Published: 8 hours ago by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: 8 hours ago by Dave Adamson
Dave has been a website writer for WrestleTalk since October 2022, having previously written for Den of Geek, among a number of wrestling, movie and television-related sites. Dave has been around the independent wrestling scene for more than a decade, including behind-the-scenes.
AEW
The Don Callis Family may have set goals for the unlikely tag team of Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight in AEW.
Over the past few weeks, Kevin Knight and Kyle Fletcher have formed a tag team under the auspices of the Don Callis Family, despite The Protostar not being convinced by the union.
Fletcher has been vocal about the pairing, with September 5 marking the first time they would team up, scoring a victory over Bang Bang Gan (Ace Austin & Juice Robinson) on that week’s Collision.
That win would be followed up with another in a table match victory over The Young Bucks on this week’s Dynamite.
Two wins in quick succession and it’s clear that Fletcher and Knight are “doing pretty good for NOT A TAG TEAM”, according to The Protostar’s recent tweet.
It may be too early to call them FletchKnight, but there could be a plan within The Don Callis Family that has brought them together:
Extinguishing The Protostar
AEW All In saw Kazuchika Okada defeat Kyle Fletcher to become International Champion, with Konosuke Takeshita also competing in that three-way match. Okada congratulated Fletcher in learning the value of family in a recent backstage segment, no doubt adding to the tension felt by the former champion.
With the rivalry between Fletcher and both Okada and Takeshita, there’ll be a point where the tension breaks and that might mark the end of The Protostar in the Don Callis Family.
Putting Fletcher Back In The Box
Teaming Fletcher with Knight may have seen back-to-back wins, but it could be argued that Fletcher has excelled in singles competition.
Despite being a tag team specialist, Fletcher has had more success in singles action, being a two-time TNT Champion and a former International Champion. He has also held the World Trios Championship with Okada and Mark Davis.
Placing Fletcher in a tag team against his will could be seen as a way of reminding him that his destiny isn’t his own.
No Singles Championship For The Tag Team Wrestler
Fletcher in a tag team and under the direction of Don Callis could see the star unable to compete for a singles championship until his manager decides to let him. Whether that would be a rematch for the International Championship, currently held by Okada, or another title entirely, it would be at the whim of Callis. Further to this, it would satisfy Callis’ ego to see two of his family fight it out once again.
A star of Fletcher’s caliber has all the tools to command a world championship run in AEW and could very well do that outside of the Don Callis Family.
Fletcher Vs. Ospreay
On the topic of world championship runs, they don’t get much bigger than the AEW World Championship, currently in the hands of Will Ospreay.
Ospreay and Fletcher have a lot of shared history that saw their friendship dissolve. Fletcher would go to extremes, shaving his own head to prove he was nothing like Ospreay in July of last year.
During Ospreay’s AEW All In: London entrance, the pair shared a moment of respect backstage, although no words were exchanged and there wasn’t an embrace or any indication of friendship.
That said, Fletcher vs. Ospreay for the AEW World Championship may be the type of thing that The Protostar needs to remind the world who he is.
Don Callis Family Emancipation
A member of the Don Callis Family since October 2023, Kyle Fletcher is currently the longest-tenured member of the faction outside of the man himself.
With Sammy Guevara, Will Ospreay, Rush, Powerhouse Hobbs, Konosuke Takeshita and Andrade El Idolo all having left the faction and gone on to varying levels of success, Kyle Fletcher would be in good company outside of the family, with all the opportunities he could pursue as his own man.
Fletcher Doesn’t Need The DCF
Looking back at Kyle Fletcher in 2023, the star that graces AEW screens today is an entirely different beast. No longer in the shadow of Will Ospreay, he has rebuilt himself to be one of the must-see stars on a stacked roster of talent.
A point will come when, very much like his relationship with Ospreay, Fletcher realizes that he no longer needs the Don Callis Family and moves on. There are relationships to rebuild, opportunities to seize and titles to win, all of which Fletcher is more than capable of achieving, and more.
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