WORLDS END III - 12/27/2025

[tbarrie]

I just recently got caught up on World's End and Dynamite, and can now brave this folder without fear of spoilers once more.

On 12/28/2025 at 12:23 AM, dorfus malorfus said:

I was going to start watching this company again now that Ospreay is gone but then they go and make Gabe Kidd a regular. Looked like a fun show though. People can hate on MJF all they want but he's one of their only guys who gets himself super over without working the tediously maximalist house style. You'll know this company is finally doomed when they start putting the belt on nondescript "great workers" like Takeshita and Fletcher.

A year or two ago I'd have emphatically agreed on Fletcher, but I don't see how you can call him "nondescript" at this point. His heel mannerisms and emoting are off-the-chart great, in my opinion.

On 12/28/2025 at 8:47 AM, JLSigman said:

Moxley/Okada was INCREDIBLE. Storytelling, technical, spots, everything. I really was expected Takeshita to make an appearance, or even just distract Okada with his entrance music starting to play, but this was solid. Well deserved win, Moxley is the man to beat.

Interfering in a Continental match gets you fired, though, so it would require some booking finesse to have Takeshita show up during the match and explain why he was still around the next week. The music thing might work, but it would still annoy people.

On 12/31/2025 at 3:50 PM, AxB said:

I think the plan was for Don Callis to distract the ref while Okada got the screwdriver, but Don missed his cue. So the ref missed Okada taking the weapon because he was reacting to nothing happening.

That would imply that Callis was in on the plan to use the screwdriver on Takeshita, which I don't think is the storyline they were going for. It seemed clear to me that the family's plan was to plant the screwdriver so Fletcher could use it on Moxley, but Okada said "Screw it, I'm going to stab Takeshita.".

Or at least that's what they wanted viewers to take away at this point - it's entirely possible once Takeshita officially breaks away from the family that Callis will reveal that he gave Okada the go-ahead or something. But I doubt they planned to make that obvious yet.

[dorfus malorfus]

On 1/1/2026 at 5:39 PM, tbarrie said:

 

A year or two ago I'd have emphatically agreed on Fletcher, but I don't see how you can call him "nondescript" at this point. His heel mannerisms and emoting are off-the-chart great, in my opinion.

 

I've read MattD's analysis and it's persuasive and I want to see it but when I watch his stuff it's just not there. Like, at all. He still spams big moves, still does enough bombastic 'holy shit' stuff just for the sake of getting a pop which totally undermines the "actual heel not a cool heel" argument, he still screams when he runs which isn't a major demerit but is just wildly irritating, and all of his head drop moves always look super reckless and dangerous, although I guess he hasn't hurt anybody yet. I think people read him as "strong heel" because he's actually just legitimately an extremely creepy and unlikeable guy with a derpy face and who doth protest too much in shoot interviews about how concerned he is about SA in wrestling considering who his friends and ex-roomies are so I'm sure it's only a matter of time before his dirty laundry gets aired.

Edited January 6 by dorfus malorfus

[NikoBaltimore]

11 hours ago, dorfus malorfus said:

in shoot interviews about how concerned he is about SA in wrestling considering who his friends and ex-roomies are so I'm sure it's only a matter of time before his dirty laundry gets aired.

I'm not aware of anything related to this but would like to find out more.  I know Fletcher's friends with Ospreay and he's been talked about for quite some time already but not sure of anything beyond that.

[AxB]

Fletcher wasn't in the Ospreay house, he was in the Schadenfreude house. So that was Chris Brookes, Kid Lykos, Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher (and Eddie Kingston for a bit).

[tbarrie]

12 hours ago, dorfus malorfus said:

He still spams big moves, still does enough bombastic 'holy shit' stuff just for the sake of getting a pop which totally undermines the "actual heel not a cool heel" argument, he still screams when he runs which isn't a major demerit but is just wildly irritating, and all of his head drop moves always look super reckless and dangerous, although I guess he hasn't hurt anybody yet.

These all seem like valid complaints to me, but I don't see how any of them make him a "nondescript 'great worker'". (The screaming in particular would seem to point to the opposite of nondescriptness, unless AEW has dozens of guys who scream when they run and I just haven't noticed.) He does all those things, but he also, in my opinion, does an excellent job of conveying fear when the babyface is on offense and being a cocky prick when he's dominating. He has legitimately annoying catch phrases. He sells pain in a way that's arguably over the top, but then, it's hard to be too over the top for pro wrestling.

In short, I get not liking his ringwork, but I still don't see how current Fletcher could reasonably be called "nondescript". And that's coming from me, who not so long ago referred to him as one of the "Two Bland Kyles" whom I couldn't keep straight. He came a long way in 2025.

[twiztor]

i also couldn't have cared less for Kyle Fletcher pre-2024, but i feel like's been on fire ever since. a LOT of what he does is over the top and would normally evoke eye rolls, but it also just kinda....works for me? i'm honestly not sure why i can appreciate it more coming from him than a dozen or so other guys who have the same or similar tendencies. But it does, and IMO he's borderline top 5 of the current AEW roster.

[RazorbladeKiss87]

Fletcher is awesome. He's unlocked an intensity and attitude that has pushed him to must see for me. 

I know that one specific user has a hard-on for Ospreay and his friends over the Speaking Out stuff but saying you're waiting for the skeletons you're so sure exist to appear is wild. You could say the same about anyone! And saying that Fletcher seems too supportive of getting creeps out of wrestling while going on a one person crusade on a message board seems like the pot calling the kettle black. 

[The Natural]

@RazorbladeKiss87: Did you enjoy the show? I didn't tag you afterwards as you said you'd be seeing it late so you weren't spoilt. Cheers.

[RazorbladeKiss87]

2 hours ago, The Natural said:

@RazorbladeKiss87: Did you enjoy the show? I didn't tag you afterwards as you said you'd be seeing it late so you weren't spoilt. Cheers.

I did, except I skipped the main. I don't think it reached the sustained highs some AEW PPVs hit but the CC matches ruled. Mixed Nuts was a lot of fun.