After a year’s absence, Mark Davis made his return on AEW Fright Night Dynamite to confront his former Aussie Open partner and friend, Kyle Fletcher.
Fletcher was surprised to see him but when he went in for a hug, Davis rejected him. Davis called him out for his recent treatment of Will Ospreay, turning on him at October’s WrestleDream and costing him the AEW International title.
Fletcher then fired back and said Don Callis has shown him the truth. He said while Ospreay has forgot about Fletcher, he never did and he made sure Davis had a spot in the Don Callis Family. Davis had no interest and walked away, but Fletcher made a point to say there would come a day when he had to make a hard decision and that he’s shown he has no problem in cutting the past loose.
The 34-year-old Davis broke his wrist at last year’s WrestleDream when he and Fletcher lost to then-AEW Tag Team Champions FTR.
Kyle Fletcher’s #UnitedEmpire partner Mark Davis is BACK!
A new eight-man tag team match has been added to Saturday’s Collision.
The go-home show for WrestleDream will have Bryan Danielson, Wheeler Yuta, and FTR square off against Ricky Starks, Big Bill, and Aussie Open in an all star eight-man tag team match. Zack Sabre Jr., who will face Danielson on Sunday, will be on commentary.
Danielson and Yuta have been feuding with Starks and Bill for the last several weeks. Danielson defeated Starks in a Texas Death match on last week’s Collision, with Big Bill and Yuta getting into a confrontation after checking on their men. On this week’s Dynamite, Yuta confronted Starks, challenging him to a match for WrestleDream.
FTR and Aussie Open will be in the same ring just 24 hours before their AEW Tag Team title match at WrestleDream. It will mark exactly one year since the two teams first met at NJPW’s Royal Quest II in England.
Here is the updated lineup for Saturday:
All star eight-man tag: Bryan Danielson, Wheeler Yuta, and FTR vs. Ricky Starks, Big Bill, and Aussie Open
The AEW Tag Team title match for WrestleDream is now set.
FTR will defend the Tag Team titles against Aussie Open on October 1 in Seattle. On Saturday’s Collision, Aussie Open quickly defeated PB Smooth and Wes Barkley. They then issued a challenge to FTR, saying that they wanted a match against them at WrestleDream regardless if it was for the Tag Team titles or not. Kyle Fletcher noted that the match would take place exactly one year after their match at Royal Quest, where FTR defeated Aussie Open to retain the IWGP Tag Team titles.
Following their successful title match against The Young Bucks at All In last month, FTR have started an open challenge series on AEW Collision. On this week’s show, they defeated The Iron Savages. Next week’s show will see them defend the AEW Tag Team titles against The Workhorsemen.
Later on Collision, Katsuyori Shibata appeared and announced he would be defending the ROH Pure Championship at WrestleDream. It wasn’t announced who he would face.
Here is the updated card for AEW WrestleDream:
Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland
AEW Tag Team titles: FTR defend against Aussie Open
Katsuyori Shibata to defend the ROH Pure Championship
Both the first match and first promo segment for this Wednesday’s post-All Out edition of AEW Dynamite from Indianapolis, Indiana, are confirmed.
After getting into a physical altercation during AEW Rampage, Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara will kick off their hopeful run at the AEW Tag Team titles as they face Aussie Open.
After Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) were eliminated from a battle royal to determine the All Out challengers for ROH Tag Team Champions MJF & Adam Cole Friday, the two got in the face of Jericho at the commentary desk. As they attacked Jericho, Guevara ran out to make the save and put the match in motion.
Jericho lost to Aussie Open’s United Empire stablemate Will Ospreay at All In.
After winning the Over Budget charity battle royal on the All Out pre-show, former AEW World Champion Hangman Page will be on hand to give some thoughts on what’s next for him.
On the aforementioned Rampage, Page returned to singles action for the first time since a May house show with a win over Bryan Keith.
