AEW Full Gear 2026 Preview
Is it me or does it feel like AEW is doing pay per views far more frequently? It doesn’t feel that far removed from WrestleDream, which wasn’t that far removed from All Out. The quality has still been there for the most part but it doesn’t feel quite as special. Now the good thing is Full Gear is looking a bit more developed and it has the reputation of being one of the better AEW shows of the year. If that’s the case here, they should be fine. Let’s get to it.
Kickoff Show: TBS Title: Queen Aminata(c) vs. Maya World vs. Persephone
Aminata won the title pretty recently and this is her first big time title defense. That should tell you just about everything you need to know here, as Aminata certainly feels like someone that AEW wants to push pretty hard. Persephone has already gotten her big push, but World has been gone for awhile and now we get to see if she still has the same spark from before her time off.
I’ll go with Aminata winning here, likely pinning Persephone again to return. There wasn’t much to Persephone as champion and I can’t imagine her having much of a chance to get the title back. While I would like to see World getting another chance to show what she can do, it feels more like Aminata’s time and she gets to retain the title here to start the night off right.
Women’s Title: Mercedes Mone(c) vs. Marina Shafir
We’ll get this one out of the way to start. Mone has a tendency to win just about everything she does and that becomes an issue as there is almost no reason to believe that she’s going to lose. Unfortunately that is where we are here again and it isn’t helped by the fact that Shafir is hardly a noted singles star on her own. This is an interesting match on paper, but unfortunately that only gets them so far.
Of course I’m going with Mone retaining here, as there is pretty much no reason to believe that she’s going to lose. AEW seems to want her to be some kind of epic all time title reign and that isn’t going to happen if she loses here. While it would be more fun to see Shafir get the title in a big upset, I can’t imagine that actually happens here as Mone retains the title.
International Title: Kazuchika Okada(c) vs. Adam Copeland
Now this one has me interested as it is something that could go either way. Copeland has made it clear that he’s finishing up his career next year and wants the World Title. That’s a fine goal and it’s a story that makes sense, but what does it mean if he wins the International Title? That doesn’t mean anywhere near the same as the World Title but I also wouldn’t want to see him lose here, especially after having to quit in Blood & Guts.
I think I’ll actually go with the title change here, as it’s hard to picture Copeland losing a third big match in a row (counting Clockwork Carnage). It would let Copeland have something to do on the way towards the World Title, which almost has to be in his future (at least a serious chase). Okada hasn’t done anything important with the title for a good while so get the thing off of him and move it over to Copeland.
National Title: Tommaso Ciampa(c) vs. Ilja Dragunov
And now we have what might be the trickiest match on the card. On one hand, you have the newcomer in Dragunov, who is already getting a title shot because the way title shots are handed out in AEW is more complicated than quantum mechanics. On the other hand, Ciampa just won the title and you really don’t want to give him a reputation as someone who loses a title almost every time he wins the thing.
I’ll take….geez I think I’ll take Ciampa but it’s a total coin flip. Dragunov can get cheated out of the win or something but I do not want to see Ciampa lose the title so soon. That already happened with the TNT Title and it doesn’t need to happen again here. There is almost no reason to believe Ciampa retains here, though it is the better option of the two here, as Dragunov can bounce back through pure charisma.
Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks(c) vs. Don Callis Family
This is a rematch from a few weeks back when the Family squashed the Bucks like pretty much no one else had ever done. That made for a good situation and now we get to see if they can do it again. The Bucks are in a weird place as they’re long established as the most successful team in AEW history but they’re also feeling like they’re doing the same thing that they’ve done for the better part of ever.
Now, will that happen? Of course not, as there is no reason to believe that the Bucks are going to drop the titles here. The Bucks have made a habit out of winning matches where they seem to be in over their heads. Throw in the Motor City Machine Guns waiting for the winners here and I can’t imagine a title change. It should be a long match with the Bucks getting to show that they can survive again, because the Bucks always have to be featured.
Women’s Tag Team Titles: Brawling Birds(c) vs. Harley Cameron/Kris Statlander
This is a fairly random title match as we have four popular stars, but the challengers don’t exactly have much experience. The Birds haven’t been around together that much either, but at least they feel like a regular team rather than whatever the latest two people you get thrown together. I’m not sure how long of a future that’s going to have and that should tell you where this is going.
Give me the champions to retain the titles, as there isn’t much of a reason to believe the belts are changing hands. The Birds have only had the titles for a few months and it isn’t like Statlander and Cameron feel like anything more than a thrown together team. This match isn’t the most intriguing as it just doesn’t feel like the titles are in any serious jeopardy as the Birds retain.
Trios Titles: Hangman Page/Brodido(c) vs. Swerve Strickland/New Level
So the idea here is that Strickland wants to get crazy violent and evil but Page is having PTSD from their previous Texas Deathmatch. That makes for quite the strange situation, as their partners have suddenly gone from mostly cool with each other to being out for blood as well. If nothing else, that has made me want to see New Level in a regular long tag match with Brodido, but that’s down the line.
I’ll go with the titles staying on Page and Brodido here, as they feel like a regular team and I’d rather see the titles stay there. At the same time, all of this almost has to be building towards Page and Strickland as a team and while we can get there later, there is a good chance that we’re going to have a rather violent showdown here. Let New Level and Strickland lose here so New Level can get into the tag division where they should have been all along.
Death Riders/Conglomeration vs. The Cut
So in the same month as a pair of Blood & Guts matches and on the same night as the Texas Deathmatch, we’re getting Anarchy In The Arena between the Death Riders and a team who has anywhere between seven and forty three members. The Cut are off to a hot start as the new unit of a bunch of heels who work work well together. Unfortunately this is going to be such a wild mess that it’s going to be hard to tell what is really going on.
I see no reason for the Death Riders to win here as the Cut would be cut off at the knees if they lose their first big match as a team. Beating the Death Riders still means quite a bit and it would be nice to see them go down here. The Cut doesn’t feel like some great new idea or anything like that, but they absolutely need the win here a heck of a lot more than the Death Riders.
AEW World Title: Will Ospreay(c) vs. Kyle Fletcher
On occasion, you see a match where you just know it’s going to work because of the people involved. That’s what you’re likely to get here, as this is going to be a finisher fest as they beat the living daylights out of each other until one of them gives out. That should make for a heck of a spectacle, but they went even further on Dynamite with a rather great back and forth argument. It makes me wonder how far it’s going to go and that’s a great feeling to have.
As violent of a fight as this is going to be, the title is staying with Ospreay here and that is all that should happen. Fletcher is going to win the World Title at some point in his career but that isn’t going to be happening here. Ospreay gets to retain the title in a heck of a match here, though it’s going to be hard to fathom just how much damage Fletcher is going to inflict before he falls.
Overall Thoughts
On paper, there is a good bit to be excited about here. The main event and Anarchy In The Arena both should be quite the showcases and if Texas Death can live up to the hype (not an easy task), it’s going to be outstanding. I want to see some of these matches and that is more than good enough of a reason to be excited here. Now just live up to the hype, which thankfully is where AEW tends to shine.
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