AEW star Eddie Kingston has pulled back the curtain on the immense personal struggles he faced during his lengthy injury absence, revealing that he seriously contemplated retiring from professional wrestling. In a candid interview with CBS Sports, Kingston detailed the dark days of his recovery from a severe leg injury, a period in which he battled mentally and physically before finding the inspiration to make his return.
Kingston has been sidelined since May 2024, after suffering a torn ACL, torn meniscus, and a fractured tibia during a No Ropes Last Man Standing match against Gabe Kidd at an NJPW STRONG event. He explained that the physical pain was manageable compared to the mental toll of the recovery process. “The hardest part of anything in life is the mental game. Pain is whatever. I’ve had eight or nine surgeries already,” Kingston said. He revealed he spent a significant portion of his recovery in isolation. “I told her to get out and that I’d be alright, lying, of course. For two months, I was by myself. I wasn’t doing PT, sitting there days in the dark by myself. Thank God I don’t really drink much anymore. I coped with food, which didn’t help”.
The mental and physical challenges led Kingston to a point where he was unsure if an in-ring return was possible, and he began trying to talk himself into retirement. “I went from beating myself up, not knowing if I’d get back in the ring, and trying to be satisfied. I told myself, ‘Well, I reached this goal and I reached that goal.’ I was trying to convince myself that it’s OK to call it,” he stated. However, when asked if he could find closure with that decision, Kingston’s response was blunt. “I couldn’t (find closure). Nothing. Death. Honestly. I tried to find everything. I would lie to myself”.
Ultimately, Kingston found his motivation to return from his mentor and friend, Homicide, who was forced into retirement due to his own health issues earlier in 2025. “He didn’t get to go out his way. So he’d tell me, ‘Go out your way. I know this is not the way you want to go out.’ I want to go out on my shield. I want to go out swinging to the end,” Kingston recalled. “People can say whatever they want about Eddie Kingston, but one thing they can’t say is that I wasn’t defiant to the end. That’s what kept me going”.
Kingston is now scheduled to compete for the first time in over a year this Saturday, September 20, at the AEW All Out pay-per-view, where he will face Big Bill.
