KUSHIDA Reveals He Was Considering Retirement In 2017, Talks About How Special His Match With Kyle O’Reilly Was

In a post on Twitter, KUSHIDA revealed that he was considering retirement in 2017 due to health issues he was having at the time.

He wrote: “In 2017, around this time, I was considering retirement after every match. I was concerned about my mental and physical health after every match. I wrestled back and forth between Japan and the United States twice a month.

During that time, I sometimes suffered from severe abdominal pain after matches. I crouched on the floor with a cold sweat and had no choice but to wait for the pain to pass. I had to insert a gastro camera down my throat at the hospital to examine my stomach. But the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong. The doctor’s diagnosis was that my automatic nerves must have been disturbed. My level of this abdominal pain wasn’t normal. And, if it continued, I couldn’t wrestle anymore. I knew it wasn’t an exaggeration. And I knew that my wrestling career could be over at any time.

I had a match with Kyle O’Reilly at that time. It was four years ago in London. At that point, it was rumored that Kyle O’Reilly would soon sign a contract with WWE. After our match, I talked to him directly. He told me his honest intentions. At that time, I thought it would be great to have a match with him in WWE some day. I knew my professional wrestling life wouldn’t last forever.

So yesterday was special. WWE/NXT universe! Thank you for watching. Our fight will go on forever.”

Our fight will go on forever. pic.twitter.com/MtCxk74F3i

— KUSHIDA (@KUSHIDA_0904) June 23, 2021