AEW star Sonny Kiss spoke to Sports Illustrated to hype his TNT championship matchup against Cody Rhodes on tonight’s episode of Fight for the Fallen. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
On comparisons to Goldust and Adrian Adonis:
When I first started wrestling, people didn’t know what to make of me,” says Kiss. “They wanted to make me like Adrian Adonis or even Goldust. But I wouldn’t have thrived doing that. It wouldn’t have been real, and people can see through fakeness. For me, I was either going to the top as myself or I wasn’t. I’m not a gimmick, I’m myself. I don’t want to do anything that isn’t real. LGBTQ+ people are more than what you’ve seen in the past as ‘gimmicks.’ People need authenticity, and I’m that for them. If you’re not authentic, how can people relate to you? I won’t change, I’ll always be me.
On being a role model:
There is always going to be scrutiny, but there are a lot of people out there in the LGBTQ+ community that do need someone like me as a role model, so I’m not going to set myself back or make myself look silly by responding to negativity,” says Kiss. “I move forward. I know who I am, and I have a very supportive family and friends that support me. There’s really not much people can say that is going to bring me down because I’m very comfortable in my skin.
Pursuing his college degree:
I’m a senior,” says Kiss. “I study fitness training, fitness science, and kinesiology. Tony Khan is very supportive of our other endeavors, and we have a great schedule. Even after Dark, I’ll go back to the hotel and do my homework for a few hours. Once you start to master time management, things become a little easier.