Continuing to speak positively about his friend, Ortiz recalled Kingston’s PPV match against Miro at AEW All Out 2021. The two opened the show with a TNT Championship bout, and Ortiz described being amazed at the reaction Kingston received from the crowd, with chants for “Eddie” reminding him of the legendary Eddie Guerrero.

“One of the coolest moments I remember was: Miro had him in the camel clutch … and then [Kingston] went over and got a rope break, and the crowd went insane,” Ortiz continued. “I was like, ‘Wow, this is pro wrestling man.’ The crowd was so invested that they gave him an insane reaction to just get a rope break.”

Ortiz remembered watching the moment alongside AEW referee Bryce Remsburg, who came into the business at the same time as Kingston in Chikara. The former LAX member said seeing their longtime friend succeed at such a high level brought tears to their eyes.

“Anytime I’m dealing with stress or stuff like that, I think about times like that in wrestling and I’m like, ‘This is all worth it, man,'” Ortiz said.