Here’s the current lineup:
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs. Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara
The following are spoilers for Friday’s AEW Rampage, taped after Wednesday’s Dynamite in Chicago, Illinois.
The show was highlighted by a 20-man battle royal comprised of ten teams competing for a shot at Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions MJF & Adam Cole at Sunday’s All Out.
These come courtesy of PWInsider:
Dark Order’s John Silver & Alex Reynolds won a battle royal to earn a ROH Tag Team Title shot at AEW All Out. Teams included Aussie Open, Best Friends, Action Andretti & Darius Martin, Ryan Nemeth & Peter Avalon, The Righteous, Matt & Jeff Hardy, Gates of Agony’s Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona, The Butcher & The Blade, and The Outrunners.
Afterward, Aussie Open got into a fight with Chris Jericho as he was at the announcers’ desk with Sammy Guevara coming to Jericho’s aid.
El Hijo del Vikingo & Nick Wayne defeated Kip Sabian & Gringo Loco
Hangman Page defeated Bryan Keith
Willow Nightingale & Skye Blue defeated Anna Jay and Taya Valkyrie. Blue pinned Jay with the code blue.
Friday’s edition of AEW Rampage has several featured matches including a first time ever clash between lucha stars and a heated women’s tag team main event.
In the show’s opener, Rey Fenix will take on Komander. While they have shared the ring before, it’s the first ever singles meeting between the two high flyers.
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida will team with Skye Blue to take on The Outcasts’ Toni Storm & Ruby Soho ahead of the four-way title match at All In that features both Shida and Storm.
One of the other participants — Britt Baker — will be on hand to share some thoughts about the All In match.
Ahead of their anticipated title defense against MJF & Adam Cole at All In, ROH Tag Team Champions Aussie Open will defend the titles against Ethan Page & Brother Zay.
After coming out to defend Chris Jericho on Wednesday’s Dynamite, Sammy Guevara will take on Jon Cruz.
**********
Taped in Nashville, TN.
Excalibur & Tony Schiavone were on commentary.
Rey Fenix (w/ Alex Abrahantes) defeated Komander (12:57)
This is the first time meeting between these two high flying luchadors.
Both men did some matwork and exchanged cradles for pinfall attempts to start. Komander got a very close nearfall with his version of the seatbelt. Fenix sent Komander over the top with a hip toss. Komander caught Fenix with a tope on the floor, but Fenix came back with a double stomp off the top to get a near fall.
Fenix worked over Komander for most of the split-screen break. After the break, Komander fought out of a suplex attempt and chopped Fenix down. Komander took Fenix down with a tijeras, then Fenix caught him with a superkick. Fenix went for a tiger driver, but Komander countered with a rana and he drove Fenix down into the mat headfirst for a near fall. Fenix followed up with a lung blower for another near fall.
Komander got a little too cute for his own good and Fenix caught him with a rolling cutter for a near fall. Jon Moxley and Claudio Castignoli were shown watching the match backstage. Well, we think that’s what they were watching because they were standing like normal people in front of the TV, not beside it.
Fenix had Komander up in a fireman’s carry, but Fenix spiked him down with a crucifix driver for a near fall. Fenix came back with a hook kick and both guys were down and the crowd is really getting into things now.
Both men exchanged elbows and forearms as the worked their way back to their feet. Fenix climb to the top, but Komander shoved him to the mat, then came off the top with a springboard destroyer. Komander hit a ropewalk shooting star press for a near fall. Komander went for a 450 splash that missed. Fenix the hit the fire thunder driver and nearly got the pinfall in a fantastic near fall. The crowd and commentarts were shaken. Fenix finished Komander with a spinning muscle buster into a cradle and got the pinfall.
“The winner of this incredible battle, Ray Fenix.” No kidding Justin Roberts.
– Dr. Britt Baker bragged to Renee Paquette about all her accolades. Baker was at the first All In, was the first woman signed to AEW, and will win the AEW Women’s World Championship again at all in.
