Here are my final thoughts on All Elite Wrestling’s Full Gear!
Bea Priestley vs. Britt Baker
Reactions: I’m still not convinced that Britt Baker is worthy of competing on such a big stage due to her weak-looking offense and lack of experience. But this match came off a bit better than I originally expected it to be. Both women seemed to have a chip on their shoulders here and looked to prove that they deserve to be on PPV. This match started off a bit slow, but gradually picked up the longer it went on. After the big superplex spot, the crowd got into it a bit more and the same can be said for me. Decent outing here. I also enjoyed watching Brandi Rhodes and Awesome Kong show off their new act post-match. There’s certainly a bit of intrigue there.
Rating: 2 & a Half out of 5 Stars
The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. Proud & Powerful (Santana and Ortiz)
Reactions: Proud & Powerful’s ascension up the AEW tag ranks just skyrocketed with this major win. And to see it come from such a hot opening PPV starting matchup was quite the treat. The character work here from Santana and Ortiz was top-notch, as was their work in the ring. The story being told here was a nice slow-burner that saw Nick Jackson’s legs severely weakened throughout the match. There were a lot of hot tag team maneuvers dished out alongside the cool involvement of The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express. While I think it could’ve been even greater with a few more minutes of action tacked onto it, I still enjoyed everything put on display here. Add in the insane Flip Piledriver that saw an elderly legend take out a young boy and you’ve got yourself a thoroughly entertaining start to the show.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Adam Page vs. Pac
Reactions: This was a pretty brutal encounter between two equally talented competitors. The action started off hot and proceeded to get even hotter as time went on. Pac was in supreme asshole mode on this evening as he tore into Adam Page on the outside and kicked him relentlessly. Once Adam got a second lease on life, he added more life to the match and took it to another level. Kudos to Adam for taking that sick brainbuster to the steel chair near the ring barrier. Both men got enough time to work an intense matchup and they more than delivered. Good to see Adam get his revenge and add another win to his comeback trail.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Joey Janela vs. Shawn Spears (w/Tully Blanchard)
Reactions: Shawn Spears and Tully Blanchard work like a well-oiled machine. Their partnership has resulted in both men getting the best of every opponent they find themselves working against in AEW. Joey Janela tried his best to sever their partnership, but it was to no avail. This matchup was a solid encounter that saw Joey damn near sacrifice himself a few times. Shawn’s work is extra crisp and the way he punishes his opponent through illegal means fits him well. That’s exactly what he did here as he used the ring post and even his trusty manager to get one over on Joey. Fine work from both men here.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky) (c) vs. Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr. and Fenix) vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) (Three-Way Tag Team Match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship)
Reactions: This is the match that truly made the crowd go insane! From the opening bell, there was a nice serving of high octane action to soak up. There were a few moments of miscommunication here and there at the start, but the kinks were eventually worked out and things took a turn for the better. The Lucha Brothers flew all over the place, Private Party did the same and SCU pulled out their best maneuvers in order to ground the high flying competition. The craziness that comes with a match featuring six men could be felt in spades here as all three teams bashed each other into oblivion. It may have ended a bit sooner than I would have liked, but I still got a kick out of the in-ring insanity delivered here.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Riho (c) vs. Emi Sakura (AEW Women’s World Championship)
Reactions: AEW’s doing a good job of giving its Joshi contingent the proper time to showcase their unique style of pro wrestling. This student vs. teacher contest was an awesome showcase that allowed Riho and Emi Sakura to pull out their most impressive moves. Emi was the domineering powerhouse who cut off her student at several intervals, while Riho stood up to her elder professor with her slickest maneuvers and a slew of double foot stomps. Since they got a lot of time to prove their worth, we got to see a few cool variations from both ladies’ offensive gameplan. This helped give the match a bit more life and get the crowd more into its closing moments. Riho and Emi’s strong chemistry was the reason why this match came off as good as it did.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Chris Jericho (c) vs. Cody (AEW World Championship; Three Judges Break the Tie if the Match Surpasses its 60-minute Time Limit; if Cody Loses he Can’t Ever Challenge for the Title)
Reactions: Like I expected, this match had all the hallmarks of your usual Cody matchup – a slow and methodical approach at the start, buckets of blood, outside shenanigans, an intense comeback sequence, and several crowd popping near-falls. Chris Jericho and Cody went long and took every opportunity to make the most of it with several memorable moments interspersed throughout it. This was an old-school NWA championship match that tugged at the hearts of the crowd as it reached a fever pitch. Jericho and Cody put together an exceptional matchup here that made everyone believe Cody could actually win the big one. The shock ending was pretty deflating, but it played into the post-match ending quite well. MJF finally turned on his supposed best friend and revealed himself to be a conniving scumbag who never wanted to see Cody become champion in the first place.
Rating: 3 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega (Non-Sanctioned Lights Out Match)
Reactions: WHAT A HELL OF A WAR! Jon Moxley tapped into his days as a Chaotic Zone wrestling madman and forced Kenny Omega to step out of his comfort zone just so he could keep up. The bloodletting and creative usage of objects turned this into one of the best matches of the year. Steel garbage cans, a barbed wire bat & broom, a table, shattered glass, mouse traps, an ice pick and even a bed of barbed wire came into play during this bout of insanity. Just when it seemed like both men couldn’t go any further on the violence scale, they raised the stakes and wowed the crowd even more. Jon and Kenny met the high expectations everyone expected of them and then some. The closing moments that saw the wood underneath the mat become a factor were equally jaw-dropping. This was the perfect way to cap off the show.
Rating: 4 & a Half out of 5 Stars
Match of the Night
Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega!
Final Verdict
All Elite Wrestling provided yet another Saturday evening full of worthwhile wrestling. What stood out the most from this show was the company’s willingness to book a show with just eight matches, which helped each bout get the proper time to grow into an entertaining contest. The show crescendoed from the Buy-in bout and continually built itself well into the amazing main event. We got some storyline advancement, a re-debut, a welcome return, a shocking turn, and a gorefest to end the show on a high note. The first-ever Full Gear excelled due to a card full of meaningful matches, smart time usage and action-packed matches worth revisiting down the line. Make sure you seek out the main event if you happened to miss it.
Final Score: 4 out of 5 Stars
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