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| Aussie Open | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Aussie Open as IWGP Heavyweight and Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions in 2023 | |
| Tag team | |
| Members | Mark Davis Kyle Fletcher |
| Name(s) | Aussie Open The Aussie Assault |
| Billed heights | Davis: 1.92 m (6 ft3+1⁄2 in)[1] Fletcher: 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[2] |
| Combined billed weight | 205 kg (452 lb)[1][2] |
| Debut | 7 July 2017[3] |
| Disbanded | October 1, 2023[4] |
| Years active | 2017–2023[4] |
Aussie Open were anAustralianprofessional wrestlingtag team, consisting ofMark Davis andKyle Fletcher. They are signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) as singles wrestlers, They previously wrestled for AEW’s sister companyRing of Honor (ROH), where they are formerROH World Tag Team Champions.
The duo were previously signed toNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where they were members of theUnited Empire, formerIWGP Tag Team Champions, and inaugural and record-setting two-timeStrong Openweight Tag Team Champions.
They also have wrestled regularly forEuropean promotions, including theEngland basedRevolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro), where they are two-timeUndisputed British Tag Team Champions, and theGermany basedWestside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw), where they are two-timewXw World Tag Team Champions.
The two began teaming in 2017 whilst working on the United Kingdom independent scene and briefly wrestled under the nameThe Aussie Assault.
Both men worked around the Australian independent scene, Davis debuted in 2007 and Fletcher in 2014. Both men worked for independent promotions, such asMelbourne City Wrestling.[5][6]
Both men separately traveled to the United Kingdom in 2017, and worked for independent promotions such asWhatCulture Pro-Wrestling (WCPW) andAttack! Pro Wrestling. In July, the two men teamed together for the first time at a WCPW event, asThe Aussie Assault. After this, the two began teaming more frequently, eventually changing their name toAussie Open and working on the independent scene as a tag team. Aussie Open also competed in Europe, for promotions such asWestside Xtreme Wrestling.[7] In August, Aussie Open made their debuts forRevolution Pro Wrestling and continued to work with them in the long term. This meant that they would work withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) talent due to their working agreement with RevPro. Aussie Open commonly faced talent such asRoppongi 3K, who were on a learning excursion from New Japan.[8] During their tour of the UK in May 2018, Aussie Open made theirRing of Honor debut, losing toDalton Castle's "boys".[9] On 14 October atGlobal Wars UK, an inter-promotional event held by RevPro and NJPW, Davis lost toSatoshi Kojima.[10] In March 2019, Aussie Open won thewXw World Tag Team Championship, before losing them toIlja Dragunov andWALTER, ending their reign at 147 days.[11][12] They regained the championships 41 days later but had to vacate them after 14 days, due to Davis suffering a leg injury. In May 2019, Aussie Open achieved a massive victory, by defeating NJPW'sSuzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki andZack Sabre Jr), to win theBritish Tag Team Championships for the first time. They lost the titles toSha Samuels and Josh Bodom, ending their reign at 50 days.[13]
Aussie Open made their NJPW debut atNJPW Royal Quest on 31 August, losing in anIWGP Tag Team Championship match toGuerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga andTanga Loa).[14] Aussie Open wrestled infrequently in 2020, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. In February 2021, Aussie Open returned to Australia, for the first time as a team, wrestling on several independent shows. Aussie Open returned to RevPro on 21 August 2021, and regained the British Tag Team Championships the following month. On 19 September, at RevPro's High Stakes Event, Aussie Open joinedUndisputed British Heavyweight ChampionWill Ospreay in attacking The Young Guns andShota Umino, joining theUnited Empire stable and turning heel.[15] The three consistently began teaming as a trio across the UK. They lost the championships toRoy Knight and Ricky Knight Jr, ending their reign at 63 days. On 10 April 2022, Aussie Open, made theirNJPW Strong debuts, teaming with fellow United Empire stablemate,Jeff Cobb to defeatTMDK.