– Clips of QT Marshall winning matches and championships in AAA were shown. Johnny TV was then shown driving with his tiny dog, which has to be a moving violation.
Aussie Open vs. Ethan Page defeated Brother Zay to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship (8:15 aired)
If Page and Zay win, they will move onto Zero Hour to defend the ROH Tag Team Titles at Zero Hour before All In.
Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher jumped the challengers from behind. That’s not very honorable. Page was knocked to the floor and Zay was double-teamed in the Aussie Open corner. Zay took Fletcher down with a rana, then hit Davis with an enziguri and got the hot tag to Page. Page clotheslined Davis to the floor, and Zay hit both members of Aussie Open with a dive on the floor.
Back in the ring, Page hit Fletcher with a powerslam for a near fall. Fletcher and Davis came back by slamming Page and Zay back’s into each other. The Aussies worked over Page during the split-screen break.
After the break, Page hit Fletcher with a sheer drop brainbuster and got the tag to Zay. Zay sent Davis to the floor with a cutter, hit him with an Asai moonsault, and then sprung back into the ring with a crossbody on Fletcher for a near fall. Zay went for a Swanton bomb, but Fletcher got his knees up. Fletcher hit a superkick, then hit a cutter off the middle rope for a near fall. Page came in and ate a double-superkick for his trouble. Stereo lariants and the Coriolis finished off Zay pretty definitively.
After the match, Aussie Open cut an in-ring promo on Adam Page and MJF. Fletcher called MJF a horrible person and Cole a piece of trash. And, they’ll never hit a kangaroo kick in their lives. Ever!
– A promo for the Righteous. They’ve run roughshod over ROH and are heading to AEW.
– From the Hardy compound, Matt and Jeff challenged Aussie Open for the ROH World Tag Team Championship on Dynamite Wednesday. If they win, they’ll defend the “Ring of Hardy” tag team titles against Adam Page & MJF at Zero Hour.
Sammy Guevara defeated Jon Cruz (1:35)
Guevera is now firmly a babyface again. Guevara won a quick squash with the GTH.
– Nyla Rose would like to remind everyone that she is the Native Beast.
TV Rundown:
Collision: Willow Nightingale will take on Diamante. Powerhouse Hobbs will “be in action” (wrestle a squash), Miro, Ricky Starks, and FTR will have interview segments, and Christian Cage will face Darby Allin. Wow that’s not much of a line up. I guess it’s hard to put together a show when you’re not sure who’s allowed in the building.
Dynamite (which is also Fyter Fest): Jon Moxley vs. Ray Fenix, Aussie Open v. The Hardys for the ROH Tag Team Titles. The Elite will face Juice Robinson & The Gunns. Jack Perry will retire the FTW Title. Also announced: Swerve Strickland & AR Fox vs. Darby Allin & Nick Wayne, Skye Blue v. Ruby Soho, and interviews with Adam Cole, MJF, The Young Bucks and FTR. And they’ll be a contract signing with Chris Jericho and Will Osprey. Wow that’s pretty loaded.
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue vs. Toni Storm & Ruby Soho (w/ Saraya)
The Outcasts jumped the babyfaces to start, and it settled down to Blue and Soho in the ring. Blue went to the top, but Storm distracted her and Soho took her down. The heels took turns working over Blue in the corner. Referee Bryce Remsburg kept chastising the Outcasts for their constant rule-breaking, prompting Saraya to shout “stop yelling at them, Bryce!” That was funny. Storm hit the hip attack to send Blue crashing to the floor.
The heels worked over Blue during the split-screen break because that’s always what the heels do during the split screen break. And then just as the break ended, Blue got the hot tag to Shida. Shida hit Storm with a forearm and Soho with an enziguri. Shida picked up Soho in a torture rack and dropped her face first to the mat. Shida kicked Soho in the head, Storm suplexed Shida, Blue caught Storm with an enziguri, Soho suplexed Storm and everybody was down.
