AEW Full Gear 2020 Review

AEW Full Gear was the company’s last PPV of 2020 headlined by Jon Moxley defending the AEW World Title against Eddie Kingston while FTR and The Young Bucks faced off for the AEW Tag Team Titles.

This was written live when it took place. This is the banner I had on the site at the time.

Welcome to the TJRWrestling review of the final AEW PPV of 2020, Full Gear. I ordered it on Fite TV and wrote about it live as it happened. Let’s get to it.

There was one “Buy In” Pre-Show match that saw Serena Deeb defeat Allysin Kay to retain the NWA Women’s Title. No battle royal on this pre-show like AEW has done at several of their past PPVs.

AEW Full Gear
November 7, 2020
From Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida

The opening video package promoted the big matches on the show with a focus on a Cody vs. Darby Allin for the TNT Title, MJF vs. Chris Jericho, FTR vs. Young Bucks for the AEW Tag Team Titles, Hikaru Shida defending the AEW Women’s Title against Nyla Rose, Kenny Omega vs. “Hangman” Adam Page and Jon Moxley defending the AEW World Title against Eddie Kingston in an “I Quit” match. Great video as usual from them. That’s definitely a strength of the company.

There was a pyro display to start the show at Daily’s Place, which is AEW’s home base. There were about 1,000 fans in the crowd along with AEW wrestlers and staff surrounding the ring. The announce team was the usual crew of Jim Ross, Excalibur and birthday boy Tony Schiavone. Happy birthday to Tony. They did a rundown of the card. The announcers were joined by Don Callis, who is an Impact Wrestling executive. It was just for this match. Don said he’s close with Kenny like family and Kenny wanted him to be there.

Kenny Omega got a full entrance complete with ring announcer Justin Roberts doing a rundown of all of Kenny’s credentials. There were two women on the stage with brooms because he’s “The Cleaner” Kenny Omega. The entrance of “Hangman” Adam Page was next in this battle of the former AEW Tag Team Champions.

Kenny Omega vs. “Hangman” Adam Page

This is the finals of the World Title Eliminator Tournament. The winner gets a future AEW World Title match.

Omega wanted a handshake, but Page didn’t shake his hand as Excalibur noted that this is their second singles match. Page with two shoulder tackles, then he avoided a dropkick and Omega avoided a clothesline. They exchanged chops to the chest, Page off the ropes and Omega hit a snap hurricanrana. Omega ran the ropes, Page wit ha boot to the face and a fallaway slam. Page hit a superplex off the middle rope for a two count. They went to the floor where they exchanged chops again and Page sent Omega into the barricade. The referee Paul Turner wanted them to go in the ring so there could be a winner. Page whipped Omega into the barricade again, but when he tried it a third time, Omega hit a moonsault off the railing onto a standing Page. That was a cool move. Back in the ring, Omega hit a Kitaro Crusher leg drop to the head for a two count. They were back to exchanging chops and Omega hit a rolling senton. Omega stumbled a bit and then hit a moonsault off the middle ropes for two. Page sent Omega to the apron leading to a springboard clothesline on Omega, who did a flip bump on the apron. Page went for a slingshot attack to the floor, Omega avoided it and hit a baseball slide dropkick. Omega hit the tope con hilo (aka somersault dive) over the top onto Page on the floor. They were back in the ring with Omega hitting a missile dropkick to the back for a two count. Omega lifted Omega on the shoulders, Page got out of that, then went for it himself and then Page hit a boot to the face. Page went for a move off the ropes, but Omega stopped him with a V-Trigger knee to the face. Omega went for a move on the ramp, Page caught him, Page sent Omega into the ropes and hit a Powerbomb on the ramp. Back in the ring, Page hit a Popup Powerbomb for a two count.

They were both selling exhaustion a bit as they exchanged punches with the crowd chanting along with every punch. Page hit a rolling elbow, Omega with a knee to the chin and Omega hit a Tiger Driver ’98 (like a piledriver) for a two count. That was a rough-looking landing with Page’s head hitting the mat. Omega went for a German Suplex, Page landed on his feet, Omega landed on his feet after an attempt at the same move. Omega with a Snapdragon Suplex, no sell by Page and Page hit a clothesline followed by the Deadeye slam for a two count. The crowd was chanting “this is awesome” for them. Page went for the Buckshot Lariat, Omega avoided it and Page got a pin attempt sitting on top of Omega, who kicked out at the last moment. Omega with a dragon screw leg whip against the middle rope followed by a running knee to the face. Omega avoided a clothesline and hit two V-Trigger knee strikes to the face. Omega hit the One Winged Angel for the pinfall win at 16:25.

Winner by pinfall: Kenny Omega

The win by Omega means he gets an AEW World Title match.

