Full Gear IV - 11/19/2022

[A_K]

33 minutes ago, Goitre said:

I'm just enjoying watching people fantasy book someone else's fantasy fed. Like, get your own 

Also loving the Apter headlines passing as comments. "Delegate, Coach Tony! The Fans' Impassioned Plea to Tony Khan"; "Is Tony K in Bed With the Bookies? Our Investigation Will Amaze You!"; "The Only Way is Down - Why MJF's Championship Reign Will Sink AEW!"; "Sign Our Petition to Get Bryan Danielson Doing What We Want"; "Is Jon Moxley Back on the Turpentine? We Speak To Someone Who Has No Idea".

Wait, wait - you forgot one! "He could walk on water and people would say "he can't even swim!"

Ok, phew, now the agenda is all ironed out and the discourse is well-reasoned. That's better. 

Edited November 21, 2022 by A_K

[Goitre]

You're an excitable one. Maybe save it for someone as emotionally invested as you. (It ain't me, babe.)

[Shartnado]

Let's just give away Kingston vs Akiyama for free! I didn't even know it was going to happen, until the graphics were up! I hope this doesn't mean that Eddie will never win another match in AEW, after realising his dream inside the ring!

I was getting over a mild case of apparent food poisoning, and slept through a bunch of matches, but the first two matches made this a worthy purchase. Need to rewatch later. Last three matches were a nice bonus making this one hell of a PPV. The Sting tag match was also super entertaining, as usual! Jarrett was in tremendeous shape!

[Matt D]

2 minutes ago, Shartnado said:

I hope this doesn't mean that Eddie will never win another match in AEW, after realising his dream inside the ring!

Eddie cut a promo afterwards (It's probably been posted a couple of times so I'll toss it in spoilers below) saying that the dream wasn't over and that he was done losing his cool and that he was going all the way to the world title.

Spoiler

 

 

[eikerir]

Forgot to mention about the Pre-Show, but what the hell has Nick Comoroto done to his look?

He had such a good thing going on with the caveman hair, beard and overall manliness and now looks like bottom tier generic CAW guy.

[Shartnado]

14 minutes ago, Matt D said:

Eddie cut a promo afterwards (It's probably been posted a couple of times so I'll toss it in spoilers below) saying that the dream wasn't over and that he was done losing his cool and that he was going all the way to the world title.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

I guess I didn't pay enough attention to the promo, then. I did hear him thanking everyone who came and all the AJPW legends including Akiyama, then for once, peacefully ending the promo when told he had to go. Well, this WOULD be a very good way to jump-start his quest to the top. He can't be questioning if he's good enough after this. He must have proved it to himself here!

[A_K]

18 minutes ago, Shartnado said:

I guess I didn't pay enough attention to the promo, then. I did hear him thanking everyone who came and all the AJPW legends including Akiyama, then for once, peacefully ending the promo when told he had to go. Well, this WOULD be a very good way to jump-start his quest to the top. He can't be questioning if he's good enough after this. He must have proved it to himself here!

MJF / Kingston may be the best program they can run actually. Taps into Regal's disdain of "sadist" vs thoroughbred. Promos would be great & authentic.

[The Natural]

[The Natural]

[The Natural]

 

[Zimbra]

https://twitter.com/ShiningPolaris/status/1594200690368331776?s=20&t=jjcbLsupguIYZR57ZKaCaQ

Nice little piece of post-show business with the BCC explaining what the hell happened to Mox.

[Shartnado]

Yeah, the ROH 4-way and the TNT-title 3-way were both good stuff as well. Saraya vs Britt was ok, I guess. Nyla vs Jade was one of the better Jade mathes I've seen.

On a side note, I was convinced by my wife to buy a hat similar to what Hager has, albeit a different color, and I'll be damned, I like it too!

[zendragon]

2 hours ago, A_K said:

MJF / Kingston may be the best program they can run actually. Taps into Regal's disdain of "sadist" vs thoroughbred. Promos would be great & authentic.

Rich Asshole v Everyman, pretty much books it self

[A_K]

23 minutes ago, zendragon said:

Rich Asshole v Everyman, pretty much books it self

Yep. Both hugely over. Kingston the Foley to MJFs Triple H. Huge upside for both (irrespective of outcome).

[Craig H]

Gonna have to update this music video

 

 

[Craig H]

If and when Eddie finally wins the big one, and he should more than anyone else in AEW, more than Danielson (sick of fucking hearing about how Danielson should be champ or should be this or that and wanting him to be things he personally doesn't want to do), more than Darby, more than Miro, etc., he's going to get the biggest pop in the history of AEW and be their most over babyface champion. And when he hopefully wins that title, I am going to cry about as much as I did for the Chicago Cubs winning the championship.

