It’s that time again. AEW has not been around all that long but they are already getting some traditional shows together. That is the case again with the second annual Full Gear, which hopefully ends their streak of completely watchable and even good pay per views that were completely beneath their usual shows. That’s kind of a good problem to have and hopefully everything is at their normal level this time around. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: NWA Women’s Title: Serena Deeb(c) vs. Allysin Kay

My head shakes every time I see the NWA on a big time wrestling show as it never stops amazing me. The NWA got a lot of miles out of that rather short Powerrr run but here they are again. Deeb has been a great addition to the AEW women’s division and the NWA name still has the slightest value. It’s not like this is taking up some big spot so hopefully we get a solid match as a bonus.

I’ll take Deeb to retain here as there is no reason to believe that she is going to lose. Deeb has recently signed to AEW and the NWA would be insane to cut off any kind of mainstream connection they have like AEW. It’s going to be a good match as the two of them are both rather talented in the ring and can probably put on a heck of a match if they are given the chance.

Orange Cassidy vs. John Silver

I don’t watch Being The Elite but everything I’ve heard about it says that Silver has started stealing the show as of late. He has been showing some of that on AEW as well and it is nice to see him getting a spot like this. It isn’t like anything is going to change in a significant way because he is getting this spot, and Cassidy still has a lot of status around here so it should work.

Of course Cassidy wins here because he is the star of the two, even though he has fell down a few good steps since the feud with Chris Jericho ended. This is likely to be the comedy match of the night and that’s a fine spot for them after one of the bigger matches. It has some potential and Silver is coming off like a star, so maybe we could be in for something good here.

Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida(c) vs. Nyla Rose

Is it just me or does Rose get half of the title shots in this promotion? Anyway, this is the same thing that we have seen more than once now, with the great striker Shida defending against the monster. It worked well enough once so hopefully they can make it work again. Shida feels like she has cooled WAY off in recent weeks though and I had mostly forgotten about her more than once.

I know I’ve said something like this before but I can’t imagine Rose loses here. Why in the world would you have her lose all over again, especially with Vickie Guerrero as a good mouthpiece for her? Shida is hardly an exciting champion these days and Rose (or eventually Britt Baker) taking the title from her should be the ultimate goal. For now though, Rose leaves as champion.

Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara

It’s time for another cinematic match with the Elite Deletion match. I know that Hardy is the originator of this kind of match but I can’t really bring myself to get decided about the thing again. The feud has not exactly been the strongest in company history and other than seeing some of Hardy’s calculated insanity, I’m not sure how much appeal this has.

I’ll take Guevara to win here as there is just no reason to have Hardy win. Hardy is an established star and has been foe about fifteen years now. The match should be complete shenanigans and insanity, but at the end of the day, Guevara can be a force for a long time to come. I don’t think this is going to be the match that puts him on the stage for good, but at least a win over Hardy could mean at least a little something.

TNT Title: Cody(c) vs. Darby Allin

Now we’re getting somewhere as we have a history between the two of them and a shiny title for someone to take with them. Cody is back to the blond hair to make it feel like a member of his Elite and that is working out well enough for everyone. They even hyped up the match a bit this week to give it some heat and that is a good thing. Now though we get to see if Allin can hang here on the big show, which is hard to screw.

This is a tough one actually but I can’t imagine Cody dropping the title for a second time just a few weeks after getting it back. At the same time though, I don’t want or need to see Allin taking another loss after coming up short in most of his big matches. The good thing here is the fact that they have managed to do a really solid job with making Allin feel like a star and he’ll get there one day. It just isn’t today, but it is going to make for an interesting chance.

Tag Team Titles: FTR(c) vs. Young Bucks

This is the next dream match and in this case, that might actually be an accurate description for a change. These are two very successful and popular teams, though this time we have a twist with the Bucks doing the old “if we don’t win we can’t challenge again” deal. Normally that would seal the deal in a title match like this but that does not seem to be the case with AEW (so far at least).

I’m going to take….dang….yeah I’ll go with the Bucks here, even with Matt’s knee not being entirely healed up yet. This is a match that has been hyped up for a very long now and I’m curious to see which way they can take it. FTR could feel like transitional champions, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a great match on the way there. Just cool it with some of the Bucks’ flips they’re likely to have a better match (with a few flips of course).

Chris Jericho vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

In a way, I kind of wish they weren’t having this match. Friedman is an amazing talker and a great character, but he is a lot better in those areas than he is in the ring. That isn’t to say he can’t have a great match as he and Jungle Boy were awesome at All Out, but I’m not entirely sold here. Part of the appeal of this has been the teasing of a fight and I don’t know if I really need to see them actually go at it.

