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AEW Full Gear
November 7, 2020


by Ultimate Worrier

AEW Full Gear

Live from Daily's Place in Jacksonville, FL attendance around 1000

Some random facts about Nov. 7, 2020, earlier that day the media declared Joe Biden the winner of the U.S. Presidential Election, defeating incumbent and WWE Hall of Famer, Donald Trump. The number one song in America was "Positions" by Ariana Grande and the number one movie was "Come Play." Never heard of either one.

We open with an introductory promo package. Voice over man declares tonight is the "culmination and celebration of AEW's fighting spirit. Several feuds are highlighted; Darby vs. Cody, MJF vs. Jericho, Young Bucks vs. FTR, Nyla Rose vs. Shida, Omega vs. Page, and Kingston vs. Moxley. It's a great card, but this package is pretty underwhelming.

Our hosts tonight are Good ol' J.R, Tony Schiavone, and Excalibur. We have nearly 1,000 fans for this first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and the announcers run down the card again.

Hangman Adam Page vs. Kenny Omega: World Title Eliminator Tournament Finals

Winner goes on to face the AEW World Champion. Kenny beat Sonny Kiss and Penta el zero to get here. Hangman defeated Colt Cabana and Wardlow. Only one of these people will be on the card tonight, and he is just a corner man. Don Callis joins the booth, he is a friend to Kenny Omega we are told, and was trained by Omega's uncle. He still is working for Impact!, causing speculation from the IWC about a possible working relationship in the future between the two companies.

Because Omega's entrance is so ridiculous, I feel the need to document it here:

Kenny's broom dancers are especially over the top 80's tonight. Hangman enters second, and his specialized cyron says "Focused Yeehaw Man." The build has shown him lacking focus and drinking a lot, so we shall see, Cowboy.

Omega offers a handshake, which Page rejects. We quickly get to the "I chop/You chop" spot, Hangman wins that particular exchange, but gets cut off with a hurricanrana from Kenny. Kenny goes for a dive but Hangman stops him dead in his tracks with a big boot. JR informs us that there is no time limit in this match. Brawl on the outside for a while. Kenny leaps into the railing and moonsaults, and J.R. curiously calls it a rana. The Cleaner is talking to himself, character depth. Callis mentions Kenny's uncle, and also said Omega was scouted by the NHL to be a goalie when he was 16. Sorry Don, J.R. is only impressed with football. Huge tope by Kenny to the outside but he tweaks the knee on the descent. Missile dropkick gets 2. Hangman fights out of a snap dragon, and counters his way out of the One Winged Angel. He tries a Buckshot Lariat, but Omega charges and nails the V-Trigger. More back and forth, Omega wiggles out of a Dead-Eye on the stage, but can't avoid a pop up powerbomb. Ouch. Back inside, another powerbomb gets 2. Replay shows Kenny's head bounce on the outside, really, ouch. We get back to the "I punch you, you punch me," this time Omega wins and he hits the Tiger Driver ‘98. It's not the finish and it's No-Sellamania because it's 2020 and this is wrestling now, so Page gets Dead-Eye but can't hook both legs, and Kenny kicks out. Page tries the Lariat again, Omega stops him, then ducks a third attempt, and nails the V-Trigger. Kenny lifts him for the One-Winged Angel, and Hangman fights it mightily, but Omega finally reaches his head and delivers the slam, and it's over. Kenny Omega is the new number one contender to the AEW World Title.
Kenny Omega defeats Hangman Adam Page by pinfall (16:30)

That was a great opener. ***3/4. There's a teaser commercial for the AEW Games announcement on Tuesday.

John Silver vs. Orange Cassidy

Dark Order members 5,10, Anna Jay, Evil Uno, Stu Grayson and some other geeks enter with Silver, but they leave. Best Friends Chuck and Trent? Enter with O.C, but they also leave. Earning them PPV payouts tonight. Excalibur talks about Orange Cassidy emerging as one of the most popular Halloween costumes. That's because it's easy and he is over. Pro tip to all the Orange haters out there that don't "get it." There are specific wrestling tropes that will ALWAYS work and what OC has better than anyone is the "babyface that just doesn't give a f*ck." We are just more used to seeing it in a more violent way. Cassidy is giving us a more literal translation.

