9 months ago
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From their time in the Indies to joining AEW, Ortiz and Eddie Kingston have been close on and off the screen. During a recent conversation with Isiah Kassidy, Ortiz explained how he became friends with "The Mad King."
"We both have the same mentor, Homicide, shout out D," Ortiz said. "We're all from New York obviously, but Eddie was already...18 years in at this point, established all over the indies. When we got cooler with D, I remember one of the first times we were on the same shows as Eddie. D had messaged Eddie and was like, 'Yo, look out for them, they're my boys.' Just alone on that, just us getting the okay from D, the big boss, we were already kind of destined to be tight."
Ortiz explained that a natural friendship with Kingston developed over time as they discovered they had the same taste in wrestling, comedy, and music. He noted how special it's been seeing Kingston grow into one of the most popular acts in AEW over the past two years, citing the inaugural "Grand Slam" event in 2021 and the Continental Classic final against Jon Moxley as particular highlights.
The 32-year-old went on to say how great it is to see a company like AEW give Kingston the opportunity to shine, leading to him comparing his good friend to a WWE Hall of Famer. "The company recognizes his star power," Ortiz said. "You can see it, man, every time he comes out, other than Eddie Guerrero, where else do you hear 'Eddie, Eddie' echoing through? Since Eddie Guerrero, there hasn't been any other, and now it's him."
Please credit the original source when using quotes from this article, and give a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
