AEW Full Gear 2019

Full Gear has both a pre-show and a Buy In, which is a bit odd. A PnP video airs that basically makes them babyfaces. "BE PROUD OF WHO YOU ARE!" They cut a promo on being driven by the pressure of NYC and skyrocketed their careers due to it. Santana talks about being 14 and guarding his sister during a shooting. Both teams are viewed as different sides of the same coin - with each team being backyarders, while PnP built their ring while the Bucks had their dad do it. Moxley vs. Omega is hyped up as a battle of different viewpoint - with Omega personifying the Japanese work ethic. Moxley was made in Philly in the ECW Arena with CZW. Omega talks about loving the Japanese arenas that he loved seeing in games as a kid. I love the arena vs. arena mentality here, but they're replaying several of the same voice clips seconds apart. THAT'S WHEN YOU JUST END THE VIDEO FOR THAT FEUD.

 

 

The Full Gear set looks great and we get Taz on the Buy In! We get a recap of Britt Baker's career-best promo talking shit about Bea Priestley. WCW-style PPV ramp for this. Gotta say, TNA's version looked better. The red carpet here looks good, but the material looks uneven - like someone put a giant screen protector on and left a ton of bubbles under the surface. Bea gets a bow and arrow on the post. Taz talks about Britt's flu and says it makes cardio harder. This is already not good and it's not likely to get any better. The story they're telling in the ring doesn't match the video package.

Bea hits a few kicks for 2. Britt lands a tackle and lariat and a corner high knee. Britt gets a swinging fisherman suplex for 2. Super brainbuster for Britt, but she can't get a second one. They go back and forth on a crucifix for 2. Regalplex gets 2 for Bea - that should just be a finish. Bea gets a necklock, but Britt gets the rope. Double stomp to a kneeling Britt on the apron! Queen's landing is turned into a goofy discus rainmaker forearm. Shitty looking destroyer gets 2. Thank God the Lockjaw ends it. This was a complete slog. Taz has the nerve to call this a spectacular match.

Goofy candles hit the tron and the lights are out for THERE ARE EIGHT MILLION WAYS TO DIE AND SHE'S ONE - for Kong and Brandi. Kong's got a new gold outfit and brings out a knife after taking off her right glove. She gives the knife to Brandi and hits an implant buster to Bea and then the knife is used to slice some of Bea's hair off. Cool stuff I guess. It's definitely a better more modern use of Kong than what they did last time. Ross talks about how the first lights out match he saw was in MSW, and it was so physical and violent to hype up Omega vs. Moxley.

Bucks are out to face PnP, with the heels using some cheap tactics to double-team Nick. CAMEL CLUTCH/GORI SPECIAL COMBO! Apron PK misses for Nick! Ortiz says he's a genius and lands a lariat to the newly-damaged shin before tossing him into Morton. Morton tosses Nick back and Matt eats a double reverse suplex. Street sweeper is met with a big mid-air belly to belly. Nick lands a series of kicks including a tornado kick and flips the bird before hitting a rising knee. Liger bomb into a Santana PK gets 2.9. Street Sweeper to Nick gets the win and the Bucks lose another one. They have to be the most unselfish exects ever - and it's smart too. They get cred for losing and shift the focus on the younger and more athletic teams who can carry the load longer-term.

Sammy comes down to help his boys take out the Bucks, but the RNR Express makes a save with a low bridge and some punches! THEY BE CLUBBERIN TONY! CANADIAN DESTROYER TO ORTIZ! TOPE TO SANTANA AND SAMMY. This is the perfect use of a legend on PPV. So in one match, you've got the last 30 years of North Carolina tag team legends in the ring outside of the Hardys and the future with PnP.

Big tope starts things off until Pac slows things down with a corner leg choke. Pac eats a nasty slam on the apron that they nearly miss on-camera. Orihara moonsault hits! Apron high kick hits for Pac and he goes for the black arrow, but gets crotched. Avalanche fallaway slam hits for Page, but a buckshot meets a superkick. Page gets a big pop-up powerbomb before he goes for Deadeye with a transition into a standing octopus and then the Brutalizer! However, since Pac did to him standing, Page falls into the ropes - perfect! Black Arrow misses and Pac goes for a low blow mule kick, but Page grabs the foot and hits a discus elbow, discus lariat, and the Deadeye ends it! Fantastic match!

Shawn Spears comes out to face Joey Janela, who takes a great ass-whopping to start. Joey lands a sloppy flip dive off the top to the floor. Joey eats a big chop off the top and an apron backbreaker hits. Spears takes the buckle pad off to distract Earl so he and Tully can hit a SPIKE PILEDRIVER OFF THE STEPS! Tully didn't seem to get hurt off that, which is good. C4 hits and ends it. This was a ton of fun.

Sabian and Penelope are now an act and insult Goldenboy. Private Party come out to face the Lucha Bros and SCU in a triple threat with the Bucks win being used as proof that they can beat veteran teams - perfect usage of that win. Goddamn do they get some stunning pyro. SCU comes out and JR wishes the folks battling the wild fires well. JR puts over how much Sky has done to elevate his game and they talk about Daniels and Kaz being so perfect, while Sky took the ball and ran with it.

