Kyle O’Reilly Reflects On Injury Recovery, Why It Was a Gift In One Way

Kyle O’Reilly has been back from injury for a while now, and he recently looked back at his recovery and why it was an unexpected gift in one way. The AEW made his return at AEW Revolution after two years away from the ring. He suffered a neck injury in June of 2022.

O’Reilly appeared on AEW Unrestricted and spoke about the injury and his long layoff. You can see highlights below:

On How He’s Feeling Since Returning From Injury:

“You know, it’s funny you mentioned that. And you know, talk about a full circle moment. Because the last match that I had before being injured for two years was with John Moxley… Yeah, it was in Kansas City, it was with John Moxley. My most recent match now. So yeah, I feel like I actually have finally kind of reached as close to back to normal as possible. Does that make sense?

“Because like, the first few months of just getting back in, I’ve been wrestling back over a year now again. It’s been, I think, coming up almost two years since I’ve been back wrestling. And I feel like I’m just kind of getting my stride again. And as wrestlers, we’re always pursuing the best versions of ourselves and it’s always gonna be a work in progress. But I feel like I’m kind of finally getting closer to how I felt pre-injury.”

On How His Injury Happened:

“For lack of a better term, I broke my neck. But it happened a few months before actually getting taken out of action. It happened in a match with Rey Fenix in the Owen Hart Tournament. I did a move that I’ve been doing my whole career, and it’s a floating butterfly suplex, where I would kind of — 50% of the time plant my own head, and 50% of the time I’d be totally safe. Such an unnecessary move now, looking back in retrospect.

“But I did that move, and just for whatever reason — we thought it was a shoulder injury for like a few months. But I just kept working on it ’cause it didn’t seem that urgent. And a few months after working through it, realizing it was a neck injury. It was a few compressed discs. So I needed to go get the surgery and get fixed.

On the Post-Surgery Complications:

“There was some complications with my surgery. You’re supposed to get that arm strength back post-surgery, and start feeling better post-surgery. But kind of had a complication that happens in like 8% of these injuries. Or a really small percent, might even be as low as like 4% or something. But there’s nothing we can really do.

It was called C5 palsy, and my arm basically shut off completely for like 10 months. I couldn’t really use it at all. It was really scary for a while, especially at a time in my life where I have a young daughter at home. And I’m like, ‘Oh, can I even pick her up, let alone have a career again?’ So those are the things that were weighing on my mind.

“But just to stay grounded and to know that with time, everything will heal. And just to be patient and to trust the rehab and — you know, trust the journey and the process. And it meant might’ve taken a little longer than expected to finally come back.”

On the Silver Lining Around the Injury:

“But it all happened at the right time. Because those were an extra 18 months at home that was precious, valuable time for bonding with my daughter. And that’s time that I’ll never be able to get back. It’s time that it would’ve had on the road juggling wrestling as well as that. So it was — it’s crazy how life and the universe kind of hands you little treats here and there when they seem like the worst thing at the time. And then you look back and it was like, ‘Oh that was actually a gift.’

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit AEW Unrestricted with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.