Wrestling / Kyle O'Reilly

The Violent Artist

Kyle Greenwood (born March 1, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by the ring name Kyle O'Reilly. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling, and previously he was featured in WWE, performing on the NXT brand. He was a member of The Undisputed Era (alongside Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Roderick Strong) and is a record three-time NXT Tag Team Champion, holding the championship with various combinations of his Undisputed Era teammates.

He is well-known for his time with Ring of Honor (ROH), from 2012-2017. He also worked for New Japan Pro-Wrestling and competed for several independent promotions, most notably Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. O’Reilly is a one-time ROH World Champion, three-time ROH World Tag Team Champion alongside Fish as reDRagon, while in PWG he is a one-time World Champion and the winner of the promotion's 2013 Battle of Los Angeles.

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Kool Tropes Here:

• Accuser of the Brethren: Fans were happy to see the return of Austin Aries in 2015 only for O'Reilly to remind everyone Aries decided not to return to ROH with intent to quit wrestling after seeing The Wrestler.
• Air Guitar: One of O'Reilly's most consistent character quirks, particularly on NXT, is him playing air guitar on his title, sometimes even tuning it like a real guitar. He must really dig that "Undisputed" theme.
• Arch-Enemy: Davey Richards in Ring of Honor. Adam Cole, eventually, in every promotion they're in together.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: This has always been a part of KOR's persona, considering he isn't shy about talking up his expertise in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. As a tag-team wrestler and heel, he would frequently attempt to start matches from guard position, inviting opponents to try and pin or submit him. It definitely has become more pronounced during his recent singles' run in NXT, where even as a babyface, he gets insulted when an opponent doesn't give him a good technical fight.
• Ascended Fan Boy: Was able to have a match with Kazushi Sakuraba thanks to ROH's deal with NJPW. As a BJJ practitioner, Kyle was pretty much over the moon to get a shot at the "Gracie Hunter".
• Bash Brothers: With Bobby Fish, for just under ten years. Adam Cole, in Future Shock and The Undisputed Era. Also had this with Roderick Strong in the Undisputed Era.
• Beware the Silly Ones: Kyle may be a bit of a boyish kook, but he is also a deceptively strong striker and technical wrestler. Finn Bálor knew not to underestimate O'Reilly in their match at Takeover: 31, yet Kyle still broke his jaw.
• Big Damn Heroes: As a babyface, he and UE have served this role once or twice for Finn Balor.
• Bitch Slap: Kyle has taken a liking to doing this whenever he's being provoked by a larger opponent such as Karrion Kross or Duke Hudson.
• Boring, but Practical: Kyle doesn't have a ton of flashy moves. Mostly, his style is to get an opponent in a submission and force them to tap, and he has dozens of them in his arsenal. Even his finishers - the heel hook and the top-rope kneedrop - aren't particularly flashy, but are certainly effective.
• Butt-Monkey: As a heel. Kyle is often on the receiving end of hilarious yet painful moments such as hitting himself with a steel chair (it seems to be becoming a Running Gag in War Games matches), attempting a strong comeback after a hard hit and falling down (or out of the ring entirely), or being targeted by other factions for beatdowns.
• Darker and Edgier: This side of him is rarely seen, but seems to be connected to his recurring feud with Adam Cole. In Ring of Honor, Cole exploited Kyle's injured shoulder one too many times, causing Kyle to go nuclear and demolish Cole in a bloody match at Final Battle 2016. As for NXT, after Cole betrayed the Undisputed Era and not only superkicked Kyle in the head, but gave him a brainbuster onto the steel steps that landed him on the injured list, Kyle made it his personal mission to destroy Adam. Despite not wanting to sink to Adam's level, Kyle tapped into his dark side to brutalize Adam and defeat him at Takeover: Stand and Deliver.
• Deal with the Devil: How babyface Kyle regards his decision to join The Undisputed Era.
  Kyle: I sold my soul to the Undisputed Era... and I want it back!
• Defeat Means Respect: While Finn Bálor did respect Kyle before their Takeover 31 match, Kyle's hard-hitting performance during the match itself seems to have turned Kyle into someone Finn considers a Worthy Opponent, as he held up Kyle's hand and later agreed to team with him.
• Distressed Dude: The most frequent target in the Undisputed Era for other wrestlers, despite being the tallest member.
• The Ditz: Much of the time, though if you piss him off, he turns on his Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy side.
• Ear Ache: In NJPW, O'Reilly suffered an injury that required his ear to be regularly drained, an injury Adam Cole, Gedo and Kazuchika Okada were all too happy to aggravate. It's since developed into cauliflower ear, and can become a target of fellow technical wrestlers like Pete Dunne.
