13 Match Star Ratings For AEW Full Gear 2022
2. The Acclaimed Vs. Swerve In Our Glory - AEW World Tag Team Title Match
For a while, it felt like the crowd was simply too tired to get into what was a long, slow-burning affair.
Weirdly, Tony Khan abandoned his sequencing masterstroke at Full Gear. The Sting party match in the semi-main formula works so well because the action is so surreally brilliant that it would raise the dead - but is over in such a magic flash that the audience emerges from it as energised as they were for the opener. A lot was asked of them for this rubber match, and for around half of it, they had little to give.
The storytelling was strong, and the match explored different, more patient terrain to the first two. Ultimately, this was a very well-rounded trilogy that complemented itself. Swerve In Our Glory had learned from the prior encounters, and Swerve Strickland set about slowly aggravating the injury he had inflicted upon Anthony Bowens on Dynamite. Bowens' selling was excellent. He got the crowd firmly into the story as a result, even if it took a while.
In a superb spot, Keith Lee saved Swerve from falling onto the guardrail he had propped up against the ring apron - before crashing through it himself following a Max Caster cross-body. Leaner and more dynamic, incidentally, Max Caster has to be the most improved wrestler of the year. The signature "Keith Lee f*cking rules" spot happened deep in the match when he, wearing an ostensible blindfold, powerbombed Caster onto Bowens. The split finally happened when Swerve threatened to use the pliers again. Lee walked out, leaving Swerve prone to eat the pin.
The layout trusted that the fans had forged a strong enough emotional bond with the Acclaimed to have them predominantly work from underneath, where in the first two matches, they were giddy with the opportunity and wrestled out of their skins. They survived this one, and the fans were thrilled that they did.
Everybody loves the Acclaimed (eventually).
Star Rating: ★★★¾