In his debut piece, Conor takes you through his Top 5 moments from AEW Full Gear 2020.
- The Young Bucks won an instant classic last night at Full Gear, becoming the tag team champions for the first time, dethroning FTR. This match had been building as far back as 2016 and truthfully it did not disappoint. The two contrasting styles complimented each other beautifully throughout the match, with both teams paying tribute to teams who have influenced their careers. Notably, the bucks channelling there inner Hardy Boyz & FTR doing a stellar Steiner Brothers impression leading to near falls for both sides. The match was now well and truly cooking when Cash Wheeler rashly abandoned his team’s core philosophy of ‘No flips, just fists’ to attempt and miss a 450 springboard in pure desperation. This error left an opening for Matt Jackson to superkick Cash and fulfil The Bucks destiny in becoming the tag team champions. A love letter to tag team wrestling signed by the two greatest teams on the planet.
- Darby Allin went from being the loner of AEW to becoming the leader & face of Dynamite after capturing the TNT Championship from Cody Rhodes. As Cody stated in the pre-match promo, it’s time for the year one rookies to step up and boy Darby certainly did that. The tense stare down at the beginning of the match foreshadowed the fact that Darby will not back down. Cody’s dominance throughout the match soon led to arrogance and showboating but Darby would not quit. The Skateboarding sensation finally got his career-defining win after a series cradles led to Darby pinning Cody 1 2 3. New Champion, new era, and his next challengers made their presence known almost instantly. The anointment of Allin may have angered Team Taz but it certainly gave fans hope that the new generation is in good hands.
- Kenny Omega is the number one contender. That’s the headline. But there is far more to this story than the headline suggests. These two former friends & tag team champions were on a collision course ever since the title eliminator brackets were announced. Kenny famously left Hangman high & dry at All Out after their loss to FTR but this time it was Hangman who left Omega hanging during the pre-match handshakes. What followed was a brilliant back & forth match between these two, counters aplenty with these two know each other inside out. Omega finally won with a one-winged angel, that hangman tried his damnedest to counter but to no avail. The Cleaner is coming for AEW title, but what’s next for our favourite focused yeehaw man? Only time will tell but this story is far from over.
4. MJF is in the inner circle, but why? That is the burning question everyone is asking after the salt of the earth played Jericho at his own game and beat him Saturday night at full gear. Coming Into the match MJF was in full wind up mode by wearing a light-up jacket which was a not-so-subtle shot at Y2J’s past. As the past & future of the company stood face to face, the wily old veteran refuses MJF’s offer of a handshake & responds with a slap. Another excellent match followed although slow at times, there was always something happening. The crescendo of the match as so clever, both competitors right-hand men got involved, slipping their bosses, the dynamite diamond ring & bat respectfully. MJF as resourceful as ever, took a page out of Eddie Guerrero’s playbook, playing possum and stealing the win with a roll-up. MJF & Wardlow are in, this is gonna be fun, however, it turns out.
5. Jon Moxley is the man. Whilst a rematch with Kenny Omega is looming on the horizon, last night Moxley had some personal business to attend too. An all-out war with former buddy Eddie Kingston for the richest prize in the company. Both men wanted it, both men needed it. These two warriors put their bodies online to become the man. Kingston talked a good game but this is Moxley’s playground. Barbed wire, tacks and chairs were all used to inflict as much damage as possible on the other. After this nasty slugfest, Moxley finally overcame Kingston, making him quit with a barbed wire assisted bulldog choke. Another challenger vanquished for the Champion but in the distance, Moxley should be listening for a battle cry.