Saturday 11/7/2020
AEW Full Gear was a night of unexpected appearances and victories. What was touted as a loaded card, 8 matches not including the Buy In match, the event definitely was a roller coaster of emotions throughout the show. To kick off the show, it started off with 2 of the best in AEW:
Finals for Number 1 Contender for AEW Championship:
“The Cleaner” Kenny Omega vs “Hangman” Adam Page
What a way to start the show. This match had all the signs to be the Match of the Night and would’ve succeeded if it wasn’t for the tag team title match but I’ll get to that in the moment. Going into this match, each competitor had to go through 2 matches to make it to the finals. Omega going back to his days as The Cleaner, went through Sonny Kiss and my boy, Penta El Zero while Page went through Dark Order’s Colt Cabana and the beast known as Wardlow. Setting up a showdown between these 2 former tag partners and tag champs. The setup for the finals was predictable, especially with the winner but it doesn’t mean the match was predictable. Omega is definitely one of the best in the world right now and he showed why he is in this match. It was a nice back and forth that clearly told a story. In all honesty, WWE should’ve watched and taken notes on how to tell a story because this match showcased that. There were so many moments that you thought Page would win but in the end, he came up short. However, you can’t take anything away from him. The guy is definitely a future champ but in a match against the Omegaman, you knew he wasn’t going to win but if anyone that can beat him on any given day, he is the one that can because Page is that good. Tonight was Omega’s night and will now get the next title shot at the AEW World Champ, Jon Moxley. Definitely a 5 star match.
“Freshley Squeezed” Orange Cassidy vs “4” John Silver
Short match that ended with a victory by Cassidy. Honestly I do not like this guy and don’t understand the appeal of him and why the fans like him but whatever. In all honesty, he shouldn’t have won because he didn’t need the victory. Whether I like him or not, the guy is already made and the victory should’ve went to Silver. But in the words of Cassidy…”Whatever”
TNT Championship: “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes vs Darby Allin
Wasn’t expecting the outcome of this match but damn Cody deserves a lot of credit for this match. I wasn’t happy with him beating “The Exalted One” Brodie Lee back for the title when he came back but now it makes sense. He was the perfect choice to pass the torch to Darby Allin. For the fourth time, Darby took on Cody and this time came out the victor. Not a fan of Darby but honestly can say he earned the victory. Cody pretty much dominated this match as he should, and even showed some cockiness but in the end he came up short. After an amazing Avalanche Cross Rhodes, Darby still managed to kick out by getting his foot on the ropes. In a sequence of back and forth roll-ups, Darby gets the pin and becomes your new TNT champion. Say what you want about Cody, but the guy is no Hogan. The difference between the 2, Cody will do the job which if you’re not an avid fan of wrestling, job means losing, because he knows it benefits the company and propels the wrestler. I read the dirtsheets and browse through the message boards, reading the comments of the IWC (Internet Wrestling Community) and a lot of people take pot shots at Cody and call him Cody Hogan which is unfair because he is not. Guy can outwrestle him any day but also too, puts over others. Cody has earned my respect and deserves the position he is in. He did what was necessary and now we have a new champion. After being homeless for 3 years, and now being recognized as the face of the company after this victory, Darby Allin is your TNT Champion. Congratulations to him. Guy earned it and deserved it, but I still don’t like him.
AEW Women’s Championship: ‘The Shining Samurai” Hikaru Shida vs “The Native Beast” Nyla Rose
In a rematch from Double or Nothing earlier this year, the “Joshi Ace of AEW” Hikaru Shida comes into this match as the champion whereas back in May at Double or Nothing, she was the contender. The roles have been reversed in this match with Shida as champ and Rose as the contender but this time with an extra person that wasn’t there during the first encounter and that is, the one and only Vickie Guerrero, widow of one of my all-time favorites, the late great Eddie Guerrero in Rose’s corner. In all honesty, this match was thrown together at the last moment just to showcase the AEW Women’s Championship. The only story going into this was Shida defeated Rose for the title and now it’s a rematch. Honestly, if there’s one thing about AEW, the women’s division is lackluster. The champion barely gets featured and that’s not fair. Hikaru Shida is one of the best women’s wrestlers in the world, ranked at #6 by PWI. But however despite her circumstances, she make’s the best of it and clearly shows why she is the face of the AEW Women’s division and why she is the champ. She tries her best to put on great matches but her opponent is not that good. As great as she is, she couldn’t save this match. Nyla gotten worse since the last time they faced. She gassed early in the match and that’s not good. There’s not much for me to comment about Rose’s wrestling skills. However I can tell you about Shida’s in this match. She clearly showed that nobody on the roster is on her level. She is known for her striking ability in this match but damn she showed off her power too. She hit a second rope Falcon Arrow on Rose who is twice her size, and could’ve won the match but with a cute smirk on her face, broke the count. It look like it would cost her but again after a little offense from Rose, she hit another Falcon Arrow. I also have to tell you she did all this on a damaged knee after Rose has been working on her knee through most of the match thanks in part to a kendo shot to the back of the knee from Vickie. After that Falcon Arrow, she went for her Tomashii knee strike finisher and couldn’t put the Beast down. It took a flurry of knees to do it but damn, Shida showed she isn’t the one you want to mess with or piss off. There’s a reason why she is the champ and this match showed it. Still your AEW Women’s Champ. All I can say is “Holy Shida!”
