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Although they've recently joined forces in AEW, feuding with Chris Jericho and the Jericho Appreciation Society, Eddie Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz share a much shadier past, filled with animosity. Despite the trio working wonderfully together in Tony Khan's promotion, it actually wasn't too long ago that they were embroiled in a bitter feud during the Mad King's brief run in Impact Wrestling.
Santana and Ortiz, teaming as members of the Latin American Xchange (LAX) at the time, were one of the best tandems in the company when Kingston arrived, but after a short alliance, things would quickly turn sour, and they would face off in what became a pretty wild rivalry that was easily one of the highlights of Impact Wrestling.
While LAX were more successful in their initial run, with Homicide and Hernandez leading the charge as one of the best tag teams in Impact history, the group's reunion and inclusion of Santana and Ortiz was still very well received by fans, and the addition of Kingston to the company only helped. He wasn't with the promotion for long, but the Mad King was synonymous with the faction during his short run, whether it was standing alongside them, or facing off against them.
Eddie Kingston Was Initially Brought In As A New Member Of LAX
While the feud they'd go on to be firmly embroiled in is what many fans remember most fondly about Kingston's Impact run, he was actually brought in as a member of the group, under the name King, when he first arrived in the promotion.
The trio saw plenty of success. After the faction's leader, Konnan, was mysteriously attacked in May 2018, and fellow members Homicide and Diamante disappeared off of television for a while, the future AEW star stepped up and replaced Konnan as the head of the group in a move which actually seemed to benefit them.
Under Kingston's leadership, Santana and Ortiz went on a tear, decimating the rest of Impact's tag team division, and it wasn't long before they had once again reclaimed the tag team championships, solidifying their spot as the best duo in the promotion. The Mad King's ascension to the leadership role in LAX seemed to be working perfectly for the faction, and it seemed things were heading in the right direction... until they weren't.
Konnan's Return Revealed That Eddie Kingston Was Responsible For His Attack
Just when it seemed like things couldn't go wrong for LAX, Konnan returned to the promotion following his recovery, and it was revealed in July that Kingston was the man behind his attack, having orchestrated the whole thing in order to replace him as the leader of the stable. It was a move that allowed the now 40-year-old to break out as a heel in the company, and thrive as a villain.
Initially, Kingston wanted Santana and Ortiz to side with him over Konnan, allowing the group to continue as LAX, but the tag team champions remained loyal to the group's original leader, turning their backs on the Mad King. This led to another surprise reveal, as Hernandez and Homicide returned to the promotion once again as a tag team, and attacked Konnan, Santana, and Ortiz, revealing they were siding with Kingston, who proclaimed that the three of them were now to be known as LAX going forward.
Eventually, they were dubbed The OGz and would feud with LAX throughout the rest of the summer, before an ultimate showdown was set between the two stables at October's Bound For Glory.
The Feud Was Settled With A Concrete Jungle Death Match
The feud came to a conclusion at Bound for Glory 2018 in a Concrete Jungle Death Match which was as wild as you would probably imagine. For the majority of the contest, Santana and Ortiz were outnumbered, after Konnan was attacked earlier in the night and deemed unable to wrestle.
The LAX leader would eventually appear, though, joining his stablemates and helping them overcome The OGz in the grueling affair in just under 10 minutes.
Satana and Ortiz won the match after performing their double-team finisher on Kingston for the pinfall. This proved to be Kingston's final appearance for Impact, and several weeks later he departed the promotion. Several years after this, Kingston finally reunited with Santana and Ortiz in AEW, once again aligning with them in their bitter rivalry with the JAS.