Analysis: ****1/4 This was an excellent match that was a smart choice to open the PPV because it sets the tone for the rest of the night. There were several nice nearfalls for both guys, but it was Omega who hit his finisher first and that’s why he got the win. Page kept on coming with all of his big moves, he sold everything well and in the end, Omega was just too much. I liked the story of the match a lot where it was evenly booked for most of it and most of it was in the ring. Whenever Omega hits the One Winged Angel, the match is over. Nobody kicks out of that since it’s the most protected finisher in AEW. I like how it is so strong like that. Omega winning was my pick because I think he’s going to be the next AEW World Champion.

There is some AEW video game announcement on Tuesday. It’s on their Youtube channel.

Jon Silver of the Dark Order group had Dark Order members with him. Orange Cassidy entered with his Best Friends buddies. All of the allies went to the back.

Orange Cassidy vs. John Silver

They are both comedy gimmicks, so it’s a lighthearted match after a serious match. Silver flexed while Cassidy did the hand in pockets gimmick. Cassidy did his shin kick routine, then a running dropkick and the announcers thought it was hilarious. Silver tore the pockets out of the pants that Cassidy was wearing. Silver tossed Cassidy across the ring two times while flexing because he likes to flex a lot. Cassidy with a boot to the face, then he tried a DDT, but Silver countered with a suplex for a two count. Silver whipped Cassidy into the turnbuckle two times. Cassidy sent Silver into the turnbuckle, cross body block and a Tornado DDT got a two count. The announcers have mentioned Silver’s power about 25 times in the first five minutes. We get it. He has muscles. Cassidy was on the top, Silver kicked him, running boot and Cassidy hit a headscissors. Cassidy with a Michinoku Driver for a two count. Silver came back with kicks to the chest, Cassidy with a kip up, Silver got a rollup, Silver with repeated kicks and Cassidy countered a suplex into Stundog Millionaire. Silver with a pump kick followed by a Spin Doctor slam off the shoulders for a two count. The last minute of action there was really good. Cassidy hit the Orange Punch to the face and the Beach Break slam for the pinfall win at 9:40.

Winner by pinfall: Orange Cassidy

Analysis: **3/4 It was an okay match with the expected comedy moments. Did you know that Silver is strong? Yes, announcers, we know. I’m sure there are some AEW fans that enjoyed this a lot more than me because I don’t watch that BTE show that some AEW fans watch. I was still impressed by the showing of both guys especially in the last three minutes when they took it seriously and had a lot of cool moves in there. It was fine for a match under ten minutes.

Post match, the announcers put over Silver’s performance and said he should go after singles gold. Cassidy got a hug from Trent and Chuck Taylor because you’ve got to give the people what they want…apparently.

A video aired about Cody defending the TNT Title against Darby Allin.

Darby Allin made his entrance with a skateboard and he smashed it against the windshield of a car that was in the building. I don’t know why he did. I’m not a skater boy. Cody made his entrance with the TNT Championship along with the Nightmare Family that is like 27 at this point. I’m kidding. Anyway, Cody was introduced as “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes. The fans popped big for that. Arn Anderson was the only one that stayed at ringside.

Analysis: Cody said in an interview this week that he wouldn’t use the Cody Rhodes name because he liked it as just “The American Nightmare Cody.” I tweeted at the time that I didn’t believe him. I’m glad he’s using the Rhodes name. He should use it.

AEW TNT Championship: Cody Rhodes (w/Arn Anderson) vs. Darby Allin

The referee is Mike Chioda, who is not under contract with AEW as far as I know, but perhaps he will be soon.

I’m happy he can use the name Cody Rhodes again, but I’m so used to writing just Cody so that’s what I’ll use for the match description. They did some mat wrestling early on along with some gamesmanship with Cody showing off his power a bit. Allin got a cradle for a two count, so Cody bailed to the floor. Allin hit a suicide dive, but Cody went back in the ring quickly and slammed Allin onto the ramp. Cody worked over the left arm and stomped on it as well. Cody with a hip toss leading to a short-arm scissor submission. Cody kicked the left arm of Allin to keep him down. Allin went for a move off the ropes, but Cody was able to slam him into the mat leading to a submission where Cody was pulling back on both arms. Cody went hooked the arm of Allin while on the turnbuckle and hit a powerslam onto the left arm. Cody missed a moonsault when Allin moved. Allin with a headbutt to the ribs and a sunset bomb for the two count. Allin pulled the turnbuckle pad off while they were in the ropes and Cody went right into the turnbuckle leading to a rollup for Allin for two. Allin went up top, Cody went up there with him and Cody hit the Avalance Cross Rhodes (meaning it was off the top rope) and Allin rolled all the way across the ring in a ridiculous sell. Cody covered there, so when the referee Chioda counted, he saw Allin under the ropes and that led to a two count due to being under the bottom rope.