Bell rings and Orange puts his hands in his pockets. He delivers his devastating kicks, Silver tells him it doesn't hurt and slams Cassidy. Silver tears the pockets from the pants because this is serious business, the crowd is disgusted by this show of disrespect. Silver begins his offensive attack which appears to consist of 95% posing and flexing. He has some very impressive biels though. Orange tries a tornado DDT but Silver blocks and hits a suplex. Impressive strength. Excalibur name drops Worcester, MA and my younger self pops. OC makes his comeback and hits the DDT on a second try. Silver does a one handed Gorilla Press, but OC is the star here and he wiggles free and lands a Michinoku Driver. He even taunts lazy and takes three tries to do the throat cut. He attempts Beach Break, but Silver hits a Spin Doctor, which is a Torture Rack/F-5 type of maneuver. Silver tries Brodie Lee's Discus Lariat, but OC ducks, hits the Superman Punch and Beach Break and secures the 3. Cassidy wins but commentary puts over John Silver's effort.
Orange Cassidy defeats John Silver by pinfall (9:41)

** good match but should have been on Dynamite. Best Friends come out and give the people what they want by hugging their pal.

Cody and Darby promo package. Cody, Arn, JR all have quotes. Darby says he will be the Face of TNT. Cody says Darby can be the face, but won't.

Cody Rhodes (with Arn Anderson) vs. Darby Allin (TNT Championship match)

Darby enters through the parking lot in his demolition derby car, climbs on the hood and smashes the windshield with his skateboard. Justin Roberts announce the champion as "Cody Rhodes" and just like that he has his last name back. Cody enters with Arn, Brandi, QT, Dustin, Billy Gunn, Austin Gunn, Shotty Lee Johnson, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Santa Claus, but only Arn stays beyond the opening bell. Mike Chioda is our ref, he gets a small chant and Cody nudges him to make sure he savors the moment. This is the fourth match between them, Cody has won 2 and the third was the time limit draw. Arn instructs Cody to muscle Darby around and not let him get away with "that shit." Davey tricks Cody and dives with Cody's back turned through the bottom two ropes. But Cody cinches in a hammerlock, and throws Darby over the top, onto the stage, right onto his arm. Big ouch. Darby struggles to comeback thanks to the arm and Cody pounces. Cody briefly does push-ups and Arn scolds him. Huge hammerlock slam off the top. Cody misses the Moonsault, and Allin battles back with his good arm and hits a Code Red. Darby tears the middle turnbuckle pad off avoiding the Cross Rhodes and forces Cody into the unprotected bolt hard. Cody hits a Cross Rhodes off the top but Darby keeps rolling and when the pin attempt happens, Darby is saved by the rope break. Darby tries to choke out Cody with his good arm but Cody mounts the corner and leaps backward, crushing poor Darby. He is taking a beating out there. The squished Darby rolls out of the ring again and Arn screams at him. Allin crawls back in when the count reaches 9. Cody resumes bullying Darby with slams. Cody grabs the weight belt but Chioda warns him, and Cody drops the belt. Darby grabs the belt and trips Cody with it and nearly wins. He hits a Stunner and follows with a Coffin Drop but Cody is too strong. Darby escapes Cross Rhodes again and they trade pin attempts until Darby eeks our a win and the title.
Darby Allin defeats Cody Rhodes by pinfall to become TNT Champion (16:50)

**** really well done. AND NEW TNT CHAMPION Darby Allin gets handed the title by Cody in a gracious gesture. Fans chant "you deserve it."

Team Taz enters the arena. Taz is sick and thinks that Cody and Darby are "bitch asses." Ricky Starks and Brian Cage attack. Ricky is wearing some lovely ladies' shoes. Cage carries Darby like a sack of apples through the arena and launches him through a piece of the set. Cody attempts a save but gets beat down again. I am forced to wonder what happened to the 30 people who love Cody and came to the ring with him. Cage and Starks continue their ambush on Allin and drag him to his car, and threaten to break his injured limb in the driver side door or his automobile. But just before they slam the door, Will Hobbs to the rescue, chasing off Team Taz with a steel chair.

