Feel the Wrath! | AEWeekly #195

Welcome to the #AEWeekly review discussion where PWM contributors reflect on the highlights of the last week in AEW. The eligibility week always includes the most recent episode of Dynamite and Collision, plus any social-media exclusives up until publication.

This week’s contributors are Abel [@loza3.bsky.social] covering Match of the Week, Lauren [@sithwitch.bsky.social] exploring a key Story Beat, Emiliana [@emilianartb.bsky.social] giving us the MVP of the Week, and Sergei [@sergeialderman.bsky.social] editing and organizing it all.

 A page of links to prior installments may be found here: #AEWeekly

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Kyle Fletcher vs Ace Austin: TNT Championship

"This is the first of many… hopefully"

by Abel.

Another week, another Collision banger. Last week it was the ROH champ, where this time, it was the TNT champion's turn to give us one of their best matches of 2025 versus an AEW rookie who is looking to make a name for himself in the company. This was Kyle Fletcher and Ace Austin's first singles match against each other – they've had only three tag-team matches against each other previously – but from their chemistry together, it looked as though they'd wrestled each other at least 100 times before. The second match of the November 8th edition of Collision was a back-and-forth battle that showcased impressive strength and athleticism from both men, keeping the crowd in an absolute tizzy. Because of all of that, Fletcher vs Austin for the TNT Championship is this week's match of the week. 

To start the match, both competitors couldn't look any more different. Austin is short-built, 5'8", with the ability to jump out of the arena, but is still built like a brick house. Fletcher is 6'3”, long-limbed, lanky, and a powerhouse who can absolutely bang with the best of them. The height difference between Austin and Fletcher was noticeable, which added to the match's dynamic. 

Early in the match, Austin gives the crowd a reason to cheer, showcasing his athleticism. Like the true chicken-s*** heel that he is, Fletcher slows the match down, pacing around the ring to regain his composure. Austin is a fantastic combination of power and athleticism, but Fletcher is still able to throw him around like a rag doll,  highlighting the Protostar’s strength. The crowd is behind Austin, a good sign of the future of the newest AEW wrestler. There were at least five different times that the crowd chanted for the Inevitable one. 

Fletcher makes everything look like it hurts, whether it is the high boot he makes his opponents eat in the corner, the “Last Ride” style power bomb, or the Brain Buster; he makes everything look so seamless and also painful. The back-and-forth between Fletcher and Austin was incredible and a perfect example of professional wrestling at its finest. The crowd forgot that Fletcher was going to be the inevitable winner and fully bought into Ace Austin possibly winning the TNT title. 

Eventually, the only thing that could finally keep Austin down was an Avalanche Brain Buster. Fletcher got the 1-2-3 and can now fully concentrate on his no-DQ match against Mark Briscoe. Even though Austin lost, this will not be his last title match. It's … inevitable that he gets another one. 

This could be a future rivalry for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship. Ace Austin has most definitely proven that he belongs on this roster, which is arguably the most talented roster of wrestlers in history. Even with the loss, Austin proved he can compete in this roster and will eventually be a main-eventer in AEW. Austin is a star in the making. Making him part of the Bang Bang Gang was a no-brainer, and once Jay White returns, that will only help the wrestler from New Jersey. 

As for Fletcher, he is right now. This match continues to add to his impressive resume of matches in AEW. He can do any match under the sun, and will rightly continue to be pushed to the moon. 

Kazuchika Okada

"We will be… ProtoKada!"

by Lauren.

Kazuchika Okada has been having a perfectly nice time since arriving at AEW. He has largely been coasting by, happy to spend time with his friends the Young Bucks, putting on consistently great matches, and occasionally being a silly little guy. But he has been a largely static character during this time, with rare moments of emotional intensity, such as during the match with Kenny Omega where the International and Continental titles were unified.

But for the past few weeks, Okada has found a direction. Since joining the Don Callis Family, Okada has been targeting his silly little guy tendencies in one direction: at his ostensible teammate, Konosuke Takeshita.

Takeshita, who was introduced to AEW as an up-and-comer from DDT, went from a sweet Cinnabon boy to a cold-blooded killer after being taken under the wing of Don Callis. With his unmistakable talent and good looks, he was hailed as the next Kenny Omega, the next Hiroshi Tanahashi–and the next Okada. But Okada's ego will not stand this comparison; to him, he is one of one.

