Eddie Kingston Reveals Why He Has Trouble Accepting Love From Fans

Eddie Kingston may play the tough guy on screen, but behind the scenes, he's going through real stuff. Kingston isn't afraid to open up about his mental health issues, having shared experiences of anxiety and depression. Although he is a beloved figure in "AEW," the New York native went on the "Blindsided" podcast and talked about why he struggles with accepting compassion from the fans and people around him.

"I think it all stems from second grade and from that point on of never feeling that you're good enough or waiting for the other shoe to drop," he said. "Like I'm always waiting for something bad to happen or I'm waiting for me, which I was known for years, for blowing it up myself ... so that's why I'm like [the fans] better not love me because I'm known for doing this and that."

While Kingston likes to share his love with people, he won't accept it back, even if it's a little gratitude. When friends and wrestlers would thank him for helping them, he would reply, "Don't thank me, this is what I'm supposed to do." His past gets in the way of his mental health, but he acknowledges that the path to healing begins with self-forgiveness.

"It's just very hard for me to accept that love because they don't know me from my past, and I still have to forgive myself for my past," he said. "I know that's an every day thing, and I'm not gonna be done trying to forgive myself until I'm in the ground. I accepted that. But what I won't accept is not trying to forgive myself. You know, because if I just live in my past, then I'm never gonna grow and I would've never got to AEW if I didn't grow."