AEW has done it again. Their sixth PPV offering, Full Gear 2020, was another strong showing for the upstart company, featuring a handful of good-to-excellent singles bouts, another wacky Deletion match, and an all-time tag team classic.
The big news coming out of Full Gear is that we have new Tag Team Champions, a new TNT Champion, and a new number-one contender, and for all the WWE loyalists claiming AEW is only pushing ex-WWE talent, none of the aforementioned came from WWE. All Elite Wrestling is finally moving past the stage where they feel the need to draw viewers in with established names, and will now begin building around their own, homegrown talent. If only for this reason, Full Gear was a significant step in AEW's growth, but there's a lot more.
The show opened with a spectacular PPV-quality match, as former partners Kenny Omega and Hangman Page faced off in the finals of the Eliminator tournament to establish a new top contender. This match would've been right at home on a G1 Climax show; a lean sixteen minutes of furious action. The story of the match, after the initial flurry, became Omega's knee. Omega went for You Can't Escape, but failed to stick the landing on his kip-up, and seemed to ad lib a knee injury to cover for it. If so, this was a bit of genius, as both guys ran with the knee for the rest of the match. Kenny then had trouble executing some of his signature offense, but eventually fought hard to hit the One Winged Angel for the win. It will now be Moxley vs. Omega II at Revolution, and I can't freakin' wait. This was fantastic. ****1/2
Next up was Orange Cassidy's revenge match against John Silver, who cost him in his second bid for the TNT Title. I was ready to dismiss this as a throwaway, but this match was a whole lot of fun crammed into nine minutes. Cassidy did his usual lazy man shtick at the beginning, which Silver sold with great annoyance. From then it was a full-on sprint, with both guys hitting really crisp offense. Cassidy is so much fun to watch and I'd love to see him get the TNT Title eventually. After several reversals and counters, Cassidy hit Orange Punch and Beach Break to win. Fun stuff. ***1/4
Cody, now legally sporting his last name Rhodes, defended the TNT Title against Darby Allin in a classic veteran vs. underdog story. Cody played the heel, bullying, biting, taunting, and at one point threatening to use his weight belt. Allin fought from underneath, narrowly withstanding a top-rope CrossRhodes when his arm was under the ropes during the pin. Cody later kicked out after a Coffin Drop and went for another CrossRhodes, but Allin countered with a cradle, leading to a series of traded nearfalls until Allin scored the three-count. Cody sold frustration after the match, teasing a heel turn, but ultimately raised Allin's hand and gave him his moment in the sun. This was a very good match and a big step for the company as they crowned the first homegrown male champion in AEW history. ***3/4
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