When Eddie Kingston agreed to team with The Elite and Tomohiro Ishii against the Blackpool Combat Club – Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Konosuke Takeshita, and Shota “Shooter” Umino – at Forbidden Door, it was always going to be a mixed bag of emotions for the “Mad King,” but in practice, that assessment might have actually been an understatement.

Taking part in a fast-paced match filled with hot tags, tandem offense, and intentional strikes – Takeshita almost knocked out Ishii at one point with a well-placed blow – Kingston made the personal wager that his long-standing friendship with Moxley would survive his hatred for “The Swiss Superman” and help him to end one feud without starting another one.

Unfortunately for Kingston, that didn't happen. No, much to the “Mad King's” dismay, he actually ended up in the ring far more often with Moxley than Castagnoli, and despite trying to help out his friend at one point, pushing his pal out of the way from a Young Bucks Superkick Party, he still ate a cutter from the proprietor of “Death Jitsu” before watching as Ishii secured the pin on Yuta for the 1-2-3.

After the match, Kingston and The Elite exchanged words, with the former more upset with the win than relieved, leading fans to speculate what the future holds for the returning grappler after his first match in an AEW ring since March. Could Kingston remain Elite adjacent until Blood and Guts later this year? Or will he instead side with Moxley and have to fall in line alongside Castagnoli a la last year's edition of the match? Fans will find out soon enough.