AEW Full Gear 2024 takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Featured matches on the card include Jon Moxley versus Orange Cassidy for the AEW World Championship, Hangman Adam Page versus Jay White, and Bobby Lashley versus Swerve Strickland. The pre-show also features an appearance by Big Boom AJ of the Costco Guys.
AEW Full Gear Card:
- AEW World Championship – Jon Moxley (c) vs. Orange Cassidy
- Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher
- AEW TNT Championship – Jack Perry (c) vs. Daniel Garcia
- Swerve Strickland vs Bobby Lashley
- TBS Championship – Mercedes Mone (c) vs. Kris Statlander
- AEW Tag Team Championship – Private Party (c) vs. The Outrunners vs. Kings of the Black Throne vs. The Acclaimed
- Jay White vs. “Hangman” Adam Page
- MJF vs. Roderick Strong
- “Big Boom” A.J. (with Big Justice) vs. Q.T. Marshall
AEW Full Gear Results:
Zero Hour pre-show:
Anna Jay defeated Deonna Purrazzo (with Taya Valkyrie) by pinfall
Buddy Matthews defeated Dante Martin, Komander and The Beast Mortos
- Matthews got the pin after Curb Stomping Martin, who had been attempting a pin.
“Big Boom!” AJ (with Big Justice) vs. QT Marshall
- AJ gets the win after hitting a PowerBOOM. Paul Wight ended up getting involved after serving as guest commentator. Big Justice speared QT, setting up his dad’s win.
Private Party (c) vs. The Outrunners vs. Kings of the Black Throne vs. The Acclaimed – AEW World Tag Team Championship
Private Party wins, pinning The Acclaimed to retain their titles. They go and celebrate in the crowd after the bell. The Acclaimed seemed upset and we got more of a tease, but no turn just yet. This was a decent opener where Kings Of The Black Throne dominated early, but the champs found a way to win.
Winners – Private Party
Grade: B
Orange Cassidy cuts a promo saying he’ll show Jon Moxley that AEW doesn’t need him. Orange is going to take the power, and he’ll put what’s in Mox’s briefcase in his backpack.
MJF vs. Roderick Strong
MJF made surprisingly quick work of Strong. He took advantage of a mistake by Strong and made him tap out in an armbar. He got a chair after the match and smashed Strong’s hand in it. Adam Cole runs out for the save and MJF runs off through the crowd. Kyle O’Reilly, Matt Taven and Mike Bennett are in tow, and KOR shoves Cole and screams at him for letting Strong get attacked, while Bennett tries to reassure Cole.
The match was brief but served its purpose for the storyline. That said, it feels like this angle could’ve been saved for TV, or the match could’ve been given more time.
Winner – MJF
Grade: C
Mercedes Moné (c) vs. Kris Statlander – TBS Championship
Moné’s frustration of being unable to put Stat away added to the drama. Moné hit two Backstabbers and a Moné Maker, but she was in shock after Stat kicked out again. Stat hit a facebuster and goes for Saturday Night Fever, but Moné bites her leg and slingshots Stat throat-first into the ropes. Moné rolls her up for the win.
This was actually a solid outing for Moné. The cheating was kept to a minimum and she used the ring to her advantage. She also did it without Kamille, so we’ll see where that storyline goes. This was a much-needed win for Moné, whose recent work has been a mixed bag.
Winner – Mercedes Moné
Grade: A
Jay White vs. “Hangman” Adam Page
White picks up the win with the Blade Runner after a counter near the ropes. White, with a huge smile on his face, flashes “five” at Hangman, reminding him of how many wins White has over him. Hangman goes after him on the ramp, and Christopher Daniels rushes out to stop him. Hangman punches Daniels out and leaves without further incident, but he’ll likely get fined or suspended.
The match was fine, but I’d argue that their WrestleDream match was much better. White beat Hangman with his finisher off a miscue by Page, so at least the continuity was there.
Grade: B-
Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher
Fletcher hit a leaping Tombstone onto the ring steps, which got a ‘you sick f*ck’ chant. Ospreay also kicked out of a Grim Stone, but Fletcher almost laughs it off and hits a Brainbuster for the win. Fletcher really looked impressive here. Decent match that feels like the first chapter of an ongoing feud. We’ll probably get a rematch at Worlds End. Mark Davis ran out to check on Ospreay as Fletcher celebrated with Don Callis.
Grade: B
Mariah May and Mina Shirakawa no more!
Mina Shirakawa comes out to the stage for Mariah May’s Championship Celebration. Mariah, sporting a blackened left eye, takes the mic and says they finally did it! Mariah says she killed and stepped on the entire women’s division because there’s no one that can touch her. She says she couldn’t have done this without Mina, and they lock arms and toast. Long May she reign!
