Every Major AEW Show RANKED From Worst To Best
3. Full Gear
The greatness of which this company is capable became weirdly apparent at Full Gear, which in reality was an exceptional and memorable pay-per-view spectacle well worth the money in this anti-premium streaming age.
But the show, awesome as it was, did warrant pedantic criticism measured against the stratospheric standards AEW had already set itself. Young Bucks Vs. Santana and Ortiz, a great match, could've been tighter and shorter. The three-way World Tag Team Title match was sloppy at points (that genre, already a target for criticism, badly needs perfect execution to obscure the strings that obviously hold it together). Joey Janela Vs. Shawn Spears was good, with a sublime finish, but not $59.99 good.
The atmosphere, resulting from audio issues and not helped by a more darkened lighting set-up, felt somewhat off in contrast to the vibrant technicolour cauldrons of the Dynamite shows that built towards it.
But the show lived up to its name when it counted.
PAC Vs. Hangman Page was a damn war that earned its explosive moments with tremendous details in the struggle. Riho Vs. Emi Sakura was a frenetic display of undiluted joshi highlighted by a jaw-dropping warp-speed finish. Cody Vs. Chris Jericho was a masterclass of pacing, drama, and the most timeless of babyface versus heel dynamics enhanced above even that lofty description with a massive fight feel and a proper territorial violence vibe.
The violence in the Kenny Omega Vs. Jon Moxley Lights Out match was on another level.
A video nasty in an age in which we thought we were desensitised, this was a deranged and yet narratively rich spectacle that divided the audience - but proved, definitively, that AEW was going to deliver, massively, on that premium pay-per-view selling point.