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Good Morning!
Full Gear was pretty good! I really had a good time watching this show, and that wasn’t only due to the fine pizza and cat antics offered by my buddy’s hospitality. HOWEVER, if you haven’t tried it yet, I cannot recommend 7-Up’s Shirley Temple drink enough -- it’s amazing and defeats their cherry offering as my favorite version of the pop.
But I digress. Full Gear outdid my expectations, and featured matches where I didn’t expect much but was pleasantly surprised, matches where I expected more but was satisfied with the result, and one match that I was incredibly happy to have been wrong about on several levels. Let’s dive right into the review!
My Pick: Costco AJ and his Costco Son -- I WAS RIGHT!
2k24 said: QT
We only picked ⅓ of these matches, because only one had been announced when we wrote the preview. That 4 way was fun, but nothing special for AEW, and I missed the women’s match entirely. The Costco match was fun, though, for what it was. As I said in the preview, I have no co
nnection with the guy or the kids, but you could tell that both of the kids were having a blast. The crowd seemed genuinely into the match, and QT is the very definition of the wrestling term “a good hand,” doing all the best heel spots from the ‘80s in an attempt to get Costco AJ over. Even Big Show/Paul Wight got in on the fun, walking The Rizzler to his timekeeper post and defending him from an attempted assault by Marshall. Overall, it was a pre-show match that got eyes on the product. Could be worse -- could be a Paul brother.
Private Party © defeated The Outrunners, Kings of the Black Throne, and The Acclaimed to retain the World Tag Team Championship
My Pick: Private Party’s gotta retain here -- I WAS RIGHT!
2k24 said: The same!
Private Party won in a kind of surprising fashion, but they felt more like an afterthought in their big title defense. Tension between the Acclaimed’s Max Caster and Anthony Bowens was the big focus of this match, starting with Max throwing his microphone at Bowens before the match began and continuing in several spots during the fight. I’ve grown more and more annoyed with Caster over the past few months, with his edgelord Twitter shtick and increasingly trollish entrance raps going from silly to grating for me. I’m really hoping he initiates the breakup with Bowens, only for Bowens to end up being the member of the Acclaimed that MVP and the Hurt Syndicate wanted all along. Let him be a heel without a stable, just an unlikeable prick to eat losses and steal wins to get some heat.
The Outrunners and House of Black had some good points in this match, and Brody was able to shine as the big bad house of fire as well. The match was good, and the right guys won, but hopefully Outrunners vs FTR, an Acclaimed break, and the House of Black reunion with Julia Hart are all coming to keep those teams relevant too.
MJF defeated Roderick Strong
My Pick: MJF comes out on top -- I WAS RIGHT!
2k24 said: MJF
A match born from a rivalry that’s been simmering for over a year now, kind of, Roddy Strong vs MJF was another good, serviceable match with the right guy winning and the story coming out of the fight being more important than the fight itself. MJF’s submission win in this match made sense, and Strong going for backbreakers all night was expected, but the inclusion of Kyle O’Reilly, Adam Cole, and the Kingdom guys should all lead into some new directions for everyone involved except Cole and MJF, who HAVE to meet at World’s End to blow off this neverending feud.
My Pick: Mercedes retains -- I WAS RIGHT!
2k24 said: Statlander!
Look, I’ll admit to having been kind of a turd on this one. Mercedes hasn’t impressed me since her match with Willow Nightingale, and I honestly gave most of the credit to Willow for that one. Haters might say the same about this match, which is reasonable considering the fact that Statlander can make anyone look good. But Mercedes more than held up her end of this battle, and I was really impressed by everything she did in the ring on the night. Her reactions to Stat’s kickouts were wild, and I loved how she went from annoyed, to a tantrum, to confident, to angry, to finally relieved at the final three count. Statlander and Moné had amazing chemistry, showed some incredible creativity in their reversals, and put on what I would call Mercedes’ best match out of the Fed so far. Good on both women.
I would have loved to have seen Statlander win gold, but with the turn on Kamille, Mercedes has more than a few women waiting to challenge for that title. If AEW decides to do that match at Winter is Coming, and quickly go with Jamie Hayter challenging for the TBS Championship at World’s End, Mercedes has the built-in excuse of working three big shows in a row against three big meaty women in a row. It all works for me.
My Pick: Hanger hurts Jay real bad among a sea of “Leaves IS Plants, Dumbass!” signs -- NEWS FLASH, DUMBASS, YOU WAS WRONG
2k24 said: Page
I loved this match, more than I expected to. Switchblade is a solid, dependable wrestler, and a guy who can get good results out of anything you throw at him. Heel leader of some weirdos slapped together to sell more Bullet Club merch? Sure. Babyface who maybe walked into a deathmatch with a guy whose singular focus has been murdering his one true love/rival? Why not?
