10 AEW Full Gear 2020 Impulse Reactions
MJF enters The Inner Circle, Gangrel enters Elite Deletion and thumbtacks enter Jon Moxley's skull.
Full Gear arrived with a unique and hitherto unknown pressure for All Elite Wrestling. They needed - in an entirely different way - to knock this out of the park. It had to go well, and they couldn't be loaded with excuses after the fact.
They couldn't blame the build. Dynamite wasn't perfect over October and November, but it approached it at points. The setup for The Young Bucks and FTR match was bungled, but it's The Young Bucks and FTR match.
They couldn't blame the humidity. Not really, anyway. The choice to run shows at all has been theirs to make, and Florida's loosened protocols has made that possible. This is the sharper side of that double-edged sword.
They certainly couldn't blame FITE TV. Unlike the difficult bygone days of online pay-per-views and shonky streaming platforms, it's has been of exponential help to a company trying to utilise traditional pay-per-view in the era of over-the-top and on demand. The service is easily accessible, rarely has technical interruptions, presents the show in high resolution and Full Gear specifically aired in English, Spanish, French and German. The world is watching.
Essentially, all of AEW's ducks were in a row beyond the bit they had to do themselves on the night. On an almost weekly basis, they do, but All Out cast the first shadow of doubt over their ability to make these quarterly supershows feel extra-special.
Would the final one of 2020 reverse the trend?
10. Serena Deeb (c) Vs. Allysin Kay
Unlike Britt Baker and Big Swole's wholly unfair pre-show spot before All Out, this did not face public pressure for a promotion following its annoncement. Kicking off the night just right, this exactly where it needed to be for both All Elite Wrestling and the wrestlers themselves.
As awesome a signing as Serena Deeb's been for the company already, her NWA Championship match against Allysin Kay was neither official AEW business nor something they had built on television. Deeb will look to keep herself in the mix at every quarterly supershow going forward though, and did so here with a hugely enjoyable successful title defence.
The whole contest played like the payoff to a long rivalry, with an accelerated viciousness that seemed structured to make a statement on behalf of women's wrestling the free agent status of Kay. Excalibur referenced it several times in between solid strikes and some chain wrestling and submission work some way beyond many of the short-changed Dynamite quarter hours.
After rolling out of the ring to save herself following Kay's AK47, Deeb zeroed in on Kay's knee with a dragon screw and the match-winning Serenity Lock. Thunder Rosa arrived to stare down Deeb after her win, too. Bangers upon potential bangers - are better days finally ahead?