With AEW Full Gear 2019 concluded, it’s time to look back on what happened and assess the damage, praise the positives and talk about what went down.
Per usual, at the end of this post, you’ll see my regular Smack Talk Pay-Per-Viewpoint post-show podcast, which reviews the event in more detail, but for those who want a more condensed version of my thoughts, I present to you my “quicker than a hiccup” reaction to the different parts of the evening:
Dr. Britt Baker vs. Bea Priestley
One of the weaker matches of the night, but good enough. I would have liked more passion between the two. Perhaps Baker’s reasoning for that was suffering from the flu, but that doesn’t excuse how Priestley could have been a harsher heel. Still, it was fine.
Proud-N-Powerful vs. The Young Bucks
Up until later, this was my favorite match I had seen out of AEW so far, I think. I absolutely loved this match. Ortiz and Santana went from “meh, I’ll see what’s cracked up about these guys” to “oh, I totally get it.” I loved the story of Nick Jackson’s leg getting injured with that kick to the post and that carrying on throughout the match.
The gum spot was funny, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express part was a feel-good moment, and it was all-around great.
Hangman Adam Page vs. PAC
Not as good as the previous match, but still good. These guys are in that upper-midcard range and this felt like the right level of quality for them to have.
I don’t have a lot to say about it, unfortunately. The more time that passes from the event, the less I remember about it compared to other things on Full Gear.
Shawn Spears vs. Joey Janela
The hair spot and the piledriver are my two big takeaways from this match, which I thought was fine. It kept up the downward slope by not being as good as Page vs. Pac, but I still enjoyed it. I’m particularly fond of Spears winning, as I was hoping for that. With this win, he can be taken a little more seriously and should be a major contender for whenever they institute a midcard title.
AEW World Tag Team Champions SoCal Uncensored vs. Lucha Brothers vs. Private Party
Boy was this disappointing. This could have been the best part of the night and it ended up being the most underwhelming for me. I never got into it. It just seemed like people going through a series of choreographed dance moves.
Also, I’m beyond sick of Pentagon’s cero miedo taunt. You don’t need to do your catch phrase 10 times in every match.
This wasn’t some abomination of a match, but it was nothing like what it could have been.
AEW Women’s World Champion Riho vs. Emi Sakura
I liked this more than I thought I would, but it was still my third least favorite match from Full Gear. I guess by now, I just have to write it off that I don’t like Riho as a performer, as this was her best match and I still don’t think she’s the right choice for the champion.
The story with Sakura wasn’t given justice, either. Rushing that teacher/student angle made it hard to get invested in this. I figured Riho was going to win, so I was mostly just waiting for it to end. Then, they had that awkward 1-count and 2-count, which made everyone think it was a 3-count, and that became my biggest takeaway, rather than anything positive.
AEW World Champion Chris Jericho vs. Cody
Awesome match with great storytelling from start to finish. You’ll hear on the podcast all about how much I enjoyed this match, the MJF angle and the overall state of this. I had my reservations of how they’d pull it off and I’m very glad to say I underestimated them.
Lights Out Match: Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega
Simply put, this was my favorite thing AEW has done so far as far as match quality. This was brutal and incredibly entertaining. I absolutely loved it, and this would be in my discussion for Match of the Year as far as pure entertainment value goes, even though I’d give an edge to something like Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole overall. Major, major thumbs up.
For more opinions on the show as a whole, check out the latest edition of the Smark Out Moment wrestling podcast SMACK TALK as the panel reviews Full Gear with our immediate reactions following the event before the dust has fully settled.
WATCH/LISTEN TO SMACK TALK on YOUTUBE | ITUNES | STITCHER
FOLLOW SMARK OUT MOMENT on TWITTER | FACEBOOK
Make sure to subscribe and leave your comments and ratings!