Shida hit Soho with a knee strike and Blue hit the Code Blue for a near fall. Saraya slid the Soho the spray paint, and Blue caught a facefull of spray paint. Storm hit the hip attack for another near fall, broken up by Shida. Shida and Storm exchanged forearms in the ring, Saraya tripped up Shida, allowing Storm to hit a high kick. The Outcasts went for a double team powerbomb, but Blue took out Storm with a kick. Soho went for No Future, but Shida countered with a cradle and got the pinfall.
After the match, the Outcasts jumped Shida and Blue. Dr. Britt Baker came out to even the odds, and all six women were braling in and around the ring. The gaggle of officials struggled to separate everyone as the show ended.
Final Thoughts:
You can probably figure on a Shida/Blue/Baker v. Outcast match sometime next week before All In.
The opener was great and the Aussie Open tag was pretty fun too. There was nothing wrong with this hour of wrestling.
Dr. Britt Baker is set to speak on this Friday’s AEW Rampage.
Baker defeated The Bunny on Dynamite to earn the final spot in the AEW Women’s Championship four-way match at All In against AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida, Toni Storm and Saraya.
Shida and Storm will be on opposite sides of the ring on Friday as they compete against one another in a tag team match. Shida will team with Skye Blue while Storm will be joined by Outcasts’ teammate Ruby Soho.
The Ring of Honor Tag Team titles will be on the line as Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defend against Ethan Page & Brother Zay. Aussie Open won the titles at ROH’s Death Before Dishonor in a four-way match.
Komander and Rey Fenix will square off for the first time ever on Friday’s show. Komander is coming off his first AEW win when he beat Kip Sabian on the July 26 edition of Rampage.
Sammy Guevara vs. Jon Cruz was also taped as part of the action Wednesday, but that match has not officially been announced as of this writing.
Here’s the updated lineup:
Toni Storm & Ruby Soho vs. AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue
Komander vs. Rey Fenix
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs. Ethan Page & Brother Zay
Hours before they will take each other on for the AEW World title, MJF & Adam Cole will challenge Aussie Open for the Ring of Honor Tag Team titles as part of the AEW All In Zero Hour pre-show.
The pay-per-view event is set for London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday, August 27th.
On this past Wednesday’s Dynamite, Cole said during a promo with MJF that he has never won the titles in his time there and suggested to him that they challenge for them ahead of their singles match against each other.
After a squash win on Friday’s Rampage, Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) accepted the challenge after mocking MJF & Cole. The duo won the titles at July’s Death Before Dishonor and will be looking for their third title defense.
Former adversaries MJF & Cole were paired up in the recent Blind eliminator tag team tournament to earn an AEW Tag Team title shot. After winning it, they fell short in their challenge of reigning champions FTR.
Here’s the updated card:
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Adam Cole
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) defend against The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida defends against Toni Storm, Saraya and either Britt Baker or The Bunny
Sting & Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland & AR Fox in a coffin match
Zero Hour pre-show: ROH Tag Team Champions Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) defend against MJF & Adam Cole
The AEW International title will be on the line as part of Friday’s AEW Rampage.
Orange Cassidy will be gunning for his 28th title defense as he faces Johnny TV of QTV. The former John Morrison is looking for his first AEW gold of any kind while Cassidy is two months away from a year-long reign as champion.
In the second of three qualifying matches for an AEW Women’s title four-way at All In, Saraya will take on Skye Blue. The winner will join champion Hikaru Shida and Toni Storm who have already qualified with one final match (Britt Baker vs. The Bunny) taking place this Wednesday.
Darby Allin will face Brian Cage of The Mogul Embassy days after it was announced that Allin & Sting will take on the group’s Swerve Strickland & AR Fox in a coffin match at All In.
ROH Tag Team Champions Aussie Open will face The Outrunners in non-title action.
**********
Taped in Columbus, Ohio.
Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho and Excalibur were on commentary.
