AEW star Kyle O’Reilly spoke with Chris Mueller from Bleacher Report about various topics, including his in-ring return.
O’Reilly said, “It was extremely special just to come back. Nothing in life is guaranteed from a life standpoint, let alone from a matches standpoint. The chance to make moments in wrestling, none of those are guaranteed. So the fact that I did get to come back to the ring at all is a blessing in itself, let alone to happen in my hometown to win a championship. That’s extremely special. My family was there, my friends were there. It was a really special high-stakes, emotional night for sure. Teaming with those guys [Roderick Strong and Orange Cassidy] has just been so awesome for my career in every aspect. I can’t get enough of it. Conglomeration for life.”
On his injury recovery process:
“First and foremost, my main priority is getting well again. Rehab is a big part of it, taking care of what needs to be done. But I’m a family man. I love to spend time at home cooking, listening to music, playing with my daughter, playing my bass guitar. She likes to rock out on the drums, so we have some pretty dynamic jam sessions [laughs]. I love getting out in nature, going on trails. I love writing and reading and just all sorts of low-key at-home activities. I’m a big Stephen King fan. I love all horror lit fiction. So yeah, I’ve always dabbled in creative writing. It’s been sort of a passion project of mine since high school, along with wrestling. I’ve never really had the courage to put anything out there, but that doesn’t mean I won’t eventually get to that point. That’s something that is 100% a long-term goal for me, is to eventually get a little book of short stories out, or even a novel if possible. The bass is something I have kind of always been interested in but never picked up until COVID, when everyone sort of picked up some new hobbies when we were stuck at home. So I finally went out and got myself a cheap bass and an amp and started doing the YouTube self-tutorial method. That’s going on almost six years now. I wouldn’t say I’m advanced by any means, but it’s something that really calms me and helps my anxiety and helps me zone in and just kind of brainstorm a bit, whether it’s about wrestling or just absolutely anything. It’s a fun activity that I enjoy. It’s unrelated to the air guitar, which I play left-handed Jimi Hendrix style. I’ve got a Music Man StingRay that I absolutely love.”
On dealing with injuries:
“Injuries, in this game, are just something that we have to deal with, right? That’s the game we play. Unfortunately, all injuries seem to go on their own timing. The timing is never ideal. It was unfortunate timing, coming off a couple of big wins over Jon Moxley. Unfortunately, I had to bow away for a couple of months, dealing with sort of a nagging neck issue. Seems to be par for the course for me, but I’m feeling great now. I’m eager to be back at work, and very eager to be back in the ring.”
