"I'm going to be so open here" - Eddie Kingston makes heartbreaking confession amid AEW absence

Eddie Kingston has been missing from AEW television for over a year now due to injury. The 43-year-old fan favorite recently opened up on his recovery and the toll it has taken on his body.

Eddie Kingston has been out of action since sustaining injuries to his tibia, ACL, and meniscus during his NJPW Strong Openweight Championship match against Gabe Kidd at NJPW Resurgence in May last year. The Mad King has been on the mend since then and has been captured on video recently training for his comeback with former WWE and All Elite name Cezar Bononi.

Speaking to Bononi on the latter's YouTube channel sometime earlier, Kingston addressed the psychological and physiological effects of his injury, gaining weight during his recovery process, and trying to practice moderation in his way of thinking.

"So, I gained a bunch of weight on this injury 'cause, you know, I got down and out. It is what it is. You know what I mean? You got to work past it. But you could tell physically that I was down and out. Like, I could — people would visit and I'll be talking to them, and you could tell I sound happy because they're there. The beard, everything. They looked at me, and they knew just physically by how I looked, they were like, 'Oh, he's not [good],'" Kingston said. "I'm an extremist sometimes, and I'm trying to break that chain of thinking. But, like, what I was taught, the balance of life is you can't have anything good without something bad. It's just the way it is."

The former AEW Continental Champion also discussed his longtime struggles with managing his weight, stating:

"So, I've always struggled with my weight. I'm going to be so open here... I struggled with my weight because I was lazy. Lazy, you can put it anywhere because of my mental health, 'cause the environment, whatever you want to say. And I'm not saying those are excuses or those are even valid. Bottom line was I was lazy and I got content. Reason why I got content was back in those days, WWE were not hiring anyone off the indies." [H/T - Wrestling Inc]

As of this writing, AEW has not made any relevant announcements regarding Kingston's TV return.

Eddie Kingston was expected to return at last month's AEW pay-per-view

After Gabe Kidd revealed his alliance with Jon Moxley and The Young Bucks, rumors began making the rounds of Eddie Kingston's comeback. Even though the Bullet Club War Dogs member was not officially cited as a participant in the 2025 Anarchy in the Arena match at last month's AEW Double or Nothing, he was expected to come to the aid of The Death Riders and the EVPs. This led many to believe that the former ROH World Champion would return during the chaotic bout to take his revenge on Kidd.

Although The Madman did interfere on behalf of the heels, it was ultimately Mark Briscoe and not Kingston who arrived to help out "Team AEW" by neutralizing Kidd.