Dasha is backstage with QT Marshall and Dustin Rhodes. They say Allie is the real problem (not the two guys who just left Cody for dead) and Dustin adds that Allie is not successful. Their upcoming match with the Butcher and the Blade will be a Bunkhouse Match. Also on Dynamite is Fenix vs. Penta and Tay Conti vs. Red Velvet.

Promo package for the next match between Hikaru Shida and Nyla Rose. The package shows Shida defeat Rose to win the title and Rose subsequently hiring Vicki Guerrero to be her manager. Taz and JR are quoted. The actual build was very weak and thrown together last minute.

Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose (with Vicki Guerrero) (AEW Women's World Championship Match)

Shida is a house of fire early and has Nyla reeling. Shida grabs a chair to do her springboard spot but Nyla stops her dead with a clothesline. Nyla tries to take a table out but referee Aubrey Edwards stops her. "Aubrey showing an obvious bias towards the babyfaces, Gorilla," imaginary Jesse Ventura says inside my head. Shida hits the springboard on her second try and throws Nyla through the barrier. Vicki hits Shida in the knee with her own Kendo Stick. Nyla attacks the knee by twisting it in the frame of the ring. Ouch. Tony on commentary is especially great in these women's matches. He never really had quality women's wrestling to call in his announcing prime, but he is a perfect fit for calling it because he has an unmatched enthusiasm. We get the AEW Dark results on the bottom third of the screen. Also, catch A Shot of Brandi, Thursday's on YouTube. Shida makes her comeback and impressively suplexes Nyla. Rose blocks the knee strike. Shida tries another suplex but Rose breaks the attempt by clawing the injured knee. Nyla props Shida on the top rope and goes for her diving knee drop, this time focusing her attack on Shida's weakened leg. But she can't keep Shida down for 3. Shida nails two Missile Dropkicks but gets snatched and powerbombed. Nyla with the pin, but pulls Shida up at 2. That's gonna cost her. She hits Shida's finish, but only gets a 1 count. Shida gets Nyla on top and hits an ugly Super Falcon Arrow. That wasn't the finish because "reasons," and Shida pulls Nyla up at 2. Vicki distracts and we head outside, where Nyla charges, Shida avoids, and Vicki gets splattered by her client. Another Falcon Arrow inside the ring, only 2. This is the match that never ends it just goes on and on my friends. A whole bunch of knees to Nyla's grill and it's finally over, Shida pins and retains.
Hikaru Shida defeats Nyla Rose by pinfall (14:10)

**1/2 I thought it was pretty good until the end when it just never seemed to hit its apex. After the match, Vicki is mad about her charge flattening her and losing the match. She slaps Nyla, and they tease a split. Seems kinda early to me but whatever, the pairing doesn't seem to be doing anything for either one.

Promo Package airs featuring the rivalry between the Young Bucks and FTR. We get lots of quotes here, JR, Taz, Excalibur, Tony and the angsty Bucks. It's almost all about the Bucks. Why not give the champs a little shine? Matt has a bad ankle. Also, if the Bucks don't win, they will never challenge for the tag belts again.

FTR vs. The Young Bucks (AEW World Tag Team Championship Match)

Bucks have leather jackets. But their book, it's available for preorder. Tully Blanchard walks out with the champs, but he leaves because he is apparently banned from ringside for "reasons." The teams' ring gear is a nod to Lakers vs. Celtics which works great for the Bucks from Rancho Cucamonga but FTR is most certainly not repping Boston. The referee is Rick Knox and I am convinced he is the most clueless ref the business has ever seen. Matt's coming in with a bad leg, so naturally he starts the match. Cash is on the other side, and he immediately goes for the leg.

