AEW’s Kyle Fletcher Reflects On Career Growth And Ambitions

For years, Kyle Fletcher has been viewed as the future of All Elite Wrestling. It’s safe to say that future has arrived.

From his AEW World Championship match in the main event of All Out 2025 to consistently delivering in high-profile matches, The Protostar has established himself as one of AEW’s top performers and someone the company is clearly building around. While he has yet to capture the world title, he appears closer than ever to reaching that milestone.

First, though, Fletcher will team with fellow Don Callis Family member Kevin Knight to face The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championship at WrestleDream. Given the caliber of all four wrestlers, the matchup has the potential to be one of the highlights of the evening on Saturday, Oct. 17.

Before stepping into the ring in Orlando, Florida, Fletcher spoke with Forbes about his upcoming match, his growth as a wrestler since his pay-per-view main event against Adam Page, the lessons he learned from Mark Davis, and more.

AEW’s Kyle Fletcher Reflects On Career Growth And Ambitions

Wolkenbrod: You’ve come a long way over the past year since we last talked. Looking back at where you were during your AEW World Championship match against Adam Page at All Out last year compared to now, how would you assess your growth as a wrestler?

Fletcher: Oh, I think probably the biggest period of growth came when I got hurt earlier this year. I’d say that’s probably been the biggest. I’d never had a major injury before that. Luckily, I didn’t need surgery, so I wasn’t out as long as we originally thought. I was able to come back pretty quick, but it was definitely a big mental game, having something that you love forcefully taken away from you.

It was really hard to wrap my head around, especially because I felt like I was on this trajectory, and I was going to have this massive year, and all these big things were going to happen. So having that taken away was pretty hard. But it really did teach me a lot of lessons, and I think with any kind of hardships that you go through, the biggest thing to take away from them is what you can learn from them and how they help you grow. I think I grew a lot from it.

I worked tirelessly to get back to it, and it kind of reignited my passion for wrestling because I’ve been in it for over a decade at this point. It really relit that fire to get back and to be better than ever and to keep working as hard as I can.

Looking back at where I was a year ago, I like to think that I’ve added a lot of confidence. I have this confidence now when I’m in that ring that I think is really going to take me to that next level, and I think it has taken me to the next level so far. But there’s always more work to do, and I can always be better. I know I can be better, so I’m just going to keep working harder and keep growing into the best version of myself, the best pro wrestler I can be.

Wolkenbrod: Is there a match you’ve had since returning from your injury that helped you regain that confidence?

Fletcher: That is a great question. I think it took a little bit. I think when I won the International Championship from [Konosuke] Takeshita, I was still finding my feet again. That was my first big singles match. I was happy with how it went. Obviously, winning the International Championship was a big deal to me, but I knew I still had room to go, for sure.

I think the match with Bandido at Redemption was a big one. I think that was probably the one where I felt like myself in the ring again. I think that was the one where I went, “Okay, I’m a pro wrestler again. I know what I’m doing.” So yeah, I’d say probably that one. Then maybe the Mike Bailey one in Mexico as well. That was a great confidence booster.

Then All In as well. I think All In was kind of always the one that I had in my brain. When I first got hurt, I wanted to make sure I was back for that, and I was well in advance, obviously. But I put a lot of pressure on myself for that day. A lot of work went into that one, and I was incredibly happy with how it went. So I think getting to All In was kind of rebuilding that confidence, and then All In was kind of the accumulation of all of it. That was when I really felt like myself.

Wolkenbrod: Is there an opponent you’ve learned the most from recently who’s helped you grow into the wrestler you are today?

Fletcher: Not one specific one, just because I feel like I learn from everyone I get in the ring with. Every match is different, and I have to adapt for every different person. I am the wrestler I am because of all these people, not any one specific one.

It’s kind of like you take all these little pieces, and even more so than just the people I’m in the ring with, but people backstage, people I talk to, people who give me feedback. You take these little bits that work for you from everybody, from all these experiences, and mesh them together. It’s like a big puzzle, and then it all comes together to create the wrestler you see before you.

