Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher - Steel Cage Match - AEW Revolution 2025 - Five Star Friday

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AEW Revolution 2025

03/09/2025

Crypto.com Arena. Los Angeles, California.

Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher - Steel Cage Match

AEW

Kyle Fletcher spent years doing what many wrestlers spend those same years chasing, a front row seat to greatness. While Tag teaming alongside Mark Davis of Aussie Open, the pair found themselves a part of something much larger, a group known as United Empire, with Will Ospreay at the helm. One of the most successful and well-travelled wrestlers in the world, Ospreay helped lend a level of authenticity to Davis and Fletcher, giving them the boost they needed to become one of the most exciting teams in the business. 

But sometimes, that proximity to greatness can be more of a crutch than a boon, making it difficult for your own star to stand out beneath the brilliant glow of another. Fletcher was talented inside the ring, a star in his own right, but Ospreay, he was the real deal. The total package. Fletcher was the protégé, the partner, the younger brother. Stuck inside of Ospreay's orbit, Fletcher would get nowhere and have his light continually dimmed by the brilliance of Ospreay. 

This is the difficulty of becoming distinct and unique in a business based around individuality and standing out. Fletcher could be genuinely one of the most talented, charismatic, and outstanding wrestlers in the world, and perhaps he always has been. But standing beneath the shadow of someone as good as Will Ospreay, it is next to impossible for you to stand out. He was at risk of becoming more of a reflection than a revelation, another clone of one of the best in the world. His similar haircut to Ospreay doing him zero favours either. The bond of Aussie Open was slowly beginning to suffocate Fletcher, rather than support him. The comparisons to Ospreay were becoming deafening and the idea of being "the next" was terrifying. He wanted to be the first; the first Kyle Fletcher.

Making a decision that would change the course of his career forever, Fletcher set out to sever himself from Ospreay completely. In a vicious act of outright betrayal, Fletcher stabbed Ospreay with a screwdriver and shaved his head bald right before Ospreay's eyes. In one night, Fletcher cut both the emotional and visual ties to someone he looked up to, someone he once saw as a brother. Now, all he saw was an obstacle, one that needed to be obliterated. He changed his gear and his entire presentation, his attitude shifted and his wrestling style was much more vicious and precise than it was before. Fletcher was doing everything he could to distinguish himself from who he was, and who he looked like, with every passing day. Under the guidance of Don Callis, Fletcher emerged as the arguable Ace of the Family, the most trustworthy and dangerous card Callis would keep up his sleeve. 

Suffering from the fallout of the betrayal, Ospreay now finds himself cast out from the guidance of Don Callis and without the companionship of someone he thought he could trust. At AEW Full Gear in November of 2024, one month on from when Fletcher attacked Ospreay at AEW WrestleDream,  the challenge was made and accepted. Fletcher and Ospreay, one-on-one. Kyle was ready to prove that this was not a mere surface level change, that this was a full-blown character revival, right down to beating Ospreay in the centre of the ring. In one moment, one pinfall, Fletcher was proving that he was more than just another, he was on track to become something else entirely. 

But some wounds just refuse to heal, and some betrayals demand something harsher than a simple three count. They demand the unforgiving walls of a steel cage, and the promise of mutually assured destruction. The rematch was set for AEW Revolution 2025, a fight inside a steel cage. For Fletcher, this was another chance to prove that he was truly breaking away from Ospreay and turning into his own man. For Ospreay, it was a chance at redemption, and a chance to remind the world that there is a difference between carving your own path and destroying the hands that helped guide you there. Inside the cage, two men who once called each other brother entered, but only one would leave. Either the first version of himself, or a carbon copy of another. 

 

Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher - Steel Cage Match

 

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Will Ospreay

Kyle Fletcher and Will Ospreay. via WrestlePurists

The faction known as United Empire originally started in New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2020, with Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, and Bea Priestley being the original members of the group. Eventually, UE would grow in size and absorb more members, including the likes of TJP, Templario, Andrade el Idolo, HENARE, as well as Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis of Aussie Open. 

