Kyle O'Reilly reached the mountain top in Ring of Honor in 2016, capturing the ROH World Championship. But just weeks later, O'Reilly would be out of the company.
O'Reilly spoke to Rolling Stone magazine about his relationship with Ring of Honor, as well as his decision to take a little time off from wrestling. After over a decade, O'Reilly says he needed a break.
"As of right now, we don’t really have anything confirmed," O'Reilly said of his ties to ROH. "To be honest, I don’t know what the future for Kyle O’Reilly holds. I’m looking at taking a bit of time away and re-evaluating things. 2017 will mark 12 years in the business for me. It has taken its toll. Traveling, plus being a Type-One diabetic, it’s taken a toll on my health. I’m kind of just needing a bit of a break to reassess my future and weigh my options. Never say never though, I’m certainly not definitely done with Ring of Honor, but I’m just going to see what comes my way and remain optimistic."
O'Reilly also mentioned that he accomplished everything that he wanted in ROH, and is flattered by the attention he's received since becoming a free agent.
"Hopefully it’s me getting just really healthy and relaxed, and not so burnt out. There are a couple of different directions that it could really take. The first quarter of the year looks like it could be pretty slow for me, but it could pick up in the summer. Who knows. I’ve got options coming from every direction. To be in the position that I am, and being able to hand-pick these options, that’s truly a dream come true. Forget possibly getting a job with any of these places, just knowing that these places are competing for my services really blows my mind. I’m so fortunate and I just hope that people will remain excited about my future and remain invested in me as a performer, wherever I may end up," said O'Reilly.
Among the accomplishments was the aforementioned ROH Championship victory. Although he only held the title a few short weeks, O'Reilly was more than satisfied with how his story played out over his years with the company.
"It was a huge moment for me," said O'Reilly. "It was my seven years in Ring of Honor finally reaching that moment that I worked so hard for. When I first broke into wrestling, I was a huge fan of Ring of Honor. The guys I was watching, like Joe, Punk, Bryan Danielson, those were the guys who I looked up to, even more than mainstream wrestlers at that time. It was always my goal to get into Ring of Honor. After about four years wrestling locally I decided to make that move specifically to get my foot in the door to wrestle ROH. So I did the secret illegal alien move to the United States and after a year of working dark matches for ROH, just trying to get an opportunity, I finally got signed. That was September 2010. Six years after that I finally win the title. It was such a huge moment for me. Especially to happen in New York, in that building [the Hammerstein Ballroom], it was very special. Even to have it happen with that opponent, I couldn’t ask for a better story."