I really thought this would be the match where Hangman’s current trajectory into darkness would pay off, but it was not to be. I like the story, though: you can go to “that place” when you’re faced with a rival like Swerve Strickland, but if you stay there, you’re not going to find anything but heartache. Jay White deserved the win, too, given how often he ends up losing these bigger storylines when he’s inserted into them. Maybe he’s the next guy to go after Moxley? I don’t think he’s quite beloved enough, but we’ll see soon enough.
Full credit to the “Leaves IS Plants” sign holders for getting BlueSky lore on TV, although maybe you don’t need to block the folks behind you every 40 seconds.
My Pick: Fletcher surprises with a victory -- I WAS RIGHT!
2k24 said: Fletcher
This would have been the match of the night on any other night, and probably on this night for many AEW fans. Flips, melodramatic acting, full-on SCREAMING from Fletcher, reversals on reversals on reversals…just great, top-tier professional wrestling. I love that Ospreay is so willing to get other performers over despite the massive pops he continues to get when his music hits. This is a guy who (Undertaker voice) “RESPECKS THE BUSINESS” and is doing all the right things to help get AEW back on track.
I know some people have a problem with Ospreay’s history, but I think he’s shown genuine growth as a person and has apologized for his past, which is way more than I expect from most people these days. You can’t go back, but you can learn and grow and that’s gotta count for something.
My Pick: Daniel Garcia steals one for the good guys -- I WAS RIGHT!
2k24 said: Daniel Garcia
Another guy I could easily see falling into the AEW vs Death Riders story is Daniel Garcia, who has been at the front line of the big team brawls in weeks past. Garcia picked up the win after some dramatic self-sacrificing by Perry, which will probably lead to a bit of “I wanted you to win for yourself” type promos in the coming shows. I’m not as high on Garcia as some people are, but I like him just fine and I’m happy to see him succeed. We’ll see if his character work is as strong as his wrestling as he moves on from the Scapegoat and into the featured feud on AEW’s weekly shows.
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Ricochet to retain the International Championship
No predictions
This was another match I wasn’t able to preview due to a late announcement, and if we’re being honest I would have been wrong anyway. I wanted this match to happen, and I wanted it to happen before Fletcher/Ospreay in a “top that” kind of way, in part because I knew that the Protostar and the Aerial Assassin would do just that. I dearly love my sweet Cinnabon son, and you can ask those closest to me about my lifelong crush on Prince Puma/Pretty Ricky. If anything, I wanted Take to lose, giving him a reason to enter the Continental Classic (more on that later).
But he didn’t. This was a good, not great, match that hopefully leads to a great rematch somewhere down the road. Takeshita is as much raw talent as he is potential, with years left in his career to grow. He’s strong, smart, agile, and able to perform in any context asked of him. In short, he’s gonna be fine. Ricochet is evolving into more of an AEW style performer every week, and while getting the Fed off him is taking some time, you can really see that he’s trying his best to become what many folks thought he would be if he’d stayed on the indies, rather than going to WWE.
Bobby Lashley defeated Swerve Strickland
My Pick: Big Bob smash, Big Bob win -- I WAS RIGHT!
2k24 said: Strickland
I really thought this would be more of a squash than what we got. It’s fine, though; Strickland is a former world champion, and we’re not trying to tell the story of his monumental collapse after losing his title. Lashley is going to be established as a monster more in the coming weeks, I’m sure, so this fight against one of the best talents AEW has on the roster makes sense in that regard. The post-match shenanigans let us know that the Owie Organization means business, and their business is DEEP HURTING.
The placement of this match on the card was a little weird, too. Likely meant to be a cool-down spot after what was assumed to be a barn-burner between Takeshita and Ricochet, I thought the proximity of “heel group beating down a beloved star to establish themselves” matches stuck out like a sore thumb. I love the Hurt Syndicate, don’t get me wrong -- if anything, I hope they stick around long after the Death Riders are forced to disband. That’s just all the more reason to keep the two teams separate, for now.
My Pick: Mox retains -- I WAS RIGHT!
2k24 said: Mox
This went just about exactly how I expected, up until the post match insanity began. Cassidy came out hot, hitting Moxley with Orange Punches galore. He was then beaten down and bloodied, but remained resilient and defiant, hitting a Beach Break that I nearly bit on. In the end, Moxley stood tall over the defeated Cassidy, and added insult to injury by going full Art the Clown on Orange, pouring what we were told by Excalibur was some kind of industrial ring-mat-cleaning fluid on the bloodied man’s wounds.
After the match was when the real fun began. Hangman Page faced down Moxley before Christian Cage, his part-time associate, attacked from behind. Christian readied his contract for cash-in on the prone champion, only for Jay White to attack Cage. I don’t have much of a theory on what this means for any of the four men involved, although they do all have a bit of history that justified this whole angle. I’m definitely in “let it play out” mode here.
The mWo (I refuse to back down on that name) was headed back to their pickup truck/escape vehicle when what looked like a spray painted taxi obliterated the front half of their truck. The announcers asked who could have driven the vehicle, but come on -- spray painted skulls on a crap used car? It was Darby. So then Claudio assaulted the valet guy, stole some keys, and the Riders rode off in an SUV. The camera (shoutout to AEW for using this more mobile, handheld-style camera throughout the night) moved around the smashed truck to reveal Darby, skateboard in hand, as the next last hope for the All Elite brand jumped onto the hood of the pickup and smashed the windshield to end the show.
