Kushida says he was considering retiring from professional wrestling in 2017
Kushida has been in the wrestling industry since 2005. The Japanese star has racked up multiple championship reigns all over the world and is currently on his best run in WWE.
However, back in 2017, the current reigning and defending NXT Cruiserweight Champion was contemplating retirement from professional wrestling due to ongoing health issues.
Kushida took to social media earlier today to tell the story to the WWE Universe and how a match with Kyle O'Reilly around that time gave him the desire to have another one with him in WWE somewhere down the line.
"In 2017, around this time, I was considering retirement after every match," Kushida revealed. "I was concerned about my mental and physical health after every match. I wrestled back and forth between Japan and the United States twice a month.
"During that time, I sometimes suffered from severe abdominal pain after matches. I crouched on the floor with a cold sweat and had no choice but to wait for the pain to pass. had to insert a gastro camera down my throat at the hospital to examine my stomach. But the doctors couldn't find anything wrong. The doctor's diagnosis was that my autonomic nerves must have been disturbed. My level of this abdominal pain wasn't normal. And, if it continued, I couldn't wrestle anymore. I knew it wasn't an exaggeration. And I knew that my wrestling career could be over at any time."
"I had a match with Kyle O'Reilly at that time. It was four years ago in London. At this point, it was rumored that Kyle O'Reilly would soon sign a contract with WWE. After our match, I talked to him directly. He told me his honest intentions. At that time, I thought it would be great to have a match against him in the WWE some day. I knew my professional wrestling life wouldn't last forever."
"So Yesterday was special. WWE/NXT universe! Thank you for watching. Our fight will go on forever," said Kushida.
Kushida's match with Kyle O'Reilly meant a great deal to him
Reflecting on his past after the excellent match he had with Kyle O'Reilly last night on NXT shows just how much that moment meant to him.
While it's unknown if Kushida still has issues with his stomach now, we can only hope that he's doing better health-wise in 2021.
Triple H wants to focus more on the NXT Cruiserweight division this summer, and Kushida is right in the thick of things as the current champion.
Are you shocked to find out that Kushida almost retired four years ago? Are you happy that he decided to continue on his journey? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section.