Despite still being signed to NJPW, Ospreay began showing up for AEW in 2022, bringing Aussie Open along with him as he challenged for the AEW Trios Championships in a losing effort to The Elite in the semifinals. He appeared for AEW off and on until officially joining the roster at the end of 2023. Viewed as a massive get for AEW, Ospreay was one of the hottest Gaijin wrestlers in New Japan, blowing peoples minds with almost every match he was in. It seemed like he was a shoe-in for AEW from the moment he appeared with the company, with his signing only proving the suspicions of many correct. 

Kyle Fletcher

Kyle Fletcher, circa 2024. AEW

Signing with AEW in the first half of 2023 alongside Aussie Open's muscle Mark Davis, Fletcher and Davis spent time chasing both the Ring of Honor World tag Team Championships as well as the AEW World Tag Team Championships. They managed to pick up the ROH World Tag Team Championships at ROH Death Before Dishonor 2023 by defeating The Lucha Brothers, The Kingdom, and Best Friends in a four way match. They held onto the titles for only 37 days, losing them to "Better Than You Bay Bay" at All In 2023's Zero Hour. 

Following the loss, they set their sights on the AEW World Tag Team Championships, looking to challenge FTR at WrestleDream 2023. Not only were they unsuccessful in their challenge, but Mark Davis also suffered a wrist injury, forcing him to take time away and leaving Fletcher alone. 

But he wasn't alone, really, as he had Ospreay to team alongside of while both were under the wing of Don Callis. Able to win the vacant ROH World Television Championship, the "Protostar," as he was being referred to as, was seeing success as a singles wrestler. He held it for only 196 days, a considerable reign for being your first proper singles gold in a big company, but Fletcher wanted more. He tried to win the AEW World Tag Team Championships while alongside Ospreay, but was unsuccessful. So, the decision was made. Fletcher was going to rid himself of Ospreay. Attacking him following Ospreay's match against fellow Don Callis Family member Konosuke Takeshita, Fletcher sealed his fate and changed the course of his career forever.

 

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The Match - Star vs. Protostar

via @kylefletcherpro on X

Coming to the ring first, Fletcher laps the ring and runs his hand along the cage, assessing the situation before deciding to ascend the cage, rather than going through the door. Standing at the top, Fletcher bellows out for Ospreay, arms spread wide as the lights fade around him and Ospreay's entrance starts. He gets a custom start to his usual entrance, with audio of Ospreay saying "I am on another level" before his signature music fills the arena. Eyeing up the cage, Fletcher ascends to meet Fletcher at the top. In one of the most stunning visuals you may ever see, Ospreay stands at the top with his arms outstretched, gesturing rather simply but effectively for the crowd to sing along to his entrance. "OSPREAY! OSPREAY!" they shout in unison, one voice, as Fletcher plugs his ears, refusing to acknowledge the adulation his rival is receiving. 

They stand at the top, staring across from one another at opposite corners of the cage. Ospreay is the first to descend to the top rope, with Fletcher taking his time to climb down inside the ring. Callis and Excalibur on commentary talk about how Fletcher is wearing the same boots tonight as when he had his match against Ospreay at AEW Worlds End in December of 2024, stating "they did not have enough of Will's blood on them." A chilling remark, but a clear message of intent for this match tonight. 

The bell rings and they charge for centre, both men locking up with strong forearm shots back and forth. Ospreay is the first to try and knock down Fletcher with a rope rebound shoulder tackle, but Fletcher stands tall and comes back with one of his own, back and forth they go, trading shots, until Ospreay first back with a heavy handed forearm shot that staggers Fletcher where he stands. Going for the ropes again, Ospreay tries to knock him on his ass, but he gets flattened by a shoulder tackle instead. 

Another rope rebound and a headscissors on Fletcher takes him down and stumbling to the corner for a break, but Ospreay charges, only to get sent over to the apron. He looked to try for a springboard, but couldn't find enough room out there to fly like he wants to, so he opted to just climb back inside the ropes. His indecision and hesitation allowed for Fletcher to gather his wits, attempting to send Ospreay into the cage but gets reversed. Catching himself on the steel, Ospreay acts quick and bends the fingers of Fletcher in the cage wall, looking to weaken his grip. Using this moment to gain an advantage, Ospreay goes for his handspring off the ropes, but his leg connects with the cage and he drops to the canvas, gripping his ankle. Trying to collect himself, he rises to his feet, but is met with a vicious lariat from Fletcher. 