Cody went to the ropes again, Allin jumped on his back, Cody stood on the top rope and Cody fell back into the ring so that he slammed Allin into the mat. Arn to Allin: “Use your head and stay down.” Allin got back in at the count of nine, so he bear the ten count. Cody with three body slams in a row. Cody with a gorilla press slam from above his head and that led to a two count. Cody took off the leather strap from around his waist, Chioda didn’t want him to use it and Darby used the belt to trip up Cody for a two count. Allin went for a Disaster Kick and Allin got the Last Supper pin attempt for two. Allin hit a flipping Stunner. Allin went up top and hit the Coffin Drop (falling back splash off the top) for a two count. Nice nearfall there. Cody with a pump kick, they exchanged pin attempts with each guy getting a nearfall and Allin sat on top of Cody for the one…two…and three! Darby Allin is the new TNT Champion. It went 16:50.

Winner by pinfall AND NEW TNT Champion: Darby Allin

Analysis: ***1/2 This was pretty good, I liked the story of the match with Allin doing an awesome job of selling the left arm injury. Allin is very good at selling like that and as a smaller guy, it’s the right story to tell in his matches because Allin is the natural underdog based on his size. The finish was done in a way to show that it was a very close match the whole way instead of a dominant win. When Cody kicked out of the Coffin Drop, I thought maybe he was going to win, but I’m glad they did the title change here. I picked Allin because it felt like the right time for him and I don’t think Cody needed another long reign with the TNT Title. Good effort by both guys.

After the match, Cody got on a knee in front of Allin and presented the title to him. The fans chanted “You Deserve It” for Allin, who was emotional as he held up the title on the turnbuckle.

Post match, Taz showed up with his FTW hat on and talked shit to them. That led to Taz’s guys Brian Cage and Ricky Starks attacking Cody and Allin. Starks also sent Arn Anderson into the ring post, but the director missed that. Starks and Cage were both standing tall. Starks and Cage each held the TNT Title as they stared at eachother, but then Taz held onto the title. Cage picked up Allin and put him on his shoulder. Cody went over to the heels to try to fight them off, but Cage sent Cody into the barricade. Cage threw Allin through a piece of the set that looked pretty thin with some padding underneath, but I guess it was supposed to be a big deal. They went over to the car that was part of Allin’s entrance that said “The Face of TNT” on it and Will Hobbs showed up with a steel chair, so the heels ran away. They were going to slam the car door on Allin’s arm, but Hobbs chased them away.

Analysis: It was a nice way to feature Cage/Starks as a heel team while painting a target on Allin’s back. This will probably set up a tag team match on Dynamite soon with Allin teaming with Hobbs or Cody against Cage/Starks.

Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall were interviewed by Dasha backstage. Marshall said that Allie tried to infiltrate the Nightmare Family because they were successful. Dustin said this week on Wednesday night on Dynamite, he asked Tony Khan to give him a Bunkhouse Match. Dustin said Butcher can’t last ten minutes with him. Dustin said that this is war and Butcher/Blade are going down.

They went over some matches on Dynamite on Wednesday.

A video aired about Shida vs. Rose for the AEW Women’s Title. There’s not much of a story here, but it’s a way to try to make it feel like a big deal. Shida has been champion for over five months. Rose was the former champion.

Nyla Rose entered first with manager Vickie Guerrero joining her. Hikaru Shida was up next as the champion.

AEW Women’s Championship: Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose (w/Vickie Guerrero)

Shida with a boot to the face, then two running dropkicks and a running knee for a one count. Shida sent Rose to the apron, Shida with an elbow drop and a running knee lift to the face. Shida sent Rose into the barricade. Shida grabbed a steel chair from under the ring, which is a spot she likes to do on the floor, but Rose blocked that with a clothesline. Rose grabbed a table, but referee Aubrey Edwards stopped that and a chair use attempt. Shida jumped off the chair with a knee that sent Rose through the barricade into the crowd. Referee Edwards checked on Rose, so Vickie hit Shida in the right knee with a kendo stick and the referee didn’t see it. Rose stretched the right knee against the steel ring frame on the edge of the ring. Shida rammed the right knee against the ring post. Rose with a chop block to the back of the leg. Rose wrenched the knee of Shida into the mat for a two count. Rose with a body slam and a running splash for two. Shida with a punch to Rose, who was on the turnbuckle and Rose hit a front suplex off the turnbuckle. Shida with a dropkick and a running forearm for two. Shida hit a suplex where she struggled to lift Rose up, which was good for a two count. Shida went for a running knee, but Rose got her arms up to block. Shida with a running cross body block, Rose grabbed the knee again and slammed Shida off the shoulders for two. Rose with a knee drop onto the knee for two. They battled by the turnbuckle with Shida sending Rose into the turnbuckle pad and then a running kick knocked Rose down on the ramp. Shida with a missile dropkick on the ramp.

