AEW Full Gear 2022 is finally here, the last PPV of the company’s jam-packed calendar. This year has been a little rocky for the company, especially since All Out back in September, but this could be the fresh start the company needs. We have the return of The Elite, Eddie Kingston in the most hotly anticipated match on Zero Hour and three women’s matches, including two championship matches with a third in the form of Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. facing off against the returning Saraya. Also, will tonight be the night that MJF defeats Jon Moxley and finally takes his place at the top of the company as the AEW World Heavyweight Champion? We will find out tonight.
As always we bring you our unique rating system, and in true AEW Full Gear style, each match will have a rating out of 5 gears.
AEW Full Gear: Zero Hour
Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor, Trent Barretta, Danhausen & Rocky Romero vs The Factory is the first match of the night on zero hour. If you want a good heel faction that you know will get the crowd going, the factory is your best bet to open the night. The Best Friends are the coolest group in AEW, next to BCC, and are who you want on your side and to hang out with. This match is lots of fun and definitely the best way to start the night.
Danhausen finally makes an appearance, late, with new music and a darker look. He looks incredible and it’s great seeing him back to full health.
⚙️⚙️⚙️.75
Brian Cage vs Ricky Starks was an ok match, nothing special which sucks but Ricky Starks is a star. Luckily he will be facing Ethan Page this week and you know that is going to be great. The problem I have, personally, with Brian Cage is that he really isn’t setting the world on fire in AEW and feels like a small fish in a big pond.
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Eddie Kingston vs Jun Akiyama is how you headline Zero Hour, it’s for everyone who loves wrestling, who loves the King’s Road style, and who wants to see the man from Yonkers succeed. Kingston has low-key been one of AEWs greatest assets, especially when it comes to high-quality matches and somehow getting buzz and crowd support even when his match is announced late in the day. Jun Akiyama is an absolutely legendary figure in Japanese wrestling. This is one to watch and it’s also free on YouTube, so what are you waiting for, go watch it now.
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AEW Full Gear 2022: Main Card
From the King’s Road to a brutal cage match Jungle Boy Vs Luchasaurus is the perfect follow-up and a great way to open the main card of AEW Full Gear 2022. Seeing the slow burn of this breakup between the former tag team partners has been hard to watch but also beautifully crafted. The great thing about AEW is that they know exactly when to use gimmick matches and this feud is perfect for this. This match was out of this world and had everything.
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The long-awaited return of The Elite and they did not disappoint, with a fantastic entrance, Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas, and a crowd of loyal Elite fans this was a moment. I was emotional. Death Triangle has held these AEW World Trios Championships since the Wednesday after All Out and has taken them to the heights that they deserve. These six in any combination would put in a match-of-the-night contender and that’s what they are here to do.
Do they deliver? Of course, they do, it’s not even a question, there is no doubt and the crowd is unglued. This match is absolute madness, if you think the first match was incredible, wait until you get a load of this.
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Nyla Rose made her entrance accompanied by Vickie Guerrero and Marina Shafir in a low rider. Jade Cargill looked amazing as always with her gear inspired by The Thundercats. Jade has been doing so well learning on the job and is an asset to AEW but what comes next? As great as her undefeated streak has been it’s now time for her to move on, she has established the TBS Championship and seeing her claw back who she is would be interesting. Nyla Rose feels like one of the few credible threats to Cargill going into this match and maybe it’s time to let Rose shine again, as she has been during this feud.
⚙️⚙️⚙️.5
Bryan Danielson Vs Chris Jericho Vs Claudio Castagnoli Vs Sammy Guevara should be an absolute banger of a match, but will it compare to what has come before? Well with Jericho, Castagnoli and Danielson being in the ring together it could be.
Sammy Guevara for me is the wild card in this match, I have my own personal issues with him, with his backstage attitude and what happened in his match with Ruby Soho, he feels like he is protected and given the benefit of the doubt again and again. There is no denying that he is great inside of the ring but he is constantly rewarded for his poor behaviour and it makes me dislike watching him. Now on to the match.
The big question is who will turn on one another first, the members of Blackpool Combat Club or The Jericho Appreciation Society. Well with the BCC they train together and hit harder than anyone else, even as friends. We get an amazing throwback to their ROH days, with the two taking it down to the mat to show why they are considered two of the greatest technical wrestlers of a generation. They do this for the fun of it and their love of pro wrestling. Obviously, the JAS is a thing and Jericho and Guevara have always been close, but could both of their ambition be their undoing? Hopefully.
This match starts slow but it really does build with Guevara feeding into those boos and showing his true colours as one of the most ambitious snakes in AEW. If Claudio or Bryan wins tonight a rematch at ROH Final Battle would be absolutely fantastic.
⚙️⚙️⚙️⚙️.75
After 5 long years our girl from Norwich, England is back inside a wrestling ring. For me, Saraya was such a breath of fresh air, she was my girl, cool, alternative and something different, she opened the door for the women who came after. She deserves this. The match was everything I wanted and the crowd wanted.
A huge story about her regaining her confidence and showing that she is one of the best women’s wrestlers in the world while Britt Baker will always want to prove she is at the top of the company. The AEW women’s division is in safe hands with these two as it’s most important pillars, its other two are coming up later in the night.
