Kyle O'Reilly Issues Statement Amid WWE NXT Farewell Rumors

By Marc Middleton

Kyle O'Reilly took to Twitter today to send a message to fans following what appeared to be an emotional farewell after last night's post-WarGames edition of WWE NXT 2.0.

As we've noted, the post-show segment at the WWE Performance Center last night saw NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa, WWE Hall of Famer and Vice President of Talent Development Shawn Michaels, Candice LeRae and others host what looked to be a farewell for O'Reilly and Johnny Gargano, amid rumors on their upcoming NXT departures. You can click here for photos and videos from the post-show segment. NXT saw O'Reilly lose the Steel Cage opener to Von Wagner, while Gargano was destroyed by Grayson Waller as he addressed his status. Their futures are up in the air as O'Reilly's contract reportedly expires some time this week, and Gargano's expires this Friday.

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In an update, O'Reilly tweeted this afternoon and said he's truly overwhelmed by the support. He also said this does not mean goodbye, just "smell ya later."

"Truly overwhelmed by all the love and heartfelt messages. By no means does this mean goodbye... just smell ya later," he wrote.

NXT Head Referee Darryl Sharma later took to Instagram and shared a photo from Tuesday's post-show farewell. He recalled how he wrestled O'Reilly in 2006, and went on about working with him in WWE.

"I first worked with Kyle when I wrestled him back in '06 for ECCW in British Columbia. He was pretty new but everyone there already knew he was going to be really good. I just don't think anyone knew he was going to be THIS good. I can't even begin to list how many of my favourite matches and moments working in WWE involve Kyle. Beyond that, you know how it's often said that the referees don't get enough credit? Well, there certainly are those that go out of their way to make sure the referees get their due respect – and Kyle is right there at the top of that list. And I never felt like the respect was solely on having been a wrestler, or a wrestler with a similar style to his (not even trying to claim to be anywhere nearly as proficient as him). It's a respect for my role in his matches and the company as a whole, and what I am TODAY, which means so much more. My opinion always mattered with him. Most importantly, Kyle is just a genuinely good dude. Anyone that's ever been in a ring with him is better because of it, and any locker room that's ever had him is better because of it. Thank you so much, Kyle! [camera emoji]: @andreakellawayphotography @korcombat #wearenxt #wwenxt @wwenxt @tomcastorwwe," Sharma wrote.

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O'Reilly responded to that post and gave props to Sharma, Tom Castor and Brewer for their in-ring work as NXT referees.

"The sweetest post there ever was [red heart emoji] @DABrewerWWE @tomcastorWWE @WWEdarrylsharma are some of the most talented guys I've ever worked with," O'Reilly wrote.

O'Reilly's WWE contract is reportedly expiring this week, but there's no update on if he is planning to re-sign, and the same goes with Gargano. "Thank You Kyle" and "Thank You Johnny" continue to be trending topics on Twitter this week.

Stay tuned for more on O'Reilly and Gargano. You can see the related posts from O'Reilly and Sharma below:

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