They were back in the ring with Shida favoring the right knee and she hit a missile dropkick there as well for two. Shida bounced off the ropes right into a clothesline and Powerbomb for two as Rose picked Shida back up. Rose with the double middle fingers and then the running knee for just a one count. Shida with a back body drop to counter a slam by Rose. Shida with a running knee followed by Shida setting up Rose on the top rope. Shida hit a Falcon Arrow slam off the ropes for two as Shida picked up Rose. Shida ran the ropes, Vickie grabbed the leg, the referee never saw it and Rose knocked Shida off the apron to the floor. The referee took the kendo stick away and Shida shoved Rose into Vickie on the floor. Shida sent Rose into the barricade. Back in the ring. Shida hit a sloppy looking Falcon Arrow for two because Rose is bigger, so it was hard to lift. Shida with a running knee on Rose for a two count. Shida with a running knee to the back, then four knees to the face that knocked down Rose and Shida covered Rose for the pinfall win at 14:20.

Winner by pinfall: Hikaru Shida

Analysis: *** This was okay. I think Shida did a nice job in terms of selling the knee injury for most of the match. Rose was aggressive as the bigger heel. There were moments where it was a bit dull although I liked the creativity of some of the moves they did off the ropes. I thought the finish was a bit flat because the running knee followed by four short knees felt like it was weak as an ending. Hopefully the next champion is Britt Baker and she wins the title soon.

After the match, Shida was helped out of the ring by the referee and they went to the back.

Vickie went over to Rose and yelled at her for losing. Rose yelled at her. Rose said “slap me” and Vickie slapped her. I can read lips sometimes. Vickie left to the back while Rose slowly left behind her.

Analysis: I don’t think they should split this pairing. I would assume this was more like “tough love” from Vickie to motivate Nyla.

The video package aired for the AEW Tag Team title match between The Young Bucks and FTR, who are undefeated in AEW.

The Young Bucks entered first with FTR up next as the champions. Tully Blanchard was with them, but then he went to the back because he is banned from ringside. The Young Bucks were in LA Lakers yellow/purple gear and FTR were in Boston Celtics green gear because they are the two best NBA franchises ever, so the idea is they were trying to show who was the best team ever. The Young Bucks are from LA while FTR are North Carolina guys, but it’s the thought that counts.

AEW Tag Team Championships: FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)

Wheeler started with Matt as he targeted the injured ankle, but Matt was able to fight him off. Harwood and Nick tagged in for the first time in the match. They exchanged some holds on the mat with Nick hitting an arm drag into an armbar. Young Bucks hit a double team elbow/splash combo as Excalibur was citing wrestling awards in the past few years about who the better team was. Wheeler whipped Nick face first into Harwood’s right knee that has a big knee brace on it. Nick with a hiptoss, then a dropkick and Harwood held onto the ropes. The four guys were in there illegally, double hurricanrana by the Young Bucks, double dropkick and a double team by the Bucks sent Wheeler off the apron to the floor. Matt went after Harwood on the floor, Harwood threw a punch, Matt moved and Harwood hit the ring post. Matt worked over Harwood’s right hand, then Nick held the hand against the turnbuckle and Matt repeatedly kicked the right hand. Harwood with an elbow, then Matt fought back, Matt to the apron and Harwood kicked him in the apron. Matt went for a move off the ropes, Harwood moved and Matt was selling the left ankle injury. Harwood sent Matt into the ropes leading to Matt bumping to the floor. Harwood was bleeding by the right hand. Wheeler tagged in with an elbow drop to the knee. Harwood had Dr. Sampson tape up the right hand while Wheeler worked over Matt in the ring. Harwood was back in with elbow drops and a headbutt. Wheeler drove Matt’s left knee/ankle into the ring post. Wheeler wrenched at the left knee of Matt with Excalibur noting that Matt may have a knee injury that requires surgery. Harwood tripped up Matt, but Matt kicked Harwood into the turnbuckle. Wheeler went after Nick on the apron to prevent a tag and Harwood knocked Nick off the apron. Harwood hit a superplex off the top on Matt and Wheeler jumped off the top, but Matt got his knees up to block that. Matt got an inside cradle for two and then he was sent out of the ring. Wheeler jumped off the apron, Matt moved and Wheeler hit the barricade. That’s a Randy Savage bump. Harwood prevented Matt from tagging out, Matt got a sunset flip and Matt sent Wheeler over the top to the floor. Matt hit a DDT on Harwood in the champs’ corner as the crowd came alive for the hot tag.