AEW Tag Team Championship: FTR vs Young Bucks
This was your match of the night. A long awaited dream match that could’ve been built better but nonetheless didn’t disappoint. 30 minutes of back and forth tag action. Mind you I don’t like either team but have to say, these guys put on a clinic and clearly showed why these are 2 of the best tag teams in the game right now. I don’t even know where to start with this match. Honestly this is a match you actually have to watch yourself and experience it. Both teams hit an array of tag finishers from legendary teams that just blew my mind. There is a highlight in the match but unfortunately it was towards the end of the match and that’s when FTR’s Cash Wheeler did something I have never seen him do before and that’s a springboard 450 splash. Sadly he missed but boy it was a thing of beauty and unexpected. Unfortunately he got hit with a superkick and match was over. Your new AEW Tag Champs, Young Bucks. This match is uploaded on YouTube, I recommend you check it out because this match was tag team wrestling at its finest.
Elite Deletion Match: ‘The Broken One” Matt Hardy vs “The Spanish God” Sammy Guevarra
This wasn’t your ordinary wrestling match. This was a cinematic match that seemed like it would be goofy but had some unexpected surprises. I thought this match was going to be trash but it was entertaining. However the highlight of it was the appearance of 2 wrestlers that me and my buddies completely marked out for and that was the appearance of former WWE wrestler’s The Hurricane and Gangrel. Did not see that coming. If you watch WWE from 1997-2003, you watched some of the best wrestling during that time. These 2 were part of it and boy I felt like a kid again. The only gripe I have with this match is that Sammy shouldn’t have lost. Matt didn’t need this win but whatever. I was still marking out for Gangrel and Hurricane.
MJF vs “Le Champion”and “The Demo- God” Chris Jericho
A 10 minute match that paid tribute to Eddie Guerrero and a throwback to Jericho back in the WWE. The implications of the match was that if MJF beat Jericho, he will be allowed to join the Inner Circle. The match itself isn’t all that great. It was short but did the job with an Eddie tribute at the end. MJF pulled some classic Eddie Guerrero tactics. There was a part in the match where MJF was going to use his ring to hit Jericho but in a turn of events, Jericho was tossed his bat by Jake Hager. In Eddie fashion, Jericho had the bat in his hand but MJF decided to drop down like he got hit by the bat. With the bat in Jericho’s hand, he was caught red handed by the ref. After explaining to the ref he didn’t hit him, MJF rolled up Jericho and got the 1-2-3. Definitely nice little tribute to one of the greats, the late, great Eddie Guerrero. RIP “Viva La Raza”
“I Quit” match for the AEW World Championship: Eddie Kingston vs Jon Moxley
A lot of history between these two. This match was meant to have blood drawn, which surprisingly there was. An “I Quit” match is pretty much an anything goes style match where weapons are allowed. Going into this match, there was a lot of emotion coming into it and boy did it show. However, the outcome we all saw coming a mile away. We all knew Mox wasn’t going to lose. Honestly, it wouldn’t have made sense for Kingston to win. But that doesn’t mean the match is not watchable. It had great storytelling and that’s what is most important. A lot of matches these days don’t have that but if one thing I have to say about AEW, is for the most part a lot of their matches have great stories, unless it’s a women’s match. Still a little sore about that. Nonetheless, the match told the story it was supposed to and help setup Mox’s next title defense and that’s against “The Cleaner” Kenny Omega. Now there’s a story between those 2 but that is for another time.
Overall, if you are not a wrestling fan, that’s okay. But I do recommend, if you’re curious and want to see good wrestling matches, then check out AEW and this ppv. They converted my friend and now he is becoming invested in it. If you are a wrestling fan and haven’t watched this event, it’s on YouTube. It’s definitely above September’s All Out ppv. Definitely a 4 star ppv. Thank you for reading. I am the “Amazon Oracle” aka “The Canary”. I love you all so much. Stay awesome and be nice to each other. One love.
The Musical Hippie 