Tons of craziness here. Quen lands a bulldog to Fenix and a legdrop to Penta. Camel clutch/ curb stomp gets 2 for Private Party. Sky gets a slingshot rana into a dragon clutch! Gin and Juice is avoided and SCU-Later gets the win. This was a lot of fun - not quite a classic, but very good and SCU keeping the gold is the right move. Lucha Brothers didn't drop the fall, but didn't win and take out Kaz and Sky. The lights go out and Daniels shows up in Pentagon's outfit because even with a  half-mask and paint, he has such a distinct face that it's impossible to not tell it's him. STO and an Angel's Wings to Fenix. This ruled!

Emi Sakura's Freddie Mercury getup is just odd. They have the exact match you'd expect, with Riho as a great face in peril. She gets brief bits of hope with knee strikes to the head, but wins with a crucifix into the high cradle. Cody gets his biggest, craziest intro yet with all sorts of smoke, pyro and camera tricks. Jericho's out with Hager, a wacky silver scarf, and a silver and black jacket.

Jericho looks 30 pounds fatter from TV and has a weight belt on ala Cody, which still doesn't help. Crowd chants happy birthday since he's 49 now. They start off with a tie-up before Cody starts working on the arm with an elbow stomp. Snap powerslam gets 2 for Cody, who sends Jericho hard knees-first onto the ramp off a lariat over the top. Cody goes for a suicide dive and eats the ramp. He's covered in blood and has a nasty cut over his right eye. This plays into history perfectly with Luger losing a title shot to Flair via blood stoppage in MD.

Aubrey gets Doc Sampson and he tries to close it up. Cody eats a ton of shots to the wound before landing a springboard cutter. Jericho talks shit to Cody's mom, so she tells him "fuck you" and Cody spears Jericho. Figure 4 by Cody leads to an MJF-Hager brawl leads to Aubrey being distracted, so Jericho belts Cody. 2.9!

They get into a kneeling elbow war before Cody wins out with a bionic elbow! That gets 2.9 and was beautiful. Jericho takes his belt off and whips Cody with Aubrey taking it from him and throwing it out of the ring to an AUBREY chant. Jericho gets the walls, but he won't release on the ropes and works on the wound. Jericho shoves her, so she shoves him and a small package gets 2. Liontamer is on and Jericho STOMPS THE HEAD during it. MJF has a towel and Jericho wrenches in the Liontamer even more. MJF throws in the towel and it's perfect. He has the benefit of the doubt given the circumstances, so it's a lot like Bret and Owen at Survivor Series '94. It's the perfect finish that builds for the finish. This is smart too because if Cody wants a secondary title to mean a lot, he can be the primary holder for that and do for it what Nakamura and Tanahashi did for the IWGP IC Title.

Cody gets up and MJF apologizes to him. Crowd tells Cody to fuck him up and then MJF BALLSHOTS CODY! In a nod to HBK-Jericho, as he's kneeling after the shot, MJF shoves him down. Cody gets up and looks stunned, with the gash getting even worse. Tremendous. Hype video airs for Omega and Moxley.

Omega gets a giant intro while Moxley comes through the crowd. JR points out that the ref shouldn't be used here since Mox beat him up before. They have a usual garbage match with Mox eating a barb wire broom to the head off a tope attempt. Broom shot to the upper back seems to lead to Moxley's neck getting sliced up on the right side. Might've been off the dive, but he came up spurting blood right away.

Omega uses the broom as a broom on the back to slice him up more and then a 619 position leads to more. Drop toehold onto the broom leading to a kotaru crusher slicing up Omega's wrist. Trashcan moonsault comes up a bit short for Omega, but gets 2. Omega gets a mouse trap board X PLEX ON THE MOUSE TRAPS by Mox! Sideslam onto a giant pile of chains gets 2 for Mox. SNAPDRAGONS to Mox! THIRD SNAP DRAGON HITS and Omega hangs him with the chain. Terminator dive through a barricade-mounted table! Omega gets a glass shard from the table on the Dynamite debut and slices his hand! He unravels the bag of glass and drags him on the glass.

Sharpshooter from Omega leads to Moxley DRAGGING HIMSELF THROUGH GLASS and pulls himself up with the ropes. Omega grabs glass and forces it down his throat and gets some, but eats a GERMAN ON THE GLASS. V TRIGGER and another hits him into the ropes. Mox hits the ramp and Omega grabs a screwdriver and grinds it into Mox's head! Omega calls for Page and the Bucks to bring IT but they refuse. They walk away from him here and then bring out a barb wire web!

Omega sets up an OWA on the web, but Mox avoids it. Omega avoids the AA while Mox avoids another V trigger. SUPLEX OFF THE RAMP INTO A BARB WIRE WEB! The ring crew pulls Omega out, while Mox is still tangled up. He's finally freed and beats up the crew before trying an exploder through a storm cellar-ish part of the set, but Omega avoids it and smacks him with other parts before V Triggering him THROUGH THE LIT GEAR.

Moxley emerges and a Paradigm Shift on the glass gets 2.9! Moxley cuts the canvas ties and exposes the boards. Mox goes for a cradle piledriver on the boards, but Omega backdrops him out! V trigger to the neck and the OWA is blocked as is the Paradigm Shift, but Omega lands one of his own! That gets 2.9! Omega goes for a phoenix splash, but misses! Excalibur talks about that being out of Ibushi's playbook and it not paying off for a 2.5. Elevated Paradigm Shift ends it! Moxley tells everyone to be careful what you wish for, because you motherfuckers might just get it. Goddamn what an insane match and a great show.