Nick got the hot tag against Wheeler with punches, Harwood kicked Nick in the back and the action spilled to the floor with Nick hitting repeated kicks along with a bulldog/clothesline combination on the floor. Nick sent Wheeler back into the ring and Nick jumped off the top with a cross body block with Wheeler catching him. Hardwood tagged in with the Hart Attack double team clothesline (hello Hart Foundation) for a two count. Nick with a superkick on Harwood, Matt tagged in against Wheeler and hit a running spear, Nick with a knee and Matt covered Wheeler for two. Wheeler sent Matt into the turnbuckle, Harwood got the tag and Harwood hit a bulldog off of Wheeler’s shoulders like the Steiner Brothers and that got a two count. The crowd chanted “this is awesome” for them. Nick went into the ring illegally with two superkicks and there was a 3D spot in a Dudley Boyz tribute. Twist of Fate and a Swanton Bomb for a two count. There’s the Hardy Boyz tribute. Harwood went after Matt’s knee again, then a Powerbomb on Nick and Matt got a rollup on Harwood for just two. Great nearfall. Matt hit a superkick to Harwood’s injured right hand. They were over 20 minutes at this point. Harwood decked Matt with a clothesline.

Wheeler tagged in and they did the #DIY (Ciampa and Gargano) double team finisher with a superkick/running knee combo for two. Nick got back into it with a somersault dive onto Wheeler on the stage. Matt slapped on the Sharpshooter submission on Harwood and Nick kicked the right hand of Harwood. Nick slapped on a Sharpshooter on Wheeler on the ramp with Wheeler tapping out, but that didn’t mean anything because he was not legal. Matt was favoring his left leg after applying that Sharpshooter for a long time. Nick got the tag with a rising knee to Harwood and Matt stomped on Harwood’s hand. Young Bucks hit the double knees known as the BTE Trigger for a two count as Wheeler broke up the pin. Nick clotheslined Wheeler out of the ring. Nick with a twisting dive off the top onto Wheeler on the floor. Matt was legal in the match as he brought a chair into the ring. Harwood dared Matt to hit him, but Matt thought better of it and while that was happening Wheeler hit a Powerbomb on Nick on a table on the floor. Wheeler tagged back in for a spike piledriver called the Mindbreaker, but Matt got his foot on the bottom rope to break up the pin attempt. Wheeler took off Matt’s boot to expose the taped up left foot. Harwood twisted the knee and Wheeler stomped on the left leg of Matt. Harwood slapped on an inverted figure four on the mat. Nick was back into it as he avoided a charge from Wheeler and Nick hit a 450 Splash off the top (not the legal man, but AEW doesn’t care) and that led to Matt getting a nearfall on Harwood for two. Wheeler was back in with a superkick on Nick to send him out of the ring. Wheeler also wasn’t legally in the ring. Wheeler tagged in against Matt as the legal men and Wheeler hit a superkick. Wheeler went for a springboard 450 Splash, Matt moved and Matt hit a superkick with the left leg and covered Wheeler for the pinfall win at 28:35. The Young Bucks are the new AEW Tag Team Champions.

Winners by pinfall AND NEW AEW Tag Team Champions: The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)

Analysis: ****1/2 This was an outstanding wrestling match with Matt doing an incredible job of selling the left ankle and Harwood selling the right hand as well. I loved the tribute to other tag teams in wrestling history with each team hitting other classic team finishing moves. Going 30 minutes in length didn’t surprise me since I called that in the preview and I certainly understand why they went that long. If they went a few minutes shorter it might have made the match better, but it was still an excellent tag team match. Wheeler lost the match because he went for a highspot with the splash, which FTR doesn’t do, so that’s the story for the finish with Matt capitalizing on that to win. I certainly don’t have many things to complain about. Sometimes people complain about The Young Bucks not selling enough, but Matt did an excellent job of selling the knee/ankle here. It was a major part of the story. It was one of the best tag team matches I have seen this year, but I would rank Young Bucks vs. Omega/Page at Revolution above it. I picked Young Bucks to win, so that’s my second correct title change prediction. (My rating here is what I felt when watching live. If I watched it again, maybe I would increase the rating. I don’t know.)

After the match, Kenny Omega joined Young Bucks in the ring to celebrate the title win with them. Hangman Page was looking on from the entrance area with Page holding a drink in his hand. Young Bucks celebrated with the titles and the announcers put it over as a great match, which it was.

They were onto the next match quickly after that classic match. I could have used a bit of a breather like a commercial or an interview for a few minutes. Going with the taped match next was the right call, but I still think they should have had an interview or something to let fans breathe a bit here.

Elite Deletion Match: “Broken” Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara

This is a cinematic match. Matt was shown on a walkie asking some friends to come when he needs them. Sammy drove into the Hardy Compound on “Spanish God” golf cart. Matt drove over Sammy’s cart with a monster truck and said that was “squash job” so that’s funny. There was a referee that showed up to start the match. Hardy whipped Sammy into some trees. The announcers spoke to describe the action. Sammy with a spin kick on the front lawn. Sammy hit a suplex on the grass. Matt hit Sammy with some scepter that was in a fountain. They made their way over to a ring that was in the yard with Matt whipping Sammy into the side of the ring. Sammy with an enziguri kick. Sammy tried a move off the ropes, but Matt caught him with a Side Effect for two. Hardy set up a table in the ring and hit a Powerbomb through the table. Ortiz of the Inner Circle saved Sammy and threw Matt out of the ring with Santana there to beat up Matt as well. Private Party were shown driving in a car because Matt called them on a walkie talkie, so they were on their way. Santana and Ortiz hit a flipping slam on Matt in the ring. The Private Party tag team joined the party to take care of the heels in the ring. Matt shot some projectiles into the air kind of like fireworks. Sammy fired off some projectiles as well. Marq Quen hit a jumping kick on Santana and Kassidy with an enziguri on Ortiz. Private Party sent Santana/Ortiz to the grass and Kassidy jumped off his partner’s back over the top to the floor. Hardy was shooting the projectiles at Sammy, who was falling all over the grass and he was full of mud. Matt hit Sammy with a Twist of Fate slam. There was a cameo with Gangrel holding Hurricane Helms in full hurricane gear. Gangrel said that he mentored Matt now he had captured Helms. That led to Matt breaking some ties that had Helms hands together, Helms said it was two years and Matt said that’s long term storytelling and he had to get to AEW to finish this. Sammy tossed Helms off the screen with a sound effect to suggest Helms was thrown into the lake, but we did not see that. Sammy blocked a Twist of Fate. Shane Helms showed up for an interview, Sammy superkicked him and Sammy tossed him into the lake this time. The tag teams were still fighting in the ring with Gangrel joining the actin on as well. Sammy and Hardy were there too and so was Hurricane in his green/black gear. Hurricane with an elbow drop into slam and then Gangrel with a DDT on Hurricane. Matt and Sammy left the ring area and they went into some darkened area of the woods. The wrestlers were still in the ring battling it out in the ring.

Matt and Sammy were in a room with a lot of weapons and there was also another wrestling ring. Sammy got a steel turnbuckle that he used to hit Matt in the ribs. Sammy with kept taking apart turnbuckles, hitting Matt with steel and Sammy choked Matt with the ring ropes. Sammy put Matt on a table that was right by a ladder. Sammy climbed to the roof of the Dome of Deletion and Sammy yelled “delete” twice. Sammy jumped off the ladder with a Swanton Bomb (hey Jeff Hardy) through the table for a two count. Hardy sent Sammy onto the apron of the ring and Matt hit a Spear off the apron and sent Sammy through the table. Sammy was bleeding from the back of the head and bleeding from the mouth. Matt jabbed a chair to the face of Sammy to knock down. Matt told Sammy he made him into what he is. Matt hit a Conchairto chair shot to the back of the head, which is where Matt smacks the floor with the chair and the idea is that he hit Sammy in the head. Matt covered for the pinfall win after 19 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: “Broken” Matt Hardy

Analysis: I’m not rating it like a regular match. I thought it was fun with several guys being a part of the match that weren’t originally part of it, but I enjoyed seeing Gangrel and Hurricane there. They did the usual comedy bits that you expect in those kinds of matches although I wouldn’t say it’s the best Hardy Compound match I’ve seen. I liked the matches he did in Impact a bit more than this while the WWE match with Bray Wyatt was fun too. Anyway, it seems like the feud is over after Matt won in a decisive manner. Matt’s the older guy that should be putting over the younger guy in theory, but it made more sense for him to win after Sammy’s cheap attacks against him in the past.

After the match was over, Matt called for Private Party to help. They put Sammy into a trash bin and put it into the back of the truck. Matt told Senor Benjamin to drive away with the crowd cheering at seeing Senor Benjamin (Matt’s father-in-law). Matt’s wife Reby played the piano as highlights were shown of the key spots. Matt and friends celebrated as fireworks went off.

Analysis: A fun moment to put an end to this rivalry. Nice to see cameos from Senor Benjamin and Reby Hardy as well.

Lance Archer was shown with Jake Roberts beating up some random guy against the wall. Jake said that they had four guys that Lance trains with, but now they have none. Jake said that somebody has to step up to serve Archer something. Lance warned the elite flock saying that they will fall. Lance said he’ll break everybody in AEW whether you’re elite or in a family because everybody dies.

Analysis: I find it weird that the creative team has nothing for Archer to do for months at a time. He’s a great character with a strong presence. They need to utilize Archer more.

A video package aired to set up Chris Jericho vs. MJF.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman made his entrance wearing a light up robe similar to the light up jacket that Jericho used in the past. MJF stole the scarf gimmick from Jericho, so he might as well steal that too. MJF is 9-1 in 2020 (the only loss coming against Jon Moxley) with JR noting that MJF is only 24 years of age.

Chris Jericho made his entrance with the crowd singing the “Judas” song as usual. The fans were strongly behind Jericho, who is not a babyface yet, but it does seem like it for this match. Jericho turns 50 years age in two days. Jericho noted his 30 years in wrestling, but they didn’t mention Jericho’s age. It’s impressive that Chris still competes at such a high level.

