The All Elite Wrestling backstage drama began weeks before CM Punk’s now-infamous AEW All Out press conference. While there have been plenty of tensions in the company’s locker room, the first time bad blood turned physical was between Eddie Kingston and Sammy Guevara. The two men were kicking off a feud that would culminate in a singles bout at the pay-per-view, reportedly with Kingston going over. In an unaired promo segment from AEW Rampage, Guevara poked fun at Kingston’s weight, which the Mad King took exception with. This led to a reported physical encounter between the two backstage, resulting in a quiet suspension for Kingston.
This is the first time that Kingston’s physique has resulted in escalated tensions in AEW, but it is far from the only instance that his weight has been brought up in a promo.
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“It doesn’t bother me until people who didn’t draw money say it,” Kingston said on Busted Open Radio (h/t Wrestling Inc). “If you say it, maybe I’ll go, ‘Maybe I need to rethink things.’ If Booker T said it, alright, maybe I gotta hit the gym harder, but if [it’s] someone who hasn’t done anything or someone who’s a holder-on then that bothers me.”
Kingston and Guevara have since buried the hatchet, as they reportedly talked things out and shook hands at the end of August. While Kingston didn’t excuse Guevara’s comments, he did admit he was most frustrated with the situation due to already having a bad mood on that day.
“I woke up that day in a bad mood,” Kingston continued. “I woke up, I rubbed the crust out of my eyes, I looked at my phone and I went, ‘Oh no, not you.’ It had nothing to do with him, it could’ve been anybody at that day, but since it was him I was like, ‘No, not you.’”
The Kingston-Guevara situation may be over, but its relevance is as prominent as ever. Considering Kingston received disciplinary action for getting physical with Guevara, this inadvertently set the precedent for the punishments that would be dished out to CM Punk, Ace Steel, Kenny Omega, and the Young Bucks for their backstage fight. All of those men, as well as numerous parties that reportedly attempted to break up the fight, are currently suspended from AEW.
