Last month, WWE fans bid farewell to AJ Styles as he wrestled what appears to be his final match for the corporate. The 48-year-old passed out because of a submission from GUNTHER on the 2026 WWE Royal Rumble, but after the match, Styles declined to put his gloves down within the ring.
This was enough to get fans speculating about Styles wrapping up his in-ring profession elsewhere, resembling TNA or AEW. Though it’s miles from confirmed, the rumor mill appears to be pushing the concept Styles is AEW-bound, and I can not say I’m too surprised. Despite downplaying the concept he’d ever wrestle there while under contract with WWE, there is no denying that Styles has many friends in the corporate, and it could possibly be argued that AEW is built upon a foundation laid by Styles together with his work in ROH, TNA, and NJPW.
If Styles is preparing for a final run in AEW, there is no shortage of exciting opponents for him to match up with, and there will definitely be a protracted line of wrestlers hoping to get within the ring with him before all is claimed and done. Nonetheless, there’s one AEW talent that I’d prefer to see mix it up with Styles greater than another: Kyle Fletcher.
Kyle Fletcher’s time has arrived
During the last several years, few wrestlers across the industry have had the form 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 mixture of purposeful character work and undeniable in-ring performances, Fletcher has since made a reputation for himself as one in every 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 professional wrestling’s next generation, but he didn’t come out of nowhere.
It will not be a stretch to trace Fletcher’s style back to Styles. Though he may not be willing to confess it onscreen as of late, Fletcher takes an incredible deal of inspiration from friend-turned-rival Will Ospreay, who previously learned an incredible deal from Styles. Ospreay’s connection to Styles is more direct, and though they’ve wrestled before, that is one other match-up that might be all but guaranteed should Styles sign with AEW.
All that’s to say: Fletcher and Styles would mesh well together, and the fundamental story between them form of writes itself. In some ways, Fletcher is the following generation version of Styles, and there is rather a lot they might do within the ring to play off that idea.
Allow them to cook
With Fletcher as a member of The Don Callis Family and the present TNA Champion (as of this writing), there are many other ways he could get entangled with Styles onscreen. A match between them could involve a title, or they might have conflict because of Fletcher wanting to prove himself against one in every of the all-time greats.
If Styles is ending up with an AEW run, it is 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 would like stories. Give them a couple of promo segments together and let the conflict construct. Then, be sure the match has loads of time and a correct platform, and allow them to cook.
I’m envisioning a 30-minute bout that positions Fletcher because the faster and more violent of the 2, while Styles makes up for losing a step physically with having a greater 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 isn’t any 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 should strike the fitting balance between hard-hitting moves and keeping Styles secure and capable of finish out his run.