8 Match Star Ratings For AEW Full Gear 2023
5. Four-Way World Tag Team Title Ladder Match
It was impossible not to fall back in love with the House of Black/Kings of the Black Throne when watching this insane ladder match, which somehow lost no potency after A) the Texas Death match later in the evening and B) the fact that the genre itself has lost so much of its lustre in recent years.
Malakai Black has, to mixed results, attempted to portray a spooky character throughout his career. The spot in which he appeared to throw back a ladder into another man's face by the ropes or even by magick was as close as he has ever come. This was such a gnarly, awesome, borderline ingenious in-character spot. He worked it like a poltergeist almost. His partner Brody King, by drilling Dralistico through a suspended ladder with a gruesome/spectacular Gonzo bomb, put himself over again as a Lovecraftian horror of a worker.
It was also impossible not to want Rush and Dralistico to win, since the former is just unreal at making it look like he's casually eating people alive. GUNTHER probably does the best chop in wrestling, when he registers it to dramatic effect, but Rush can flay skin with no drawing back of his body whatsoever. He simply has a shotgun of an arm.
Where AEW's all-star roster is both feature and bug in the wider narrative - the talent while great can't stand out as they should - this totally deranged war was awesome use of it, restoring the frightening level of danger that was once associated with the stip. The eclectic talents of all involved allowed this umpteenth ladder match to stand out as a high-flying plunder firework festival linked together as an attritional brawl with hoss fight elements. This was the best argument for AEW as a "buffet".
Ricky Starks and Big Bill won when Starks used his wits and cunning to avoid the bone-crunching melee of it all.
Star Rating: ★★★★½