wrestling / Columns
411’s AEW Full Gear 2024 Preview
Image Credit: AEW
Hello everyone, and welcome to the official site preview for AEW Full Gear. As always, my name is Ryan, and I am here to talk about the matches taking place, the segments taking place, and much more in between the lines.
It’s November, and you know what that means, it’s time for the company’s Full Gear PPV event. This year, Full Gear takes place from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, making it the second time that the arena has held the event (the other being in 2022). The biggest match (and the one being pushed the hardest) is Jon Moxley defending the AEW World Title against Orange Cassidy, but I would argue that the non-title matches look just as strong as the title matches, if not more so. Bobby Lashley will make his AEW debut, as he faces off with Swerve Strickland, and Hangman Page will take on Switchblade Jay White. We also have a 4-team Tag Team Titles match, Kyle Fletcher and Will Ospreay will face off, and we FINALLY get the champagne celebration with Mariah May and Mina Shirakawa.
All of this and, of course, so much more, so join me as we walk through the Full Gear card from top to bottom.
Zero Hour Match
Big Boom AJ From Costco Guys vs. QT Marshall
Listen, I’m not entirely sure why this match is happening, who it appeals to, and what they hope to get out of this. What I do know is that Marshall has no chance of winning this match because, clearly, they wouldn’t be bringing in this guy and his sidekick to lose. This will be a fun match on Zero Hour for someone to enjoy, but I am not sure who that person is, or if they will admit to it. On the plus side, it will be nice to see Marshall wrestle in AEW again, since he has been off TV since the dissolution of his QTV angle.
WINNER: Big Boom AJ From Costco Guys
Mariah May and Mina Shirakawa Championship Celebration
FINALLY, it didn’t feel like this would ever happen! The fact that this is taking place behind a paywall and not on Zero Hour (much less any of the company’s weekly shows) indicates that something interesting is afoot. The only question is, what could it be?
To me, it could be one of two things. The first one being that Mariah decides to turn on Mina, or vice versa. If Mina turns on Mariah, it will lead to the obvious Women’s Title match at some point, at Winter is Coming or World’s End. The other thing that it could mean is that, for the first time since losing her Women’s Title at All-In, TIMELESS Toni Storm makes her long awaited return to the company. If I were a betting man, I would lean more towards Storm making her return, although we could get nothing out of this aside from one hot celebration (not that I would be mad about that at all).
MJF vs. Roderick Strong
Color me surprised that there is no Adam Cole (BAYBAY) in this match, because clearly the onus was to have Cole and MJF revisit the friendship turned rivalry prior to Cole getting injured and then MJF taking time off after dropping the World Title to Samoa Joe at World’s End. That Roddy is in the match instead of Cole makes me think something is off here, but I wonder how this situation will play out.
You will recall that, to get MJF in the ring at Full Gear, that both Strong and Cole had to win three matches. After defeating Buddy Matthews and Malakai Black, Cole lost via shenanigans to Konosuke Takeshita. Meanwhile, Strong defeated Shane Taylor, The Beast Mortos, and Lance Archer to secure a match with MJF. While it is conceivable that Strong and MJF could have a good match on their own merit, you must wonder what the true ending game is here. Anything can happen, except for Strong beating MJF at Full Gear.
WINNER: MJF
Jay White vs. Hangman Page
If this match-up seems like Déjà vu, you are certainly not imagining things. These two men just faced off at WrestleDream, with White defeating Page. In doing a look back into their long-term history, White has defeated Page at every turn, so one must assume that a victory for Page must be coming to stem the tide of Jay wins.
Hangman must pick up the win because, let’s be honest, he has lost a lot of matches recently where it matters (the lone exception, of course, was the All-Out Lights Out Cage Match, where he defeated Swerve Strickland). If Page wins the match, you can fire him up as another viable threat for the AEW World Title, or the TNT Title. I can tell you with certainty that the premise of White winning again and going for the AEW World Title would be fun, especially considering the overarching gang wars aspect of Jon Moxley and his Death Riders going against the Bang Bang Gang. However, two things can be true, with Page winning and us getting the Death Riders and BBG at the same time.
