Kyle O’Reilly has spent the past three years as part of the Undisputed Era, the most successful faction in NXT history, winning the promotion’s tag team championship three times. The 33-year-old Canadian will finally get his shot at the NXT championship against Finn Balor at NXT TakeOver 31 on Sunday (7 p.m., WWE Network). Before the match, O’Reilly took time for some Q&A with The Post’s Joseph Staszewski.
(Edited for clarity and length)
Q: What would it mean to become NXT champion for you?
A: Fifteen years of loss, of hardship, of sacrifice, of uncertainly of moving my life around the continent for a chance for an opportunity with zero money in my bank account and then to find success, to find friendships, love and meeting my wife. My life changing drastically over these last 15 years makes everything seem worthwhile. I think of every match that I ever had in front of fricking 20 people and me going, this is biggest match of my life, means everything. At the time it did mean everything. Looking back, I know it was nothing, whatever. It’s kind of the mentality I’ve always had. Specifically going into this match, becoming NXT champion it would be pretty crazy. I don’t have any other words to describe it. It would mean a lot, not just my career but just for my life and everything I’ve believed in basically my entire adult life.
Q: You’ve talked about how Finn has kind of escaped you based on not being in the same place at the same time in your career. What are you looking forward to the most about stepping in the ring with him in a singles match?
A: I think it’s going to be a huge test for me in the sense of he’s a guy I’ve looked up to for a while and admired from afar and been a fan of. I mean, what’s not to like about Finn Balor? He’s got all the tools and he’s NXT champion for a reason because he’s freaking good. A lot of what I do in this industry and in my career, it is a personal test, it’s about personal growth. I plan on beating Finn as efficiently as possible, but I know just being able to hang with Finn is something that I’ll be able to hang my hat on and be proud of that I was able to do.
Q: If you don’t win the NXT championship, would you want to continue working singles matches or wait and see?
A: I’m going to make the most of any chance that I’m given. That said, I hope this is not a one-off. I hope I’m walking away as the NXT champion. You know things happen. That may not be the case this weekend. But yeah, I certainly hope to continue to have some more singles opportunities. There are a lot of interesting matchups in NXT I’d really like to have from a single’s standpoint.
Q: You took a few months, I think four months, away from NXT because with your Type 1 diabetes puts you at a greater risk for coronavirus. What were those months like having to take yourself out of lineup and just sit at home and watch?
A: As for everybody, it’s been a weird few months, it’s been a weird year. At first, when this whole thing broke out it was scary for the reasons like you said, health being a huge part of that. As we learned more about what going on, I became more confident. As time progressed, I started chomping at the bit to return. You could only do so many garage workouts in a day to keep the cabin fever away.
After a while, I was ready to come back. The company had my health in their best interest. They weren’t going to risk anything with me. Once the opportunity finally came around to come back, all the precautions had been taken and continue to be taken. I felt confident and yeah, it was a long few months. I was ready to come back a lot sooner, but that’s the way things work out and I’m glad to be finally back.
Q: How have you managed the daily challenges of dealing with your condition and still thriving in pro wrestling?
A: That’s the thing about Type 1 diabetes, it is a daily grind, a daily challenge. But it’s a challenge and fight I can win on a daily basis, too. I know it keeps me accountable for my own health, my own well-being. I take it into my own hands. I do what I have to do to be the best performer and the best healthy human being I can possibly be. It’s not without its challenges, but it’s something I’ve dealt with my entire career since I was 18 years old. It’s something I’ve dealt with for a long time. I’ve always had a good grasp of it. I’ve looked at it as a blessing in disguise because it does sort of keep me accountable for my own health. I have no excuse to let things slide or to get lazy with my own health.
Q: You and Adam Cole have had singles feuds together, tagged together even before WWE in Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. Do you see a feud or some sort of rivalry happening between you guys in NXT? Is that something you would welcome in some form?