Wolkenbrod: Don Callis recently said that he believes you could become one of the greatest wrestlers in the history of the business. When someone with his experience puts those kinds of expectations on you, do you embrace that pressure or try to tune it out?

Fletcher: Yeah, I’m covered up in my suit right now, but on my shoulder, I have the words “pressure is a privilege,” and I live by that. I mean that, and it rings so true to me. I’ve said publicly many a time that I plan on being the greatest pro wrestler of all time. As much as that is a character, and that is The Protostar saying that, I truly mean it, and that’s what I’m striving to do.

So to hear someone who I respect and love as much as Don Callis saying those things, it’s a pat on the back, and it’s a push in the right direction. It reassures me that I’m on the right path, but I know that I’m not there yet. So I have more work to do. I have decades of work to do, probably. And that pressure that brings, I welcome it because that pressure is the thing that keeps me getting out of bed every day and working harder than the day before to achieve that dream.

Wolkenbrod: In your mind, what would it take for someone to be considered the greatest wrestler of all time? What traits would define that person?

Fletcher: So I think the beauty of that, and the beauty of pro wrestling, is that everyone’s going to have a different answer, and it’s very subjective. Pro wrestling is a very subjective sport, art form, so everyone’s probably going to have a different answer, and I love that because I don’t think I will ever truly achieve it.

And I like that because it’s a goal that I can keep chasing forever. As long as I’m wrestling, I will be chasing that goal. I think it’ll be years after I’ve retired, years after I’ve stopped wrestling, that’s when people will say, “Oh wow, maybe Kyle is the greatest wrestler of all time.” So yeah, it’s a huge goal. It’s a lofty dream, and I don’t think I’ll ever truly get there, at least not whilst I’m in the ring. So it just gives me something to keep pushing towards.

There are different things you point at, like different accolades. Everyone that you think of as the greatest wrestler is a multi-time world champion. So I know that I’m going to have to be a multi-time world champion. I’m going to have to win different awards. I’m going to have to do different things. I’m going to have to main event pay-per-views and All Ins and all this stuff. So it’s not any one thing. It’s so many different things, and it’s very subjective. So yeah, it just gives me something to keep chasing.

Wolkenbrod: Even though you lost the International Championship at All In, you’ve now had time to reflect on the experience. What do you appreciate most about standing in that ring in front of nearly 50,000 people? How do you soak in an environment like that in the moment?

Fletcher: Yeah, I think in the moment, it’s very hard to, just because there’s so many other things running through your brain. You’re focusing on the match itself. It doesn’t feel as big when you’re in the moment because you’re just focused on the thing that’s happening inside the ring.

I think it’s just so insanely cool and so awesome to look around. I think during my entrance, when I was walking down that long-ass ramp, I was able to look around and just realize how many people there were. It’s so many people that you can’t even fathom. Your brain can’t even wrap around that.

There’s 50,000 people sitting there watching me in the ring. Your brain can’t even fathom it, especially in the moment. Reflecting on it, I think that’s the stuff you dream of. That’s the stuff that you grow up thinking about doing.

I mean, for me especially, I grew up wanting to be a wrestler. So to be walking in as champion, biggest show of the year, 50,000 people, against Takeshita and Okada, two of the greatest wrestlers in today’s day and age, it’s literally what dreams are made of. I’m so grateful that I was able to do that and experience that, and it just makes me hungry for more. I want to get back there, and I want to do it again.

Wolkenbrod: Narrowing in on Takeshita and Okada, what was it like facing both of them in a match that many fans considered a dream match, especially given how much you’ve accomplished yourself?

Fletcher: Yeah, it’s when you see your name alongside these massive names that you look up to and you respect and you think the world of, and there’s that realization that your name doesn’t look out of place next to them. Your name on that match card doesn’t feel like it’s some random name thrown in. You know what I mean?

It’s a really crazy thing to try and wrap my head around because I’ve said it to Okada. He was the reason I fell in love with Japanese wrestling. He was the IWGP Champion when I was 12 years old, and I watched New Japan for the first time, and I thought he was the coolest dude ever. Now I’m just in the ring with him.