[16] On 16 April atWindy City Riot, Aussie Open and Cobb, teamed with fellow stablemates,Great-O-Khan,T. J. Perkins andAaron Henare to defeatBullet Club representatives,The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows andKarl Anderson),Chris Bey,El Phantasmo and guest memberScott Norton in a 12-man tag-team match.[17] AtCapital Collision, Cobb, Henare and Aussie Open lost to TMDK in an 8-man tag-team match.[18] On the 19 June edition ofNJPW Strong Ignition, Aussie Open competed in a tournament to crown the inauguralStrong Openweight Tag Team Championship. In the first round, they defeatedThe Dark Order'sEvil Uno andAlan Angels and they defeated the Stray Dog Army in the semi-finals.[19] In the finals atStrong: High Alert, Davis and Fletcher defeatedChristopher Daniels andYuya Uemura to become the inaugural champions.[20]
At Music City Mayhem, Aussie Open teamed with T. J. Perkins to defeat the team of Alex Zayne and theIWGP Tag Team Champions,FTR.[21] After the match, Aussie Open challenged FTR to a match for the IWGP Tag Team Championships.[22] They received their match atRoyal Quest II, where they lost to FTR.[23] AtRumble on 44th Street, Aussie Open lost the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championships toThe Motor City Machine Guns in a three-way tag-team match also involvingThe DKC andKevin Knight, ending their inaugural reign at 76 days.[24]
In November, Aussie Open traveled to Japan for the first time, competing in their firstWorld Tag League tournament. The duo finished the tournament with 14 points, tieing for first withBishamon (Hirooki Goto andYoshi-Hashi), meaning both teams advanced to the finals.[25] In the tournament finals, Bishamon defeated Aussie Open to win the tournament.[26]
Davis and Fletcher would compete individually in the 2023New Japan Cup in March. Fletcher defeatedIWGP Tag Team Champion, Yoshi-Hashi, but was defeated by the other half of the tag-team champions Hirooki Goto.[27][28] Davis defeatedToru Yano in the first round before losing to United Empire stablemate Will Ospreay in the next round.[29][30] However, Ospreay would be injured in their match, resulting in Davis advancing to the third round where he would defeatEvil.[31] In the semi-final round, Davis lost toSanada, thus being eliminated from the tournament.[32] Due to Davis' success in the tournament and Fletcher's victory over Tag Team Champion Yoshi-Hashi, Aussie Open earnt a shot at the IWGP Tag Team Championships, against Bishamon atSakura Genesis.[33] On 8 April at the event, Aussie Open defeated Bishamon to win their first IWGP Tag Team Championship.[34] On 15 April atCapital Collision, Fletcher and Davis defeated The Motor City Machine Guns and the team ofKazuchika Okada andHiroshi Tanahashi, in a three-way tag-team match, to regain the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championships for a second time, making them double champions in NJPW.[35] They defended the Strong titles the next night againstLio Rush andTomohiro Ishii.[36] On 29 April at NJPW Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni, Aussie Open retained the IWGP Tag Team Championships, defeating TMDK (Mikey Nicholls andShane Haste)[37] On 21 May atResurgence, Fletcher announced that the team would vacate both titles, due to Mark Davis's injury.[38]
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On the 8 June episode ofDynamite, Aussie Open and Aaron Henare made theirAll Elite Wrestling debuts, aiding Will Ospreay in attackingFTR andTrent Beretta, who Cobb and O-Khan had attacked two weeks prior.[39] They made their in-ring debuts on the 10 June edition ofRampage, where they and Ospreay lost to FTR and Beretta in a 6-man tag-team match.[40] Aussie Open returned on the 15 June specialRoad Rager edition ofDynamite attacking FTR andRoppongi Vice (Beretta andRocky Romero) after Ospreay, defeated FTR'sDax Harwood, however, they were stopped byOrange Cassidy who was announced to face Ospreay atAEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door for Ospreay'sIWGP United States Championship, along with O-Khan and Cobb facing FTR and Roppongi Vice in a triple threat tag-team match, for both Cobb and O-Khan'sIWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships and FTR'sROH World Tag Team Championships .[41][42] At the event, Aussie Open accompanied Ospreay to the ring for his match against Cassidy, often assisting Ospreay during the match. Ospreay eventually retained the championship, and along with Aussie Open, attacked Cassidy and Roppongi Vice after the match. However, Ospreay and Aussie Open were interrupted byKatsuyori Shibata, who beat down the trio, saving Cassidy and Roppongi Vice.[43]
