Summary

Kyle O'Reilly says another neck injury forced him to step away from AEW in November, cutting short the momentum he had built during his singles program with Jon Moxley.

Speaking before his in-ring return at AEW Dynasty, O'Reilly said neck issues have followed him throughout his career. He explained that after working Blood & Guts and then a major singles match with Moxley, he realized he needed time off to recover, even as he hoped to be ready for the Vancouver pay-per-view.

That comeback finally arrived at Dynasty, where O'Reilly returned to help Orange Cassidy and Roderick Strong defeat The Dogs for the World Trios Championship. The return added another layer to what had already been an emotional stretch, as O'Reilly's AEW Dynasty return ended his months-long absence.

Quote from Kyle O'Reilly

"My whole career, it's kind of been neck issues I've been dealing with. So I had another neck injury in November, during this program that I had with Jon Moxley so I had a Blood & Guts match and a big singles match with Jon and I was dealing with some neck stuff. So I was dealing with that, so I needed a little bit of time off. But in the back of my mind, I was like, I really wanna be ready in time for the Vancouver pay-per-view..."

O'Reilly later went on to say:

"To follow up the two biggest wins of my career with an injury and being out for several months, yeah, there's never good timing for an injury but, especially then, that's very unfortunate. Injuries come. That's the name of the game... It's funny that it's with Jon Moxley because that was my last match before getting injured the first time was against Jon Moxley, and then for me to come full circle, and then to finally beat him again, you know, two years later or whatever and then to get hurt. It's really kind of cool that Moxley's really brought out something in me and really given me a lot, and I'm forever grateful for the chance to work with him and really tap into a different side of me that Jon was able to pull out and so now, I think the fans and the office and the talent look at me in a different light now because of that program with Jon and so, it was a big opportunity as a big singles wrestler to get two big wins over a top guy like that. It's huge. Injury, it sucks but..."

What Jon Moxley changed for Kyle O'Reilly in AEW

O'Reilly made it clear that the Moxley feud altered how he believes he is viewed in AEW. Beating a top name in Blood & Guts and again at Full Gear gave him a level of singles credibility he feels was not there before, which makes the timing of the injury sting even more.

Now that O'Reilly is back, that earlier Moxley program still matters. AEW has already put him back into a championship role, and his comments suggest he sees those Moxley matches as the stretch that raised his stock with fans, the locker room, and management.

Sources

As reported by Fightful.