When Kyle O’Reilly won the Casino Battle Royal and challenged Jon Moxley in the interim AEW World championship tournament on the June 8 episode of Dynamite, he was in the midst of a nice push. Unfortunately, O’Reilly’s boss Tony Khan revealed a couple weeks later that he’d suffered an injury and would be out for an undetermined amount of time.
O’Reilly briefly returned to television on Aug. 3 for an angle where he, Adam Cole & Bobby Fish turned on The Young Bucks. It was made clear during that segment that KOR was not cleared to return to action, and we haven’t seen any of the Undisputed Elite trio since.
We still don’t have clear answers about O’Reilly’s situation, but his Instagram Story has given us some pretty big hints. Kool Kyle is still, well, cool about it, but the news is serious.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23991433/KORneck.png)
If it is neck fusion surgery as KOR seems to be indicating, he’s facing a long recovery. At 35 years old and with a new baby, he may be making some decisions about his future, even if that’s just possibly changing up his in-ring style to prevent more serious injuries.
This also leaves TK & AEW in an interesting position. Well before Cole, O’Reilly & Fish split from Matt & Nick Jackson, they were building to a bigger program. Now Fish is reportedly gone from the company. KOR & Cole are under long-term contracts, but Kyle’s probably on the shelf for the better part of the next year, and we haven’t heard an update on the Owen Hart Tournament winner in a while. Any plans to recreate the Undisputed ERA magic they worked in NXT for a feud with The Bucks & friends would seem to be out the window.
We’ll see how Khan pivots there, and wish O’Reilly the best for a full & speedy recovery.
Loading comments...