Takeshita is a very similar experience to me, and I’ve watched him for years. I think he’s one of my favorite wrestlers to watch ever. So yeah, just that alone, just to be in the ring with both of them, it’s a huge honor. It’s an honor for me, and it’s truly hard to wrap my head around that I’m in that conversation.

Wolkenbrod: What was it like wrestling in front of that red-hot crowd in Paris? We’ve seen how passionate French wrestling audiences can be on television, but what was it like experiencing that atmosphere firsthand?

Fletcher: Yeah, that energy is something you can’t replicate. It really helps you live in the moment. Oh man, it’s an energy that’s hard to describe when you’re in that ring and the crowd’s just going nuts around you. I mean, that crowd specifically is so unique, and I love that. I love that about wrestling.

You can go to different countries or even different cities, and it has a totally different feeling. That feeling cannot be replicated by any other place in the world. So I love that because it just makes the match itself feel so unique, and it truly just lives in its own realm.

And just being in there, it’s what you live for. It’s what I live for. I live for that energy and that moment, and those goosebumps that you get when you feel a red-hot crowd, and you’re literally living your dream in front of it. It’s so special, and that night was very special. Darby Allin is one of the toughest people I’ve ever met, let alone wrestled. So yeah, it was incredibly special.

Wolkenbrod: You’ve spent much of your career teaming with Mark Davis, but you’ve now worked with several new partners, including Kevin Knight. Does it ever feel strange not having Davis by your side, given how you came up through the industry together and how instrumental you’ve been to each other’s careers?

Fletcher: Yeah, it definitely does feel a little bit weird. I will always feel like it should be Davis on that apron. It always feels like it should be Davis that I’m reaching for that tag. But I’m so blessed that things happened the way they did.

I think a lot of the time, for tag teams to become singles stars, they need to do a big breakup, or someone has to turn on someone, and I’m just so grateful that we didn’t have to do that. We’re still in the same family, and we can still team whenever we feel like, whenever the time calls for it. And I think that’s the best part. I can be so happy for his success. He can be happy for mine.

But yeah, there’s always a part of me that misses those days and that brotherhood, that camaraderie. I love teaming with him. But at the same time, he taught me so much about tag team wrestling, and I learned how to be a tag team wrestler with him. So it’s pretty easy to apply those same things to whoever I’m teaming with.

Wolkenbrod: What’s the biggest thing Davis taught you while you were teaming together?

Fletcher: I think it’s probably just how much you can really rely on the other person in the ring. Tag team wrestling is really its own art form. You have so many different people and creative things that you can do with more people in a match.

You can really lean on the other person if you’re struggling to think about what to do next. One example that springs to mind is when we were wrestling for the IWGP Tag Team Championships in New Japan.

In the first minute, two minutes of the match, I do a moonsault, and I crack my head on the guardrail. I’m bleeding, but it’s on the back of my head, so I have no idea how bad it is. I just know I’m bleeding, and I know that I’ve split my head open.

So I’m stressing out. You know what I mean? I’m asking everyone around me, “How bad is it? How bad is it? Someone tell me.” And no one was telling me how bad it was.

Then Davis comes out, and I go, “Davis, tell me, do I need to stop wrestling?” And he looks at me, and he grabs my face, and he goes, “You got this, motherfucker! Like, you got this. Get back in there. Let’s do this. You’re fine. You’re totally fine.”

And that was all I needed. He just gave me a little pep talk, and I was like, “Yep, sweet. Let’s go. I’m ready.” And that’s something that you don’t have when you’re wrestling by yourself.

I’m grateful that he was there in that situation because if I didn’t have that, maybe I panic, and maybe the match gets stopped, and then maybe we don’t win the IWGP Tag Team Championships, which was literally a lifelong dream for me. So yeah, just one example of one of the things he taught me.

Wolkenbrod: You’ve already defeated The Young Bucks, but what do you feel you can still learn from working with a team as accomplished as them?

Fletcher: Yeah, I mean, every time I get in there with anybody, I feel like I learn something, let alone what I consider to be the greatest tag team of all time. They have such a unique style, and it’s so fun and so exciting to watch. I love just wrestling people and trying to blend styles together.

