At AEW Rampage: Grand Slam, Eddie Kingston will be fighting for the underdogs, the ones who have struggled, the ones who have been told they’re not good enough, and so much more.
On Friday night, in a homecoming match for the popular star, Kingston, alongside Jon Moxley, will wage war with Lance Archer and Minoru Suzuki in a Lights Out Match. (The match will be taped tonight as part of the “Grand Slam” event, but it will air on Friday.)
In an video posted to Jon Moxley’s Twitter page, Kingston shared his thoughts on this bout, which will air a few short weeks before his career hits the 20-year mark. In an emotional message, he looked back on his career and the struggles he’s dealt with along the way.
“I came back home, I came back to Yonkers, and I’m walking around, and I could feel the same feelings that made me hungry to be in this sport. The same feelings that made me depressed, that made me angry, made me fearful, made me on edge. Just… the feeling of hopelessness is back. And I don’t like it. But then I come to my old room that we’re in now, and the bed is up and my room became a storage space. And I sit in this room. And I reflect.
“On October 12, it’ll be 20 years I’ve been in this great sport. And I think about Arthur Ashe, and I think about all the stuff I’ve been through. And it’s not just about me anymore. I think about all the stuff that I put a lot of people through, I put my mother through and my father through and I got kicked out of every school. I think about all the people I hurt by the fighting in the street. And then I think about me breaking into wrestling. And I think about all the friends I lost. Rest in Peace Larry Sweeney. Rest in Peace Chris Cash. Rest in Peace Trent Acid. Rest in Peace JC Bailey. Rest In Peace Brodie Lee and so many more. If I forgot, please don’t take offense to it.”
Kingston then recalled how he previously battled various demons during his career, but AEW gave him a chance. On Friday, a stone’s throw from his hometown, AEW Rampage: Grand Slam will be the culmination of his journey up to this point.
“I think of all you guys who stuck by me, even when I was self-destructing with alcohol and pills,” said Kingston. “Even when I didn’t want it, even when mentally I was breaking down every day, through depression, through my anger, through my violence. But no more. No more because of AEW. No more because AEW saw what I had and decided to give me a chance. Guys like Moxley who stuck by me, since year one, when people probably told him not to. When we’re in the middle of that ring in front of 19,000, 20,000 people in Arthur Ashe in New York, in Queens, this is for you.”
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“The Mad King” then passionately described how Friday’s show will be a celebration of survival, of perseverence and overcoming any struggles we face in our lives, particularly when it comes to mental health. Kingston circled back to his own experience and looked back on how he was constantly rejected for being overweight or having a “bad attitude,” but he emphasized that it was all worth it because this difficult journey led him to where he is today. He finished off by saying that AEW Rampage: Grand Slam is for the underdogs.
“It’s a celebration of never giving up,” said Kingston. “It’s a celebration of taking whatever mental health or whatever you wanna call it, I can’t even think straight, whatever mental stuff you gone through, you look at me and you look at other people in this company and you see us fight. This is a celebration of AEW, this is a celebration of the fighters, this is a celebration of professional wrestling. My whole life, I was told I was nothing. My whole life I was told because I was a mutt that I would have to fight for everything. And then I get into the wrestling business and I’m told I have a bad attitude, I’m told I’m too fat. I’m told so many other things, I don’t play the game. I tell the wrong people that they’re a mark. I tell the wrong people in charge to go f—- off.
“But it was all worth it. Because in Queens, we’re gonna beat the s— out of Lance, we’re gonna beat the s—-outta Suzuki and they’re gonna beat the s—- outta us. But even during those beatings, it’s a celebration of the stray dog, it’s a celebration of those who fight, mentally and physically and emotionally every day. This is a celebration, this is a celebration of the underdogs, folks. I’ll see you at Arthur Ashe.”
The full video is available here:
