Kyle Fletcher got into a heated exchange with a fan on X on Monday after catching criticism for his excitement over Ilja Dragunov potentially signing with AEW. Fletcher defended his personal friendship with Dragunov and ended the back-and-forth by blocking the user.
The whole thing started when Fletcher posted “I LOVE J AEW,” with the first letter of each word spelling out “ILJA” as a nod to Dragunov, who is reportedly heading to AEW.
A fan pushed back, criticizing what he saw as AEW talent paying too much attention to wrestlers leaving WWE.
“See, this right here is what’s sad. AEW has an entire roster of men and women that the talent can be gassing up, but they choose to froth at the mouth over the newest WWE departure instead. We had MJF tweeting about the New Day, now Kyle Fletcher is tweeting about Ilja Dragunov.”
Fletcher fired back with a simple “Oh f*** off colin.”
After the fan pressed on, Fletcher explained that his interest in Dragunov had nothing to do with his time in WWE. The two are friends, he said, and haven’t seen each other in years.
“So what? I love professional wrestling and am excited at the prospect of wrestling one of my friends I haven’t seen in years. Someone who has been underappreciated for years, will finally have the chance to spread his wings and create the professional wrestling he loves. Let people be excited and live with a childlike sense of wonder without feeling the need to poopoo all over it, Colin”
The fan kept going, pointing to Megan Bayne and Bobby Lashley as talent already on AEW’s roster who, in his view, don’t get the same kind of attention.
Fletcher shut it down.
“Well thanks for the fun Colin but now I know you’re either an idiot or choosing to act like one for engagement In either case, have a nice life. Blocked.”
Fletcher’s interest in facing Dragunov again predates the exchange. The two had a singles match at PROGRESS Chapter 100 in December 2019, which Dragunov won.
In August, Fletcher said the prospect of another match between them excited him, highlighting the intensity Dragunov brings to his matches.
The back-and-forth came just hours after Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reported that Dragunov is heading to AEW.