But both are also in the large (and growing) Don Callis Family. While Don is determined to have power and acclaim by means of sheer numbers, he has failed to account fully for the egos involved. When Takeshita phoned in to a team meeting, promising to win the New Japan IWGP Belt for the Family–a promise he kept–Okada dismissively shut off the video. For weeks, he has been pushing Takeshita's buttons, with the two being forced to work together by Don in a tag team match that they only won by dint of their opponents (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens, formerly the Acclaimed) crashing out due to their own animosity first.

This week, with Takeshita in Japan for a string of DDT dates, Okada swooped in. He approached Kyle Fletcher and offered his support and the vision of an eventual team-up, as “ProtoKada.”

“ProtoShita” is both the tag name for Kyle and Takeshita, as well as their ship name (which Kyle began using on Twitter before the two ever officially teamed up.) The two became fast friends, calling each other husbands, with their respective significant others (Skye Blue and Yuka Sakazaki) even joining in on the fun. Their friendship was something fun and pure in the midst of the Callis Family villainy. 

Fan outrage hit swiftly, with social media referring to Okada as a homewrecker and “Mr. Steal Your Man.” The audacity of Okada trying to ruin something so delightful! This, more than anything so far, is showing the depths Okada is willing to sink to in order to cause problems on purpose for Takeshita. And he did it all with the big fake grin he has been using to antagonize Takeshita every time they meet.

The DCF, while large, seems too small for the two of them. And Okada, driving wedges and attempting to bring in the Young Bucks to back him up, is determined to be the one left in Don's spray-tanned embrace.

Harley Cameron

"Honorary Houston Baddie"

by Emiliana.

This past week in AEW took place in my hometown of Houston, TX, in a brand new venue for AEW television, the Bayou Music Center. Wednesday and Saturday were two packed houses, but I believe Saturday was completely sold out, which makes sense for most people. Unless you’re a sicko like me who didn’t care that they had to work at 6am the next morning for both shows.

But this is MVP of the week, and I would like to offer my live-show perspective on this one. The people who had the biggest pops of both shows were as follows (not necessarily in this order): The Bang Bang Gang, Kyle Fletcher, Harley Cameron, and Hangman Adam Page. Fletcher put on an absolute banger with Ace Austin, making Austin look like a star even in defeat; the Bang Bang Gang also had an amazing tag match that the crowd was fully behind (this is Texas, after all, we live for the “GUNS UP!”), Hangman is - well - Hangman, and Harley Cameron pinned the forever ROH Women’s World Champion Athena on Wednesday.

And so here I decide on my MVP: Harley Cameron.

Harley, as we know, isn’t quite the best in-ring talent. But she is one of the best character wrestlers in AEW, with such a great talent for promos, backstage skits, and literally anything else you could think of. She also has spectacular live event charisma. On Saturday after Jamie’s win against Skye Blue on Collision, the women that would be participating in the coming week’s Blood & Guts match stormed the ring, with both the babyface teams and the heels at each other’s throats. Houston was SO rabid for this altercation, that when we realized that both Thekla and Harley were in the ring, aka the last women’s B&G advantage match, we were clamoring for them to ring the bell. There were chants of “LET THEM FIGHT!” and “RING THE BELL!” all throughout the music hall, and Thekla and Harley were doing their best to climb over the top of AEW Security.

As we kept up the chants, and the hootin’ and hollerin’, we began to realize that they weren’t gonna go for each other just yet….because they weren’t moving. They were stalling. Tony Schiavone got in the ring and handed Harley a microphone, and she cut a short promo, maybe a sentence or two at Thekla, to keep us hyped - and that’s when I realized they were probably in a commercial break, and they couldn’t start the match till they came back.

I hate to bring up the non-kayfabe stuff, but that cracked me up a little bit. It was also slightly disappointing, because I didn’t see the point in waiting for them to come back from commercial if the crowd is hyped and raring to go. However, once it was time to come back from the break, it was like nothing had changed. The crowd was ready to see Harley “SQUASH THAT SPIDER!”

The match itself felt like the pacing was off, but that did nothing to detract us from being fully behind Harley. After getting a win over a world champion, it was like her star had risen even higher in our eyes. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be, but it was an incredible throughline for the week in Houston, to see Harley get such a wonderful reception. I hope I get to see her as a world champion one day. Hell, that day may come sooner than we all expect, since her pin over Athena has granted her a match against the forever champion at ROH: Final Battle before the year is over. I’m not saying they should pull the trigger on Harley just yet. But one day they will, and I for one cannot wait.