Top AEW Star Vows To Make In-Ring Return In Face of Retirement Speculation
A top AEW star isn’t going anywhere.
Eddie Kingston hasn’t wrestled since suffering a major injury when he lost the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship back in May 2024. During the bout with Gabe Kidd, Kingston suffered a broken leg and torn ACL and meniscus.
Since undergoing surgery, the former ROH World Champion has stayed largely out of the spotlight, but a comeback finally appears to be on the horizon.
In an update on August 5, Eddie Kingston confirmed that he’d begun in-ring training.
Eddie Kingston Won’t Quit AEW
In a new training video with former WWE Superstar Cezar Bononi, Kingston gave fans an insight into his recovery as he steps up his comeback. He explained that while he’s faced his share of mental struggles over the last year, he’s got no plans to retire.
Kingston added that the speculation began because he was doubting himself, but this time, he found the strength to push through.
“I’m sitting in my own sh*t. I’m watching AEW, and I’m seeing all the great shit these guys are doing in the ring. Like an emotional b*tch, sometimes it happens. I tweet out, ‘What the f*ck am I going to do when I come back?’
I’m thinking to myself, how am I going to fight these dudes…people can say what they want about wrestling, but my mental is, ‘How am I going to fight people when they are this good and I wasn’t even that good to begin with, and now I’m coming back off ACL surgery.’
Every Dynamite, every pay-per-view, granted, I did it to myself. I didn’t blame a chemical imbalance. I took my zoloft and all that. I knew I’d get out of it, but I didn’t want to. I think a lot of people get to that. Happened to me, spiralling.
That’s why the thing came out about me thinking about retirement. I don’t want to f*cking retire. I don’t, but during that four or five months during PT, once in a while, I just sat in my own sh*t thinking, ‘Yeah, f*ck. I did the G1. I wanted to do more, but ah, f*ck it.’ I’m making excuses for why it’s okay to quit. I think a lot of people get there.
It’s not that they are mentally weak; I don’t like using that. It’s just they don’t know how to push. Years ago, I didn’t know how to push,”
Meanwhile, Dustin Rhodes has promised to return to the ring despite both of his knees being “destroyed.” After losing the TNT Championship to Kyle Fletcher, Rhodes revealed that he needs double knee replacement surgery, as the damage to his joints is too bad to repair.
It’s believed the star will be out of action until well into 2026.
H/t to Fightful