Kyle Fletcher is the new AEW International Champion following the Beach Break edition of “AEW Dynamite” as he dethroned his former friend Konosuke Takeshita to become champion. He’s already managed to defend the title once, that being against Komander on the July 15 episode of “Dynamite,” and already has another defense set up against Bandido for the AEW Redemption 2026 pay-per-view on July 26.
Fletcher documented the day of his big win over Takeshita in his Protolog on his YouTube channel, and if there’s one thing he made very clear about the day, it was very humid. “I literally feel it dripping, and I haven’t done anything yet. All I’ve done is stand here and I’m supposed to get in the ring and fight one of the best professional wrestlers in the world. It’s going to be–it’s going to be a day. Not a lot going on yet and I’m stressing. Lots of water, job today, stay motherf****** hydrated because every drop of water that comes in this way will go out somewhere else, I guarantee it. Exciting day to be had.”
Cameras caught up with Fletcher immediately after his win where he called the match with Takeshita one of the toughest of his life, but now that he’s held the AEW International, TNT, and World Trios Championships in 2026, he is hoping to add the AEW World Championship before the end of the year.
Later on in the night, Fletcher was still riding high after his win, but he had managed to cool down enough to express how he felt when the dust had settled. “I think maybe number one hottest place that I’ve ever had to wrestle…” Fletcher said. “It’s incredibly humid here, super hot. Like people were talking about it the week before saying that it’s going to be ridiculous…it’s hard out here sometimes. My life is also awesome and I’m grateful for all of it and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Kyle Fletcher Did Have A Scare During His Title Win
Having just come back from injury, the last thing Kyle Fletcher wanted leading up to his title win was another potential stint on the shelf. There was a scare following his match with El Phantasmo on the July 2 episode of “AEW Collision” where he appeared to have gotten hurt again, but Fletcher cleared up what happened by revealing that he started unexpectedly dry heaving under the ring.
“They got me over to the doctor’s area…I just was on all fours, they were pouring water over my head trying to cool me down. But yeah, I wasn’t hurt, I just had this like–speaking to the doctors and stuff, it was an accumulation of stress, fatigue, like the day, not eating enough, not drinking enough. So it was a combination of all these things just kind of like made my body react that way. Like I was just so down on nutrients and whatever, it was like my involuntary response.”
Due to the fact that was his first singles match back since his return from injury, knowing that he had the big match with Takeshita, and the reports of how humid it would be for what is the biggest match he’d had in months, Fletcher was reaction might happen again. While it wasn’t noticeable, he admitted that there was a moment where he though he’d start dry heaving again both during and after his match with Takeshita.
“I actually did have a couple of moments where there was one moment in the match, hopefully you can’t see when, and then right after the match finishes, I had that feeling again. I had that like involuntary kind of reflux and I went ‘Oh crap, here I go again.’ I was able to push through today, real trooper that I am.” Fletcher rounded off by saying that after a conversation with the AEW doctors, his recent reactions might be more of a mental thing rather than anything being wrong with him physically.
Please credit the original source when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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