Last month, WWE fans bid farewell to AJ Styles as he wrestled what seems to be his final match for the company. The 48-year-old passed out due to a submission from GUNTHER at the 2026 WWE Royal Rumble, but after the match, Styles declined to lay his gloves down in the ring.
This was enough to get fans speculating about Styles wrapping up his in-ring career elsewhere, such as TNA or AEW. Though it’s far from confirmed, the rumor mill seems to be pushing the idea that Styles is AEW-bound, and I can’t say I’m too surprised. Despite downplaying the idea that he’d ever wrestle there while under contract with WWE, there’s no denying that Styles has many friends in the company, and it could be argued that AEW is built upon a foundation laid by Styles with his work in ROH, TNA, and NJPW.
If Styles is preparing for a final run in AEW, there’s no shortage of exciting opponents for him to match up with, and there will certainly be a long line of wrestlers hoping to get in the ring with him before all is said and done. However, there’s one AEW talent that I’d like to see mix it up with Styles more than any other: Kyle Fletcher.
Kyle Fletcher’s time has arrived
Over the last several years, few wrestlers across the industry have had the kind of ascent Fletcher has experienced. Fletcher initially seemed destined for the tag team division, though that was derailed by an injury to his Aussie Open partner, Mark Davis.
With a combination of purposeful character work and undeniable in-ring performances, Fletcher has since made a name for himself as one of AEW’s top singles stars, and his series against Mark Briscoe has proven what he can do with industry veterans. At just 27 years old, Fletcher represents the arrival of pro wrestling’s next generation, but he didn’t come out of nowhere.
It would not be a stretch to trace Fletcher’s style back to Styles. Though he might not be willing to admit it onscreen these days, Fletcher takes a great deal of inspiration from friend-turned-rival Will Ospreay, who previously learned a great deal from Styles. Ospreay’s connection to Styles is more direct, and though they’ve wrestled before, that’s another match-up that would be all but guaranteed should Styles sign with AEW.
All that is to say: Fletcher and Styles would mesh well together, and the basic story between them kind of writes itself. In many ways, Fletcher is the next generation version of Styles, and there’s a lot they could do in the ring to play off that concept.
Let them cook
With Fletcher as a member of The Don Callis Family and the current TNA Champion (as of this writing), there are plenty of different ways he could get involved with Styles onscreen. A match between them could involve a title, or they could have conflict due to Fletcher wanting to prove himself against one of the all-time greats.
If Styles is finishing up with an AEW run, it’s not going to last very long, but hopefully they learn from what worked about Bryan Danielson’s retirement and what didn’t work about John Cena’s: you need stories. Give them a few promo segments together and let the conflict build. Then, make sure the match has plenty of time and a proper platform, and let them cook.
I’m envisioning a 30-minute bout that positions Fletcher as the faster and more violent of the two, while Styles makes up for losing a step physically with having a better mind for wrestling. Depending on the timing of the match, it could make sense for either man to be booked to win before heading their separate ways.
The one and only caveat involving a match between these two is the intensity of Fletcher’s offense. Styles is no spring chicken, which he’s discussed at length while talking about his decision to retire in 2026. If Fletcher and Styles wrestle a match together, they need to strike the right balance between hard-hitting moves and keeping Styles safe and able to finish out his run.
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