If I had a hero in wrestling, Eddie is it. That man eats, breathes, sleeps, lives the same shit so many other people do with anxiety, depression, imposter syndrome, and self-sabotage. And despite all of that, he keeps fighting, more people keep believing in him, and more people get behind him. I can't think of any better second "album" for Tony Khan, the first being the journey of Hangman to being champion, than getting Eddie to the championship at Full Gear next year or maybe sooner than that. 

[Andrew POE!]

4 minutes ago, Craig H said:

If and when Eddie finally wins the big one, and he should more than anyone else in AEW, more than Danielson (sick of fucking hearing about how Danielson should be champ or should be this or that and wanting him to be things he personally doesn't want to do), more than Darby, more than Miro, etc., he's going to get the biggest pop in the history of AEW and be their most over babyface champion. And when he hopefully wins that title, I am going to cry about as much as I did for the Chicago Cubs winning the championship.

If I had a hero in wrestling, Eddie is it. That man eats, breathes, sleeps, lives the same shit so many other people do with anxiety, depression, imposter syndrome, and self-sabotage. And despite all of that, he keeps fighting, more people keep believing in him, and more people get behind him. I can't think of any better second "album" for Tony Khan, the first being the journey of Hangman to being champion, than getting Eddie to the championship at Full Gear next year or maybe sooner than that. 

Honestly, I really want Kingston to have a World title reign. That would validate his approach to wrestling and his mindset as a wrestler. Plus, He's One of Us (the fact that he wants to wrestle or attempt to wrestle 90s AJPW style is amazing)

I really wish he would get better trunks though and that makes him look like The Fucking Star that he is. The Walmart dress pants aren't doing it for me. Maybe new gear would be one of the first things he does when he wins the World title.

Occasionally he wears the Misawa tribute green and white and I get that he has a gut (I'm not judging for that, I've developed one too), but I just want him to look the way people see in him.

[Zakk_Sabbath]

5 hours ago, AxB said:

It's almost as if we're in an ongoing storyline, and we should LET IT PLAY OUT or something

I still have a tremendous amount of trauma surrounding this phrase from the lead-up to WMXXX, I have to almost compulsively speculate baselessly now in protest

4 hours ago, eikerir said:

Forgot to mention about the Pre-Show, but what the hell has Nick Comoroto done to his look?

He had such a good thing going on with the caveman hair, beard and overall manliness and now looks like bottom tier generic CAW guy.

Yeah, the transition to Italian Razor Ramon has certainly been an interesting one. I, too, miss 'Unfrozen' Nick Comoroto - he was up there with Bear Country, 2.0, and MJF for me, as far as best retro acts go.

Re: BTE, this week's episode is sure to get people talking by including 

Spoiler

The crowd at Full Gear chanting 'Fuck CM Punk' set to a rap song that says 'Gonna make a statement...'

But I'll take it to the YouTube Nonsense thread!

[Zakk_Sabbath]

11 hours ago, Casey said:

Storm/Hayter Best of 7 instead please.

You know, it's probably too late now since the Elite/DT series has already been laid out, but if they ever wanted to heat up these Battle of the Belts specials, a great way to do it would be to hold a couple of these series simultaneously with the finals taking place there. Running two, for example, would mean 12 matches over the preceding month(s) that would basically function as BOTB commercials; sort of like the old KOTR qualifying matches on WWF TV.

They have enough titles where they could easily run two unique series per special (maybe change it to a best of five, if it becomes overkill):

January - Trios/Women's 

April - All-Atlantic/FTW

July - TNT/TBS

October - Tag/World

Plus, an added bonus is that if the concept gets over, they could always run a match or two of each series on Rampage, Dark, or Elevation which accomplishes two things: 1) gets eyeballs on those shows, and 2) changes up the atmosphere a little bit, which is important for obvious reasons if/when running 5/7 of the same match.

Edited November 21, 2022 by Zakk_Sabbath

[Matt D]

Zakk had a lovely idea about Battle of the Belts.

My counterpoint is this: they can please only me and do the Deadly Draw/Lethal Lottery again.

Edited November 21, 2022 by Matt D

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

I could get behind that concept.

Dominant face champion like a Wardlow vs a low ranked guy in a best of 7 series. Wardlow wins the first 3 all in squash matches. Then next credible contender emerges and issues a challenge. Costs him match 4 by DQ and then 5 by countout. Heel then talks about how in two weeks time he's taking the belt in his home town.

