Eddie Kingston was primed to face old rival Claudio Castagnoli in the quarterfinals of the AEW Continental Challenge Cup. Even in victory, passage to the next round is never 100%. The tournament format can be affected by injury. We saw that with Nigel McGuinness, who was medically cleared and pushed through the pain. Unfortunately, Kingston will not have the same fate. Tony Khan revealed that Kingston is not medically cleared to continue. The exact severity was not mentioned, but it doesn’t sound
like a serious injury.
AEW held a play-in match to determine Kingston’s replacement. Adam Priest and Daniel Garcia duked it out at ROH Death Before Dishonor (full results).
This match became a war of attrition attacking the legs. At one point, Priest applied the figure-four. Garcia rolled to reverse, and they kept rolling out of the ring up the ramp. Priest kept the submission hooked to inflict pain. Eventually, they noticed the referee making the ten-count. Priest was forced to release, and they limped back to the ring to beat the count.
Instead of standing in the center exchanging chops, they kicked each other in the leg over and over. Garcia got the upper hand in the end by clipping Priest’s knee when running the ropes. Garcia hammered elbows to the joint, then he went for the Sharpshooter. Garcia leaned back to crank. That did the trick. Priest tapped out. Is that the first time Garcia won an important match leaning back on the Sharpshooter?
Garcia advances to battle Death Riders teammate Claudio on Collision. Jon Moxley issued a pep talk of sorts that the Death Riders don’t take days off. They stay ready to rise when opportunities are presented. Garcia isn’t concerned about his knee from this match. He will be ready to fight Claudio, because he loves professional wrestling.
Share your thoughts about Eddie Kingston withdrawing from the AEW Continental Challenge Cup. What odds do you give Daniel Garcia of pulling the upset on Claudio Castagnoli?