Darby Allin defeated Brian Cage (w/ Prince Nana) (10:46)
Allin started out fast with Cage and hit him with a high speed tope, but Cage soon overpowered Allin to take control. On the floor, Cage picked up Allin for a vertical suplex, then walked up the ringsteps and dumped Allin back in the ring. Cage then dead-lifted Allin into a superplex while standing on the middle rope.
The fight went back to the floor. Allin had Cage in a sleeper, and Cage broke the hold by throwing himself and Allin through the time keeper’s table. Cage dumped Allin onto the ring apron with a back suplex.
Cage dominated Allin through the split-screen break. After the break, Cage hit a pair of powerbombs for a near fall. Allin tripped Cage on the ring apron with his belt, then came off the top with a Coffin Drop that sent both guys tumbling to the floor. Back in the ring, Allin hit a code red for a near fall. After interference from Nana, Cage hit the F-10 on Allin, but Cage didn’t hook the leg and Allin kicked out. Cage took Allin up to the middle rope for what looked like a super samoan drop, but Allin countered that into a crucifix bomb. Cage went for a suplex, but Allin caught Cage with a small package to get the pin.
After the match, Luchasaurus ran in and chokeslammed Allin to remind the audience about the only match booked for All Out. Christian (with the TNT belt over his shoulder) watched approvingly on a monitor in the back.
–In the back, Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D told Renee Paquette she respects Bunny working hard to come back, but she will beat her next week to take her place in the “historical” women’s title match at All In.
– A brief video package highlighted NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston’s run in the G1 tournament.
Orange Cassidy defeated Johnny TV (with the QTV crew) to retain the International Title (8:25)
Harley Cameron sang the entrance music for Johnny TV. This was Orange Cassidy’s 28th straight successful title defense. Tony Schiavone chided Jericho on commentary for the way the Jericho Appreciation Society abandoned him on Wednesday.
Harley Cameron distracted the referee with her feminine wiles, and the QTV guys entered the ring from all sides to jump Cassidy. Just as they were about to pounce, Cassidy turned the referee around, and he ejected the entire QTV crew from ringside. Wheeler Yuta came out of the crowd to distract Cassidy, and TV caught him with a springboard kick to take control.
During the split-screen break, Wheeler Yuta joined the commentary team. Yuta continued the tradition started by William Regal of calling Excalibur “The Man in the Mask.”
Cassidy went for a tornado DDT, but TV blocked it and hit a neckbreaker for a near fall. TV then hit an even more convoluted neckbreaker for another near fall. TV missed “the Superstation” (his finisher) and Cassidy came off the top with a diving DDT. Cassidy hit the tornado DDT, an Orange Punch adn the Beach Break to get the pinfall.
After the match, Yuta slowly skulked back to ringside, and Cassidy grabbed the house mic to challenge Yuta. Soon the rest of the BCC surrounded the ring. The BCC didn’t attack Cassidy and leave him beaten and bloody (like they could have, according to Yuta), but instead Yuta challenged Cassidy for the International Title at Dynamte in Nashville next week. That should be very good.
– Ian Riccaboni ran down the history of the Ring of Honor World Tag Team championship. This was unintentionally the best commercial for HonorClub they’ve ever done.
ROH World Tag Team Champions Aussie Open defeated The Outrunners (2:12)
The Outrunners are Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd and they’re “channeling the 1980’s” according to their graphic. Aussie Open destroyed the Outrunners. I don’t think the Outrunners got one offensive move the entire match, and Aussie Open won with the Coriolis.
After the match, Aussie Open mocked MJF and Adam Cole (which got the crowd to chant “Double Clothesline!”) and accepted the challenge from MJF and Cole for Zero Hour.
– Jeff Jarrett announced the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre Death Match Championship” as a tie-in to a video game that’s coming out. Leatherface may be at Dynamite for a Death Match between Jeff Jarrett and Jeff Hardy. Spoiler alert: the winner will be Jeff.
