Eddie Kingston recently spoke with NJPW’s website to discuss the G1 Climax 33 tournament and how it’s such a surreal experience for him.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On arriving to Korakuen Hall for NJPW STRONG Independence Day: “I felt like my career was over right before the pandemic. When the pandemic hit, I thought ‘OK, that’s it, my career’s over’. I’m … I’m not supposed to be here. I’ll get emotional saying this, but I’ve dreamed of this since I was 13 years old. I’ve made a lot of mistakes — in life, not just in wrestling — and I never thought I’d be here. To be here now seems very surreal, so I just want to do good for the Japanese fans, for New Japan, and for the people I looked up to, for Hashimoto, Chono, Muto, Baba, Inoki, the Four Pillars and on and on. Jun Akiyama as well – I’ve been able to wrestle and team with him, and he gave me so much confidence.”
On what being in the G1 Climax means to him: “It means everything to me. It’s what I’ve wanted to do since I got started in the business. The pinnacle of pro wrestling. You have to be battle hardened, you have to be battle tested to survive here.”
On showing everyone he can do Japanese style wrestling: “To me, Japanese professional wrestling is the best professional wrestling in the world. I felt that ever since I was a teenager. My first pro-wrestling tape had Muto versus Chono in the 1991 G1 final. That blew my mind, and it made me want to be here more than anywhere else.”
On the experience as a whole: “This all seems so surreal, but I’m not here just to be here. I’m here to fight because that’s all I’ve known in my life. All I know is the fight. I threw my first punch when I was eight years old at a kid in the schoolyard. So I’ll definitely be fighting. That’s not a worry. I’m just worried I’ll wake up in the morning and find out all this isn’t real.”
In other news, Darby Allin and Sting have been aligned with each other ever since “The Icon” made his debut with All Elite Wrestling.
Speaking on a recent edition of the “Lost Signals” podcast, Allin revealed that the duo’s alliance came about naturally. He said,
“That was never my idea. I wouldn’t want to put myself in those shoes. I never wanted to be the guy that says, ‘Yo, Tony [Khan], I got a great idea. Why don’t I become world champion?’ It’s like, ‘No sh**, Sherlock,’ but I didn’t want to be the guy, ‘Yeah, I’ve got a good idea. I want to team with Sting,’ because everybody wants a team with Sting on paper.”
He continued, “But to be given the opportunity –- it just naturally started happening and then [AEW] saw the chemistry that I had with him and then they just said, ‘Yeah, this is the guy. Darby is kind of like the Sting Whisperer in a way.’”
