AEW's Kyle O'Reilly Provides Injury Update

By Andrew Pollard / October 8, 2023

Having been on the sidelines for over a year now, AEW's Kyle O'Reilly has detailed his ongoing road to recovery from neck fusion.

Taking to Instagram, O'Reilly revealed the complications he has suffered post-surgery, such as C5 palsy, and how he's made some significant progress thanks to the use of a Neubie electric stimulation device.

I had my neck fused last September to fix some nerves that had gotten themselves compressed somehow. I’m sure a career of landing on my head for a living played a role but sadly we’ll never know. Regardless, I had been in pain and losing strength in my right arm for some time and no amount of tape or denial could delay my surgery any longer.

Unfortunately, I suffered from a rare post-surgical complication and suddenly I couldn’t move my arm at all. “C5 palsy” the doctor said, and “nerves take a long time to heal.” So I was left to be patient and test my perseverance.

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Needless to say it was disheartening to relearn activities like brushing my teeth and wiping my ass with my left hand. My career wasn’t in question any longer, it was my quality of life. But focusing on what I could control every day kept me sane, such as being the best father I could possibly be. Every other moment has been spent rehabbing, dry needling and training.

A few months ago I discovered the Neubie device @neufitrfp an electric stim machine that runs on direct current akin to the human nervous system. The machine has many terrific uses but specializes in helping those with post-surgical neurological injuries.

Within a month of using the Neubie I once again had full range of motion in my shoulder. My nerves are all online again and firing with enough power to get the dinosaurs back in their pens.

Grateful for the support of my friends and fans over this last year and to the Neubie device and my trainer @unconventional_strength and diet coach @thediabeticfighter for not only giving me back my quality of life but for getting me closer to my ultimate goal; a return to the ring.

The wrestling ring has felt like an oasis in the desert for me these last 12 months. I know if I keep walking I’ll eventually reach it but I don’t know if it’ll just disappear when I get there like a mirage. I’m so parched, all I want to do is get to the oasis and drink to quench my thirst but I have to be careful or I’ll trip in the sand or collapse from the heat. I guess that’s why this is taking so long, patience and perseverance.

The good news is I can see the oasis now, it’s definitely not a mirage.

Kyle last competed for AEW on the 8 June 2022 episode of Dynamite, where he lost to Jon Moxley. KOR would later appear on the 3 August Dynamite as he, Adam Cole and Bobby Fish laid out the Young Bucks to formally bring an end to the Undisputed Elite group.

O'Reilly first appeared for AEW in December 2021 at the Holiday Bash special, attacking Orange Cassidy and once again aligning himself with Cole and Fish. It's believed that Kyle penned a five-year contract upon joining All Elite Wrestling.

While there's still obviously no timescale on a Kyle O'Reilly return to the ring, it's at least encouraging to hear that the Canadian can now "see the oasis" in his recovery and that it's not a "mirage".