AEW video game news this Tuesday! JR tries to help the audience at home by asking why Tully was banned. Dax and Nick tag in and I realize that these might be two of the best wrestlers in the world right now. Excalibur talks about how the feud began on social media and dirt sheet awards. Match would got 5* in the Tokyo Twitter Dome. All four men are in the ring now and Young Bucks do Young Buck things. Outside, Dax swings with a hard right hand, The YB ducks and Dax's fist cracks the ring post, HARD. It even breaks the skin and we have minimal juice. Harwood plays "heel-in-peril" for a bit. Matt does a backflip into the ring from the top rope for seemingly no reason and oh yea, his leg hurts. Dax rags out to Cash and goes to the trainer to have Doc Sampson look at his hand. Cash and Dax resume their beating on Matt. Dax twists the ankle. Tony talks about the Young Bucks backyard wrestling career. FTR cuts off the tag and hit a super plex, Cash tried to follow with a top rope splash, but Matt gets the knees up, because his leg hurts. Miraculously Matt eludes both men and finally gets the tag. Nick is on fire. Crowd chanting for the Young Bucks. Wheeler with a great roll through and FTR nail a Hart Attack. It gets 2. Spear from Matt, oh yea his leg hurts, more inconsistent selling and he gets hit with the Steiners' top rope bulldog. Bucks come back with super kicks and a 3-D. Follow with a Twist of Fate and and Swanton Bomb. Tag team finisher Party! 20 mins have elapsed we are told. FTR reaches into their history and steal D.I.Y's finish. Matt gets Dax into a sharpshooter in the ring, Nick traps Cash in one outside the ring. Dax gets the ropes but Matt pulls him back and for some reason the hold wasn't broken. Dax and Cash even lock their hands together and the hold still isn't broken. JR gets upset about the bad officiating and I am sure people criticized JR for burying the match on commentary but he isn't saying anything I wasn't saying to my wife when we watched it live. What's the point of having rules anyway? Matt remembers Dax has a bad hand and goes HAM on it. The brothers hit a BTE-Trigger but Wheeler breaks up the pin attempt. Nick with a massive dive. Matt brings in a chair, but elects to not use it (did they miss the Cody match?). Dax begs him to hit him with the chair but Matt isn't falling for it, even though he grabbed the chair intending to use it, originally. They set up the Meltzer instead but Cash kills Nick on the outside. Spike piledriver to Matt, but he gets his foot on the ropes. FTR removes Matt boot. More attacks on the ankle, and an inverted Figure-4. Nick breaks it up with a Springboard 450, that gets 2. Wheeler uses the Bucks moves against them, and connects with his own super kick, grabs Dax and drags him to the corner, tags himself in and another huge kick to Matt. But he doesn't cover, and instead goes to the apron and attempts a springboard 450. He misses, eats super kick, and the Young Bucks get the win and the belts.
The Young Bucks defeats FTR by pinfall to become the AEW World Tag Team Champions (28:35)

****1/2 very good match, I think the wrong team won. I hated the Young Bucks stipulation and didn't like Tully not being allowed at ringside. I think my point is the Young Bucks make me feel a lot of negative things but at the end of the day even if the matches lack logic or psychology, and even if Matt is more impervious to pain than John Cena or Road Warrior Hawk, they still do such incredible things that these matches are GREAT. But I liked Revolution better.

Omega comes to celebrate with his Elite buddies. You can see Hangman standing in the babyface tunnel, but he doesn't approach. JR tells the audience that that match was FTR's first loss.

We are moving locations, to Cameron, North Carolina

Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevarra (Elite Deletion Match)

Sammy is driving on a golf cart that says "Spanish God." Matt is talking on the phone. Neo 1 talks shit to Sammy and projects a holo-Hardy. A monster truck driven by Matt crushes the cart and Matt calls it a "squash job." Luckily Sammy escapes certain doom and he attacks with a garbage can. The bell rings, bizarrely. There is a referee, but no commentary. Walk and brawl through the woods and suddenly commentary returns to the broadcast. They fight in a fountain but Matt finds the Staff of Mephistopheles and I thank the Lord for autocorrect. Also Matt hits Sammy with it. More walk and brawl and they find a ring out in the forest. We get some standard wrestling action until Matt gets bored and brings a table in. Sammy takes a powerbomb through the table but Santana and Ortiz join the fun and stop the pin. Matt uses a walkie-talkie to reach out to Private Party. They were the ones talking on the phone to Matt earlier, we learn.

