Eddie Kingston Fights Back Tears As He Pays Tribute To Terry Funk

Written by James Holder • Published 6th July 2023
Eddie Kingston with the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship

Eddie Kingston has achieved his dream and he’s not going to hold back in showing the world how much that means to him.

The Mad King grew up idolising the biggest names in Japanese wrestling history, eventually dreaming that one day he’d be on those same stages, exchanging punches with some of the toughest men on the planet. However, as the years passed, and now that he’s more than 20 years into his own career, it seemed that his dream likely wouldn’t become a reality.

But as history has shown — especially in professional wrestling — anything’s possible. On July 5th, Kingston stepped into the ring with KENTA inside Tokyo, Japan’s famous Korakuen Hall, and won the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship.

As soon as the final bell sounded it was clear what the victory meant to Kingston, and in the post-match press conference, he paid tribute to his parents, Terry Funk — who recently celebrated his 79th birthday — and reflected on his journey to NJPW.

“This is dedicated to three people. My mother. My father. And Terry Funk, who is the GOAT. I dream of this moment, and I don’t wanna cry because I don’t wanna be emotional, but after 21 years of fighting, you think that sometimes you’re not gonna get it you know? Sometimes you think you’re wasting your time.

I wanna tell every kid in the world, I’m not supposed to be here. I was a street kid who did dumb stuff. I should have been killed. I should have been in jail, but I didn’t, because of pro wrestling, because Japanese pro wrestling kept me going.

If I can do it, anybody can do it. [Cries]

I have nothing else I can say, but just thank you, and I will defend this championship with my life. With my life! Thank you.”

Eddie Kingston To Miss AEW Blood And Guts

While Eddie Kingston was living his dream in Japan it was announced that both he and Bryan Danielson will miss AEW Blood and Guts on July 19th. Kingston will be competing in the G1 Climax Tournament while Danielson is recovering from a broken arm suffered in his recent match with Kazuchika Okada.

Replacements for the two men will be announced in the coming weeks.

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