Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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(01:13):
Foundation Radio. Here is your host, Adam Barnard.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Peace World, and welcome everybody to a special conversation for
the sports term. My name is Adam Barnard and thank
you so much for joining me again today. My guest
is AEW's current TNT champion, is facing off this weekend
against hangman Adam Page at all Out for the AEW
World Championship.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
The protostar Kyle Fletcher. How are you, sir? I am fantastic.
Thank you for having me. How are you?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
I'm doing well man. It's a sunny day here in Philadelphia.
I can't complain, so yes, good day. So before we
get into the big title match, I want to start
talking about the TNT Championship win over Dustin Rhodes. Tell
me about your thoughts on the match and that first
big moment where you won aw single called Yeah.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Man, it was very special, I think, especially after what
happened all in things getting changed day of I kind
of thought like that was going to be the big moment.
So for that to kind of it was kind of
like the rug getting swept out from under me a
little bit. But I think what ended up happening in
(02:21):
its place was something really special as well. To have
a legend like Dustin Rose to go out there and
have such a killer match with him in Chicago. Yeah,
it ended up being a really cool moment, and I
think it felt like a very long time coming holding
that belt in my hands for the first time, looking
down at it, and I was like, oh, it was
(02:42):
very cool to see it finally come to fruition.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Amazing.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Now you've been with the don Kallis family, I think
since twenty twenty three obviously, what have been like learning
from Don Kallis and potentially some of the other you know,
legendary minds in the business.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Back Ye, for sure. I mean don Kallis.
Speaker 4 (02:59):
Whenever you're around someone that's been in the business so long,
it's really cool to kind of just you just shit
and you listen to them talk and they'll just come
up with like crazy stories out of nowhere, just like random,
random stuff that you never would have even thought of.
But yeah, he's super helpful and with this whole protostar gimmick,
(03:20):
the whole heel turn, the change, with the character and everything,
He's been so helpful in a lot of different ways
with it, and our relationship over those couple of years
has gotten We've gotten really close.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
We talk all the time, we text all the time.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
It's yeah, I love I love working with him, and yeah,
it's it's really cool.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Honestly.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Now you're going to be facing like we talked about,
You'll be facing Hangman Adam Page at All out this weekend.
This past week on Dynamite, Hangman said to you that
you remind him of himself from a couple of years
back before he faced Chris Jericho for the championship. But
then he told you that you weren't ready for the position. Yeah,
response to that statement, and do you believe that you're ready.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
For the shot? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Man, I think hearing Hangman say it, it just reminded
me of every other time I've heard it in my career.
I've heard that I'm not ready or not good enough,
literally since i started wrestling training at fourteen years old,
and I've heard it time and time again. And I
think hearing that kind of just puts that chip on
(04:25):
my shoulder that I want to prove him wrong. I
put so much work into this. I never stop thinking
about wrestling. I love it with all my heart and
I've worked so hard at it for over a decade
plus now, and yeah, all it makes you want to
do is prove him wrong.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
I know that I'm.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
Ready, and yeah, I know, I hope that Saturday is
the time. I mean, you dream about that big first
world title when your whole career, your whole life, So
the fact that it could be Saturday is very siding.
But yeah, more than anything, I just want to prove
that I'm ready for that.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Spot and I'm deserving of that spot.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
AW just wrapped up its residency at the twenty three
hundred Arena in Philadelphia, Philly. Again, I apologize, mister Fletcher.
We are a tough crowd, but we're unapologetic.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
So go birds. Okay, it's okay. Tell me about your thoughts.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
About being there and what it was like to wrestle
in the ECW Arena.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
Yeah, I mean, I mean, it's it's really special. I
think anytime a building has that much kind of history,
you walk into the building and you feel it because
I've watched hundreds of matches probably in that in that building.
Just to think about the kind of names that have
been in there and that have wrestled in there, it
feels like you're now a part of that legacy. The
(05:46):
Philly crowds. It's a tough crowd, it's a fun crowd.
It's it's always fun to be out there in front
of them. I think anytime you get that kind of
energy from an audience, that makes it it makes your
job a lot easier in the ring. Yeah. I love
wrestling in Philly, and I love wrestling in the ECW Arena,
and I hope we have to do some more stuff there.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
The eight man tag that you were involved in was
a major highlight for me for those past three weeks
of just spectacular wrestling. One thing I always notice is
that the attention to detail and you getting that pin
in the match felt like a major moment for you,
as well as being that central figure in what happened
with Kenny Omega post show and you know, putting him
on the sholp for a little bit. Do these moments
reinforce for you where you see yourself with AW and
(06:28):
potentially where maybe Tony Kahn sees you as he starts
building the future of AW.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
I think anytime you kind of get put in a
spot like that, I mean even just getting to wrestle
guys like Hangman in Omega, I think just that in
itself kind of shows the kind of level that Tony
perceies me at and hopefully that the fans will then
(06:54):
perceive me at that. I'm kind of at that level
as well. I mean I watched AWS inception in twenty nineteen.
