Eddie Kingston opens up about embracing the fans who have connected with Kingston in many ways.
Eddie Kingston came into AEW as a virtual unknown in comparison to some of the names signed to the company. While he hasn’t won a championship yet, he is expected to be successful in the company due to how over he is with fans.
Speaking on Blindsided, Kingston was asked about accepting love from the fans.
“No, not yet, I’m still trying to figure that out,” he said when asked if he’s accepted the love. “I think it stems from second grade and never feeling like you’re good enough or waiting for the other shoe to drop. I’m always waiting for something bad to happen, or I’m waiting for me, which I was known for, for years, for blowing it up myself. A lot of wrestlers who knew me would tell you, back in the day, ‘Give it time, Eddie will ruin it for himself.’ I would get in my own way. There is always that fear that is there. I’m always like, ‘These people better not love me because I’m known for doing this and that. I’m worried about it so they shouldn’t love me.’ My mother always told me that I had a problem that I had so much love to give, but I never wanted to accept it back. It’s still like that. Sometimes friends, close friends, will tell me ‘thank you’ for whatever I did for them and I would tell them, ‘don’t thank me. This is what I’m supposed to do. I’m your friend. This is what I’m supposed to do. Don’t thank me.’ Even people I don’t like, and they know I don’t like them, I’m pretty honest, they know I don’t like them but I’ll help them with wrestling because I love wrestling and I don’t want anyone to get hurt in the ring and I don’t want anyone to hurt AEW or professional wrestling. When I help someone, that’s what it’s for, it doesn’t matter if I like you or not. They’ll come up to me, ‘Thank you, thank you.’ ‘Don’t thank me, this is what I’m supposed to do.’ I don’t like thank yous. It’s very hard for me to accept that love because they don’t know me from my past. I still have to forgive myself first for my past. That’s an everyday thing and I know it. I’m not going to be done trying to forgive myself until I’m in the ground. I’ve accepted that. What I won’t accept is not trying to forgive myself. I won’t accept that anymore. If I just live in my past then I’m never going to grow. I would have never gotten to AEW if I didn’t grow. It took the pandemic and everything for me to be like, ‘snap out of it. Grow up. Try your best instead of wallowing in your own self-pity.'”
Eddie Kingston to Blindsided
Kingston is set to face off with Sammy Guevara at tonight’s AEW Grand Slam Rampage. The pair have had a personal rivalry, with real life issues between the pair only hyping the match more.
H/T to Fightful for transcription
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