Kyle O’Reilly Talks Motivation Behind His New Character In WWE NXT

NXT wrestler Kyle O'Reilly sat down for an interview with Vicente Beltrán of ViBe & Wrestling to discuss his upcoming match at the Great American Bash against Adam Cole.

During the interview O'Reilly discussed his new character and where he draws inspiration from. He noted that he is still early on in the process and that he is still figuring the character out. He also noted that he is currently more focused on being his authentic self and having fun during this part of his career.

"It's hard to place where the exact inspiration is coming from," said O'Reilly. "It comes from me trying to be my authentic myself, and I'm still finding it. I'm still seeing what really works for this character. A lot of this is collaboration and throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks.

"But yeah, I'm just trying to be myself and have fun with it and not stress myself out. That's what this should be about, right? I am so lucky to be involved in this business, so you try and have as much fun as you can while you're here."

The interviewer later asked O'Reilly which style of wrestling was his favorite. O'Reilly said that his ideal style is a mix of diverse wrestling styles, noting that all of them have something different to offer. He also noted the importance of being an adaptable performer and being open to other styles of wrestling.

"For me as a style I try to take aspects from the British style, the Japanese style, and the American and Canadian style," shared O'Reilly. "I try to learn as much as I can cause I am such a fan of all these unique styles, not to mention the lucha libre style. There's so many variables and styles in this sport and that's what's so beautiful about it, it's a true art form.

"With that said, I try to just develop myself patterned off that and if I can take little bits and snippets from everywhere and sort of blend them seamlessly, so it doesn't seem like I'm forcing this, or that I am trying too hard to do this, and it looks natural. I think that's what really cool and I love to see those sorts of styles together. Not just, 'I only do this one thing', [you] kind of need to be open [to other styles], and I think that's really cool about our sport."

In the past, O'Reilly has discussed his feud with Cole and their unsanctioned match at NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver. During the interview O'Reilly discussed how his upcoming match with Adam Cole at the Great American Bash will be different from their last match. He said the biggest difference will be that this is a sanctioned match and that everyone will get the opportunity to see who is the better in-ring performer.

"It's going to be an extremely different match because it's not unsanctioned," noted O'Reilly. "Our last match was violent, it was gritty, it was two guys dragging each other through hell. This match on Tuesday at the Great American Bash is more about proving who is the better in-ring performer. A straight up match, normal rules, so this is gonna be a very different match, it'll be more scientific and more methodical, I think."

While on the topic of Adam Cole, O'Reilly discussed when he knew that the Undisputed Era would be coming to an end. O'Reilly said he had a sense that things weren't right because his mindset and perception of himself and the group was changing. He wanted to focus more on being an honorable wrestler, which Adam Cole didn't seem interested in.

"When Adam Cole kicked me in the face is when I realized [the Undisputed Era was over]," recalled O'Reilly. "But before that I felt maybe rumblings because I was in a weird place in the summer before that, maybe six months out from Adam kicking my teeth down my throat. I was just in a weird spot because I thought I was growing as a performer because I was sick of the tactics of the Undisputed ERA. There were a lot of underhanded tactics that we used to great success and we saw a lot of championship gold, but we are attacking guys in a parking lot, we are clubbing them in the knees with weapons, so to speak.

"I wanted to be a more honorable fighter, I wanted to treat my opponents with respect and play by the rules because that is the only way you can truly prove that you are the best. So, now I'm on this quest to just be straight up, taking on new challengers and all comers and no more underhanded tactics. I felt like I was beyond that and I think Adam sensed that and I guess he made the decision."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Vicente Beltrán of ViBe & Wrestling with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.