Facing Adam Copeland in his hometown meant a lot to Kyle O’Reilly.
On the May 11 episode of AEW Collision, Kyle O’Reilly challenged Adam Copeland for the TNT Championship in his hometown of Vancouver. The match came just a few months after O’Reilly returned to the ring following Kyle’s lengthy absence from the ring. He had missed nearly two years due to injury.
O’Reilly took to Twitter and said that it was the best night of his career.
O’Reilly also discussed the match in a digital exclusive and noted that he would be unable to wipe a smile off his face for a long time.
Ahead of the match, O’Reilly called the bout the most important and personal match of his career. He noted that it was very special to him.
Kyle O’Reilly On His Return
In an interview with Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, Kyle O’Reilly discussed his return to the ring and made it clear that he did not want to take wrestling for granted.
“I really just don’t want to take for granted the opportunity to wrestle, you know, on a mainstream company, to even have matches again. That’s something I was never really sure if it was going to happen, you know? So, the fact that I get to be back on the road and earning my living, right, and to get to wrestle, the only thing that I’ve ever really been good at or could at least make a living doing.”
“So, yeah, that’s the most important thing, man, you know? Big matches and championships, I’m sure they’ll come as long as I stay the course.” Kyle O’Reilly continued, “I’m not going to get too ahead of myself, you know? Just one match at a time. I feel like every time I got a big match coming up, the pressure builds.
“And no matter what it is, whether it’s the match on Collision with Brian Keith or if it’s on pay-per-view with Roderick Strong, I’m gonna treat it the same and give the best performance I possibly can every single time. And by doing so, hopefully, you know, championships and big matches will continue to present themselves.”
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