Folks, it's here, it's finally here: AEW Full Gear.
Soon, Tony Khan will deliver 10 hard-hitting matches loaded with drama, suspense, and intrigue and may even turn over a championship or two for good measure. Fans will see the return of The Elite, who hasn't graced AEW television outside of the vanishing video package, the return of Saraya to the ring for the first time since 2017, and a few more surprises thrown in for good measure too, like will Sting survive another guitar shot to the head from Jeff Jarret?
And the best part? Even if the matches bleed into the 11 and even 12 o'clock hour, fans don't have to fret, as the show is scheduled for a Saturday and will give late-night viewers a buffer day to fully absorb all 10 matches plus three more on the pre-show.
But what should fans expect from the show? Let's take a look at the card and try to find out.
10 bold AEW predictions ahead of Full Gear.
10. Powerhouse Hobbs wins the TNT Championship
Whoa, whoa, whoa, a hot take right from the jump? Eh, maybe a little, but if you think about it for a minute, it actually makes some sense; Wardlow is very good and very over and, thus, would need to be beaten by someone really good to keep his mystique alive. By making this a three-way match, Samoa Joe can be the reason Wardlow loses and/or Hobbs wins, keep the “Wardog” clean in the eyes of fans, and, most importantly of all, set up a program between the two titans for the Ring of Honor TV Championship.
Would Hobbs have a long and expansive title reign? Probably not, but it makes more sense to move off of a big champion to someone like “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry with Hobbs dropping the strap as opposed to Wardlow. Wardlow-Joe I at Final Battle, anyone?
9. Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal vs. Sting and Darby Allin doesn't work
When Darby Allin is on a Pay-Per-View, he usually delivers. Whether working with Sting, wrestling solo, or taking part in a multi-man gimmick match, Allin knows how to come up big in big moments and deliver fans a beautifully violent moment that will be a topic of debate around the water cooler on Monday.
With that being said, the idea of having Sting and “Double J” Jeff Jarrett work a tag match, even with Jay Lethal and Allin in the mix too, just isn't as exciting as the rest of the card. Maybe it'll shine on the back of Allin's efforts, but that feels like a tough ask.
8. Jade Cargill wins back the physical TBS Championship
Tony Khan tried to play this match up with Nyla Rose stealing Jade Cargill's title, but frankly, it feels very unlikely that the “Native Beast” will be the person to break her Full Gear opponent's win streak, especially with a match against Bow Wow maybe on the horizon.
If Anthea wasn't able to unseat at Cargill, it's hard to imagine Rose will at Full Gear, especially after “That B*tch” served as a brand ambassador of sorts alongside Orang Cassidy and Ricky Starks at a Devils game.
7. Jungle Boy beats Luchadaurus (duh)
Much like Cargill-Rose, Jungle Boy vs. Luchadaurus feels like an incredibly predictable bout with an obvious win all but preordained for Luke Perry's son. Perry took his shots leading up to the match, including a wildly polarizing match with Christian Cage at All Out, and has become a bigger, tougher performer than he once was as a result.
While it won't be the end of the Perry-Cage saga, as the former still needs to get a win over the latter, this feels like a chance to put a W in the baby face's column.
6. The Elite win back their belts
Is AEW AEW without The Elite? Technically yes, but it certainly doesn’t feel the same.
Fortunately, Dynamite and Rampage won't have to be Elite-less for much longer and after watching the interactions between Death Tringle become increasingly tense with each passing week, things are shaping up perfectly for Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks to become the first-ever two-time AEW World Trios Champions without a loss on their record.
5. Britt Baker vs. Saraya is totally fine.
There is a segment of OG Paige fans who could not be more excited to see Saraya and Britt Baker deliver a certified 5-star match, while there's another group of non-Paige fans who want nothing more than to see this match fail to a spectacular degree. In reality, this match will likely fall somewhere in between. It probably won't be fast-paced, and probably won't feature many “big moves,” but if booked correctly, will silence any doubts that Saraya is a capable full-time wrestler once more, even if she has to adjust her in-ring style accordingly.
4. Sammy Guevara becomes Ring of Honor Champion
Whoa, whoa, whoa, actual *hot take* alert. Do I personally want to see Sammy Guevara win the ROH Championship? Not at all, but objectively speaking, it sets up the most interesting angles for future programming, so why not go with it?
With Final Battle booked for December 10th, giving the belt to Bryan Danielson or Claudio Castagnoli would lead to a rushed program in less than a month for the main event of the final ROH show of 2022. Giving the belt to Guevara, however, would easily set up a very interesting main event at Final Battle against a performer like Danielson while adding a whole lot of spice to the JAS storyline. If Danielson as ROH World Champion is the ultimate goal, this feels like an important step.
3. Toni Storm retains
Could Toni Storm- Jamie Hayter be Full Gear‘s version of Swerve in our Glory-The Acclaimed, with the crowd clearly rooting for the challengers and fans online begging for an in-ring audible? Yes, but unfortunately, that feels incredibly likely. But much like that match, it feels like the anointing of Hayter as the next big thing in the women's division won't happen until after the show, thus Storm will likely leave the show with the strap. Fortunately, Winter is Coming is right around the corner, so if that happens, another belt swap could come in the not-too-distant future.
2. The Acclaimed break up Swerve in our Glory
Will Max Caster and Anthony Bownes avenge “Daddy A–‘s” fingers at Full Gear and secure the win over Swerve in our Glory? Yes, but I'd like to take things one step further. Not only will The Acclaimed win the match, but in doing so, it will break up the duo of Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee once and for all. Think about the singles matches, about the feud – for all of the good SioG did as a team, their work against each other could truly turn the duo into legit singles stars in AEW.
1. MJF earns his crown
It's really enticing to imagine The Firm coming in to mess up this match, keep Jon Moxley the champion, and set up an interesting angle for MJF against “All Ego” Ethan Page, “Big Bill” W. Morrissey, “Tyga Style” Lee Moriarty, and The Gunns but weirdly enough, giving Maxwell Jacob Friedman the strap so close to his home town just feels right. He's doing all of the promotional work, generating the heat online, and frankly, making good on his claim that he's the new face of professional wrestling. At this point, give him the strap and see what happens.
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