It was July 2020.
Eddie Kingston calls out Cody Rhodes.
It was all fans could talk about. The hype and the buzz was loud. #SIGNEDDIEKINGSTON trended for days.
That was just the beginning of a star-studded two years for the Mad King in AEW. For many, this was their first introduction to Kingston, they didn’t realize he spent the 20 years prior to this slugging it out on the independent scene.
20 fucking years.
Eddie was everywhere in those twenty years. CZW, NWA, ROH, Chikara, AAW Wrestling, Impact, Evolve, and many more. He wrestled everyone. In any kind of match you could think up. For twenty years.
In his The Players’ Tribune article entitled, “Eddie Kingston Got No F******g Business Being Here,” he recalls one night he wrestled in front of eight people.
Anybody else would have quit.
Imagine busting your ass, trying relentlessly to make the one thing you’ve always wanted happen, with little result, for twenty years. Along the way, battling suppressed mental health problems, being broke, and the feeling of failing to get where you want- where you need- to be.
Anyone else would have quit.
September 22, 2021- 6,920 days, 18 years and 11 months after his independent wrestling debut- right down the block from the spot where he “used to trade Japanese wrestling tapes and get into street fights in run from the cops,” the same place he was rewarded with wrestling videos for not getting in trouble in school, the same city where he left his steady, iron working job because god damnit all he’s ever wanted to do is become a professional wrestler, Eddie Kingston made his entrance to a symphony of over 20,000 people chanting his name in the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York.
Eddie Kingston never quit.
But you don’t go from wrestling in front of eight people to twenty thousand screaming fans by being just anyone. The conversations surrounding mental health have become more present in the wild world of professional wrestling lately, and Eddie’s one of the men at the forefront of those conversations. The impact of this stretches far beyond the squared circle. Eddie’s stories resonate with countless fans and makes people want to root for him. He’s a shining example of beating the odds and overcoming every shackle your mind tries to impose on you- the people want him to win everything.
Breaking News: The Toughest Guy You See on Television Every Week Is Indeed a The Toughest Guy in Real Life, Too.
Kingston has chosen to share his stories of anxiety, depression, and addiction problems with the world, showing he doesn’t just bust his ass in the ring, he busts his ass to live, to take care of himself. When he was a kid, mental health problems weren’t talked about. He stated, “for a long time I thought I was crazy.” His undiagnosed and ignored mental illnesses led to him getting in fights and ultimately getting kicked out of school-his mind was silently fighting this war his entire childhood. But today, he takes his medication, he gets help from professionals. In every way, that’s strongest -and best- thing a person could ever do.
Not only is Kingston wrestling in main events of pay-per-views in front of thousands, he’s taking the steps he needs to take to keep himself alive.
Man, it seems like that Wednesday night in July of 2020, was just yesterday. Who would have thought a big, and real, “F you” to Cody Rhodes would turn into two years filled with talked-about-for-weeks- moments, pay-per-view matches, main events, scathing promos, and championship opportunities.
Eddie Kingston’s living proof. You can live your dream, you can get out of a crappy situation, you can learn to live and function with mental illnesses.
Despite what he thinks, he’s just as much as the wrestling business as everyone else. Maybe even more.
Eddie Kingston, you made it.
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