Kyle Fletcher's AEW Career Has Transformed Since 2023

From humble beginnings in Australia to becoming a champion in AEW, Kyle Fletcher has ascended to the upper echelon of the pro wrestling industry. Many of the most significant steps in his journey have occurred just over the last few years, with Fletcher simultaneously joining The Don Callis Family and moving from the tag division to singles competition in 2023.

The move was necessitated by an injury, as Fletcher's longtime Aussie Open partner Mark Davis hurt his wrist while the duo was challenging FTR for the AEW World Tag Team Championship at WrestleDream 2023, just a few months after signing with the promotion full-time. A few weeks later, Fletcher revealed he had joined up with Don Callis, becoming the fifth wrestler to side with the stable.

Speaking on "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," Fletcher discussed the challenges of moving from tag matches to singles wrestling, with one of the biggest differences being the collaboration of tag wrestling versus the isolation of singles. "When you're a singles wrestler, and you're doing your own promos and your own matches, a lot of the creative stuff just comes from your own brain. So I think I had a lot of stuff to get over, where I was second-guessing my own ideas and opinions, because it was just all my brain child."

Thankfully for Fletcher, it wouldn't take him long to get over some of those early bumps, but he didn't do it entirely alone.

Fletcher's story wouldn't be complete without mentioning Will Ospreay, who had been a friend and supporter of his for years. At the time Fletcher joined The Don Callis Family, the group also included Ospreay, Konosuke Takeshita, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Sammy Guevara. After joining AEW full-time in early 2024, however, Ospreay was not long for the faction, with Callis looking to pit him against other members of the team.

Both sporting shaggy blonde hair, Fletcher adopted a new identity as AEW's "Protostar" and became the Ring of Honor World Television Champion, while Ospreay made his full-time AEW debut at Revolution 2024, defeating Takeshita. Days later, Ospreay defeated Fletcher in the main event of "AEW Dynamite," though the two seemingly remained on good terms afterwards.

By the end of 2024, that would change. At that year's AEW WrestleDream, months after Ospreay left The Don Callis Family, Fletcher turned on his friend and solidified himself as a full-blown heel. He soon ended up shaving his head during an episode of "Dynamite," signifying that he would no longer remain in Ospreay's shadow. In November of that year, the two met in a highly-acclaimed singles match at AEW Full Gear, and Fletcher won. Unsurprisingly, that had a major effect on his career.

"The first one where I kind of felt comfortable, I felt that confidence for the first time, was that Full Gear [match] with Ospreay," Fletcher explained. "I think we're both the same kind of insane. ... That is the wrestling that we both love to watch."

Following Full Gear, both Fletcher and Ospreay made it to the semi-finals of the second-ever Continental Classic tournament, with Ospreay picking up the win. Their rivalry continued into AEW Revolution 2025, where they wrestled in a steel cage and Ospreay was able to get a definitive win in the feud.

Though he lost, the feud only elevated Fletcher. He continued working alongside his DCF stablemates for much of the year, building a reputation for himself as a reliably consistent wrestler. After chasing the TNT Championship for months, Fletcher successfully captured the title by defeating Dustin Rhodes on an episode of "AEW Collision," marking another major milestone in his career.

In the midst of his TNT Championship run, Fletcher challenged "Hangman" Adam Page for the AEW World Championship at All Out – the first time he officially wrestled for the promotion's top title. Though he came up short, it served as another example of Fletcher coming out of a loss looking better than he did going in.

"That's what you dream of," Fletcher said of the match. "That first world title match – those big world title matches, main-eventing pay-per-views – that has been the dream my whole life, to get to that point. Just being presented with that opportunity was crazy to me."

Fletcher eventually lost the TNT Championship to Mark Briscoe in November 2025, but based on his trajectory over the last few years, it's just a matter of time before he regains gold in AEW.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.