Kyle O'Reilly

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[2PhoneShawty]

This guy has been a top wrestler since at most 2013, and I absolutely love his work, but I don't think his career has had enough time for him to really be on a top 100 list with this many nominees. I'd be interested in hearing someone's opinion who watches ROH on a week by week basis though.

[Grimmas]

Maybe in ten years.. but you need a lot more than 1 or 2 really good years.

[GOTNW]

Does he even have a great match other than the BOSJ finals vs KUSHIDA? There was that one ROH match vs Adam Cole a few years ago that had shoot blood (meaning no blading) which made for amazing visuals but even that wasn't that good. No chance for me.

[Timbo Slice]

He's definitely become a better worker over the last couple years by finding some personality outside of him doing MMA stuff, and I really like him in PWG, too. I think right now he's a good worker, not great, who has a chance to become great. The KUSHIDA match really is a top-flight match though, and a lower-tier MOTYC. 2026 might see him closer to consideration.

[InYourCase]

Does he even have a great match other than the BOSJ finals vs KUSHIDA? There was that one ROH match vs Adam Cole a few years ago that had shoot blood (meaning no blading) which made for amazing visuals but even that wasn't that good. No chance for me.

O'Reilly got my third place vote for Most Outstanding last year. He doesn't have the volume to make my list but I think he's arguably the best indie guy going right now. His 2013 PWG run was a ton of fun. Great match with Sami Callihan, a really underrated match with Trent Barreta, and a highly touted match with ACH. He was so over with that Reseda crowd in 2013-2014.

 

Last year he had a great matches with AJ Styles, Zack Sabre Jr, Ricochet, and Cedric Alexander. He really stood out in reDRagon matches, also. I love me some Bobby Fish but O'Reilly was on another planet in some of those matches.

[shoe]

Love him but a waste of time to discuss him for this list.

[Clayton Jones]

O'Reilly was someone I honestly expected to cut after my first round of watching but I think he's still in contention. And obviously a lot can happen for him in the next 5 years. The Balor matches helped round out a resume that just barely put him on my list of Maybes with his PWG run and some excellent work in NJPW. The match that kept me from crossing him off my list was actually one I didn't care for at all, him and Fish VS the Revival. But KOR was the saving grace of an otherwise too choreographed, too cute, awkward and clumsy match, and almost single handedly dragged the thing into watchable territory. Even though he's not the most charismatic (ridiculous air guitar antics and all) he has an uncanny knack for making the most out of big and small moments. His execution is usually spot on and he's very effective as a babyface and at least in tags as a heel. Once again not someone I'm advocating yet but I'm curious to see where his career goes from here.

[Tetsujin]

Oh yeah, KOR is one of these few current era guys I think can make it by 2026. Excellent tag worker, one of the best ever. One of the most dynamic strikers ever, too. I don't think he has the highs he should, but his consistency and overall coolness can be enough to put him in the lower spots of any list.

[Ma Stump Puller]

I don't find his style all that impressive and his actual host of matches that I can honestly say were made strong in the first place by him alone are few and far between. He's not bad, but his cutesy pseudo-MMA stuff just makes me wince half the time because it's just kinda goofy sometimes in how he executes certain things and how overtly flashy it doesn't need to be. He's tolerable in tags but I could never find him as someone that I can't think of at least 150 wrestlers that just completely lap him in terms of quality. His selling is all over the place as well unless the other guy is roping him in hard to do so.

 

 

[Reel]

I've never been a big ReDRagon guy. I think they're fine, but not anything that I'd go out of my way to watch. His singles stuff has been fine, but like the above post, when New Japan had him going 50/50 with Sakuraba, a guy who I'm down on anyway, I don't think he really held up his end of the bargain there. That being said, the KOR/Ballor series from 2020/2021 was pretty good stuff, and I think KOR could have a good single run, but he seems intent on playing second banana to Adam Cole for some reason.