WINNER: Hangman Adam Page
Swerve Strickland vs. Bobby Lashley
You had to know that when the sharp dressed man by the name of Montell Vontavious Porter (MVP for short) showed up, that he wasn’t going to be alone. First, it was the debut of Shelton Benjamin, a previous business acquaintance of MVP’s. Then came the debut of the All Mighty Bobby Lashley, and the Hurt Syndicate sought out Swerve Strickland and his manager, Prince Nana.
Since MVP arrived in AEW, he has been handing out business cards (or as he calls it, the golden ticket) to prospective new members of the Hurt Syndicate. Strickland was one of the first to openly turn him down, as he pledged his loyalty to Prince Nana. This, as one would expect, led to MVP sending his men after Strickland. Swerve defeated Benjamin, but after the match, Lashley showed up and put Strickland in the Hurt Lock. Strickland challenged Lashley for Full Gear, but as dangerous as Swerve is, one must wonder if he can overcome the sheer power and technical proficiency of Lashley. There is also the numbers game advantage of the Hurt Syndicate, and I am looking forward to who the next person is that decides to join the group. Could it happen at Full Gear and be the deciding factor in this match?
WINNER: Bobby Lashley
Kyle Fletcher vs. Will Ospreay
Once good friends (and flat mates, apparently) have turned into bitter enemies. The fracture between Ospreay and Fletcher has been compounded by the addition of Fletcher to the Don Callis Family, and the subsequent subtraction of Ospreay from the Family. In turn, Fletcher has done everything that he can to separate himself from Ospreay, going as far as to shave his head in the middle of the ring, because he looked like Will, you see?
With all the personal stuff taken out of the match and if the Family stays out of the result, this match could be one of the best to happen at Full Gear. We know that Ospreay has been positioned to one day become the World Heavyweight Champion, and he has bid his time by holding the International Title and becoming one of the most popular wrestlers in AEW. For Fletcher, well, it is hard for me to see him getting a sustained push because it hasn’t worked before. Remember his big push as ROH TV Champion? How about his very brief “face” turn where he challenged MJF and lost to him? My point is that Ospreay has been on another level for some time, and for Fletcher to win this one, he’ll need help from The Family, but Ospreay has friends that can help to negate them. And Ospreay should be able to teach his former United Empire running friend that he isn’t ready for the big time just yet.
WINNER: Will Ospreay
AEW International Championship Match
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ricochet
On the surface, this match, announced on Friday, is one that looks good on paper, considering the talent level to which Takeshita has grown as he’s been in AEW, and Ricochet is always game (you could say he’s out of this world). However, this is more than just a match for the sake of having a match, as there is a level of continuity going on here.
At WrestleDream, you may recall that Takeshita won the International Title in a 3-way dance including Ricochet, as Takeshita pinned then champion Will Ospreay. Justifiably, Ricochet has an issue with not being the man who was pinned in said match and has been making challenges to Takeshita since then that were ignored. Now, Tony Khan has decided to pad out the “nine match requirement” for the main card by having this one here, and despite how good Ricochet is, he is not going to take the title from Takeshita over a month after he just won it. I expect this one to slap, but whether clean or otherwise, Takeshita will retain.
WINNER: Konosuke Takeshita (Still Champion)
AEW TBS Championship Match
Mercedes Mone vs. Kris Statlander
Say what you will about Mone, but she has not been afraid to defend the TBS Title, one of the two titles of which she currently holds. She has faced some of the best women in the division and she has come out on top, but now, she faces a woman who not only won the TBS Title from the previously unstoppable and undefeated Jade Cargill, but a woman who can do the same to Mone as well.
