10 Greatest Angles In Modern Wrestling History

5. The Full Gear '19 Go-Home Brawl

Roman Reigns Sami Zayn
AEW

The closing angle on the Dynamite premiere was almost perfect.

An exhilarating, dovetailing angle that advanced the Full Gear main and semi-events, formed a faction, and debuted a huge surprise - all in 20 minutes - it was undermined by one glaring plot hole: the trios match that ignited the chaotic scene wasn't no holds barred. Chris Jericho, Santana and Ortiz should have been disqualified when Jon Moxley smashed Kenny Omega through a glass table. That, or Omega, the legal man, should have been counted out.

Nonetheless, it was a thrilling glimpse of AEW's vast potential: the thoughtful elegance of the booking created constant spikes of excitement. The energy was incredible.

They perfected this resourceful exhilaration on the Full Gear '19 go-home show when, following Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara's tainted win over Kenny Omega and Hangman Page, Cody Rhodes ran into equalise the Inner Circle beat-down. MJF, in one last red herring before the turn, sent the retreating Jericho back into the ring for the Cross Rhodes that teased a title switch.

Jon Moxley, smelling the blood, came out to get amongst it as the Inner Circle recovered. His upcoming opponent, Kenny Omega, slunk away - but not to help out Cody. He wanted to fight wire with wire with Mox. Their barbaric show-down was teased only briefly - you'd have to pay for that - before Ortiz and Santana attacked Omega. None of this was contrived; every player involved had motive to join the fray.

A mass brawl ensued, in which - after Omega blasted Santana with a V-Trigger disgusting even by his awesome standards - the Bucks condensed their demented PWG work into their part of the brawl by diving off the entrance tunnel.

It ended with a stand-off, except it didn't. Matt Jackson broke the invisible wall because it was invisible; like a real-feeling character, he was still hot, and no fake format sheet had to tell him to calm down.

AEW sold every big match on a pay-per-view in five utterly blistering minutes.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!