The 3-on-1 continues until Private Party finally come to the rescue. Jim Ross says "these guys are dressed like funky....superheroes." Matt grabs some fireworks and shoots them off at Sammy while chasing him. Sammy fires back with pyro of his own. Santana and Ortiz and Private Party continue having a bizarre tag match in the woods with no fans and only loss connections to this match. Sammy falls into the mud. Matt with two good lines-"get up or the old folks will think this is a mud show," and "the competition is in the mud." Sammy appears finished but a masked strangers appears holding the Hurricane Shane Helms captive." It's Gangrel! Private Party attack the vampire while Matt saves Helms. Guevara with a super kick to Matt. Sammy tosses Hurricane into the lake of reincarnation, emerges as the alter ego reporter, and gets thrown back in again. Back in the ring for some reason, PP are wrestling with Santana, Ortiz, and Gangrel, and Hurricane joins. Matt leaves and Sammy pursues, but it was a trap and Matt closes the "Dome or Deletion." Everyone else is locked out. There's a ring in here as well, but not for long, Sammy begins pulling the bottom ropes off. He waffles Matt with the turnbuckle hook. Then he chokes Hardy with the middle rope until he seems incapacitated. Sammy wants to end it and he lays Hardy on a table and climbs the ladder. Swanton through Hardy and the table, but only a two count. Matt gets a Twist of Fate and then spears Sammy to the concrete floor, through two tables. Sammy is shown to be busted open on the back of his head. Matt with a hard chair shot to the face, then a conchairto with the concrete floor and Matt wins.
Matt Hardy defeats Sammy Guevara by attempted murder (19:39)

Private Party dump Sammy into the garbage bin, and throw him on a truck to be properly disposed, Senor Benjamin cameo as the driver. Reby plays piano and we get a replay package of this thrilling encounter I have chosen not to rate (take that as you will). Reby, Private Party, Hurricane and the Master of Mattitude pop champagne and shoot fireworks.

Lance Archer and Jake "the Snake" are in a dark alley. Archer is killing some little man. Jake tells us no one wants to train with Lance. Lance wants to eat people. Everybody Dies. Okay then.

Promo package for MJF and Chris Jericho. If MJF wins, he will join the Inner Circle. The package includes sit downs with MJF, Jericho, and Excalibur.

MJF vs. Chris Jericho

MJF has a lovely robe and Wardlow. He teases Jericho's WWE entrance. Jericho enters second, alone. Hard to believe that the other members of the I.C. won't somehow get involved. Crowd sings "Judas." Announcers speculate why MJF wants to join the group. Jericho fires up the crowd to let us know for one night only, he is the babyface. MJF asks for a handshake and Jericho slaps him. Order "A Little Bit of the Bubbly," Chris Jericho's champagne littlebitofthebubbly.com. Jericho pulls MJF outside and whips him into the railing. Follows up by slamming Max and then playing camera man. More crowd pandering. Jericho attempts the Judas Effect on the outside but MJF ducks and Painmaker hits ring post. Huge backdrop causes MJF to yell, "Oh Shit!" MJF begins working the arm that hit the post. They bite each other's fingers in a weird spot. Jericho escapes the corner with an eye poke and fights back. Lionsault connects but Jericho elects not to cover. Top rope Frankensteiner, Chris looking pretty good for a fat old man. Pre-order Jericho's new book, Jericho30.com. MJF gets crotched and Jericho attacks with chops. MJF blocks the superplex and goes back to the arm. Jericho locks in the Lion Tamer but Max reaches the ropes. Aubrey breaks and Jericho raises his arms in victory in a classic throwback. MJF tries a Heat Seeker, but it's blocked, so he hits a Code Breaker, and then hits the Heat Seeker. Only 2. MJF with the Fujiwara Armbar on the weakened arm, but Jericho makes it to safety. Wardlow tosses Maxwell the Dynamite Diamond, MJF swings, and Jericho ducks. Jake Hagar appears from thin air and throws the bat to Jericho. Jericho winds up for a shot to deep right field, but MJF throws the double bird and borrows from Eddie Guerrero and falls to the mat before Aubrey Edwards can figure out what really happened. She turns and sees MJF down and questions Jericho who protests and in the commotion, MJF rolls Jericho up and wins.
MJF defeats Chris Jericho by pinfall (16:10)

**1/2. After the match, Jericho and MJF shake hands and hug. All the bad guys are friends now! Wardlow and MJF are officially in the Inner Circle.

