10 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Full Gear 2021

8. FTR Vs. Lucha Bros. Maintains The Tone

Fenix FTR
AEW

A lengthy tag team banger that was also a slightly bit wonky at various times, Lucha Bros Vs. FTR was nonetheless a worthy addition to AEW's library of PPV Tag Team classics.

Fénix worked excellently opposite FTR; his physics-defying rope runs and ridiculous rotations meshed perfectly with FTR's ability to feed their opponents. In contrast, Penta El Zero M had the slightest of off nights. Fortunately, the spots he bungled - the punches-to-the-corner and Eddie Guerrero's three amigos sequence - were classic crowd interaction bits. They responded loudly regardless. He couldn't have picked two better spots to not perform all that well.

Both teams creatively adapted and countered signature spots to tremendous effect. Fénix's blind tag off the Big Rig was a superb, intelligent babyface spot, as was his subversion of their assisted Fear Factor finish. The resulting near-fall was cracking, since both members of FTR were pinned to the mat, but the spot didn't weaken their finish.

The AAA belt shot/brainbuster combo led to another incredible near-fall informed by the inexplicable drama of the original quasi-comedy match, and that the match didn't peak there and then is testament to how well it was paced.

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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!