AEW Full Gear 2023 is coming up this Saturday and before the event takes place, let’s run down everything you need to know about the upcoming pay-per-view.
Who is scheduled for the card? How interesting does the show seem? What’s going to happen with all the matches?
Here is a full preview of AEW Full Gear 2023.
PPV EVENT INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, November 18, 2023
Start Time: 7 p.m. ET (Zero Hour pre-show), 8 p.m. ET (main show)
Location: Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California
MATCH CARD, PREDICTIONS & HEAT INDEX ANTICIPATION LEVELS
(as currently advertised; card is always subject to change)
Temperature Scale = Scorching > Hot > Lukewarm > Temperate > Chilly > Cold > Freezing
Heat Index is my assessment of how interesting the segment is, including how excited I am for the match and how intriguing the feud has been. The hotter, the better. Scorching translates to not being able to wait to see it, while Freezing means I couldn’t possibly care less and think it will be awful.
[ZERO HOUR] TAG TEAM MATCH FOR THE ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP:
MJF (c) and TBA vs. The Gunns (Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn)
Heat Index = Lukewarm
Prediction: MJF wins.
Thoughts: Plans for MJF’s storyline have definitely not been what they originally intended after Adam Cole’s injury and even maybe CM Punk’s departure. That makes it difficult to ever predict what’s going on, as we don’t know what Tony Khan has pivoted to. However, even though my instinct would be to take these titles off MJF here, I’m not sold that’s happening until ROH Final Battle. Having MJF on that card will help sell some tickets and pay-per-view buys. He can drop the belts there and it’ll put his world title in even more danger a little later at Worlds End. Speaking of which….
SINGLES MATCH FOR THE AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP:
MJF (c) vs. Jay White
Heat Index = Hot
Prediction: MJF wins.
Thoughts: MJF isn’t dropping this title until Worlds End, if not later. Even going with the idea of losing it here and having a “big comeback” in NY doesn’t make sense. Just have him keep it, defend it, and maybe lose it at that show, assuming he needs to drop it before 2024. That might not even be the case, and he might be champion rolling into Revolution or longer. I just don’t see Jay White being the one to dethrone him over Wardlow, in particular. This match should be good, though.
SINGLES MATCH FOR THE AEW WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP:
Hikaru Shida (c) vs. “Timeless” Toni Storm
Heat Index = Freezing
Prediction: Toni Storm wins.
Thoughts: You know how I’ve been saying for this entire year that the same 6 or 7 people just keep having the same matches over and over, and that I’ve been sick of it for enough months that I’ve lost track? Yeah. That. AGAIN. I don’t care that Shida won the title from Storm and this is Storm’s chance to win it back. They’ve had like 12 matches together. MOVE. ON. I’m not even as big of a fan of this Timeless Toni Storm character as most people, either, so this does nothing for me. Storm will win back the belt and I’ll continue to not care until she fights someone new. If she just goes straight to having 3 more matches with Jamie Hayter or Britt Baker or whoever, I’ll keep hitting the snooze alarm. I probably won’t even really pay attention to this match, to be honest.
TRIOS MATCH:
Sting, Darby Allin, and Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage, Luchasaurus, and Nick Wayne
Heat Index = Temperate
Prediction: Sting, Darby Allin and Adam Copeland win.
Thoughts: Sure. Good enough. Despite being a fan of these guys, for the most part (particularly Edge and Christian), I’m just not thrilled over this. It’ll be a fine enough segment where Sting’s team gets a victory and we move on. The only real caveat is whether or not Ric Flair does something to screw them over, but I think that’s more likely to happen at Worlds End or on an episode of Dynamite in the coming months, rather than so quickly out of the gate.
SINGLES MATCH FOR THE AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP:
Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Jon Moxley
Heat Index = Hot
Prediction: Orange Cassidy wins.
Thoughts: This may very well be the best match on the show. I’m hesitant to trust in my Orange Cassidy prediction, as AEW could certainly just put the title back on Mox and be done with it. But in my mind, the far better story to tell is to have OC win, evening up the score between them and setting up a rubber match for Worlds End. Put them in a hardcore gimmick at that show and have Moxley come out victorious there, instead of just telling the story (even if it’s inadvertently) that Cassidy can’t beat him.
TAG TEAM MATCH:
The Golden Jets (Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson)
Heat Index = Hot
Prediction: Golden Jets win.
Thoughts: The Young Bucks are the heels here. Not only are they coming across like whiny brats, they cheated on Dynamite. Clearly, they’re doubling down on that dynamic to make it easier for fans to cheer Omega and Jericho. Given this stipulation that if The Young Bucks win, Jericho and Omega have to stop teaming, but if Golden Jets win, they get a tag title shot, it seems pretty clear Matt and Nick Jackson should come up short. This should be a good contest, but I’m hesitant to hype it up too much, as I don’t think it’ll compare to Omega/Page vs. Young Bucks and other matches in the past.
TEXAS DEATH MATCH:
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland (with Prince Nana)
Heat Index = Hot
Prediction: Adam Page wins.
Thoughts: This is simple and clear-cut. The match should be good. Page wins. I don’t know what else to say about it. Swerve can lose this and still come out of this feud looking better than he ever did. Page winning keeps up the trend that this is one of his go-to matches, which is more important.
THREE-WAY MATCH FOR THE AEW TBS CHAMPIONSHIP:
Kris Statlander (c) vs. Julia Hart vs. Skye Blue
Heat Index = Temperate
Prediction: Julia Hart wins.
Thoughts: That belt’s changing hands, isn’t it? Statlander can move up to the world title level and have a future match with Toni Storm. I have a feeling Blue is going to either turn and align herself with Hart outright, or she’ll do something like try to mist Hart, only for Hart to duck and for the mist to hit Statlander, allowing Hart to score a pin.
FOUR-WAY TAG TEAM MATCH FOR THE AEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP:
Ricky Starks and Big Bill (c) vs. La Facción Ingobernable (Rush and Dralístico) vs. FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) vs. Kings of The Black Throne (Malakai Black and Brody King)
Heat Index = Lukewarm
Prediction: Ricky Starks and Big Bill win.
Thoughts: I’m 50/50 on this. For now, I’ll put down that the champions will retain, but I’m almost just as ready to say FTR wins. The more I think about it, the more Golden Jets vs FTR makes sense, but it’s a bit odd in my mind to take the titles off Starks and Bill already. No matter the outcome, I’m sure this segment will be good. It’s just a matter of what AEW has planned for the follow-up.
OVERALL PPV:
How excited am I for the event as a whole?
Heat Index = Lukewarm
Thoughts: AEW events are exhausting. A lot of what is happening right now in the company doesn’t interest me too much. I’m burned out on wrestling in general, and when AEW has these super long shows that are mostly just match after match after match, it can be a drag. But I’m still interested in the outcomes of most of these bouts, which I’m hoping will allow me to remain invested all the way through, rather than reaching a point where my brain is overloaded and I find myself paying attention to other things. This has potential, for sure. It could also just be “just another show with some good, but ultimately forgettable matches on it.”
What do you think is going to happen at AEW Full Gear? Which matches are you most excited to see? Keep the discussion going in the comments below!
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