That being said, there is no reason whatsoever for Jericho to win here, as Friedman joining the team is the obvious next step. The question though is which way do you go to get there. I’m not sure if you have someone turn on Jericho yet or wait for later, but you can almost write in the idea of the Inner Circle (or at least part of it) turning on him. I don’t think they need to do it yet, but they do need to have Friedman win here, which he will.

Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page

If there wasn’t a World Title match left, this would be headlining the show. It has received a lot more hype than the World Title match and the story is a good bit more detailed. The Page interview on this week’s Dynamite made me a lot more interested in what he was doing than I was before, so hopefully they can live up to the hype while also continuing to mess with Page’s psyche.

Of course I’ll go with Omega, as I just can’t imagine them going with anything but Omega as the next World Title challenger. It is pretty clear that he is going to get the big breakout star push and I’m curious to see how well that works in front of an American audience. There is no need to have Page go over here, meaning he takes another hit and slips further away how he was originally presented (as he should be).

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Eddie Kingston

Then there’s this, which doesn’t exactly feel like a top of the card main event match. The I Quit stipulation helps out a lot though as these two having a heck of a fight is the best thing they can do. Moxley can brawl and Kingston can fight, which doesn’t leave much in the area of technical expertise. They are going to have to do something special to make one of them quit and believe they can pull it off somehow.

Moxley retains here as there is almost no way to imagine Kingston as a World Champion in a major promotion. His promos have been straight fire as of late though and AEW would be insane to not try and do something with him. Assuming Omega wins, there id no reason to have him go after anyone but Moxley needs to retain the title, which is exactly what he will do.

Overall Thoughts

All Out was not the best show in the world but AEW has long since shown that they can do some very entertaining pay per views. The card is absolutely stacked and it was feeling bigger and bigger with each match I looked at here. This has a lot of potential and if everything delivers, we could be in a full time classic. I’m looking forward to this one and that means they’re doing something right.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Dark
Date: October 6, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks

It’s back to this show as they seem to have lightened up on the time a bit. This is probably four or five regular shows in a row to be around the ninety minute mark. That’s still too long, but it’s a lot better than the two hour one that they had a month and a half or so ago. Hopefully the wrestling makes it better. Let’s get to it.

Here are last results if you need a recap.

Announcers’ welcome.

Kenzie Page vs. Brandi Rhodes

Dustin Rhodes is here too. Page shoves her in the face to start and gets taken down with a headlock takeover. The armbar goes on for a bit, followed by the low superkick for two on Page. Back up and Page stomps her down in the corner as Starks mentions that Page has changed her gear color since last time. What an astute observation. Brandi fights out of the chinlock in a hurry and hits something like a Sling Blade. The bulldog gets two and there’s a Dustin uppercut. The Stunner sets up the Shot Of Brandi for the pin on Page at 3:37.

Rating: D+. This was your usual Brandi match: Brandi gets to shine, wins in the end, and doesn’t do much to prove more than she’s a more athletic Stephanie McMahon. It’s not like she can do anything special in the ring and she is far from the worst wrestler, but sweet goodness it’s one of those things that you just have to get used to because she’s always going to be around.

Post match here’s Anna Jay to jump Brandi but Red Velvet makes the save.

Ray Rosas/Eric Watts vs. Jurassic Express

Not THAT Watts. Boy headlocks Rosas to start and armdrags him into an armbar. It’s already off to Luchasaurus to throw him into the corner and hand it straight back to Boy. Rosas gets in a backbreaker for a breather and it’s Watts coming in with a splash in the corner. A fall away slam keeps Boy in trouble and Watts throws him into the corner again.

Boy is fine enough to roll over for the hot tag to Luchasaurus anyway, meaning it’s a chokeslam into the standing moonsault. Watts makes the save and kicks Luchasaurus down, setting up Rosas’ top rope elbow for two with Boy making the save. Watts pulls Luchasaurus to the floor, leaving Boy to get rolled up for two. A sitout chokeslam gives Watts two on Boy but it’s back to Luchasaurus for the Tail Whip. Boy dives onto Watts and slides back in for the Extinction Level Event and the pin on Rosas at 6:34.

Rating: C-. What in the world happened to Luchasaurus? Remember about six months ago when he was having the big hoss showdowns with Jake Hager and other associated giants? Well now he’s almost getting pinned by a jobber on Dark and it doesn’t even feel like a big deal. It’s a case of someone being dragged down instead of rising up and that’s a sad thing to see.

Chris Jericho talks about his history with Luther in Japan and Canada. He was a bit jealous of Luther being a bigger star in Japan but he had never had the chance on the big stage. That’s why he was hired for AEW and no, it wasn’t a favor for a friend. Now though, it is time for a match thirty years in the making. I don’t buy the “it wasn’t a favor” for a second, but it is nice to see Jericho getting to face an old friend in such a major spot.