Mariah says they need to celebrate, and they dance around. Mina turns her back and Mariah grabs a champagne bottle and tries to hit Mina with it. Mina ducks and kicks the bottle of her hand, then spears Mariah off of the stage through a table. The ring crew rushes over to check on Mariah, who is the recipient of a bloody kiss on the forehead from a now-crazed Mina.
The segment was fine, but like the MJF/Undisputed stuff earlier, would’ve been better served on an episode of Dynamite/Collision. That said, the bloody lip on Mina made for a cool visual.
Grade: C
Jack Perry (c) vs. Daniel Garcia – TNT Championship
I like Perry’s Raven-like character progression, but this one just fell a little flat. Perry gave Garcia a chance to hit him with the TNT title, but Garcia gave the belt to the ref. This allowed Perry to low-blow Garcia and hit a running knee for two. Garcia was then slumped over as Perry set up for another knee, but Garcia countered with a piledriver for two. Garcia finally fires up after some chops, which Perry seems to enjoy. He hits another piledriver and applies a Sharpshooter, leaning back into it and forcing Perry to tap.
I’m really happy for Garcia here, it’s a big win. The intro with the voicemail from his mother was a really nice touch too. Curious to see where Perry goes from here.
Winner and NEW TNT Champion – Daniel Garcia
Grade: B-
Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Ricochet – AEW International Champion
This was a little slower than I’d hoped for. Takeshita wins after a powerbomb off the ropes. This match benefitted from a lack of major interference or funny stuff from Don Callis, who called the crowd “Dirty Americans” on the way out. Like Ospreay vs. Fletcher, we’ll probably get a rematch with these two at Worlds End.
Winner – Konosuke Takeshita
Grade: B-
Swerve Strickland vs. Bobby Lashley
I really like Shelton in the “muscle” role here, it gives him more depth and a different intimidating factor. He got thrown out of the match after tripping Swerve, but MVP remained at ringside after calming Shelton down. Lashley looked great here, really getting a chance to show his power. Swerve crushed him with a Swerve Stomp through the commentary table, which popped the crowd. He connects with a House Call and Swerve Stomp, but Lashley somehow kicks out at two. MVP screams at Lashley to get to his feet, then has a brief staredown with Swerve, who walks into a spear through the barricade by Lashley. He rolls Swerve in and slams him down again before choking him out in the Hurt Lock.
This was a fairly dominant win by Lashley. Swerve looked great and got some great shots in, but Lashley just continued to power forward and wins in impressive fashion. To add insult to injury, Lashley choked Nana out after the bell.
Winner – Bobby Lashley
Grade: B
Jon Moxley (c) vs. Orange Cassidy – AEW World Championship
The Death Riders, including PAC in his ring trunks, arrived in a Dodge Ram with Moxley. Orange Cassidy, on the other hand, arrived with a *bit* more fanfare in the form of a single firework.
Cassidy jumped Moxley during the introduction, crushing him with a few Orange Punches. He showed a lot of fire in the opening moments of the match, including beating Moxley with punches on the commentary table. Moxley finally shakes it off, dishing it right back at Orange. He hits a Paradigm Shift on the steps that busted Orange open. Moxley continued to toy with Orange and slowly picked him apart, including biting the open cut on his forehead. Moxley raked the bloody back of Orange, and the camera was in perfect position to catch Moxley’s fingernails scratching across Orange’s back. Great visuals in this one.
Commentary harped about “the future of AEW hanging in the balance” but I never felt like Moxley’s reign was ever in doubt. This felt like another title defense, albeit a good storyline-driven one. This would’ve been fine without the interference from the Death Riders and the Conglomeration, as that felt unnecessary. Willow running into to stop Marina, however, was a nice touch. Orange ALMOST wins it after crushing Moxley with the briefcase behind the ref’s back.
Orange is screaming at Moxley to get up at this point. Moxley pulls the ref in front of him, allowing Wheeler Yuta to run in and attack Orange, who then falls to a Paradigm Shift from Mox. The numbers game was always going to be a factor, but Orange told a great story of the underdog trying to fight an uphill battle.
Darby Allin makes his presence felt
After the match, they poured some kind of cleaning chemicals in Orange’s face. Hangman Page came down and hit Yuta with a chair before he got in Mox’s face. Christian Cage rushes out and hits Moxley with a Killswitch and drops his contract. Hangman picks it up and reluctantly hands it to him, right as Jay White runs out and stops him from cashing it in. Christian leaves, the Death Riders rush over for the save and run out of the arena. They go to their truck, which gets smashed by a car covered in spraypainted skulls.
It’s pretty obvious it’s Darby Allin, who doesn’t immediately show up. Moxley and crew finally steal another car and leave as Darby, who is bleeding from the forehead, screams at Moxley to finish it. He initially has a hard time, but climbs on the truck and smashes the windshield to end the show.
This was another angle that seemed good for a TV segment, but I guess it works a little better since it was in the main event. It was a little busy and crammed in a lot of run-ins, but I guess it opens up a lot of storylines going forward.
Winner – Jon Moxley
