In 2016, Eddie Kingston attended a tryout at the WWE Performance Center.
Kingston had been a mainstay on the Independent scene, including successful runs with Ring of Honor, CHIKARA, AAW, and more.
Speaking to Renee Paquette on Oral Sessions, Kingston recalled his WWE tryout and how he knew it wasn't going to be for him.
"To me, that tryout was more for the Mae Young Classic because it was the biggest class for females. I just went in and had fun. I said a couple of things....I'll give you the one I like the most. They had someone filming and Drake Younger grabbed me out of nowhere and was like, 'King, tell them how hard this drill is.' It was some dumb drill. 'Yeah, it was hard. I've had people shoot at me, try to stab me with knives. I hate this drill more than that.' Put the camera down and everyone looks at me like I'm nuts because I said guns and knives. I was doing the promo class and I said, 'Where I come from, they believe in 2Pac more than Santa Claus.' I saw two writers have this confused look on their face. I was like, 'I'm done. Lemme have my match and I'll leave,'" he said.
Kingston would join IMPACT Wrestling after his WWE tryout.
Kingston revealed in an interview with Chris Jericho on Talk Is Jericho that WWE had wanted him as a coach for years and called him after his appearance on IMPACT. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
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