten more good years, I know I'm better than what -- they're not giving me a chance, let me go','" Eddie Kingston said. "I'm not knocking these guys, I know people are going to hear it and be like [inaudible]. If a football player or amateur wrestler walks in and the machine [WWE] is behind them all the way, and they want me to help him and teach him, I'm not going to. But if I do, I'm going to be a piece of sh*t. Cause I'm going to be resentful of him."

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Eddie Kingston isn't ready to train the next generation yet

While Eddie Kingston would rather wrestle right now than train others, he wants to see the next generation of talent do well and not hurt themselves in the process, citing Dark Side of the Ring as a cynical force in the wrestling industry today.

"I want you to do good because I don't want it to be embarrassing, you know what I mean? I don't want you to hurt yourself," Eddie Kingston said. "I don't need you to go on, go on the news, 'I got paralyzed in the pro wrestling ring'. Pro wrestling gets enough bad media. People are like 'Eddie, do you like the dark sides?' [referencing the show Dark Side of the Ring]. I use to. But you know why I don't like them no more? Cause the energy was off, I had enough of all the dark sh*t."

What do you make of Eddie Kingston's comments? Are you happy he turned down the WWE position to wrestle at AEW instead? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.

Thanks to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription of the podcast.