Wrestling Legend Did Not Find Kyle Fletcher Outstanding, Argues AEW Star Looks Shorter On TV

Written by Hazel Pagador • Published Aug 10, 2025 11:28 EDT
AEW star Kyle Fletcher

A wrestling legend did not hold back on letting his thoughts be known about Kyle Fletcher.

At AEW All In, Kyle Fletcher’s supposed singles match against Adam Cole for the TNT Championship was nixed after the champion had to vacate the title following an injury. As a result, a four-way bout was held with Dustin Rhodes claiming the victory and the gold.

Despite the loss, The ProtoStar continued targeting the gold and eventually became the TNT Champion by defeating Rhodes during the July 31 episode of Collision in a vicious Chicago Street Fight. Although the match and the wrestlers were well-received by the public, Dutch Mantell thought otherwise.

In an episode of Story Time with Dutch Mantell, the wrestling legend shared that he was shocked by the amount of blood and violence present in the match that “didn’t have a big build-up to it.” The former WWE manager added that it was a match he expected to see 30 years ago.

Mantell then talked about the stars involved: Dustin Rhodes and Kyle Fletcher. He thought that the former champion liked having a lot of blood involved, and stated that Fletcher looks shorter on TV, and that nothing was outstanding about The ProtoStar.

Of course, Dustin [Rhodes], I think he likes it, to tell you the truth. But it ended up when Dustin had a lot of blood, the other guy, what was his name, Kyle Fletcher? I’ve never even heard of him, but that was about it. But he’s not different looking. You said he’s about 6’3″. He doesn’t look that big on TV, he looks like he’s like 5’11”, maybe, or no more than 6’0.” I mean, well, TV’s hard to tell anyway, but there was nothing outstanding about the guy.”

Dutch Mantell Says Kyle Fletcher And Dustin Rhodes’ AEW Street Fight Should’ve Had More Build-Up

In the same podcast episode, Dutch shared that he enjoys gimmick matches like the Chicago Street Fight if there is a proper build-up, which wasn’t the case for this bout. He then compared the AEW Collision Street Fight to how independent shows conduct it.

I hadn’t even heard of a build up. Even by reading their results, I hadn’t even been reading about Kyle Fletcher. So therefore, he’s a name that, I mean, you go to an independent show, you’ll see matches like this on independent shows for no reason. I think that’s what, I think the independent shows got away from their, you know, their entertainment part. And you have, I have seen guys, they’re like blood lovers. They’re going to do it whether it calls for it or not. They’ll just go out there and do it. And you’re thinking ‘why?’, and they just happen to like it. That’s what I think happened in this one.”

In other news: Kyle Fletcher reflects on WWE offer before joining AEW.