The Continental Classic, version 2.0!
Sunday brought us the announcement of this year’s brackets for AEW’s now-annual Continental Classic, a points-based tournament that has two divisions and runs throughout December, culminating in the winners of those divisions face off at World’s End. Here’s the divisions:
I’m not sure if AEW plans on separating these divisions by show, like they did last year. Collision and Dynamite were operating with an unofficial roster split during the last C2, and if that holds true, the Blue Division is the one I’m way more excited for: that lineup can GET IT. Okada, Garcia, Briscoe, Benjamin, THE BEAST MORTOS, and Kyle Goddamn Fletcher? Tell me one matchup in that murderers’ row that doesn’t have the potential to steal any show.
That’s not to say that the Gold League is bad -- Darby is gonna get murdered (again) by Claudio Castignoli and Brody King, and even Ricochet and Will Ospreay can toss the little guy around while using their aerial abilities on him. It’s gonna be a fun December, and while I’m a little disappointed that my son Takeshita wasn’t entered, I’m looking forward to a potential Ospreay/Okada final, even though there’s plenty of fans who have seen that and are over it. But there are other potential finals that are interesting, too: Okada facing down Allen for the last piece of gold that the Elite holds is something. Claudio claiming another title for the Death Riders is another direction. Danny Garcia vs Castignoli keeps both of them involved in that AEW/mWo story too. There’s plenty of cool outcomes, is what I’m saying. What’s important is not to marry yourself to a fantasy booking and getting pissy when it doesn’t come to bear; there’s so many directions that both the ending of Full Gear and the whole December of this tournament can provide. I’m legit excited to see where 2024 ends for All Elite Wrestling, and hopefully next year provides more growth in audiences and love for this company that so many of us have enjoyed since its inception.
And that’s it!
Full Gear was a blast. Was it the best show AEW has done all year? No, but who cares? It was fun, it had some good wrestling, and it’s given us some very interesting possibilities for future rivalries and matches. Oh! And Mariah May turned on beloved visiting superstar Mina Shirakawa by trying to smash her upside the head with a champagne bottle! Mina, lovely and wise performer that she is, saw that attack coming and put her former partner through a table for her troubles. So, no Toni Storm just yet, but Mina vs Mariah should be a blast.
I still think it’s too soon to get right into Darby vs Moxley, but that’s because I think all signs point to the little skull-faced psycho becoming the last man standing for AEW. I think we’ve got to let things get worse, in kayfabe, before a Sting-like Darby appears in the rafters, ready to set things right again. I thought about Mark Briscoe being the next sacrifice to the Riders: a man literally every wrestling fan loves getting laid out to end 2024 feels like the way to go before the good guys finally mount a real comeback. Briscoe’s presence in the Continental Classic likely puts an end to that theory, but I still think there’s a few months in Moxley’s latest title reign before we put a new hero over.
Next weekend is Survivor Series, which I’m not super high on because I don’t like WarGames as much as some fans. It’s usually fun, but I feel like WWE made a good decision in ending stipped-up premium live events like Hell in a Cell, and it always feels forced to make teams for the annual big cage match. I am looking forward to the stories that come out of this show, which has become the time of year when WrestleMania plans start to come into focus. Owens/Rhodes should transition nicely into Cody versus Rocky and KO taking Sami Zayn, and the Bloodlines will evolve and separate into a few different matches, I think.
I’ll sim the announced matches a little later this week, and the Let’s Watch Some Wrestling Survivor Series preview will go up on Thursday or Friday. Then we’ve got some catching up to do with NXT before their next big show, Deadl1ne.
Thank you so much for reading. If you liked what you saw, consider telling your friends, mentioning Let’s Watch Some Wrestling on social media, or even buying me a hot cup of coffee using the Ko-Fi button. Have a great week, have a great Thanksgiving whether you celebrate or not, good luck to you retail warriors on Black Friday, and I’ll see you back here next time, dear reader. Until then, Let’s Watch Some Wrestling!
2024 Predictions
WWE Royal Rumble 2/4
NXT Vengeance Day 1/6
WWE Elimination Chamber Perth 4/4
AEW Revolution 9/11
NXT Roadblock 4/6
NXT Stand and Deliver 5/7
WWE WrestleMania Night One 4.5/7
WWE WrestleMania Night Two 4/6
AEW Dynasty 11/12
WWE Backlash 5/5
WWE King and Queen of the Ring (SSM XIV) 6/6
AEW Double or Nothing 9/12
NXT Battleground 4/6
WWE Money in the Bank 2/5
NXT Heatwave 3/6
AEW All In 6/10
WWE Bash in Berlin 3/5
NXT No Mercy 3/6
AEW Full Gear 8/9
Total Correct/Total Predictions 93.5/133
2K Predictions
AEW Full Gear 4/9
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