"Most of us can't get work here" - AEW star Kyle O'Reilly shares honest thoughts about NXT 2.0
AEW star Kyle O'Reilly bid farewell to NXT 2.0 at the end of 2021 and jumped ship to join former "Undisputed Era" stablemates Adam Cole and Bobby Fish. However, O'Reilly may have foreseen the rebrand coming while a part of the black and gold NXT.
O'Reilly was a member of the NXT roster between 2017 and 2021, winning the NXT Tag Team Championships three times as a member of the Undisputed Era. This era of NXT is considered as one of the most enjoyable in its history due to its consistency and the quality of workers in the locker room.
During the latest edition of "Talk is Jericho," host and AEW star Chris Jericho brought up the vibe of the locker room in NXT 2.0. This caused O'Reilly to reminisce about when the NXT locker room would joke about WWE reverting back to its old ways.
“I think they kind of changed what they were looking for too, they were like ‘OK well this is WWE and we want guys who are 6’5, 300 pounds.’ said O'Reilly. ''We always kind of joked about it in the locker room like ‘oh look at this locker room this is amazing, look at all the talent here everyone’s such a great worker. Could you imagine in 6 months if it goes back to the day of the bodybuilder and most of us can’t get work here?’” said O’Reilly.
Can @KORcombat battle back?!
#WWENXT @WWEVonWagner https://t.co/BRqelGSjed
O'Reilly was one of the few members of the old guard that transitioned into NXT 2.0, however he would eventually let his contract expire in December 2021 allowing him to jump ship to AEW.
Kyle O'Reilly made an immediate impact after leaving NXT 2.0
After wrapping up his storylines in NXT 2.0, Kyle O'Reilly made his surprise debut in AEW at the "Holiday Bash" edition of AEW Dynamite. Because O'Reilly let his WWE contract expire, there wasn't a non-compete clause attached to him. This meant that he was free to work wherever he wanted.
After attacking Orange Cassidy during Freshly Squeezed's match with Adam Cole, O'Reilly aligned himself with Cole and Fish once more, reuniting The Undisputed Era.
That was one heck of debut! What will @KORcombat and his friends @AdamColePro & @theBobbyFish, have in store as they take on @orangecassidy and #BestFriends @SexyChuckieT & @trentylocks LIVE on #AEWDynamite #NewYearsSmash this Wednesday? Tune in at 8/7c on @TNTDrama to find out! https://t.co/ROMIUq2jpF
The former NXT stable has joined forces with The Young Bucks and The Elite in an attempt to take over AEW.
Please credit Talk is Jericho and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use the quotes from this article.