• Establishing Character Moment: In NXT, his actual debut was in a technical classic against Aleister Black that earned both men a standing ovation from the Full Sail crowd. The establishing moment came at Takeover: Brooklyn III, where he and Bobby Fish appeared together as their old tag team, reDRagon to first demolish the AOP and SANiTY, then ally with Adam Cole to form the hit-and-run arrogant heel trio of The Undisputed Era.
• Extremity Extremist: Has been known for his striking and submission skills, and the first thing an opponent will usually try to do is disable one of his limbs to minimize this.
• Fiery Redhead: Like Sami Zayn, Kyle has more of a ginger beard than he does hair, but definitely fiery.
• Finishing Move: As a singles' competitor, he relies on either his heel hook or a top-rope knee drop. Neither have a unique name yet.
  • Pre-WWE, his main finisher was a Cross Armbreaker (sometimes combined with a leg lock) which he calls the ARMageddon. It became a Signature Move in WWE but regained its finisher status in AEW.
• The Heart: Seems to have been the villainous one for the Undisputed Era. It's Kyle that has teamed with every other member, and he is the one Cole saw as a weakness and had to take out.
• Heel–Face Turn: Did a quick one with the rest of the Undisputed Era to take on Pat McAfee and his team at Takeover: War Games IV, but also completed a slower-burn form as he began to help other wrestlers like Jake Atlas and Finn Balor against heel opponents, even being willing to invite Balor to join the Era.
• Heel Realization: Allying with Finn Balor and being acknowledged as a Worthy Opponent seems to have made Kyle realize that being a sidekick to a team of jerks wasn't what he wanted for himself.
  Kyle: (to Adam Cole) I grew up, man. I started to take some accountability for my actions. We became stars here, but only one of us became a better person.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Bobby Fish, as they've tagged in every promotion they've ever competed in (save for Evolve) and been a continuous team for nine years. Also has this with the rest of the Undisputed Era (both in kayfabe and out), as they describe each other as "closer than brothers" and the breakup of the Era affects each of them tremendously.
• Hidden Depths: Besides his martial arts skills, O'Reilly is a yoga practitioner and plays bass guitar.
• I Know Karate: A black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and practitioner of Muay Thai.
• Jerkass: He and Fish liked picking on ROH trainee Cheeseburger, though they did shake his hand after he and Roderick Strong forced reDRagon to get serious in a tag team match, even if Strong didn't think it was genuine.
• Lightning Bruiser: His signature style - quick but powerful strikes.
• Master-Apprentice Chain: While Team Ambition was mostly known as him and trainer Davey Richards, they also had a few other members, including Richards's trainer Tony Kozina.
• Morality Pet: To Davey Richards during his Ring of Honor days. For the Undisputed Era in NXT. That's why Cole had to take him out first.
• Mythology Gag: Kyle has mentioned squat thrusts a number of times, which reDRagon fans will know are a crippling addiction of his.
• The Napoleon: O'Reilly used to jump at anything even resembling a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Title even though he was not in the heavyweight bracket, specifically because he was not in the heavyweight bracket but was convinced he could make everyone in it tap out.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: It was really nice of Kyle to support Finn Bálor, helping him out with Dunne, Burch, and Lorcan, and even inviting him to join the Undisputed Era! And it was understandable too. I mean, both he and Adam Cole had a mutual respect with Bálor, and Adam had invited Finn to join Undisputed Era a year prior himself. Too bad this one happened while Finn was the NXT Champion, having beaten Adam to get the title and Kyle twice to retain it already—which of course tripped Adam's villain switch, causing Adam to freak out, superkick Finn, target Kyle and injure him, sucker Roddy with a low blow, destroy the UE, and swan-dive back into his old vainglorious heel ways.
• The Nicknamer: Nigh-incapable of calling his opponents by their actual names unless he's taking them dead serious, Kyle tends toward goofy nicknames for them. Highlights include "Peter DOOOOONE"/"Peter Pumpkineater" (Pete Dunne), "Dijagorbachev" (Dominik Dijakovic), "Timofee Fatcher" (Timothy Thatcher), "Ol'Grimey" (Cameron Grimes), "One-ey and Two-ey" (Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch), "KushiDUH" (Kushida), "GUNTHER and the Imperi Oompa Loompas" (Walter and Imperium), "the Young Grizzly Veterinarians" (Grizzled Young Veterans), and "Bron Swanson" (Bronson Reed).
• No-Sell: Barely reacted to any of Cheeseburger's holds until Cheeseburger found he could hurt O'Reilly with a wrist lock. Rather than get serious after breaking out of it O'Reilly continued to mock his diminutive opponent with a challenge to a test of strength, which Cheeseburger instead turned into a double wrist lock. It wasn't until Cheeseburger nearly scored a pinfall on Bobby Fish that O'Reilly started taking the match seriously, although Burger was put away quickly once O'Reilly did.
