Eddie Kingston & Brody King Reflect On AEW’s Promo Process, Staying Authentic

Eddie Kingston and Brody King recently spoke about the process of developing promos in AEW and how much they work with writers on the matter. The AEW promo process has always been much looser than the more scripted process for most people in WWE, with AEW talent regularly praising the control they have over their characters and what they say. Kingston, who is particularly known for his promos, has said he has declined scripted promos throughout his career.

The two were part of an AEW panel at Squared Circle Expo, where they were asked about the process of doing promos in AEW. Kingston acknowledged the importance of writers in terms of ensuring points are gotten across, though both he and King talked about value in being able to be themselves. You can see the highlights below:

Kingston On His AEW Promos:

“Most of the conversations I have at work are about promos and stuff. They’re like, ‘Eddie, we want you to say this and that.’ And I go, ‘Listen, I don’t tell you how to run this or they don’t tell you how to run that, so don’t tell me how to work.’ And then I go, ‘What do you want? Like, what’s the bullet points?’ They tell me. And I go, ‘Can I say it my way?’ And they go, ‘Yeah.’ I go, ‘Okay, cool.’ And then I don’t say what they want, and they still like it. And then I go, ‘All right, here you go.'”

King On the Importance of Authenticity In Promos:

“I mean, I honestly think probably all of us are who we are, you know? I can genuinely — we were just having a conversation in the back, like Eddie is the same person I met 10 years ago. He’s doing the same s**t — not in a bad way, obviously. But I feel like when you have a writer telling you what to say and how to act, then they’re not getting Brody King. They’re not getting Eddie Kingston or Orange Cassidy, you know? We’ve got to have our own voice. We got to say it our way or else it’s just not authentic, and then people can see right through.”

Kingston On the Value Of Writers:

“But also, I’m not going to knock writers either. Because there’s been moments where I would be stuck. And Jimmy Jacobs, who’s one of my favorite people, he was working for AW at the time. I go, ‘Jimmy, listen. I’m having a problem with ABC.’ He would go [through the points] and I’d be like, ‘All right, thanks.’ And he was so quick with it. So you need writers, you know what I mean? To navigate. Because like I could go on a 30 minute f**king promo and not get done what needs to be done. But they track you.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit STF Media with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.