All Elite Wrestling’s Eddie Kingston spoke frankly about his long, painful comeback from a serious leg injury in a new interview with SHAK Wrestling. Kingston — who’s set to collide with Big Bill at All Out — opened up about the stalled physical rehab, the dark mental stretch that nearly ended his career, and why he refuses to buy into fan “tribalism” between promotions.
Kingston didn’t sugarcoat the recovery: insurance delays pushed back his physical therapy, and at one point “my leg wouldn’t straighten.” He described the slow, grueling rehab and a doctor’s warning that it could take a year before his body felt the same.
“My leg at one point in time wouldn’t straighten… First day, they said, ‘Let’s go,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, this is gonna suck,’ but it was worth it, because I had to do it… I don’t remember a day where I wasn’t a little beat up going into the ring. So, yeah, I’m ready.”
But the physical toll was only part of the struggle — Kingston says the mental battle was the most brutal.
“The hardest part of anything in life is the mental game… for two months I was by myself… just sitting there days in the dark.”
Those dark months pushed him to seriously consider retirement. He confessed to wrestling with whether he should walk away, calling that period “the one peaceful place” he feared losing. Advice from mentor Homicide — who urged him not to quit if he could still walk or run — helped Kingston keep fighting.
“[Homicide] was forced to retire. He goes, ‘You can walk, you can run… Why leave?’… He would tell me, ‘Go out your way. I want to go out on my shield. I want to go out swinging to the end.’”
Kingston also used the interview to address the increasingly toxic “us vs. them” fan mentality in pro wrestling. He called the promotional wars “bullshit” and urged fans to stop limiting themselves to one brand.
“You know who wins? The wrestling fans… More companies, more money. Don’t cut yourself off from enjoying wrestling. You’re part of the team that loves pro wrestling, not part of a team that loves just one place.”
He acknowledged the impact his honesty has on fans who tell him his words helped them through their own mental-health battles, but Kingston was humble in return.
“I’m not perfect…I fight things every day, but if you look at me to be like, ‘Hey, he can do it,’ that helps me, and I’m going to try my best.”
Kingston closed with a message for his All Out opponent.
“There’s no real beef with me and Big Bill… The only reason why now we have beef is because he mentioned my name. F— you, Bill. I’ll see you in Toronto. I’m gonna f— you up.”