Anthony Bowens/Lee Johnson vs. Chaos Project

Serpentico dives at Johnson’s knees to start but gets caught in a headlock for his efforts. A dropkick puts Serpentico down again, allowing Taz to talk about the best dropkick in the company. Johnson misses a charge though and gets caught with a basement dropkick. Luther comes in with a slam and suplexes Serpentico onto Johnson for two.

The chinlock doesn’t last long so Luther goes with a snap suplex instead. Serpentico comes back in but misses a charge, allowing the hot tag to Bowens. That means clotheslines a go-go and a dropkick to Luther, followed by something like a torture rack Samoan drop for two on Serpentico. Everything breaks down and Serpentico hits a standing Sliced Bread on Johnson. The spinebuster/top rope Meteora finishes Bowens at 6:36.

Rating: C-. The near falls were good but it’s a little hard to get into the idea of another evil team. They have quite a few of them around here already (if nothing else the multiple Dark Order lineups are enough) and Luther/Serpentico aren’t exactly thrilling. Not a bad match at all though, as Johnson continues to be one of the better jobbers around.

Will Hobbs vs. Ryzin

Will runs him over with a clothesline to start, but Ryzin gets in a ram to the buckle. That just annoys Hobbs, who is back with a delayed vertical suplex. Ryzin kicks him in the face but a clothesline hurts his own arm. Hobbs hits a jumping shoulder and plants him with a powerslam. The Last Will And Testament (spinebuster) finishes Ryzin at 2:28. Ryzin got in a bit too much but Hobbs looked dominant.

Eddie Kingston is sick of Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss acting like clowns. They aren’t doing that to the Lucha Bros tonight, because the Bros aren’t clowns.

John Silver vs. QT Marshall

They go to the mat in a hurry with Marshall grabbing a headscissors and then a headlock. Back up and a right hand puts Silver in the corner and a suplex gives Marshall two. Silver is back up with a running elbow to put Marshall outside and Evil Uno is rather pleased. Back in and Marshall tells him to kick at the chest, so Silver slaps on a Crossface instead. Marshall makes the rope and loads up a superplex, which has Taz thinking it’s going to be a superplex.

The top rope superplex puts them both down so Marshall heads up top for a back elbow to the jaw. An Evil Uno distraction means the Diamond Cutter attempt can be countered, followed by Silver hitting an enziguri. Silver’s Backstabber gets two but Marshall grabs a Lethal Combination. Evil Uno gets on the apron so Dustin Rhodes fights him to the back. The rest of the Dark Order comes in for the distraction, allowing Silver to grab the spinning torture rack slam for the pin at 8:26.

Rating: C. It feels like these teams have been fighting forever now and while Cody vs. Brodie Lee is actually going somewhere, the rest of it feels like it has been going in circles forever. Silver winning a match gives him a big more credibility, but does beating QT Marshall carry that much weight? The match was fine enough, though like most of the matches between the Rhodes Family and the Dark Order, it pretty much came and went.

Griff Garrison/Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Cezar Bononi/David Ali

Ali’s headlock doesn’t keep Pillman in trouble for very long to start so it’s already off to Garrison. A slingshot hilo into a slingshot legdrop has Ali in more trouble but he gets in a knee to the ribs. It’s off to Bononi for a hard shoulder and a blown kiss to Garrison, but he would rather face Pillman. Some kicks and chops just annoy Bononi but a few more to the leg stagger him a bit.

Bononi elbows him in the face and brings in Ali, meaning Pillman can grab a rollup for a fast two. With that not working, Bononi comes back in and drives Pillman hard into the corner. Pillman slips out though and the hot tag brings in Garrison to start cleaning house. A belly to back faceplant drops Ali and it’s a powerbomb/Air Pillman combination for the pin at 5:57.

Rating: C. And that’s what they should have been doing for MONTHS. Pillman and Garrison aren’t likely to go anywhere, but instead of having them lose every single time, they now have a win under their belt and aren’t seen as instant pushovers. This is something that needed to be changed for a long time now and it could do a lot of good for this show in the long run.

Big Swole vs. Skyler Moore

Moore drives her into the corner to start and it’s already time for the shoving. Swole gets knocked down and Moore gets in a few stomps in the corner for one. A snap suplex gets Swole out of trouble and it’s a headbutt into a springboard cutter. Dirty Dancing finishes Moore at 3:04.

Rating: D+. This is definitely in the “well that happened” category as Swole continues to do her thing and only works in small doses. I like Moore a good bit as she looks different enough to stand out and can do some decent stuff when she is given the chance. That being said, AEW seems to like Swole a lot so it is hardly a surprise that she is getting such a push towards the title.

Matt Sydal didn’t have the best debut at All Out and it’s all due to Michael Nakazawa spreading his baby oil around. Tonight, it’s about revenge.