Kris Statlander has had quite an interesting past year. She went from being best friends with Williow Nightingale, to turning on her with the help of Stokley Hathaway, to leaving him after she lost to Nightingale in a Chicago Street Fight, and she is now back to being a babyface. Kris was able to do something that no one else had done yet in AEW, and that was defeating Kamille, the Brickhouse bodyguard for Mone. I do wonder how the building tension and animosity between Mone and Kamille will play out; does it lead to Kamille costing Mone the match and then they go into a feud, or is it all a ruse, and will they both work together to take out Statlander? The answer is somewhere in between, as Mone defeats Statlander, but then the tension between Kamille and Mone leads to the former knocking out the latter and then Kamille being the one to win the TBS Title. But we’ll see if that happens down the line.
WINNER: Mercedes Mone (Still Champion)
AEW TNT Championship Match
Jack Perry vs. Daniel Garcia
You know, it’s just me, but I am not as excited for this match as I should be. I mean, Garcia is a viable challenger/threat for the TNT Title, and you had to know that, upon his re-signing with the company, he was going to deliver on the promise that he would win singles gold in AEW. I just think that, while Perry’s title reign has been okay and he has defended the title a good bit, his title reign without the backing of Nicholas and Matthew Jackson makes him more of a lame duck champion than one who is independent.
Perry has been left to his own devices after the Jackson’s departed after they dropped the tag team titles to Private Party and were in a hurry to get away from Jon Moxley and his Death Riders. Garcia ended up confronting Perry in the back, they exchanged some Riddler to Batman level soliloquies over the weeks, and it got even more bizarre with Perry’s failed attempt to choke and drag “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard with his Scapegoat Bus, instead Garcia and Menard tied Perry to the hood with said chain. Okay so I did say that I was not as excited as I should be for this match, but I will always find excitement in an attempted vehicular homicide. All of this to say it is time for a title change because we need a new direction for the TNT Title and, more importantly, we need more babyface title holders.
WINNER: Daniel Garcia (NEW Champion!)
AEW Tag Team Championship Match
Private Party vs. The Outrunners vs. Kings Of The Black Throne vs. The Acclaimed
A revitalized tag team division is to the benefit of the company, and it started with the dethroning of Nicholas and Matthew Jackson AKA The Young Bucks, when Private Party realized their potential after five years and became the new AEW Tag Team Champions. Their first title defense since capturing the tag team titles? Oh, nothing major, just a four team, one fall to a finish match where the champions don’t have to be pinned to lose the titles.
I do like how the three teams who stand to oppose Private Party had to win qualifying matches to make it to Full Gear and weren’t just handed a shot. The Outrunners, the youngest team of all time, defeated Top Flight to get in, while The Acclaimed defeated LFI (Rush and The Beast Mortos) to advance, and The Kings of the Black Throne defeated former tag team champions FTR to get here. While any of the challengers could win the tag team titles, it would seem stupid to take the titles from Zay and Quen already, and while the math supports the fact that the champions have a 25% chance of retaining, that also allows for the champs to let the challengers take each other out, and they pickup the scraps and retain the titles. It would be fun to see the fan favorite Outrunners win the titles, but this is not the time for that.
WINNERS: Private Party (Still Champions)
AEW World Championship Match
Jon Moxley vs. Orange Cassidy
In the current timeline that AEW exists in, Orange Cassidy is the hero that we need, not the hero that we want. In fact, we know that Cassidy doesn’t like to be treated as a hero nor does he want to be a leader, but since the rise of Jon Moxley and the Death Riders, this is exactly what we have on our hands. To be fair, Cassidy is more of an anti-hero and has assessed the situation at hand by trading in his blue denim and shirt for black denim and same colored shirt.
Much as the same with Private Party above, it would be stupid to take the AEW World Title from Moxley so soon after he won it at WrestleDream from Byran Danielson. Not only that, but this is easily one of the biggest storylines going in the company and the most important in terms of what is involved. If you believe everything that you read (but why would you?), then the company has the plan of putting the AEW World Title on Orange Cassidy at some point. But, since there are still so many moving parts still to be put in place in this feud, Moxley retains the AEW World Title at Full Gear, and Cassidy’s day will come eventually.
WINNER: Jon Moxley (Still Champion)
Well, that will do it for my Full Gear preview. Feel free to leave a comment with your picks and what you are most looking forward to this Saturday Night. As always, thank you for reading, it means a lot to me.