⚙️⚙️⚙️⚙️.5
Powerhouse Hobbs vs Samoa Joe vs Wardlow for the TNT Championship is the most fight of the night. Three big meaty men slapping meat. But if you think you know what a modern-day Hoss fight is, you are so wrong. It isn’t just chops and stiff kicks it is about so much more than that. Athleticism is the key to everything here and it is a great match. Coming out of this match we have a double champion in Samoa Joe and a very very pissed-off Wardlow.
⚙️⚙️⚙️⚙️.25
Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett Vs Darby Allin and Sting is a typical Allin/Sting match, with lots of outside-the-ring action. What I was most excited about was Jarrett getting back inside a ring, his match against Effy in GCW was out of this world and here he shows yet again that he hasn’t missed a beat, this is also the best Jay Lethal has looked in AEW. We got to see him show off his speed and technical prowess. This is the Lethal we have been waiting for.
Sting looked good as always, if not limited in his abilities, but his face-off with Jarrett was great to see and a real treat for WCW/TNA fans. Allin did his usual thing and coming out of this match I feel we need something new from him, he has this thing, high-risk moves and speed but it’s now a little boring. I want more from him.
⚙️⚙️⚙️.25
The last women’s match of the night and it is for the big one, the AEW Women’s World Championship. Yes, I know I said AEW Women’s World Championship, no interim here and that is because Toni Storm has done more for the women’s division and this championship than Thunder Rosa did, now that is down to booking but there is something truly special about Storm.
There is also something magnetic and undeniable about Jamie Hayter, since her return she has gained so much momentum it makes sense for her to be at the top of the card, from her time on the UK scene to her championship run in Oedo Tai in Stardom, Hayter’s hard work is finally paying off in AEW.
I do personally have a soft spot for both women but this match just shows why they are so good. You have high flying moves, technical mat baes wrestling and big power moves, these women honed their craft in Japan and it shows here. This is just as good as any match you will find in Stardom right now, this is what the AEW Women’s division should be. We are finally getting to see the hard work these women have been putting in.
This is one of the best women’s matches AEW have produced. I could watch this match over and over, it has the right amount of wrestling and outside interference. Jamie Hayter deserved this crowing moment and AEW did the right thing in making her their champion.
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The Acclaimed Vs Swerve In Our Glory was a slobber knocker in the best way. Great wrestling and even better storytelling, from Bowens struggling through injury’s yet succeeding in every way possible to the conflict between Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland, this gave fans everything and more.
The slow burn of Lee and Swerve has been perfectly executed all coming to a head during the closing moments of this match. After a disagreement and a slap to the face, Keith Lee walked out on his tag team partner as his morels mean more to him than championship glory. Yet again The Acclaimed shined and Max Caster’s opening extended rap was hilarious and vicious taking aim at Swerve Strickland in particular. AEW knows how to do tag team wrestling and it will always be one of its greatest assets.
⚙️⚙️⚙️⚙️.5
Now for the main event of the evening, MJF Vs AEW World Heavyweight Champion, Jon Moxley. Another great match from two of AEW’s biggest stars. A lot has been said about Moxley’s work inside the ring but he made everyone eat their words with his violent display of hard-hitting moves and technical prowess, something that isn’t nearly talked about enough amongst fans and talking heads of the industry. Both are also two of the best talkers and storytellers this company has on their books, being able to build a red-hot feud from nothing. They truly are two of the greatest to step inside of the squerd circle.
For me, personally, the main event doesn’t need to be a technical masterpiece but it does need to tell a story, the best story in the company and this one completely delivers on everything, This is pro-wrestling, plain and simple. Despite the fact I am a huge Moxley fan, he was a huge reason I got back into pro-wrestling, I feel that this might just be MJF’s time, his crowning moment. We have been building to this for over three years and now might be the time to let him lead the company into a new era.
Oh and that betrayal, whatever will we do with you, William Regal? It was a perfect end to an incredible night.
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Results
Orange Cassidy, Best Friends, Danhausen & Rocky Romero vs The Factory | Winner: Danhausen for Team Best Friends
Brian Cage Vs Ricky Starks | Winner: Ricky Starks
Jun Akiyama Vs Eddie Kingston | Winner: Eddie Kingston
Jungle Boy Jack Perry Vs Luchasaurus | Winner: Jungle Boy Jack Perry
AEW World Trios Championship | PAC, Penta El Zero & Rey Fenix [Death Triangle] Vs Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson [The Elite] | Winner: Rey Fenix for Death Triangle
TBS Championship | Jade Cargill Vs Nyla Rose | Winner: Jade Cargill
ROH World Championship | Bryan Danielson Vs Chris Jericho Vs Claudio Castagnoli Vs Sammy Guevara | Winner: Chris Jericho
Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. vs Saraya | Winner: Saraya
TNT Championship | Powerhouse Hobbs Vs Samoa Joe Vs Wardlow | Winner: Samoa Joe
Jay Lethal & Jeff Jarrett Vs Darby Allin & Sting | Winner: Darby Allin for Team Allin/Sting
AEW Women’s World Championship | Toni Storm Vs Jamie Hayter | Winner: Jamie Hayter
AEW Word Tag Team Championship | The Acclaimed Vs Swerve In Our Glory | Winner: The Acclaimed
AEW World Heavyweight Championship | Jon Moxley Vs MJF | Winner: MJF
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