Matt Sydal vs. Michael Nakazawa

Nakazawa puts the oil on the turnbuckle to start but Sydal sees it coming and kicks him down. Sydal grabs a towel, wipes off the turnbuckle and goes up but Nakazawa sprays more oil on the ropes to make him slip again. Nakazawa pulls out the underwear claw and finally manages to get it on, only to have Sydal pull him into a Cobra Clutch with the legs trapped for the submission at 1:47. I don’t remember the last time I saw an idea dumber than Nakazawa, but it must have been decades at this point.

Eddie Kingston vs. M’Badu

Kingston chops away to start but M’Badu is back with a Stinger Splash. A powerslam gives M’Badu two but Kingston nails a knee to the ribs and the spinning backfist. The Kimura makes M’Badu tap at 1:41. Of all the people you have available, you had to have M’BADU lose that fast???? I sat through Michael Nakazawa doing his stupid routine and M’Badu, a guy who could actually be something, loses in less than two minutes? Come on AEW. You’re smarter than this.

Post match Kingston grabs the mic and says leave the hard camera on because he only cares about getting this message to Jon Moxley. What you just saw was a Kimura and the next time he puts that on Jon Moxley, he’s going to shout I QUIT instead of tapping out because he’s going to be in so much pain. Moxley was supposed to take them to the promised land but instead he forgot about them. You’re in this business to be a World Champion so he’s going to hurt Moxley and have a really good time doing it. This was outstanding as Kingston is rocketing up the list of best talkers in wrestling.

Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss are ready to take out the Lucha Bros because they want back in those rankings.

Angelico vs. Shawn Dean

Jack Evans is here with Angelico. Dean’s wristlock doesn’t last long so he goes with a dropkick to make Angelico think about it a bit. Angelico kicks him in the leg for a knockdown and a leglock sends Dean to the rope. Dean starts getting fired up so it’s a kick to the back of the head to take him down again. Back up and Dean blasts him with a forearm into a German suplex. What looked to be a double arm DDT takes too long and Angelico kicks the leg out. An inverted Figure Four makes Dean tap at 4:35.

Rating: C. Angelico has always been a favorite of mine and Dean looks rather solid most of the time he’s in there. They’re doing a nice job of playing up Dean as someone who could imagine stealing a win, but again it would help so much to have him actually win something. What we got here was pretty nice though and I like both guys, so it was hardly the biggest surprise.

Lucha Bros vs. Sonny Kiss/Joey Janela

Eddie Kingston is here with the Bros, who are taken down in a hurry by double suicide dives (from Sonny and Joey if that isn’t clear). Fenix is back up and takes his brother down by mistake but they get back in without much trouble. A double kick (may have been low) gets two on Janela but it’s off to Sonny, who is flipped into a moonsault for two on Fenix. It’s off to Pentagon, who kicks Janela down to set up the wheelbarrow splash. Pentagon starts in on the armbar but gets small packaged for two to slow things down.

Joey flips over Pentagon and the hot tag brings in Joey to clean house, including a running basement dropkick to Pentagon in the corner. A 450 connects with Fenix making the save and it’s an exchange of shots to the face for a bit knockdown. Fenix is up with a rolling cutter to take down the legal Janela and it’s back to back superkicks from Pentagon. The spike Fear Factor is enough to finish Janela at 6:00.

Rating: C-. The match was what you would expect, but there was one thing of note here that made me smile and believe it or not, it was from Sonny Kiss. I’m not a big fan of a lot of the less than serious stuff that Kiss does most of the time, but it wasn’t on display here. I kept waiting for the goofy offense to start but instead I got a running dropkick and a 450 when things were getting serious. That was a very pleasant surprise and it deserves some praise.

Overall Rating: C+. Maybe it was keeping the matches shorter, but I had a better time with this show. As much as Nakazawa’s shtick needs to be thrown into a dumpster fire, Kingston’s promo was master level stuff as you believe every word that he says. It wasn’t a great show, but it flew by and that’s not something I can often say about Dark. Good enough show here, and more Kingston please, in a big way.

Results

Brandi Rhodes b. Kenzie Paige – Shot Of Brandi

Jurassic Express b. Ray Rosas/Eric Watts – Extinction Level Event to Rosas

Chaos Project b. Lee Johnson/Anthony Bowens – Spinebuster/Top rope Meteora combination to Bowens

Will Hobbs b. Ryzin – Last Will And Testament

John Silver b. QT Marshall – Spinning torture rack slam

Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison b. David Ali/Cezar Bononi – Powerbomb/Air Pillman combination to Ali

Big Swole b. Skyler Moore – Dirty Dancing

Matt Sydal b. Michael Nakazawa – Leg trap Cobra Clutch

Eddie Kingston b. M’Badu – Kimura

Angelico b. Shawn Dean – Inverted Figure Four

Lucha Bros b. Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss – Spike Fear Factor to Janela

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6