November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and while WWE as a whole won’t make a big spectacle about it as it does in October for Breast Cancer Awareness, it certainly matters to one NXT star. This is The Undisputed Eras tag team specialist, Kyle O’Reilly, who has Type 1 Diabetes.
Who Is Kyle O’Reilly?
For those unfamiliar, O’Reilly is part of the NXT Faction ‘Undisputed Era’ where he is a record three time tag team champion, twice with longtime partner Bobby Fish & once with Roderick Strong, and at the time of writing he is one half of the reigning champions. Prior to coming to WWE, O’Reilly became a one-time Ring of Honor (ROH) World Champion, three-time ROH World Tag Team Champion alongside Bobby Fish, amd in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) he is a one-time World Champion and the winner of the promotion’s 2013 Battle of Los Angeles tournament. In New Japan Pro Wrestling he held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship twice alongside Bobby Fish, and they also won the Super Jr. Tag Tournament in 2014. He’s a decorated champion, and stands out due to his MMA like style focusing on strikes and submissions, while also oozing charisma, just watch him air-guitar his NXT Tag Team Title as he makes his entrance and try not to like the guy.
Type 1 Diabetes
O’Reilly has never really been open about his experiences with Diabetes, but with it being Diabetes Awareness Month and him being in a position to bring attention, he felt it needed. In a statement on Instagram he said “If you care for a child with diabetes let them know they can achieve anything. Doctors told me a career in pro-wrestling would be impossible. I’m an NXT tag-team champion now. This is a mental grind as much as it is a physical grind and take each day with a new perspective and chance to be better than you were yesterday.” You can’t held but be inspired by a statement like this. He achieved his dream despite a major short-coming holding him back.
He uses an Eversense Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) system which implants a tiny sensor under the skin which allows him to remove the device you can see on his arm whilst performing, preventing any damage to become of it. “I know how self conscious one can be with pump wires hanging out of your shirt or having to draw and inject insulin in the middle of a crowded restaurant, but that’s life. And having this device makes me feel like a cyborg which is cool too.” said O’Reilly in his Instagram post. Advancements like this are certainly a help to anyone living with Diabetes, making it much easier to monitor your blood sugar levels without having to prick your finger every single time.
You can catch Kyle O’Reilly and the rest of the Undisputed Era on Wednesday Nights on USA on WWE NXT, where they currently hold all the gold and dominate the brand. They might be bastards on screen, but I’ll always be rooting for Kyle O’Reilly, he’s overcome too much for his dream not to support him.
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