AEW Full Gear 2021: Every Match Ranked From Worst To Best

3. CM Punk Vs. Eddie Kingston

CM Punk Eddie Kingston AEW Full Gear 2021
Twitter/@ScottLesh724/AEW

Great matches don't need to be 30 minutes long or be laced with countless false finishes, fan-pleasing sequences or anything of the sort. Yes, entertaining the live crowd is important, but some wrestlers should remember that they're playing to a wider audience watching at home too - they've got a broader story to tell, basically.

Punk vs. Kingston was more of a fight than a dazzling display of technical accuracy, and that's exactly what it needed to be. This was a straight-up, bad-tempered struggle between two men telling a story of bitterness that has been festering for years. Christ, it was hyper-aggressive, and this guy loved every second.

They didn't go overkill with time either, which helped. Punk vs. Kingston was just over 10 minutes, got to the necessary blood early, then paced everything well enough that nobody grumbled at the shorter duration or Kingston just coming up short in the end.

Eddie is great, but Punk had to keep on rolling here. Top, top stuff.

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.