The suffocating limits of the cage. AEW

Pulling Ospreay to his feet, heavy handed chops punish the chest of Ospreay, but Ospreay returns fire, only for Fletcher to stop the assault and look for his Sheer Drop Brainbuster early to try and put away Ospreay, but he gets countered into a stunner quickly, with Ospreay too fresh to be caught with the biggest shot in FLetcher's arsenal just yet. Flying off the ropes for a springboard cutter, Ospreay gets caught as he snags the head of Fletcher, flipped around into a lawn dart into the cage wall face first. Reaching for the prone Ospreay, Fletcher reveals his face covered in crimson, the cage wall busting him wide open.

Grating his head along the cage, Fletcher is incensed upon seeing the blood of Ospreay, even going so far as to lick the wall of the cage where Ospreay's wound was opened further. Mounting Ospreay in the corner, Fletcher keeps on the wound, opening it further and further, with Fletcher going for the first cover off a corner whip, with Ospreay meeting it chest first. Back on his feet, Ospreay gets shot into the corner again but jumps up to the top rope, flying off with a forearm shot that drops Fletcher in the centre. 

Bitch! You thought! AEW

Yelling as he stands, Ospreay begins fighting back, rebounding Fletcher into the cage over and over again, dropping him with a back body drop before landing a Sky Twister Press and a pinfall, but Fletcher holds on. Referee Paul Turner tries to check on the wound of Ospreay as he tries to wink the blood from his eye, with Ospreay assuring him "I'm fine! I'm fine!" not wanting this match to end due to a technicality or an injury. Going for the Stormbreaker, Fletcher drops to his knees, only to get pulled back to his feet before getting three heavy handed chops across his chest, the final one dropping him flat out. 

Pulling himself up on the apron,  the chest of Fletcher is flayed wide open and bleeding from the vicious chops of Ospreay. More heavy hands lace the chest of Fletcher, rebounding off the cage walls as the heavy hands crack the ribs and damage the sternum of the Protostar. Looking for the Hidden Blade early, Ospreay lines up Fletcher, but eats a boot before getting pulled around and down into a vicious Snap half and half suplex. Pulling himself to his feet, Fletcher rips the top turnbuckle pad off, setting up a dangerous corner for Ospreay to crash into.

He tries to shove Ospreay in face first, but Ospreay throws a boot up and stops himself, returning fire on Fletcher, only to get shoves back first into the corner, his shoulders and spine meeting the harsh steel. Rolling back, Fletcher charges in with his signature running boot, crashing into the face of Ospreay with vicious speed.  Seating Ospreay on the top, Fletcher tries to superplex Ospreay back inside the ring but Ospreay fights his way out, pulling Fletcher's head down and onto the steel turnbuckling, delivering a vicious kick before pulling his feet out from under him, dropping him face first on the exposed steel. 

Up for some cheeky Nandos? AEW

A wheelbarrow catapults Fletcher into the cage, his body crumbling as he falls down the harsh steel wall and down to the apron. Pulling Fletcher back to the ring by his wrist, Ospreay drills him with right hands before dropping him with a bodyslam. Climbing to the top rope, Ospreay hopes to fly, but Fletcher knocks  Ospreay's legs out from under him, seating him on the exposed turnbuckle once again. Pulling himself to the ropes as he leaks cromson from his own head, he meets Ospreay on the top rope as they fight against the cage, with Ospreay dribbling Fletcher hard against the cage. He hits him so hard, he practically goes limp against the cage before stumbling back and falling to the canvas. 

Flying off the top with, what Excalibur calls, the Cancun Tornado, he crushes Fletcher beneath him and tries for a pin, but only scores two! Pulling Fletcher to his feet and looking to set him up for the Stormbreaker, Fletcher finds his second, third, or maybe even fourth wind, getting vertical before trying to send Ospreay into the cage wall, but Will grabs the top rope and stops himself. Unfortunately, Ospreay gets dropped on the top and crotched, with Fletcher rebounding off the ropes and connecting with a heinous kick to the skull of Ospreay, dropping him back down to the canvas. 

