Kyle O’Reilly made an appearance on “AEW Unrestricted” this week to discuss his AEW debut, the thought process on joining the company, and meeting Tony Khan for the first time.
Kyle O’Reilly talking about his debut in AEW:
“It was super cool. I want to say stressful, but it really wasn’t. It was just kind of like, just exciting,” O’Reilly shared.
“A lot of my experiences in the last few years of wrestling have been very stressful in high pressure situations, but this just felt like a homecoming. I just felt comfortable and ready to rock. I didn’t really confirm anything, I think until like the day before, or maybe the Monday before that Wednesday.”
“They flew me into, I think we were in Greensboro, and I flew into Charlotte. The driver picked me up and we had a great chat on the way out to Greensboro. It was just such a cool, exciting time. Of course, seeing everybody backstage, people that I came up with in this business for years that I hadn’t seen in so long was just a really cool reunion of sorts. Then of course, the debut happens in this arena full of people, and it just was so exciting.”
“I’m kind of getting goosebumps just thinking about it and reminiscing about it, but it was a special moment. I’m so grateful to have had that opportunity with AEW,” he said.
O’Reilly on when he started thinking about going to AEW:
“Probably as soon as Bobby (Fish) debuted in AEW, and then of course, once Adam debuted in AEW, the wheels started turning,” he revealed.
“It’s like, okay, well, what do I have to do to get there as well? You know, these are my guys. This is a place where I think Kyle O’Reilly can really be utilized well and fit in well, like this is a company that has really set the standard for an in ring product, and I think I’m suited better in an environment like AEW, and it really felt like a homecoming there.”
“I’m just excited at all the prospects, all the potential matchups and just everything about AEW was like, man, what do we have to do to get there? So it’s kind of like, in motion, the second all those guys came over. Once my deal came up, it was kind of a no brainer.”
O’Reilly on meeting Tony Khan:
“It was pretty cool and surreal. We were chatting, I think the week when all this stuff with the Jacksonville Jaguars coach was going down. So he was so busy doing a million different things,” Kyle said.
“I have no idea where this guy finds the time to even take a phone call with a guy like Kyle O’Reilly. It blows my mind. But you can tell just from talking with him that he is so passionate about this industry and about this business and about making AEW what it is.”
“Look at what he’s done with AEW in two years. It’s absolutely incredible. Not to mention what he’s doing with Fulham and with the Jags. It’s pretty cool. You really feel his energy and can tell that when he looks you in the eye and he gives you the time of day to chat, it’s legit. He’s really concerned about you and whatever questions you have, he wants to answer them to the fullest extent of his abilities and he’s just a good boss. It’s really cool. I can’t say enough good things about Tony.”
Other topics of the episode include sharing stories from his high school days playing rugby, revealing what inspired him to pursue a career in pro wrestling, and explaining why his MMA training is so important to his in-ring performance.
