9 Match Star Ratings For AEW Full Gear 2020
6. Cody Rhodes Vs. Darby Allin - TNT Championship Match
What a flawless end-to-end presentation.
Cody played the megastar top athlete, surrounding himself with an entourage that doubled, on a night he played heel to get the heft of Allin's culmination over, as enablers of his hubris. Allin rode in on a sh*tty, busted car and did this on his own to sell the story of his career.
This match acts as irrefutable counterarguments for two bad faith takes: Cody is an elite in-ring talent, and AEW, when it wants to be, is the most effective company at evoking the big fight sports presentation.
Cody built weight to prepare for his opponent and realised a game plan in the guts of the match. He targeted Allin's arm with a consistent hammerlock. In a match of contrast and comparison - Allin was so great, in revealing the substance behind his technique - he modified every last defensive weapon to work around the injured arm, proving himself something far more than the gutsy bag of bones. The work was a level beyond hermetic. The struggle was captured exquisitely, and Allin sold like he was the greatest babyface in a generation, but he did so with such intelligence that it resonated well above the anguished histrionics of so many other babyfaces.
Two versions of an awesome match blended seamlessly together, the Darby Vs. Cody series has ruled, and this blew every previous encounter away.
Star Rating: ★★★★¾