For those who cry “if WWE did the same thing we’d crap on it,” I really want you to take a good look at each show and then think long and hard about why fans crap on WWE programming and praise AEW for every minute of the show. Think about how much time is wasted on useless backstage promos or the same replays of “Sad” Seth Rollins. AEW’s presentation wants the fans attention, the hype, and most importantly, their satisfaction. Also, it seems these days WWE just doesn’t want to put on or maybe forgot how to put on a show with those credentials.
I also cynically love the headlines online which read “AEW thrills but leaves questions unanswered” or “AEW hits but fails the end.” Such clickbait if I ever saw them. The point of any show is to leave you coming back for more. It’s amazing how much negativity is used to sell for clicks. While I get the marketing ploy, as a fan of wrestling this at times disgusts me.
AEW Full Gear now adds how they just outclassed WWE on a pay-per-view scale. It was match after match. No long-winded promos, no obligatory backstage segments. Just. Wrestling. Also, these matches were longer than one would expect, but performed so well, you didn’t realize how long the match was until it was over, or until Justin Roberts would announce how much time was left. The length of the matches tell the tale. You don’t need 20 minutes of backstage filler, they do it in the ring.
The only complaints I have, is the referees seem to still need some better ring awareness, AEW needs to be careful with the length of the PPV, and the last one, one might think to be crazy. Getting tired out. The crowd, I thought was hot for most of the show. However, sitting at home, by the time the show was over, I felt exhausted. I spent a lot of energy throughout the whole show due to a lot of the high-impact moments. All this is, comes down to pacing. Have a few matches, like the PAC/Hangman match where it was good, but I didn’t have to be on my feet in astonishment during the whole match.
Some of the events were predicted, but executed very well.
The Buy-In featured Britt Baker D.M.D defeating Bea Priestly in a good match, however it was the aftermath which raised eyebrows, as Brandi Rhodes arrived with Awesome Kong in new ring attire. Kong squashed Priestly, and then cuts off a lock of hair. Based on the taped promos airing on Dynamite am I the only one getting a Papa Shango vibe?
The opening match of the main show featured Proud & Powerful (Santana & Ortiz) vs. The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson). Boy, was this a hot match to rile up the live audience, and for all the folks at home. First off, kudos to P&P for getting the win, kudos to the Bucks for putting them over. What a great match with a health mix of wrestling and high-risk action. I will use the same description for most of the other matches, just a warning. You know, because there’s a lot of wrestling in this promotion. Great spot where P&L lock the bucks in a Camel Clutch/Gory Special/Boston Crab triple combo. The way they figure out how to make these work is genius. Nick’s selling the leg injury through the match was well done. These guys knew how to start a show.
There was some criticism of how Ortiz sold a superkick, but you know what folks? This is funny. This is entertainment, and remember, this stuff is scripted. Ortiz wobbling like a KO’d boxer from Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!! brought some humor into the match, and for me, it worked. I enjoy this stuff, for the folks who didn’t, stop taking it so seriously or you’ll end up like Cornette.
Oops. Was I not supposed to say that?
Ortiz had me laughing my ass off after he took that superkick. #AEW #AEWFullGear
— Get The Tables (@GetDaTables) November 10, 2019
The other major note which I would be absurd to leave out, was the appearance of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express. Yep, they got involved, with a post-match saved, followed by Ricky Morton hitting a goddamned Destroyer followed by a suicide dive!
I’ll just let that sink in.
The second match saw another great mix of wrestling and dramatic storytelling as Hangman Page defeated The Bastard, PAC. I love the gimmick, “The Bastard.” Love it. This went from technical style wrestling into a hard-hitting brutal slamfest. PAC and Page blasted each other with mighty slams, big powerbombs, powerslams, and good lord both would take to some ridiculous flying moves. Every time I see Page do a standing Shooting Star I am impressed. These are your solid in-ring workers right here.
Shawn Spears defeated Joey Janela in a decent match, but as I expected Jannela took a bad bump at some point because he was groggy through a good portion for the match. I followed up and saw on Twitter posted Janela being tended to by ring crew and EMTs. One sick spot with Spears tying Joey’s long hair to the corner with the tag rope. Spears getting the win was the right spot, Janela, even in defeat looks good. As do many of the AEW wrestlers.