I have my style, and I know it. I know myself through and through as a wrestler. Kevin has his own style, and The Young Bucks have their own style. So it’s trying to picture how those styles mesh.

And then The Young Bucks don’t get to where they are without being tough, without being able to withstand so much punishment. When you’re in the ring, you’re thinking about, “Oh my God, what does it take to beat these people?” And that brings out the best in me, I think. So I’m looking forward to wrestling them and figuring out and pulling out the best in myself in order to beat them.

Wolkenbrod: Going back to when you were a wrestling fan, how did you first discover The Young Bucks? Was it during their PWG or Ring of Honor days? Is there a particular match of theirs you remember being impressed by before you started wrestling or joined AEW?

Fletcher: I don’t remember the very first match I watched of theirs, but I think it would have been when they were Generation Me in TNA. I remember them wrestling the Motor City Machine Guns, and then from there, I remember the next time I would have seen them was probably PWG.

I can’t remember which one it was. They had so many crazy matches there. But then it was that, and then it was their New Japan run as well, when they were synonymous with the junior tag titles, and they held those belts, the Ring of Honor belts and PWG belts at the same time. And yeah, around that time, I really started to appreciate how awesome they were.

Wolkenbrod: Clockwork Carnage is such a unique match concept in a wrestling world where it sometimes feels like everything has already been done. As you get further into your career, do you find it increasingly difficult to innovate, whether through match types or moves in the ring?

Fletcher: Yeah, no, absolutely. I think, like you said, everything’s been done. It feels like everything’s been done, so it’s a constant challenge to innovate and create new things. But then also, at the same time, things work because they work, and I think there is a place for the classics and the things that have been done before.

But yeah, I truly do think that wrestling is constantly evolving, and it needs to constantly evolve because the world around us is changing. I think entertainment is different. Movies you watch are different. TV shows, theater, music, it all changes over time. And I just think, like any other art form, wrestling has to change as well.

And yeah, I think that is what pushes me and the people I work with. We need to keep up. We need to keep changing, and we need to keep people watching our product. So I think in order to do that, we need to do things that have never been seen before. And Clockwork Carnage is an awesome way to do that.

Earlier this year, we had that cage match at Forbidden Door. I can’t remember exactly what they called it, but it was a circular cage. I don’t think anyone in wrestling has done a circular cage before, and just literally that alone made people so excited about the match. So yeah, I think we’re constantly looking for ways to innovate and ways to make wrestling new and cool and fresh, and I think that’s really important.

Wolkenbrod: What do you foresee inspiring the next evolution of professional wrestling?

Fletcher: I honestly think just AEW in general is doing that, and it has been doing that. I think AEW is so important in the landscape of wrestling in general because now people realize that it’s okay to be different, that it’s okay for people to try new things.

And if you don’t like one thing about wrestling, there is something else that you will love. And just because you don’t like one match or one person’s wrestling, that doesn’t mean you hate wrestling. Like, wrestling is everything. It’s anything. It can be anything, and I think AEW is part of the reason that people started to realize that.

Before AEW was created, you had to go to the indies, you had to go somewhere else, and you had to go down a rabbit hole to even see it or find it. But now it’s so readily accessible, and it’s so easy to watch so much different wrestling. It’s literally at your fingertips. So I think that’s really important, and I think AEW is really at the forefront of that change.

Wolkenbrod: Given where you are in your career, how close would you say Kyle Fletcher is to the AEW World Title?

Fletcher: I feel like this is going to be a very hard question to answer. I think I feel ready. I feel ready for it. I want the pressure that comes with it. I want to be the guy that is the face of the company, and I think the guy who has that championship, by proxy, becomes the face of the company.

I want to be the man who’s taking that title anywhere and everywhere, getting it on TV shows in front of people. And I want to be that guy, and I feel like I’m ready to be that guy.

It’s just not up to me, so I need to keep doing what I’m doing. I need to keep putting my best foot forward. I need to keep being the best version of myself, and when other people realize that I’m ready for that spot, then it will happen.

I can’t put a timeline on it, really. It’s pretty hard to put a timeline on it. But I feel closer than ever, and I hope that it’s not too far off.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com