On 27 July, theAEW World Trios Championships were revealed, Aussie Open and Ospreay being named as participants in the inaugural tournament. On 24 August, Aussie Open and Ospreay defeatedDeath Triangle to progress to the semifinals, where they were defeated byThe Elite (The Young Bucks andKenny Omega) on 31 August.[44] After the match, United Empire attacked The Elite.[45]
Fletcher and Davis returned to AEW on the 22 February edition ofDynamite, competing in theRevolution Tag Team Battle Royal, but failed to win.[46] On the same weeks edition ofRampage, Davis and Fletcher lost to The Young Bucks.[47] The following week onDynamite, Aussie Open competed in theCasino Tag Team Royale, but again failed to win.[48]
On 9 March, Fletcher and Davis made their return toRing of Honor (ROH), which was now AEW's sister promotion, followingTony Khan's purchase of the company, defeatingRhett Titus andTracy Williams.[49] AtSupercard of Honor, The duo competed in the"Reach for the Sky" ladder match for the vacantROH World Tag Team Championship, but failed to win the match.[50]
A week after winning the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships, Fletcher and Davis made their first title defense againstBest Friends, defeating them and retaining the titles on the 14 April edition ofRampage.[51]
On the 25 May edition ofDynamite, Fletcher appeared in a backstage segment, attackingAEW International Champion Orange Cassidy and admiring the title. A championship match between the two took place on the 24 May edition ofDynamite, where Cassidy defeated Fletcher. Shortly after, it was announced that both Fletcher and Davis had signed with AEW.[52]
On 21 July 2023, the duo won the ROH World Tag Team Championships atDeath Before Dishonor in aFour-way tag team match.[53] The following week on Ring of Honor, Aussie Open made their first title defence, defeating the Iron Savages.[54] AtDynamite: 200, Aussie Open retained their titles againstEl Hijo del Vikingo andKomander.[55] On the following week's episode ofRampage, The duo accepted Better Than You Bay Bay's (Adam Cole andMJF) challenge for the titles on the Zero-Hour ofAll In.[56] In the lead up to the match, Aussie Open made further title defences againstEthan Page andIsiah Kassidy andIsiah Kassidy andThe Hardys (Matt andJeff Hardy).[57][58] On the Zero-Hour of All In, Aussie Open lost the ROH World Tag Team Titles to Cole and MJF, ending their reign at 37 days.[59]
Following the loss, the duo shifted their focus towards theAEW World Tag Team Championships, calling out championsFTR on the September 16 edition ofCollision, demanding a championship match atWrestleDream. Soon after, the match was made official for the event on October 1, which was notably the one-year anniversary of the two team's last match, for the IWGP World Tag Team Championships at Royal Quest II.[60] At WrestleDream, FTR defeated Aussie Open, retaining their Championships.[61] After the event, it was revealed that Davis had suffered a wrist injury and would be out of action, putting the team on hiatus.[62] The injury left Fletcher as a singles wrestler, where he has since joined theDon Callis Family, won theROH World Television Championship, and turned on Will Ospreay, leaving their status in the United Empire and of Aussie Open in question.[63]
On 30 October 2024, atFright Night Dynamite, Davis made a surprise return, where he confronted Fletcher over his recent actions.[64] On the 6 November episode ofDynamite, Aussie Open officially disbanded after Fletcher attempted to attack Davis, only to be chased off by Ospreay.[65] On the 5 February 2025 episode ofDynamite, Davis would also join the Don Callis Family. However, both Fletcher and Davis would continue as singles competitors.[66]
On the 8 September edition ofImpact!, Aussie Open made theirImpact Wrestling debut, defeatingBullet Club'sChris Bey andAce Austin.[67] The following week, the duo lost to theMotor City Machine Guns.[68] On 30 March, the duo appeared atMultiverse United, competing in aFour-way tag team match for theImpact World Tag Team Championship, however, the titles were retained by Bey and Austin.[69]
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