For the first time in AEW's history, Full Gear is not the final Pay-Per-View of the calendar year, with Worlds End set to shut things down on Staten Island just before the New Year.
And yet, as one of the Big 4 shows of the promotion, there's little reason to expect anything other than a stunner of a showcase of some of the best talents professional wrestling has to offer, with literally hours of enjoyment set to unfold over the eight-match card, 11 really if you count Zero Hour. Titles will be wrestled for, feuds will be decided, and in the end, more than a few new surprises will be revealed to fans in Los Angeles, as Tony Khan has already promised a major signing that will shake the fabric of AEW forever.
Will the show live up to expectations? Only time will tell, but fortunately for fans, they'll have plenty of ways to watch it and interesting angles to enjoy while doing so.
How to Watch AEW Full Gear
Stream: Bleacher Report, Fite TV, select Dave and Busters, select Tom's, YouTube, Sky, and traditional PPV providers.
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET/ 5:00 p.m. PT
*Watch sports LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
3. Will Ric Flair take a bump at AEW Full Gear?
On a card with seven title matches over 11 bouts, one of the performers fans will be keeping the closest eye on is one who isn't even expected to step foot in a ring: Ric Flair.
That's right, after making his debut for the promotion earlier this month, fans have been waiting with bated breath to see how the “Nature Boy” would handle himself when live wrestling is happening right in front of him and whether the 74-year-old would try to insert himself into the action in his bizarre, self-professed desire to literally die in the ring.
Fortunately for Tony Khan, who will likely have his eye firmly fixed on the Woooo! Energy drink personality for the entirety of the match from Gorilla, the match is filled out with some of the more grizzled professionals in the business, with Christian Cage and Adam Copeland likely being told to make sure Flair doesn't so any impromptu table spots that put his literal life in danger.
2. Can Orange Cassidy get his win back over Jon Moxley?
Though Orange Cassidy enters Full Gear as the reigning and defending AEW International Champion, he never actually beat Jon Moxley for the strap, with the leader of the Blackpool Combat Club holding the 1-0 lead in singles action thanks to his win at All Out back in Chicago.
Now granted, this match has a bit of an asterisk next to it because, in a perfect world, Moxley would likely be defending his title against a worthy challenger, OC or otherwise, but because he dropped his title due to a very real concussion in a singles match with Rey Fenix at Grand Slam, the entire lineage of the belt as has been thrown out of wack.
Fortunately, at Full Gear, fans will get to see if Cassidy can overcome the man who ended his title reign in the first place, a win that would decisively shut down any talks of his title belonging a few miles south-east in Anaheim with Mickey Mouse, or if Mox remains the main in AEW, with a chance to take the belt around the world as part of his occasional trips to New Japan Pro Wrestling? Though it may not garner all of the headlines, this might truly be the match to watch on the show.
1. Can MJF remain a dual AEW/Ring of Honor champion?
For the third Pay-Per-View in a row, MJF is pulling double-duty at Full Gear when he goes toe-to-toe against The Gunns on Zero Hour for the Ring of Honor Tag Team Championships alongside brand new tag team partner Samoa Joe and again in the main event of Full Gear, when he takes on the leader of Bullet Club Gold, “Switchblade” Jay White.
Now to some, this strategy of double-dipping Mr. Friedman is a bad call, as they feel as though it cheapens his opponents in both matches, but thus far, the strategy appears to have worked out, and adding Samoa Joe into the action makes things all the more intriguing, as he could probably take care of The Gunns on his own in a two-on-one match if afforded an opportunity.
Could MJF lose the ROH titles? Sure, maybe TK has something up his sleeve to make things interesting like, say, some back-and-forth banter between Joe and MJF leading to a roll-up, but it feels more likely that he leaves the Kia Forum with two titles around his waist instead of one.
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