• Now That's Using Your Teeth!: Stuck in Finn Bálor's submission hold, his face was the closest body part to the ropes, so he bit them to force the break. It uh, backfired, as Balor would gain payback on O'Reilly for his jaw injury.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • Stopped himself from playing Air Guitar at his entrance at NXT Takeover: New Orleans, since Bobby Fish was out injured and was replaced by Adam Cole, who was weakened from having wrestled a ladder match for the NXT North American Championship earlier that night, meaning that their title reign was in serious trouble.
  • Wasn't in the mood for the Era's usual antics during a promo to announce their choice of competitor to face Pete Dunne for the War Games Advantage. Kyle interrupted Adam to say he "needs" to face Pete Dunne to get some payback for Dunne's surprise chair-shot of the week prior.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: At the 2015 War Of The Worlds, both O'Reilly and his opponent, Tetsuya Naito, were accomplished tag team wrestlers with some singles success. At Global Wars, Naito had risen to the top of the pro wrestling world with Los Ingobernables de Japón, O'Reilly wasn't even at the top of ROH, thanks to Cole.
• Red Baron: He doesn't use it as frequently in NXT, but he's been called "the Violent Artist" for a while. And no, nobody else calls him "the Ambassador of Kickassador" regardless of his one-time best efforts.
• Red Oni: The Red to Davey Richards and Bobby Fish, though it is rarer, when Fish gets upset, they are both Red.
• Remember When You Blew Up a Sun??: Did you hear that Kyle O'Reilly broke Finn Bálor's jaw in three places? NXT commentary will remind everyone of this fact every time either man is mentioned.
• Run the Gauntlet: What he did to earn his first NXT championship match against Finn Balor. Kyle entered third and beat Cameron Grimes in the final matchup.
• Screaming Warrior: During his entrance. Also prone to a comedy spot as a heel where he'll take a hit, scream at his opponent, and then immediately collapse or fall out of the ring.
• Shout-Out: O'Reilly tends to follow an axe kick with a forearm smash. He's also taken to using "axe and smash" on his gear as a babyface, and it later became the title of his theme song.
• Signature Move: A trio of butterfly suplexes chained together. A double underhook sit-out face buster. The rebound lariat (though unlike originator Nigel McGuinness, O'Reilly's is usually off the bottom rope). A brainbuster and a guillotine choke (which are among of his finishers pre-WWE). Also likes the axe kick-forearm smash combo, as well as a fast-combo of punches, Muay Thai knees and a backfist.
• Smug Snake: As a heel. After losing the IWGP Junior Heavyweight titles he bought Roderick Strong a beer, so Strong would have something to drown his sorrows with, being his next opponent.
• Sore Loser: After tapping out to a figure four put on by Adam Cole during their Hybrid Fighting Rules match at ROH's Best in the world 2012 PPV, Kyle spent the next few weeks claiming he was not actually submitting but rather "aiding to a pre-existing (knee) injury". He also made it clear that he would "rather die" than tap out to Adam Cole.
• Theatrics of Pain: O'Reilly's selling style can be closely described as "borderline slapstick", often being quite expressive and having a sense of comedic timing, yet still grounded and naturalistic enough that he looks believably hurt enough for the comedy to be accidental. This includes acts like attempting to no-sell a suplex by hulking up before — with the pain finally catching up to him — passing out and collapsing out of the ring.
• Took a Level in Badass: In NXT, with his unexpected #1 contender gauntlet match win and subsequent Takeover 31 match against Finn Bálor. Kyle put on back to back clinics in submission and chain wrestling, even reverting back to his New Japan strong style (and broke Balor's jaw in three places!).
• White Gangbangers: O'Reilly's biggest issue with Homicide breaking his fingers was his inability to do gang signs. He got better with them during the Undisputed Era period.
• We Used to Be Friends: With Adam Cole, in three promotions, no less.
• Worthy Opponent:
  • After their match for the NEVER Openweight title, opponent and champion Katsuyori Shibata shook Kyle's hand and held it up for the crowd.
  • The finals of NJPW's Best of the Super Juniors 2015 cemented Kyle and KUSHIDA as this. Thirty minutes, bell to bell, both men barely able to stand after repeated strikes and submissions. After Kushida locked in the Hoverboard Lock and forced a tapout, they bowed to each other in the middle of the ring.
  • In NXT, Kyle is regarded as this by Finn Bálor, after giving him a hellacious match at Takeover 31, a similarly-strong rematch at New Year's Evil, and having Balor's back against the likes of Pete Dunne and his crew.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: After finally winning the World Championship from Adam Cole at Final Battle after eight long months of their feud, O'Reilly didn't even have a chance to appear in the first ROH show of 2017 before New Japan Pro-Wrestling granted Cole a rematch at Wrestle Kingdom 11, in which Cole defeated O'Reilly and took his title back. O'Reilly didn't even bother returning to ROH after that.