Kyle Fletcher names John Cena, The Miz among his biggest promo inspirations
During John Cena’s retirement tour, AEW star Kyle Fletcher was glued to the screen watching some of his promos.
Fletcher appeared on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet and discussed how he’s been able to improve his own promo ability. It’s a skill that Fletcher has gotten better at over time by finding more confidence with each rep. When it comes to his biggest promo inspirations, Fletcher named Cena, The Miz, Roman Reigns, and a few of his AEW colleagues.
“This always gets a bit of a laugh, growing up, I’m a little bit younger than a lot of wrestling fans, one of the people that first drew me in with their promos was The Miz. A lot of people have things to say about him now, but like, I still think he’s one of the best. I always thought that,” Fletcher said before Van Vliet added that fans are starting to appreciate Miz now. “Totally. That’s always how it happens as well. It’s like right when they’re on the way out, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, you know what? He was pretty good back in his day.’ But I was 12 years old in 2011, going, ‘This is the best. I’m Awesome!’
“So, yeah, that was probably my first one. I think Cena is far and away, like, the best promo guy I’ve ever seen. The stuff in his final run, there’ve been a couple where I’ve just been like, sitting there glued to the screen, just like, ‘How is this guy just so amazing at what he does?’ Roman obviously now, and then there’s Hangman [Page] I think is one of the best guys on the mic. [Samoa] Joe every time he’s on the mic, I’m so drawn into him. MJF as well. Those are kind of probably where I draw the most inspiration from, I’d say, those guys.”
The 26-year-old Fletcher has become one of the biggest breakout stars in AEW and all of pro wrestling. He told Van Vliet that he considers it a huge compliment when people to compare him to stars like Will Ospreay or Randy Orton, but Fletcher wants to carve his own path instead of being considered the second version of someone else.
Fletcher is competing in the Gold League of the AEW Continental Classic with a 2-1 record so far. He has victories over Kazuchika Okada and Kevin Knight but lost to “Speedball” Mike Bailey. Fletcher will face off against PAC in a tournament match on Dynamite this week.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.