Revolution is in February. Similar marketing to last year. I think the name sucks but the 2020 show was aces. I feel like AEW has delivered on PPV pretty consistently to this point, no reason not to keep ordering the shows.

Dasha is backstage with Orange Cassidy and the Best Friends. OC doesn't have much to say. Enter Miro, Kip Sabian, and Penelope Ford, who are mad because some encounter between the Dark Order and Cassidy almost resulted in hurting Penelope. Kip demands an apology, and Cassidy obliges, but Sabian slaps him anyway. Best Friends get hot but OC blows it off and they walk. Poor Miro. Poor Trent. Poor Penelope.

This Wednesday on Dynamite-Natural Nightmares take on the Butcher and the Blade in a Bunkhouse match! Penta vs. Fenix 2! Tay Conti vs. Red Velvet! And more people not booked tonight!

Promo package for the main event. It's old indy footage galore! These guys go back! Realism! (I am being sarcastic but truly this entire feud has been fantastic and it feeling real is a big part of why). You can tell it's a big feud because they have Imagine Dragons.

AEW World Title Match: Jon Moxley (champion) vs. Eddie Kingston (I Quit) match

Eddie enters wearing a Tracy Smothers shirt. Nice tribute. Moxley enters through the crowd. 252 days as champion. The bell rings and we have hard punches off the drop. Big chops. Lots of chops, slaps, punches, forearms and elbows. I am here for it. On the outside now, because this is an AEW match, and a Jon Moxley match, so truthfully it's amazing it took this long, Moxley hurls a chair at Kingston. Jon rips at his fingers, trying to make Kingston quit. Gonna take more than that, sports entertainer. Moxley with an overhead suplex on the concrete. Lots of Tracy Smothers talk on commentary while Kingston throws chairs into the ring. Moxley has color, but he also has a barbed wire bat. He takes the bat to Eddie. He uses the wire to rake the face. Eddie is bleeding as well, he fires off suplexes on Moxley to catch his breath. He hits Mox with a chair and then throws it at him. He removes a strand of wire from the bat, wraps it around his fist mounts Moxley and starts throwing punches. He hits the spinning backfist with the barbed wire. He also locks in a Kimura, but Moxley will not quit. Moxley suplexes Kingston onto 2 chairs. Kingston hits a clothesline in response and grabs a bag of thumbtacks. Paradigm Shift is blocked and Moxley eats a urange on the bed of tacks. Eddie goes to Doc Sampson's table and grabs a bottle of alcohol, and pours it onto Moxley's wounds. Kingston tries to get Moxley to quit just by stomping on his balls. Great spot. Kingston grabs a handful of tacks and just throws them into the champ's face. He tries Moxley's bulldog choke on Jon, but Mox escapes and grabs a sleeper. Mox grabs the bulldog choke, then a Paradigm Shift. Then he grabs the loose strand or barbed wire, wraps it onto his arm, grabs the bulldog choke again, and Eddie has no options. Remsburg begs Eddie to give, and he is forced to quit.
Jon Moxley defeats Eddie Kingston by submission(17:35)

****. Moxley tries to help Eddie up but Eddie still has too much pride. Eddie exists, Moxley celebrates victory. Kenny Omega enters. There are words exchanged, but Omega never enters the ring. That is a story for another day.

Great show! Hard to argue with a show where the storylines had me invested and the action delivered. Absolutely recommend this show to anyone who has enjoyed pro wrestling. Aside from the Hardy Compound fooloshness, there's nothing I hated.

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