Chris Jericho vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman (w/Wardlow)

The deal here is if MJF wins then he gets to join the Inner Circle group.

There was a chop exchange with MJF taking a bump after a Jericho chop. MJF ran off the ropes with a running clothesline. Jericho was out on the floor, MJF teased a dive, but then stopped and made a rude gesture to the crowd. Jericho whipped MJF into the barricade. Jericho slammed MJF on the floor. Jericho grabbed a camera and put his middle finger in the shot, so that drew laughs. Jericho sent MJF into the ring post. Jericho went for the back elbow, MJF moved and Jericho hit the elbow against the ring post. Back in the ring, MJF sent Jericho into the turnbuckle. Jericho hit MJF with a back body drop with MJF saying “oh shit” during the move, which was funny. MJF countered a Jericho move by sending the right arm into the top rope. Jericho went for a bulldog and MJF drove Jericho groin first into the turnbuckle. Jericho with an eye poke, then two running shoulder tackles and Jericho hit a double axehandle off the top. Jericho hit the Lionsault off the middle ropes with the fans cheering him. Jericho hit a Frankensteiner for a two count, which looked pretty good. MJF grabbed the hand of Jericho into an overhead suplex. MJF went up top, Jericho met him with a chop and MJF slammed him down. MJF with a double foot stomp on the right arm leading to an arm wrench that sent Jericho into the turnbuckle. Jericho with punches, MJF off the ropes and Jericho hit a hard chop. MJF came back with an armbar on the right arm. Jericho slapped on the Walls of Jericho submission although it was more like a Boston Crab version of the move. MJF got his hands on the bottom rope to break the hold. MJF came back by stretching the right arm across the ropes, then a Codebreaker and MJF hit the Heatseeker for two. Jericho came back with a Codebreaker for two. MJF got an inside cradle for two. Jericho went for the Judas Effect, but MJF caught the right arm that he has worked on all match and MJF had the Salt of the Earth armbar locked in. Jericho got his left hand on the bottom rope. MJF signaled for Wardlow to run out there, so Wardlow handed MJF the diamond ring. The referee was distracted by Wardlow, MJF charged with the diamond ring and Jake Hager tossed the baseball bat to Jericho. MJF faked as if he got hit by the bat (the Eddie Guerrero move), the referee admonished Jericho and MJF got the ROLLUP OF DEATH~! with tights for the pinfall win at 16:10.

Winner by pinfall: Maxwell Jacob Friedman

The win by MJF means that he is part of the Inner Circle group.

Analysis: **3/4 A slow-paced match with a bit of a cheap ending since there was the ROLLUP OF DEATH~! with MJF grabbing the tights. Jericho looked a bit slower out there, but that happens to everybody after all the years in the business. With that said, Jericho did some great moves like a Frankensteiner and some other things that were impressive. I like how relentless MJF was in terms of going after the right arm of Jericho. That’s what the heel should do and Jericho clearly was the face in this match. MJF winning was the outcome that I expected here. Jericho’s match quality has been down in the last few years. Aging sucks. I’m just saying that last year he was having better matches.

Post match, Jericho and MJF shook hands. They hugged. Jericho said welcome MJF and Wardlow to the Inner Circle. Wardlow and Hager kept on staring at eachother as if they don’t get along at all. The four men posed together on the ramp.

Analysis: It should lead to some interesting segments and vignettes between MJF and the group. I think long term they’ll have problems with Jericho going face with MJF becoming the leader of the group, but there’s a long way to get there.

A video aired for AEW’s next PPV called Revolution. It takes place on Saturday, February 27.

There was a backstage interview with Orange Cassidy and Best Friend with Dasha conducting the interview. Cassidy said he had no thoughts on his match. Miro showed up with Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford. Sabian wanted an apology from Cassidy, who said he was sorry and Cassidy said “cool” while walking away with the group.

This Wednesday on AEW Dynamite:

* The Butcher & The Blade vs. Natural Nightmares in a Bunkhouse Match.

* Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Rey Fenix

* Tay Conti vs. Red Velvet

The video package aired for the main event with Jon Moxley defending the AEW World Title against Eddie Kingston. Awesome video.

Eddie Kingston made his entrance first and he was alone even though he’s got a stable of wrestlers supporting him. Jon Moxley was up next as the AEW World Champion that made his entrance by going in through the back part of the arena. They stood in the ring for the championship introduction from Jon Moxley, who has been AEW World Champion for over eight months and he’s 20-0 in 2020.