Hangman and Omega have been the young bucks as well.
They're in that match. They've been the figureheads of the
company the whole time, so I think to now be
mentioned in the same vein as them, Yeah, it really
(07:15):
does kind of put in perspective to me kind of
the position I'm in in the opportunity that I now have,
and I mean taking out Omega facing Hangman, I think
I would hope that it's just a sign of things
to come for the future.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Speaking of major names that you've worked with, you had
a program with Will Ospray which was absolutely phenomenal. They
also feel like it changed the course of your trajectory
within AW. What was it like working with Will through
that program and then was there a moment maybe before
or during or after where you felt those tides shifting
from a creative perspective for you?
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (07:50):
Absolutely, I mean me and Will. The cool part is
that we have real life history and we have we
go way back. Man and I met him back in
twenty eighteen when I was only eighteen years old.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
I just moved to the UK.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
So to be able to be put in a program
and to have such a big spot next to someone
that I call a very very close friend, it's really cool.
I think we have a lot of trust in each other,
and I think that just made what we do out
there even more special because we're willing to put our
bodies on the line and put our lives in the
(08:26):
hand of each other. It definitely was a huge turning
point for me. I think it was kind of what
saw me start to get elevated within AW.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
I think people.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
Started to see me as this wrestler that deserved to
be put in singles matches on pay per views, to
be put in these high caliber situations, and I think
that Few was the start of that.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
I think that it was full gear. I want to
say that I really started to feel it shift.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
I went into that match and I knew the opportunity
that I had and I knew what that could mean
for me.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
And when I was out there, man, I.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
Almost felt the tides turning whilst I was in the ring,
because you get those moments in matches sometimes where you
get a split second of pause, you're laying on the
mat and you just can.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Feel the energy in the room.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
And on that night, I really felt that energy and
I was able to lay there and think, Wow, we
have something special going on here. And I think from
that day my career trajectory has not.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Been the same.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Since now with somebody with spectacular hair. I always appreciated
the look that you had, and I know that shaving
your head marked a change in your appearance, but it
also seemed to reflect a maturing point in your career.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
For sure.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Has that changed anything about the way that you felt
from a character perspective or how you've wrestled with that
maturity level?
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
I think it was something I needed to do to
kind of shed who I was before and to grow
into I think, into a man in the ring. I
think beforehand, I kind of felt like someone who was
always like I needed to prove myself, like I was
(10:18):
still on the climb up, like I was still like
maybe one day I'll get there. I'm just happy to
be here, happy to be doing whatever. I think it was.
It was symbolic, but it was also needed for me
to become who I was meant to be, and now
when I'm out there, I feel so confident in who
I am as a wrestler, so confident in who I
(10:42):
am as a person as well. When I'm out there,
I'm totally in the moment and I'm loving it. And Yeah,
I think it really helped me feel like the total package.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
My last question for you again, thank you so much
for your time, so I really appreciate it. You're one
of the most talked about competitive in AW right now,
and it feels like that trajectory for you keeps climbing,
especially with this AW World Championship match. Would you, if
I were to ask Kyle Fletcher, would you consider yourself
the future of AW were potentially even a new pillar
within AW.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Ah Man, I think I would love to view myself
that way, but I don't think that is for me
to decide. I think that the especially the pillar notion,
is something that it kind of felt like the fans
were in charge of. They were the ones that dubbed
the pillars. I mean, I'm I know I'm going to
(11:39):
be with AW for a long time to come.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
I love AW with all my heart and I.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
Hope to be a part of that growth, and I
just want to do anything I can.
Speaker 5 (11:49):
To help spread the word, to help make AW feel special,
to go out there and have some of the greatest
matches of all time, just to keep making AW into
a bigger and biggest spectacle, because Yeah, that's.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
What I want to see. And if I can be
a part of it, if I can be at the
forefront of it, that's just icing on the cake.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Kyle Fletcher, I want to thank you again so much
for your time. He is challenging Hangman Adam Page this
weekend for the AEW World Championship This Saturday, September twentieth
at All Out coming to you live from the scotiop
Bang Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and you can watch
the entire event on HBO Max with a special start
time of three pm Eastern Time, but as always, check
(12:29):
your local listings for start times in your area. Kyle Fletcher,
thank you again so much for time, sir, and good
luck this weekend.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Pleasure Man, thank you very much to see you then.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
This episode of Undation Radio is hosted, recorded, and produced
by Adam Barnard. Additional narration and production is provided by
the executive voice Sam creps. Our mixing and engineering, as
well as our intro music is by Carl panell. Our
outro music and additional musical accompaniment are produced by Enrichment.
Follow Adam on X or Twitter or whatever and Instagram
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