Not very nice, pal. AEW

Pulling Ospreay to centre, Fletcher fucking drills Ospreay with a massive, unreal Last Ride powerbomb, absolutely folding Ospreay in half as he holds him down for three, but Ospreay gets out at two! Both men leaking blood and struggling to stand, Fletcher pulls Ospreay up slowly, landing vicious kicks to the head of a kneeling Ospreay, but Will eats the kicks and gets to his feet as Fletcher stands against the middle rope, admiring his blood stained kickpads. Turning to meet the wild smile of a crazed Ospreay, Fletcher catches a right hand on the jaw, nearly dropping him where he stands. 

Going back and forth, each man grabs the other by the back of the head and bends the other over, landing punt kicks to their bloody domes. First they exchange forearms, then chops, and now punts, insane work. Stunning Fletcher with massive, Misawa-esque forearm shots, he lines him up for the Hidden Blade, but Fletcher catches him under the jaw with a thrust kick rebounding with a lariat only for Ospreay to catch the arm, twist around, and try for a powerbomb, only for Fletcher to reverse into one of his own! Ospreay is straight upside down, so Fletcher pulls him up to try for the powerbomb, but Ospreay is able to use the momentum to spike Fletcher with a DDT! What?! 

Don't blink! AEW

Double underhooking Fletcher, he tries for Stormbreaker, but Fletcher slips out and lands on his feet, able to land his Sheer Drop Brainbuster! Draping an arm, he gets a close two, but Ospreay gets out, despite his body tensing up like a coiled spring. Without warning, Mark Davis comes down to the ring with a duffel bag, cutting open the lock keeping the cage closed, he opens the door and grabs a steel chair, gifting Fletcher a bag of goodies. Ospreay gets to the door and pulls it shut, holding tight until Davis tries to climb inside, only to get the cage door kicked in his face.  

Ospreay is the first to open the bag, retrieving a barbed wire covered baseball bat, lining up Fletcher before swinging for the fences, landing a shot to the gut and back of a prone Fletcher. Holding Fletcher on his knees, he maims his face with the barbed wire.  Mimicking one of the most insane, hardcore wrestlers in history, Ospreay throws up a pair of finger guns and shouts "BANG BANG!" an homage to Mick Foley. Staggering out of the corner with the bat acting like a cane, Fletcher cowers and begs off Ospreay in the centre, covered head to toe in blood. 

Trying to reason with Ospreay, he holds up the signature crowns of United Empire after putting on their old armband, trying to get the band back together. Ospreay responds with a single finger salute before swinging with the bat, only to get caught with a low blow from Fletcher. That sly devil.  

Shadows of the past. AEW

Removing the UE aermband, he wipes his head clean of blood before shoving it in the mouth of Ospreay, literally forcing him to choke on his blood and the unity of the UE that once mattered to both of them more than anything.  Lining up Ospreay, Fletcher charges out of the corner and swings wildly with the bat, losing grip on it after Ospreay ducks the shot. Turning around, Fletcher gets caught under the jaw with the Hidden Blade and dropped like a shot! Pulling him in, Ospreay drops Fletcher with Stormbreaker and goes for a cover, but Mark Davis is back inside the cage and breaks up the pinfall!

Face equally covered in blood, he chokes out Ospreay as he offers a hand for Fkletcher, helping him to his feet so he can pick the bones of a wounded Ospreay. Trying a double team move on the wounded Ospreay, they stand next to their target before popping him up high, only for Ospreay to set himself on Fletcher and rip him down with a poison rana! Acting quick, Davis pulls Ospreay in for a powerbomb but Ospreay slips through his legs and escapes. He snatches the chair that was brought into the ring and tosses it to Davis, who catches it, only to catch a chair-assisted Hidden Blade to the face!

Kicking Davis out of the cage, he closes the door once again as a crew of referee's try to chain it back closed again. Inside the ring, Ospreay climbs the cage wall and lands a massive Oscutter off of the cage! Holy hell! He lays out for a cover, but Fletcher survives! 

