Eddie Kingston just wants to make his mother proud.
Some wrestlers may measure their success by the number of championships they’ve won, the caliber of the opponents they face, or even the star ratings attached to their matches. For AEW’s Eddie Kingston, family pride is the most valuable calculation tool. During an interview with Fox 8 New Orleans, Kingston spoke about the impact that his mother has had on his personal and professional life.
“The way I look at it is, my mom’s proud? Then okay. Then I’m successful,” Kingston said. “My mom’s not proud? Then I gotta change my direction in life. My mother, people can make fun of me about it, but she’s really my best friend. So she’ll let me know what’s right or wrong.”
Fulfilling A Childhood Dream
Currently, Kingston has possession of three titles — the AEW Continental title, the ROH World title, and the NJPW Strong Openweight title. While the former two titles were won on his usual stomping grounds, Kingston seized the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship by defeating KENTA at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. 11 days later, Kingston then had the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dream of competing in NJPW’s G1 Climax tournament.
“I remember in high school — we’re supposed to be reading whatever we were in class, but I’m reading a wrestling magazine. I’m reading about the G1,” Kingston recalled. “I remember watching one of my favorite matches of all time, Keiji Muto versus Masahiro Chono from the first G1 in 1999.”
“I remember looking out of class out the window daydreaming about being in the G1. And then when I got to do it, I was like, this is way too weird. This is not real. I feel like I’m going to go to bed one day and I’m going to wake up and I’m going to be 19 or 20 years old again and my mother is gonna say ‘you gotta get to work, let’s go.’ I’m just waiting for that moment.”
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