AEW Full Gear: Honest Review

Last night fans sat back and tuned into AEW’s latest PPV, Full Gear and with a stacked card full of must-see encounters and matchups with so much on the line this was an evening you didn’t want to miss out on! Now, a lot went down during the show and upon looking online there really is a mixed bag of reactions but when we look back through the action of last night just what were the best and worse moments? And did Full Gear live up to expectations?

An Excellent Showing For the Tag Team Division

The AEW tag team division is evidently incredibly strong and during last nights Full Gear PPV we saw that point proven massively! With two intense and must-see tag team encounters All Elite Wrestling sent a clear message that they are providing the best tag team action on the scene today. Opening the night with the Young Bucks vs Proud and Powerful the standard was set for the rest of the evening. Now, while I did feel as though this match could have been cut a little shorter the personal rivalry was clear here. The weeks of tournament and the in depth build to this collision paid off and what we saw here was a tag team matchup between two of the best teams on the scene today. I loved how much there was a focus on the leg of Matt Jackson throughout this bout and the win for Santana and Ortiz was a brilliant booking decision and added to the momentum the really needed.

Now the tag team championship match was also a success in my opinion. If I’m being honest, however, I do feel as though we had the opposite problem here and we should have seen this match go on for a little longer. We had the titles on the line and three incredible tag teams in the ring while I absolutely loved this match and felt it was a strong tag team bout I do believe it should have been longer so we could have gotten more out of it. SCU retaining the titles didn’t come as a surprise what so ever but Christopher Daniels return disguised as Pentagon JR was a brilliant touch, tied in the with story we’ve seen since the tournament and eases into a big must-see rivalry between the two teams we can expect to see in the coming weeks.

A Risk the Paid Off

The women’s division really has come a long way since the AEW debut. Each week we are seeing new faces added and matches like the women’s championship bout last night prove that the competition is high, and all the potential is there. Now, If I’m being honest, I wasn’t originally very excited for Emi Sakura vs Riho mainly because I’m not massively aware of the work of Sakura however, the risk to book a match between these two names really did pay off. While there are arguably bigger, more popular mainstream names within the women’s roster this match told a basic story that had fans invested. Sakura is a very experienced and accomplished competitor, the trainer of the women’s champion and her opponent for the evening and so that teacher vs student angle was one that had me and so many others sold. Sakura had plenty of momentum heading into this match and her performance on the night really did turn heads and get people talking about her.

 This was a very entertaining, fast-paced match with so much brilliant wrestling on show and I went from not being very interested at all to really enjoying this encounter.

A Must Win for Hangman Adam Page

One of the stronger matches of the evening unsurprisingly came from the one on one encounter between PAC and Hangman Adam Page. The two are no stranger to one another with their rivalry dating back to January of this year. Their elven month back and forth strife has seen the pair take part in epic matchups in the past and last night was no different. Their history meant the chemistry was evident from the start and the intense strikes and sheer brutality of this match blended with the awesome wrestling made this a huge standout of the evening. Both men proved yet again to be huge additions to the AEW roster and for sure future champions but the win for Hangman was a major deal and one he truly did need. Going into the match I personally was rooting for Page as it was clear from the get-go this was a win he needed massively!

The WWE Mistake

While I hate to bring the WWE into this post it's clear that there was a WWE like a mistake made during last nights Full Gear PPV in the sense that we did see matches add to the night that possibly didn’t need to be there. Now, this may not be something everyone agrees with but take the Shawn Spears vs Joey Janella encounter, while I really did enjoy this match and felt it was in itself a standout match of the evening I didn’t feel as though it was a bout that needed to be on the PPV card. This evening, in my opinion, should have showcased the biggest and most intense rivalries at the moment and focused in on those big-time matchups. However, what I did like was the fact both men were really in need of a match that could boost their moment even more. The pair are rather even when it comes to their win-loss record and this match highlighted once again the importance and the effect the win-loss record has but I do believe the match didn’t need to be on the card and could have been saved for an episode of Dynamite.

More Than a Title Match

The build to Cody Rhodes vs Chris Jericho had everything you could ask for. This was an intense, personal rivalry with so much more on the line than the AEW Championship. The collision to be fair was inevitable but how the company has gone about booking this rivalry has really grabbed the attention of fans and drew everyone in. Because of the backstory and the build, everyone was glued to their screens and the action taking place when this match kickstarted. With Cody promising that if he didn’t beat Jericho he would never challenge for the AEW championship again as well as his mother at ringside and keeping the build in mind there was too much to take in here. Now, was this the best wrestling match of the night? If I’m being totally honest, no, it wasn’t but it had everything you could ask for. There was chemistry between the two opponents, a brilliant story, intense competition, fantastic wrestling, and fans were left genuinely on the edge of their seats with no way to really predict how things would conclude.

Throughout this match, Cody really did show how much heart he has while Jericho made sure to provide with the best heel character work we could expect. Now, talking of expectations I’m pretty sure no one could have expected or predicted this match to end the way it did, with MJF throwing in the towel for Cody meaning Jericho walked away with the win and Cody will never challenge for the AEW Championship again. This was an incredibly risky and controversial move to make from AEW but in my opinion… I liked it. We never see a match end this way. We saw Cody pushed to his limits, forcing his body to go further than expected and this was such a smart way to conclude the bout and give it such a unique twist! Turning MJF heel was such a great touch also!

More Than Work the Wait

As someone who grew up totally obsessed with ECW and have always been a major hardcore wrestling fan Jon Moxley vs Kenny Omega at Full Gear was right up street! As two personal favourites of my own I was glued from the get-go and this was the match I was most excited for and boy did they live up to expectations. This was an excellent encounter and while different from what we typically see from omega he adapted to the hardcore style here perfectly but when sharing the ring with Jon Moxley in an encounter like this one your best may not be enough. This match highlighted just how much Moxley has been held back in the past. There was so much creativity here and Omega and Moxley really did prove there is space for hardcore wrestling today. These two men went as far as their bodies could take them and come the end of the match it was clear they really could not have done any more than they did. Moxley’s win here was huge and he more than deserved and earned it. This was an incredible match, hands down one of if not the best match I’ve ever seen from him and both guys showed they really are two of the best in AEW today.

Wow! What a show. AEW Full Gear really did provide fans with a bit of everything. There was something for everyone here and the closing match changed the game massively and ended the night on a high that is unexplainable. Moxley and Omega went reached new heights and raised the bar sending a huge clear message to the world. There wasn’t a single dull moment, we saw great work from the tag team and women’s division and we had so much story to each match that it left you completely hooked regardless.