Cheeky bit of climbing. AEW

Stealing barbed wire from the bat, Ospreay wraps his right elbow with the wire, looking to add extra damage the next time he lands his Hidden Blade. Fletcher, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with Ospreay, making a frenzied attempt to climb out of the cage, with Ospreay close behind. Once Fletcher reaches the top, he rummages around the cables and rigging, only to pull out a screwdriver! Wasting no time, he drills it into the head of Ospreay, dropping him back to the canvas. 

Using the screwdriver more like a shiv, he stabs at Ospreay in the gut and back, stalking Ospreay like Jason Voorhees. With Ospreay in the corner, Fletcher winds up and goes to stab Ospreay, but he misses and buries the screwdriver several inches into the turnbuckle pad instead. My lord. Grabbing Fletcher after the miss, Ospreay tries for a Styles Clash, but Fletcher fights out, kicking the gut and rolling through with Ospreay to land a vicious Brainbuster!

Not content to end it with one, he instead sets up the chair and lands another Brainbuster on an open chair, but Ospreay gets out at two! Digging back around inside the duffle bag, Fletcher retrieves a small black sac, dumping its contents onto the canvas; thumbtacks, millions of sharp points paint the canvas silver. Another Brainbuster attempted, but Ospreay reverses out, able to twist and pull Fletcher into position for a Styles Clash! He hooks the arms of Fletcher and takes off, driving him crotch first into the tacks! Ah!

Little extra shove, just to be cute. AEW

He turns Fletcher over for the pin, but it's two!! Writhing and shouting with pain, Fletcher gets pulled to his feet as Ospreay sets him up for Stormbreaker again, but Fletcher manages to adjust on his shoulders and climb the cage! Seating himself on the top, Ospreay grabs the screwdriver as he climbs to meet Fletcher. Seated up top as they fight with headbutts, Ospreay digs the screwdriver into the skull of Fletcher. Repositioning themselves on top, Ospreay holds Fletcher as both men stand, and an entire arena shifts from excited chatter to stunned shock. A building holds its breath before Ospreay takes flight with a fucking insane Spanish Fly! What the hell is happening?!

Good fucking god. AEW

Removing his elbow pad, Ospreay is on his feet and bellowing like a man possessed, lining up Fletcher in the corner for the Hidden Blade. 

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I FUCKING HATE YOU!" Fletcher shouts, defiant even in his dying breaths. "YOU SON OF A BITCH! FUCK YOU!"

Charging out of the corner, Ospreay doesn't hold back, letting lose with a vicious Hidden Blade that nearly sends Fletcher's jaw into the nosebleeds. Pulling him to his feet, he drills Fletcher with a move he reserves only for the most extreme moments, the Tiger Driver '91. Planting Fletcher on his head and shoulders before folding him up him for the final, decisive, merciful, three count. 

The killing blow. AEW

Ospreay struggles to his feet as medical staff swarm the ring to check on Fletcher, his celebration subdued but earned. He stands over a friend he once considered a brother, the crowd bellowing "OSPREAY! OSPREAY!" along with his song as Will stumbles out of the cage before celebrating at the top of the ramp. Much deserved, Billy Goat.  

 

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Mercifully disposing of Fletcher. AEW

While Fletcher may have come out of this match on the losing end, he did more for himself in losing than most do in winning. He proved that he is more than just Will Ospreay's tag partner, more than his lackey, more than a protégé. In beating Will in 2024, he proved he could stand toe-to-toe with his mentor and come out the other end, but this match established Fletcher as a fighter and a survivor. That even despite odds that continue to stack against him, injuries that continue to mount, and punishment unlike anything else, he is a man on an island of his own. 

If you watch this match and only take away "Will Ospreay beat Kyle Fletcher, so he's the better man," and can't see that, despite the loss, Fletcher did heaps of work to establish himself as someone wholle unique to Will Ospreay, than I don't know what to tell you. There's a viciousness to Fletcher that he got to show off in this match, a need to prove doubters wrong, a desire to make sure he stands out among the pack. His performance in this match more than made sure Fletcher would be a name that people speak about despite Ospreay, that even though these matches included Ospreay, Fletcher will be remembered because he was able to more than stand on his own against someone so many people believe to be the very best in the world. 

For this, and so much more, Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher - Steel Cage Match, is a 5 star match.  

Until next time, be well, stay safe, and love one another.

Cliff Morgan

 

 

 

 

cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com   

 

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