Saraya (w/ the Outcasts) v. Syke Blue to qualify for the AEW World Women’s title match at All In.
Blue and Saraya went back and forth exchanging pin attempts early. Blue went for a sunset flip, but Saraya shifted her weight to cradle Blue, which she countered by shifting her weight back, and this went back and forth for a bit. Saraya went to the floor to regroup. Blue tried to follow her out with a cannonball, but Saraya dodged her and Blue hit the floor.
Saraya got all the heat during the split-screen break. Saraya got a near fall after a pair of knees. Saraya then locked in a chinlock. Blue came back with a tijeras and her own running knee for a near fall. Blue escaped a suplex attempt, hit a superkick and caught Saraya with the Code Blue, but Toni Storm distracted the ref. Ruby Soho got Blue’s attention on the other side of the ring and sprayed her in the face with spray paint. Saraya hit her old finisher, the “Rampaige” and got the pinfall. She ended Rampage with a Rampaige! I love it. Excalibur might have called it the “Good Night” instead, which I like a little less but I understand.
After the match, the Outcasts beat up on Saraya to end the show.
Final Thoughts:
Happy two-year anniversary for Rampage. This wasn’t as exciting as that first episode two years ago, but it was a perfectly cromulent hour of wrestling.
MJF and Adam Cole may be wrestling twice in the same day.
Cole issued the challenge on Wednesday’s Dynamite to the ROH Tag Team Champions Aussie Open for a match on All In’s pre-show, known as Zero Hour. Cole pitched the idea to MJF who at first balked at the idea of wrestling twice in one night. But he eventually agreed, saying he was a sucker for a cheap pop.
The two are already scheduled to main event All In on August 27. Cole said during the promo that while he’s won the ROH World and Television titles, he’s never held the Tag Team titles, listing some of the top teams who have held that title including Kings of Wrestling and reDRagon. After MJF agreed to the title match, Roderick Strong came out and confronted Cole, upset that he didn’t want to team with him. He left with The Kingdom, who consoled Strong as they walked away.
MJF blew it off and told Cole that he didn’t need Strong, but Cole got mad and shoved MJF, saying that Strong was his friend too. Cole immediately apologized, with MJF shrugging it off and telling Cole to check in on Strong as the promo ended.
Two title matches were announced Friday for this Wednesday’s 200th edition of AEW Dynamite.
After the events of Rampage, AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm will defend against Hikaru Shida. Shida defeated former champion Nyla Rose in the main event and called her shot after the match. That brought out Storm, Saraya and Ruby Soho on the stage and the match was then made official.
Shida will be looking for her second run with the title and first since May 2021. The two have clashed over Storm’s title before with the champion retaining on an October 2022 edition of Dynamite.
The other new title match will see new Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions Aussie Open defend against El Hijo del Vikingo & Komander. Komander picked up a singles win on Rampage over Kip Sabian while Vikingo will be in action on Saturday’s Collision in a trios match with Action Andretti & Darius Martin against Bullet Club Gold’s Juice Robinson & The Gunns.
Here’s the current lineup for the 200th AEW Dynamite from Tampa, Florida:
AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm defends against Hikaru Shida
ROH Tag Team Champions Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defend against El Hijo del Vikingo & Komander
Chris Jericho & Konosuke Takeshita vs. Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia
Jack Perry face-to-face with Jerry Lynn
Jon Moxley vs. Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Trent Beretta in an anything goes match
Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher won the titles at Friday’s Death Before Dishonor event, defeating former champions Penta El 0 M and Rey Fenix, Best Friends, and The Kingdom in a four-way match. The finish had Davis and Fletcher hitting Coriolis on Trent Beretta to win the titles for the first time.
Lucha Bros. had held the titles for 113 days, winning them back at Supercard of Honor on March 31 in a Reach for the Sky ladder match. The titles had been vacated due to the death of Jay Briscoe back in January.
