Kyle O’Reilly On “Rooting For AEW To Kick Ass” Against WWE NXT

AEW tag team reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) recently appeared on the Talk Is Jericho podcast. O'Reilly spoke about the Wednesday Night Wars between AEW Dynamite and NXT, admitting he thought it was cool. Ultimately, the former Undisputed Era member felt the fans were the winners.

"I thought it was so cool that it was back to two shows going head-to-head," O'Reilly stated. "It felt like back in '98 when it was the Monday Night Wars and now we are part of it on Wednesday. Then on the other channel is guys that we came up with within this business that we are rooting for.

"We were rooting for AEW to kick ass because that elevated our game, and I know our game being elevated would elevate your guys' game. It was a backscratching scenario of just trying to put out the best shows we possibly could, and I think the winners were the fans, man."

In the end, it was NXT that moved away to Tuesday night. However, Kyle O'Reilly didn't think of it as NXT losing to AEW.

"I mean, it is what it is. It wasn't like admitting defeat. That was a night and day change," he said on the NXT rebrand. "That happened like overnight, the next time we came to TV everything was different, we are all changing."

Kyle O'Reilly also spoke about the difference between the backstage atmospheres with WWE and AEW. He finds things with his new company a lot calmer, which he admits is good for his mental health.

"Everyone is so cool, friendly, and outgoing. Not to say that people aren't like that elsewhere. But I just felt like this cloud of pressure, like a weight was always on my shoulders whenever I was backstage at a Raw or SmackDown. Not so much at NXT," he added. "After the rebrand maybe a little bit more so, stressful environment, a little bit more eggshell walking. Just for me and my mental and physical health, that doesn't do me a lot of favors. I feel a lot more calm and peace of mind here."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Talk Is Jericho with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.