A: I honestly don’t think so. We’ve had our past. We fought tooth and nail and, dare I say, been enemies in the past, but that’s in the past. We’ve really grown as performers and individuals. The four of us are best buddies and brothers and I think that’s what makes the Undisputed Era different. When there is a faction in pro wrestling, everyone’s waiting for the shoe to drop. Well, OK, when’s he getting stabbed in the back?
I think that’s what’s gonna be different about the Undisputed Era is that this is for real. It’s not just four guys that were tossed together. These four dudes who are legitimately super tight and have each other’s back through thick and thin. So I don’t think … man, I don’t think that’s gonna happen here. I honestly don’t.
Q: When I spoke with Adam, he welcomed the chance to work in a babyface kind of light. You’ve kind of gotten that treatment with the video on your history. Is that something you welcome too after being part of a faction that’s really been a heel faction for the majority of its time?
A: I think so. I think the timing is good. Pretty much all of my singles success in the past has come with me being a babyface, so it’s something I’m comfortable doing. It’s something I think I can be good at. It’s different. Like you said, being a heel and a babyface is completely different sides of the coin in terms of pro wrestling. But I’ve been a heel for three years in NXT now and I love being a heel, especially as a tag team heel. It’s a new challenge playing that babyface role, but it’s something I think I can pull off and I’ll be pretty good at.
Q: Where did the idea to strum the title during your entrance come from? And is there any time where you have it predetermined what you were gonna do, or is it just feel it in the moment?
A: No, 100 percent feel it in the moment. The music hits and I just turn into some sort of psychedelic, funky priest slapping a bass guitar and I come through the curtain and I’m just feeling it. Honestly, I’ll watch the footage and I don’t even remember doing that. I almost become someone different.
It’s so weird how that developed. Obviously, I’m not the first person to strum a title like a guitar. I don’t know, you just get into it. I felt like, what’s sort of the sleaziest, douchiest kind of pantomime mannerism can I do as we’re coming out and it just kind of took on a life of its own. I can’t really do anything about it.
Q: Is it true that you tried to be a cook and played a little rugby before committing to wrestling?
A: When I first broke in I was trying to pay for my wrestling school or whatever and got a job at a kind of casual fine dining restaurant and really fell in love with the restaurant industry and learned a ton of life skills working in the kitchen, working my way up. Those are skills I maintain today. I love cooking and I love spending time in the kitchen, hanging out, throwing on a record, making a nice dinner.
I played rugby in high school and club rugby, and when I was living in St. Louis, I found a local club team as well and I played on weekends. It’s just a fun sort of camaraderie and a really cool environment and a team setting I missed because pro wrestling is such an individual sport. You are kind of on your own for a lot of it.
Q: If I’m going to order something from Kyle O’Reilly, what am I ordering?
A: I make a mean steak. I worked grill, I’m pretty good with a grill. I love barbecuing and stuff. I make some nice ribs, some nice mashed potatoes, maybe a nice spaghett’, with some mozzarell’. I do it all.
Q: One of the things you have become known for is how well you sell, with the more old-school kind of feel to selling. For me, it’s like Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect. Why has it been important for you to sell that way in a more old-school, exaggerated way?
A: A lot of the time in the ring, people are getting smashed and they’re getting hurt and they’re pretending like they’re not hurt and it obviously hurts. I just want to embrace that. To show vulnerability I think is a good thing in this because then you overcome it. That said, I think it’s fun selling in that manner, not just in a comical manner, in a serious manner as well.
Q: We’ve started to see a number of successful tag team wrestlers also get singles opportunity in WWE such as you, Big E and Jey Uso. When you are in such a successful tag team, is there always a worry it will take something for that single opportunity to happen because companies may not want to break up a tag team? Is that always a tricky dynamic?
A: I think so because sometimes there’s a lot left on the table for said tag team to accomplish. That’s kind of the beautiful thing about the Undisputed Era is that any combination of the four of us can be a successful tag team. So this is Kyle O’Reilly’s chance for a main event singles opportunity. That doesn’t mean any other member can’t step in with Bobby (Fish) and be the best tag team in the company. I think having that is a means for me to not worry about leaving anything on the table or worried about what’s going to happen to the tag division. I know it’s in good hands.