Aussie Open had to vacate the IWGP and NJPW Strong Tag Team titles after Davis suffered a knee injury that required surgery. This was the first time since May that Aussie Open had teamed up, and the first time since they had signed with AEW.
The rest of the card saw champions retain their titles. The double main event had Claudio Castagnoli successfully retain the ROH World title against PAC, and Athena retain the ROH Women’s title against Willow Nightingale.
Kyle Fletcher has commented on why Aussie Open signed with AEW.
Fletcher appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast recently and said he and Mark Davis asked NJPW for “some stability” but was told it was not something that could happen at the moment.
Fletcher said:
“We were pretty happy in Japan but, not to say too much, but we wanted a contract, we wanted that stability. We’d been independent wrestlers for… I’ve been wrestling for ten years, Davis has been wrestling longer than that, we’ve been independent wrestlers for that whole time. So, I think we’d never really had that stability and that was something we really wanted and we told New Japan this and it was very much like a, ‘Yes, but not now’ type thing.”
“It got to a point where it was like if they’re not going to give us that stability that we want, we’ve asked for then let’s see what else is going on. And we’ve worked for Tony quite a lot, we worked at AEW and we really enjoyed the environment there, the backstage environment, we really enjoyed the people there. There’s a lot of people on the roster that I would love to wrestle, and that was a big thing and then also the fact that there is still a New Japan relationship was also a big deal.”
Fletcher also mentioned that he and Davis spoke with both NJPW and AEW about Aussie Open continuing to perform for NJPW while signed to AEW.
“The fact that AEW guys have been able to do New Japan stuff and because we already had that connection, it was very much, like, when we were in discussions, ‘How do you feel about us still doing New Japan stuff?’ And then we spoke to both sides and they were both like, ‘Yeah, of course, that’s not an issue. It’s still something you can do’ and that was a big part of the decision.”
Later in the conversation, Fletcher noted that one of the teams in AEW he’d like to face is FTR. The two teams headlined NJPW Royal Quest II against each other on October 1, 2022, in a match our own Dave Meltzer rated five stars.
“I think FTR is a team that we have a lot of history with. We wrestled them in the UK last year, and that was crazy, that went off, we got five stars, thanks Big Meltz. I think a lot of people loved that match, a lot of people want to see us get back int he ring with them and currently they are holding some pretty little belts so I think that’s obviously the biggest goal for us.”
It was the second five-star match of Aussie Open’s career. Their match with Will Ospreay against Death Triangle on the August 24, 2022 edition of Dynamite also received a five-star rating.
Fletcher teamed with TJP and Jeff Cobb against BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, and Hiromu Takahashi at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door II but Aussie Open hasn’t wrestled since May. They announced they were vacating the IWGP and NJPW Strong tag team titles later that month at NJPW Resurgence due to Davis being sidelined with an injury. Tony Khan would confirmed just three days later that both Davis and Fletcher had signed with his company.
Tony Khan announced following the Kyle Fletcher vs. Orange Cassidy International title match on Wednesday’s Dynamite that Fletcher and tag team partner Mark Davis had signed with the company.
“They’re one of the top tag teams in the world, and now it’s official: Aussie Open @kylefletcherpro @DUNKZILLADavis are ALL ELITE!,” Tony Khan wrote on Twitter. “Incredible match tonight Kyle Fletcher on @TBSNetwork on Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite, and get well soon, Mark Davis!”
Aussie Open had appeared on AEW TV off and on for the last year, representing New Japan Pro Wrestling as members of the United Empire stable. The team had to recently vacate both the IWGP and New Japan Strong Tag Team titles after Davis suffered a knee injury that has put him out of action. They were originally scheduled to defend the titles in a three-way at NJPW Dominion next month, but were removed from the match.
Earlier this month on Dynamite, Fletcher attacked Cassidy backstage, holding up the International title. The two opened Wednesday’s Dynamite, with Cassidy scoring the win to retain his title.