AEW World Championship – I Quit Match: Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston

This is the first “I Quit Match” in AEW history. They started the match slugging it out with punches, then they did hard chops and Moxley took him down by grabbing the leg. Kingston bit the ear of Moxley. It was back to an exchange of chops along with hard slaps to the face. Kingston with a belly to belly suplex that sent Moxley to the floor. Kingston sent Moxley into the ring so Moxley hit a suicide dive while Kingston was looking at getting a steel chair. Moxley whipped a chair at Kingston’s head and then a whip into the barricade. Moxley hit a suplex on the floor with the referee Bryce Remsburg asking him if he would quit, but Eddie said no. They were back around the ringside area with Kingston sending Moxley into the barricade. Kingston whipped Moxley into the ring post and Kingston tossed two steel chairs into the ring. Moxley got a barbed wire bat from under the ring. Moxley had some blood above the eye as he hit Kingston in the chest and back with the barbwire bat. Moxley used the bat to put it against Kingston’s head. Kingston came back with two backdrop suplexes on Moxley and Kingston whipped a chair at Moxley’s head. Kingston with some punches along with a knee to the throat. Kingston was bleeding from the mouth as he hit Moxley in the back and whipped the chair at Moxley’s face. Kingston took off some barbwire from the bat and put it on his right hand, which led to Kingston gouging the head of Moxley with the barbwire. Kingston with a spinning back fist with barb wire to the face. Kingston with a hammerlock armbar, but Moxley bit him to get out of that. Kingston opened up the two chairs into the ring and Moxley suplexed Kingston onto one of the chairs. Ouch. Kingston decked Moxley with a clothesline.

Kingston left the ring and grabbed a bag that was under the ring. Kingston poured out the bag of thumbtacks in a corner of the ring. Moxley with a German Suplex, Kingston with a backdrop suplex and Moxley hit a clothesline to knock down both guys. Kingston blocked a Moxley move leading to Kingston hitting a belly to belly slam onto the thumbtacks in the ring. Kingston got the single strand of barb wire, then put it down and went looking for something else. Kingston grabbed some rubbing alcohol from ringside. Kingston with two blatant low blow kicks to the groin. Kingston got the rubbing alcohol and poured it all over the back of Moxley, who was rolling around in pain. Eddie got a handful of tacks leading to a punch to Moxley’s head. Kingston slapped on the Bulldog Choke, Moxley got out of that and Moxley slapped on a sleeper. Moxley connected with a piledriver along with a Bulldog Choke. Moxley with a knee to the face followed by the Paradigm Shift in the ring. Kingston said no when asked if he quit. Moxley got the barbwire, Kingston gave him the middle finger and Moxley did the Bulldog Choke using the barbwire. Remsburg was asking Kingston if he quit, then Kingston quit and Remsburg called for the bell, so Moxley got the win at 17:35.

Winner: Jon Moxley

Analysis: **** That was a physical, wild brawl with a lot of big moments and some blood although I thought there would be even more blood. I liked the weapon usage because it wasn’t the traditional stuff. They were a bit more creative. I think they could have had some more moments in the match where it looked like Kingston was going to win because most people believed Moxley was going to win. I would have liked to see Kingston come closer to winning. The way Moxley won with the Bulldog Choke along with the barbwire looked brutal and a fitting end to the match. Moxley remains a dominant champion in AEW.

Post match, Moxley was handed the AEW World Title that he has held for most of the year. Moxley spoke into the camera talking about heart and soul while mentioning “blood and guts” (the phrase Vince McMahon used last year to criticize AEW) as well. Kingston was down in the ring selling the attack.

Moxley helped Kingston to his feet, but Kingston didn’t want to celebrate with his old friend. Kingston left the ring while Moxley stood tall in the ring. Moxley continued to pose with the AEW World Title.

That led to Kenny Omega making his entrance for a confrontation with the champion since Omega is owed a title shot. Omega stood outside the ring talking to Moxley, who talked to him and then Omega went to the back. Excalibur said that Omega was telling him he wants the match in the ring, not like the crazy match they had last year. Moxley continued to stand in the ring as the champion. That was the end of the show.

Analysis: I’m really looking forward to Moxley vs. Omega. I don’t know if they are going to wait three months to do it at Revolution. My guess is it happens on Dynamite before the end of the year and as I mentioned earlier, I think Omega is the next AEW World Champion.

Full Gear had a runtime of 3 hours, 42 minutes. That’s consistent with the other AEW shows this year.

Five Stars of the Show

1. Young Bucks
2. Kenny Omega
3. FTR
4. Adam Page
5. Jon Moxley

Final Thoughts

It gets a 9 out of 10 from me.

This was an excellent show overall. A lot of great matches from top to bottom starting with Omega/Page and then the Tag Team Title match was my favorite on the show with Young Bucks finally getting the AEW Tag Team Titles. The main event was very good as a bloody brawl. I liked seeing Darby Allin beat Cody to win the TNT as well. I don’t think the MJF/Jericho match was anything special, but it furthers that story. Some of the finishes were a little flat, but they did make sense at least.

I did really well on my predictions for the show. That doesn’t make the show bad by any means because I enjoyed it a lot. This was one of the best AEW PPVs ever and I rated it as the highest of 2020.

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