AEW recently announced the signing of tag team Aussie Open to their roster, we’ll have a look at the best matches of their career so far.
The Australian duo of Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis are two of the premier talents to come out of Australia, and have formed one of the world’s best tag teams.
As part of Will Ospreay‘s United Empire faction, the duo have made waves in New Japan Pro Wrestling, winning the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships in impressive fashion.
They also made their way to AEW, wrestling alongside Ospreay in the AEW Trios Championship tournament, losing to The Elite in the semi-finals (more on that later).
Here are Aussie Open’s best wrestling matches of their career so far, although expect many more bouts to be added to this list as time goes by.
5. vs Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada, NJPW Capital Collision 2023
This 3-way tag team match between some of the biggest stars in wrestling starts off this list of Aussie Open’s best matches.
The Australian duo faced off against legendary duo Motor City Machine Guns, as well as former IWGP Heavyweight Champions Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi, in a big to win the NJPW Strong Tag Team Championships.
The bulk of the match was carried by Aussie Open and MCMG, with some incredibly fast-paced, fluid action that the guns became famous for in TNA.
This match showed why Aussie Open are one of the best teams in the world, as they managed to hang in the ring with one of the all-time great tag teams, and two of the finest wrestlers in history.
4. vs The Elite (with Will Ospreay as United Empire), AEW Dynamite
The semi-final match between The Elite and United Empire was a dream match for many, that did not fail to deliver.
While this was one of Aussie Open’s best matches, it was the long-running rivalry between Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay that had fans on their feet.
This match was the first time fans had seen them share a ring in years, and the anticipation in the ring was palpable.
When the two men finally faced it, it was brief, yet incredible. This is not to diminish the work of Aussie Open and The Young Bucks, who themselves are two of the greatest teams in the world today.
3. vs FTR, NJPW Royal Quest II
At the one-night-only event in London, Aussie Open challenged FTR for their IWGP Heavyweight Tag team Champions, in a match that showed AEW fans just how good they way.
NJPW fans knew exactly that, having watched their body of work for the past year. To them, it was a classic performance from two of the best wrestlers in the world.
The match told a perfect story, playing the heel/face role brilliantly. Aussie Open play perfect foils to FTR here. cutting them off at every opportunity and getting the crowd to cheer for the AEW duo.
The English crowd got more and more into the match the longer it went, building to a crescendo that they simply needed to see FTR defeat Aussie Open, making it one of their best matches yet.
2. vs VeloCities, PWA Black Label
Despite taking place in the little-known PWA promotion, Aussie Open tore the house down against the VeloCities in 2021.
While still building their reputation as one of the best teams in the world, they showed why they have now earned those stripes, and why Jude London & Paris De Silva should also be in that conversation.
The match was lightning quick, not slowing down for even a second. This was remarkable, considering the match went 37 minutes. It’s a testament to all four men’s skills and stamina that they crafted a story that good, lasting that amount of time.
The story was compelling, the spots were insane, and the pacing was mind-blowing. Truthfully, one of the best matches I have seen in a long, long time, if not ever.
1. vs Death Triangle (with Will Ospreay as United Empire), AEW Dynamite
Despite their short stay in AEW, Aussie Open had some of their most incredible matches in the promotion, including this five-star classic.
Mark Davis, Kyle Fletcher and Will Ospreay teamed up to try and become the first ever AEW Trios Champions.
They entered the tournament and were immediately placed into a scrap with Death Triangle – PAC, Penta El Zero M and Rey Fenix.
This pitted one of AEW’s greatest trios with three of the worlds best. I guaranteed greatness, but went beyond brilliance by the bell had rung to signal the end.
Some may consider this a “bad match” – it was a spot fest, with little regard for the rules and an emphasis on action, not story. In a vacuum, this doesn’t always work, but as the only match on the show that does this, it was wonderful.
It’s the kind of match you can watch on repeat, and never get tired. Their spots are wonderful crafted, seem death-defying in nature and leave you thinking “how the hell did they do that?”.
Will Ospreay was the clear star of the match, although the return of Kip Sabian to attack PAC during the match added some story to this bout, which was awarded the full five-stars from Dave Meltzer.