Once best friends, now even bigger enemies, Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher let out years of emotion and animosity at AEW Full Gear 2026 with the AEW World Championship hanging in the balance. Fletcher beat Ospreay at Full Gear two years ago, but unfortunately for the "Protostar," he couldn't replicate that success this time around as Ospreay just about managed to retain his title. However, he wasn't the man standing tall at the end of the night, as that privilege belonged to MJF.Throughout the match, the challenger tried to get into Ospreay's head by using the crowd against him as they were mostly on Fletcher's side. This encouraged the champion to take the match very seriously, targeting the ribs of Fletcher once he landed a Styles Clash off the apron to the floor. From there, it was Fletcher who had to rally against Ospreay, who consistently struck Fletcher in the ribs and abdomen.Ospreay tapped in to a darker side of himself when Fletcher was busted open after smacking his off the exposed turnbuckle twice. As the blood began to flow, Ospreay delivered a series of elbows and Hidden Blades that still couldn't keep Fletcher down, even the Stormbreaker couldn't put Fletcher away. In the end, Ospreay's red mist descended as Fletcher, much like the end to their Steel Cage match at AEW Revolution 2025, told his former friend how much he hated him. This lured Ospreay in to where Fletcher secured a Backslide that almost gained him the win, but after a series of pin attempts, another Hidden Blade landed flush on the chin, only for Fletcher to kick out at one out of sheer spite.The champion wasted no time in hitting yet another Hidden Blade, and put the exclamation point on the match with a brutal Tiger Driver '91 to gain the victory and retain his title. The two men stared at each other in the aftermath knowing it's likely not the last time they'll fight over the AEW World Championship.After the match, Ospreay embraced the rest of the United Empire, including Andrade El Idolo who made sure that the champion saw his contract for a guaranteed shot at his title, As the United Empire got to the back, Ospreay was attacked by a masked figure with a burlap sack. Inside the sack was the "Triple B" and behind the mask was Maxwell Jacob Friedman, with MJF raising what he calls the Real AEW World Championship above his head while standing on Ospreay's belt. United Empire ran back down to chase off MJF and stayed by Ospreay's side as the show faded to black.
