"Cody was the pressure moment" - AEW's Eddie Kingston on almost retiring from wrestling
Before Eddie Kingston's TNT Championship match against Cody Rhodes on AEW Dynamite, The Mad King almost retired. Luckily for AEW and wrestling fans everywhere, he didn't, and fans have his brother to thank for it.
Speaking with Renee Paquette on her Oral Sessions podcast, the AEW wrestler admitted that he felt at one point that it was time for him to leave the business. That was until his brother told him something that changed his life forever and eventually led him to AEW.
"Well, I'll tell you the retirement story. I saw something on the other side that bothered me so much that I was drinking a lot of whiskey that night. I saw something on the TV that chapped my a** a little bit as you can say, I could be a violent person. So I was breaking things in my house after a couple of drinks. I said I never wanted to feel like that again. So I think it's time for me to go. If something crazy doesn't happen. Then some crazy did happen.
"My brother, you know, had a kid. My brother said, 'How can I tell my son not to quit on anything when his uncle did?'. He said it to me right when I was leaving, and I was just giving them the finger the whole time leaving, but that's why I stayed. I guess I felt the pressure was because of that [match] with Cody. Cody was the pressure moment. Right before I went out. That's when I said to myself f*** it."
"You're gonna be able to go home to your wife" - Eddie Kingston to Cody Rhodes before their match on AEW Dynamite
Kingston went in-depth with Paquette on how his AEW Dynamite debut happened. Also, he mentioned a funny story about being so deep into character that he swore at AEW owner, Tony Khan.
"Right when the guy in gorilla my little my little homeboy in gorilla that knows that I don't ever want pyro he said 'go' when I went f*** it and it just started just talking. They had to stop me because I called him Cody Rhodes like three times. I remember, all the way in Eddie Kingston mode, you know, which is like f*** the world. Everybody's against me. Let's do it, so me at 17. And then even when Tony Khan walks out like 'Alright, cut!' and I'm like, 'What the f*** do you want?' Then I went 'Oh, hey, hey, Tony. What's up? What do I have to do?'"
Paquette then asked Kingston if he had met Rhodes before their AEW Dynamite match. He revealed that the two met on the independent circuit after Rhodes was released from WWE.
"Oh, we met each other on the Indies when he got let go, but never worked with each other. You know what I mean? Most of it was 'Hey, how you doing? Hey, are you doing?' It was basically just that day where I really got to know him. I basically told him I said, I'm gonna put pressure on you. I'm gonna hit you. You're gonna be able to go home to your wife. That's the way I was taught."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Oral Sessions with a h/t to Sportskeeda for the transcription.