AEW Full Gear 2020 came to us live from Jacksonville at Daily’s Place, in front of slightly more fans than a normal episode of Dynamite. There were a few special set pieces, and everything had a big-event atmosphere. With this being one of the better cards (on paper) AEW has ever done, let’s see how it went.
Serena Deeb vs. Allysin Kay
This pre-show match was for the NWA Women’s Championship. Kay is a former NWA Women’s Champ, and she has also wrestled as Sienna for Impact Wrestling. Allysin just announced a few days ago that her contract with the NWA is up, and she’s now a free agent. With AEW taking a close look at her, she accounted for herself well on this bright stage. Both ladies used a base of mat and submission wrestling here. Deeb targeted the neck, which is her recent staple. Deeb retained the title with a Tequila Sunrise in a very solid match. Afterward, Thunder Rosa came out and stared down Deeb. This situation is very interesting. We now have an AEW contracted wrestler holding the NWA Title, with two former NWA contracted, unsigned wrestlers contending for it. Billy Corgan says Rosa is still under an NWA deal, so it’ll be interesting to see where the chips fall.
Kenny Omega vs. Adam Page
This long-built rivalry of the former partners is also the finals of the top contendership tournament, where the winner gets a future shot at the AEW World Championship. Impact Wrestling’s EVP Don Callis (the former Cyrus in WWE/ECW) was on commentary here, as a favor to Omega. This was a solid main show opener. The two traded stiff chops and forearms before going into some smooth high-impact offense. It was paced really well for the first half. Toward the end, it ran a little long, and the two men got into no-sell territory, bouncing up from each other’s big moves. Omega wins with the One Winged Angel, and Callis added a lot to the announce team here.
Orange Cassidy vs. Jon Silver
Two of AEW’s favorite comedic residents faced off here, with one of the lesser builds on the show. They started off trading silliness, as Cassidy played with his pockets and Silver tore them off of his clothes. Silver’s shtick is that he’s tiny but strong, so that he thinks he’s a bodybuilder. The two eventually got into a real match, and that’s where it got watchable. Silver’s one-handed gorilla press is very impressive. Cassidy wins with the Beach Break, but it doesn’t seem that the Silver push is over. This was skippable, but the AEW hardcores will like it.
Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin
It makes me happy to type Cody RHODES again. WWE let the trademark go, so now Cody can officially have his father’s namesake back. For my money, this was the match of the night. The commentators did a nice job playing up the history of the previous three matches between these rivals. Cody worked on Darby’s arm, and Darby was very strong in working from underneath. Cody hit a top rope Crossroads at one point in a sick spot. Cody is still riding the line between face and heel. Darby wins the TNT Title with a roll-up, and Cody hands him the belt. After the match, Taz comes out and says he’s sick of the sportsmanship, and Starks and Cage come out and attack both men. They put Darby through a set piece, and attempt to smash his arm in a car door that he rode out to the ring earlier. Will Hobbs makes the save, and Starks and Cage look weary over which one will challenge Allin for the title next. Great match, and intriguing angle with lots of moving pieces.
Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida
This match had practically no build, and the AEW Women’s Title is an afterthought right now. The NWA title is even presented as more important at this point. The match itself was fine, but the No DQ contest they had when Shida won the title was the far better contest. The two brawled and Vickie Guerrero ran interference, but Shida retained after multiple knees. After the match, Vickie insulted and slapped Nyla. To have dissension in this new pairing already, and to have Nyla lose her first big match after getting a new manager, makes no sense here. The AEW ladies deserve better.
FTR vs. Young Bucks
This match is considered a dream match by indie fans, as the two teams have hyped it up for years. While the build was lackluster and inconsistent, they tried to give this match time to develop. They gave it over 28 minutes actually, which was about 10 minutes too long for my liking. There was no clear control by either team, and Matt Jackson went back and forth between selling his injured leg, and doing kicks/flips with it. Also, the psychology was tainted by the story they were supposed to be telling, as the Bucks have been going back and forth between face and heel. Both teams did tribute moves from other famous tag teams at one point. Matt Jackson hits a superkick with his injured leg after Wheeler attempts a 450 to win. There were some nice tag moves and good moments of storytelling inside the match, but they were really hampered by the build and length here. Kenny Omega comes out to celebrate with the new champs, as Adam Page sulks from afar.
Sammy Guevara vs. Matt Hardy
The never-ending feud continues here, as this was an “Elite Deletion” match. It was done in cinematic style, likely taped earlier in the week (like the Hardy’s work in Impact Wrestling in the past). This was a wild and cheesy brawl all over the yard and warehouse area at Matt’s house. Guevara has Santana and Ortiz interfere, so Hardy has Private Party come to his aid. Gangrel shows up as a callback to being Matt’s first manager. Shane Helms shows up as the Hurricane, but changes into Reporter Helms after being thrown into the Lake of Reincarnation. Hardy finally wins a long affair after a chairshot to the back of Sammy’s head. You either love these “matches”, or you hate them. They generally aren’t for me, but the callbacks to the past were nice.
Chris Jericho vs. MJF
If MJF wins this match, he gets to join the Inner Circle. MJF comes out in an old light-up jacket like Jericho used to wear. This match really exceeded expectations and wound up being one of the best of the night for its simple storytelling. MJF worked over Jericho’s arm to set up for his finisher. Jericho was trying to surprise MJF by switching up his moveset, and pulled out a top rope hurricanrana at one point. Jericho works hard during the big matches, and both men exuded heel charisma throughout. Both men try to cheat, but as Jericho gets his bat thrown in, MJF pretends to be knocked out in front of the referee (the old Eddie Guerrero trick). While Jericho is distracted, MJF wins with a roll-up. After the match, Jericho seems happy (which is why the set-up for the match makes no sense) and introduces MJF and Wardlow as new members. The match was good, the right man won, and now there’s a bevy of directions that this angle can go moving forward.
Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston
This “I Quit” match was for the AEW World Title, and it was the best built match AEW has had in a few months. The commentators say Kingston is proud and wants to win on his own, which is a great cover-up for why his group didn’t just come out and jump Moxley. As expected, these two hardcore rivals came out brawling, with strikes and weapons and blood. They mixed in suplexes and submissions in with chairs, tacks, and barbed wire. The hardcore tropes may be overplayed, but it works in this scenario. These two men have history in deathmatch style wrestling, and the feud was built intensely enough to warrant it. This felt like a legit fight, and the closing submissions were rife with emotion. Moxley retains with a choke, while his arm is wrapped in barbed wire. I’d call this the second best match of the night. Kenny Omega comes out at the end, as he’s the next title challenger.
It’d be hard to give this show anything but a thumbs up. I loved Darby/Cody, Moxley/Kingston, and MJF/Jericho. But even beyond those, there’s something for everyone. Most of the die-hards will love the opener and tag title match. Some young talent got put over, and the Elite Deletion will tickle fans of the cinematic style. We also had a comedy match, and even fans of women’s wrestling got a great pre-show affair. Overall, this PPV delivered, and the big matches furthered the stories very well. I will see you all Wednesday for my Dynamite review!
