Eddie Kingston is always willing to give back to the independents that kept him going before he landed in All Elite Wrestling.
Before AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam, Eddie Kingston sat down with WFAN to discuss a wide variety of subjects. When asked about recently wrestling on the independent scene during his suspension from the call, Kingston said that the independent scene is everything to him and that he’ll continue to work at any independent company that kept him fed when he was grinding to eventually find a home on the national stage.
“The independent scene is everything to me,” Eddie Kingston admitted. “Like without them, I wouldn’t have made it to AEW because I would have quit. The independent scene kept me fed, kept booking me, kept paying me. I gotta still remember where I came from. That’s my biggest fear is forgetting where I came from. Because I seen people do that. I’m not gonna name names and say who, but I’ve seen it. And they know who they are because I told them already [laughs].
“But that’s my biggest fear because that can happen to anybody. Anybody can get a big ego. Anybody can think they’re bigger than what they are because it happens. It’s human. It’s a mistake that happens. But I’m so focused on it that I don’t want it to happen. I don’t want to forget where I came from at all. So I’ll go do any independent that kept me fed before. And I know I did one for Lehigh Valley. They just started that. But the people that own it and run it, I’ve known for 20 years. Pennsylvania is where Eddie Kingston was born.
“I trained out in Allentown and then I got my big break in Indiana. Then when I came back to Philly is when I got my big break, and everyone started knowing who I was. So I gotta give back; it’s a weird thing with me. Maybe I shouldn’t because my body, but I just can’t help it. I can’t. Like one promoter told me I could do comedy matches, and I was like, ‘I can? I don’t know.’ I just want to go and fight and give back. That’s it. I’m a real simple person.”
When asked about what else he can do when he doesn’t have time to work the independent scene, Kingston spoke about wanting to give out turkeys in places like Yonkers, Jacksonville, and Chicago.
“Ah, man, I don’t want to say this because I don’t know if it’s gonna happen,” Eddie Kingston began. “And also, I don’t want people to be like, ‘Oh, Eddie’s such a great person.’ I’m not doing things to be a great person. I do things because it’s the right thing to do. I don’t want credit; I don’t want nothing. It’s the right thing to do. I have time. I have the money and all that but I’m going to do it.
“I want to give back on Thanksgiving. I just hit up HR about maybe doing something, giving out turkeys in Yonkers. Giving out turkeys in Jacksonville, Chicago, something. Is it gonna happen? Maybe not. I don’t know. But it’s things like that I can do besides wrestling that helps. And since they announced it already, and I hated it that they put it on Twitter. I said go on and announce it at the show but they put it on Twitter.
“I gave all my pay when I wrestled for Lehigh Valley. I gave all my pay to charity. I told them pick the charity, announce it to hold you responsible. Then they put it on Twitter, folks. Again, not trying to be a good person. I got a lot of sins I got to pay for and I know this. I mean, maybe it’s the Irish Puerto Rican Catholic guilt but it’s truth there. I got a lot of sins I gotta pay for. I do things because it’s right. That’s it. It’s right. And I have the chance and the ability to help. So if I can’t do it in the ring, I’m gonna try to do it outside the ring.”
READ MORE: Eddie Kingston vs. Sammy Guevara Set For 9/23 AEW Rampage: Grand Slam, Updated Card
What do you make of Eddie Kingston’s comments? Do you like hearing about the charitable things Kingston does outside the squared circle? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit WFAN with a link back to this article for the transcription.