https://twitter.com/brlive/status/1193341462177570816
SCU defeated The Lucha Brothers and Private Party to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championships. Not the best tag team match, but satisfying in ticking all the right boxes. Great action, great in-ring wrestling, and course an insane amount of high spots throughout courtesy of Lucha Bros. and Private Party. Kassady needs a bit more in-ring work I think, but his facial expressions are money. Quen is nuts. He’s crazy. Kazarian and Sky working hard to prove they earned the titles by going against the top ranked teams in the promotion. A few spots looked a little off, but you know what folks? No one is perfect. The good ol’ days of WCW and ECW had plenty of missteps, and no one rioted. Well, except for some notable chants originating from ECW…
Post match, the lights go out and a second Pentagon Jr. is in the ring, staring at Pentagon Jr. they do a quick mirror bit until the slightly slimmer one takes out the real thing, to reveal a fully revived Fallen Angel version of Christopher Daniels.
https://twitter.com/brlive/status/1193362013860368384
Riho defeated Emi Sakura to retain the AEW Women’s Championship. Everyone loves Riho. Should be the name of a sitcom. She’s cute, she’s won the crowd over with her underdog charm. Sakura is a ring general with a wacky gimmick. A lot of slow spots, and boy, did the ref botch badly during a pinfall attempt, where it appeared he restarted, but it was so fast, everyone, in the crowd and at home thought it was a three-count. Everyone recovered, not the best women’s match to date, but enjoyable though.
The Main Event of AEW Full Gear – Chris Jericho w/ Jake Hager defeated Cody w/ MJF to retain the AEW World Championship.
This the main event of the main AEW program as next match went under the “lights out/unsanctioned” banner. This story unfolded in the ring as well as anyone could have hoped for. The crowd firmly behind Cody in his quest to dethrone The Painmaker. Had Cody won, I think the crowd would have lost their minds. Sure, he addressed the giant elephant about being a promoter and a wrestler and of course the dirtsheet skeptics have to point out he can book himself as champ whenever he wants. Guess what folks, the fans WANTED him to be champ.
Early on in the match, Cody overshot a dive over the ropes, and SHREDDED his head on the metal area of the walkway. I believe he was going to blade at some point to add to the drama of the match, but this wound up working out much better. It was a scary moment, medics had to patch him up fast. The rest of the match was filled with the mix of wrestling and drama. I told you before, and I’ll tell you again, I feel AEW draws the fans by giving us a wrestling show. The drama unfolds in the ring, not backstage. Jericho and Cody busted out some big moves during the match, and yes, Jericho is no longer sporting his cruiserweight physique from his WCW or early-WWF days, but man, can he still go. Cody nailing a Crossroads mid-match had the crowd on their feet, and the ejection of Hager sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Just when you thought Cody was getting closer, Jericho would pull out another way of stopping him. The end came with a brutalizing Liontamer, the version where Jericho sits on your neck, to the point where, if you had not caught what M-J-F was holding, you saw it in full view when he threw in, the white towel to end the match. The crowd booing uncontrollably, initially thinking this was a plot by Jericho, however did not interact with Cody’s “best friend” at all. On his knees, MJF pleaded apology to Cody. After some tense moments, the crowd died down, right in time for the modern-era of the dirtiest heel in the game to kick Cody right between the goalposts. There is was folks. The moment many was wondering would finally happen.
It made sense too. MJF is a dirty heel, yet for weeks had to play the face card in Cody’s corner. This was the moment for MJF to be back in full heel mode, and this came off, in my not-so-humble opinion, as perfect.
https://twitter.com/brlive/status/1193376439787282433
Jon Moxley defeated Kenny Omega in the Lights Out Unsanctioned Till Death Takes Someone Whatever it was called a Bloodbath of ECW.
Whoever gave this match an F clearly never watched ECW or CZW. The match began with a bit of wrestling, then a bit of wrestling with some street-style brawling, which inevitably broke down into barbed wire bats and brooms, Omega using the latter to “clean” Mox’s back… Ouch. Glass shards, tables, and a wild destruction derby all over the arena. Look, if you’re not into ECW-style bloodshed and brawling, then the prior match was the end of your pay-per-view, and that is OK. It is fine. No one says you have to be into this type of match. But you can’t grade a match as an F if it’s not your thing. That’s like telling someone broccoli is horrible but yet you’ve never eaten it or it truly isn’t your taste.
I enjoyed this match, it reminded me of ECW. It really did. Sure, there was a lot of shock-value moments, but it was interspersed with wrestling. The final moments of the match, the ring ripped up, wood exposed and heads being driven down were painful to watch, and I truly hope all parties are fine and concussion-free.
I give AEW a 4 out of 5 stars. It wasn’t perfect, and it didn’t have to be. All it needed to do was deliver a solid show featuring the culmination of a few month’s worth of build, and it did.
All Elite Wrestling Full Gear is available for replay on Bleacher Report Live.
https://twitter.com/brlive/status/1193385804736929793
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