So Wardlow deliberately loses match 6 to ensure it goes to a 7th match and the other heel doesn't get the shot in his home town. Have a stip that any match 7 is held in a cage for definitive conclusions or whatever. Play up that he's getting that additional insurance too.

Then squashes the other guy in match 7 because why not.

[HarryArchieGus]

Excellent stuff in the 10 Man (yeah, loved that Factory hug), Cage-Starks and the emotional Kingston-Akiyama bouts. No surprise to see Luchasaurus v Jungle Boy put on a helluva deal! Christian provided some great comedy with the key steal and toss out. And then fuckin’ Kansas plays. Wrestling has a way of taking the most tired, never-wanna-hear-it-again-songs, and making them seem fun or funny. Death Triangle v the Elite was as spectacular as expected. I bet a few of those salty posters who feel the need to express their hate of the Elite secretly loved this. A Best of 7 sounds like a fucking lot of wrestling from the same 6 guys, but I have a feeling they’re going to find a way to make it work. Nyla v Jade was fine. Sammy-Jericho-Danielson-Claudio proved the right people can make 4 ways work just fine. Beautifully in fact. Pleased to see Jericho escape with the title. Saraya v Baker was fine. I liked Alvarez’s suggestion on WOR about how they should have done a ‘she’s not quite ready’ type loss for Saraya in quicker fashion and come back with a stronger rematch. Wardlow-Hobbs-Joe was fun and again exceeded my expectations for a multi-man bout. Double Champion ‘Joe-sus is just alright with me!’ Jarrett-Lethal v Darby-Sting was wonderfully fucking fun like every Darby-Sting match! The visual of Sting holding Satnam in the death drop and calling for Darby was wild! Jarrett was fantastic in this match. Toni Storm v Jamie Hayter really built strongly to that finish. They woke up the joint and so happy they did for that big title win pop! Such big blows! Loved the visual of Toni Storm with the messed up lipstick and bloody nose. Does Storm need a heel turn? Whereas the crowd thankfully sees and applauds the great work/efforts of Hayter, they seem oblivious to how fucking great Toni Storm is. Acclaimed v Swerve/Lee was really good. I'm not gonna complain, but I really wanted Big Keith to find his way to the dark side there. Throughout the last few matches the crowd is clearly exhausted and more in need of sleep than more wrestling. MJF v Mox was a fun little match. Kind of a bummer finish. I have the same question as was similarly posed earlier ‘what the fuck, so William Regal has a preference of Max’s ‘International Object’?’ ‘Explain this one to me, Bill!’  Perhaps it only appeals to a certain sense of humour, but I thought Max’s scrum promo was a fantastic piece of business! If nothing else it suggests Max will be up for the task of being a true heel. In a sorta related note I just listened to the Gentleman Villain episode ‘Mr. Regal becomes an Unamerican’, in which Regal proudly discusses his ability to do what is necessary to inspire hate. Speaking of which, I liked seeing Moxley heeling it up out there. He looked really excited to do so. It would not have been clear to me on a live marathon viewing, but in multiple parts this was an excellent show.

Edited November 21, 2022 by HarryArchieGus

[Zakk_Sabbath]

45 minutes ago, GuerrillaMonsoon said:

I could get behind that concept.

Dominant face champion like a Wardlow vs a low ranked guy in a best of 7 series. Wardlow wins the first 3 all in squash matches. Then next credible contender emerges and issues a challenge. Costs him match 4 by DQ and then 5 by countout. Heel then talks about how in two weeks time he's taking the belt in his home town.

So Wardlow deliberately loses match 6 to ensure it goes to a 7th match and the other heel doesn't get the shot in his home town. Have a stip that any match 7 is held in a cage for definitive conclusions or whatever. Play up that he's getting that additional insurance too.

Then squashes the other guy in match 7 because why not.

Dude, that's a great call. I'm not trying to derail with fantasy booking, but there are tons of ways to go with this:

* Wrestler 1 takes a DQ loss in the first three, by brutally beating Wrestler 2 with weapons, and having their teammates interfere for a multi-man beatdown. Wrestler 2 is now weakened and becomes the automatic underdog for match 4-7, despite the fact they're up three wins (which is kind of a unique story- the closest example I could think of is like, an NFL team making it to the Super Bowl, but their MVP is injured in the conference title game, or something). It's like a longer scale version of Guevara taking the first fall by DQ in the Danielson 2/3 match a few weeks back. You use those weapons shots/beatdowns to build in a body part to tell the story around during the last 4 matches (e.g. 'Good God, not Willow's knee! That's the very same knee that Jade and the Baddies injured on Elevation just three weeks ago!') and it's icing on the cake. 

* Dominant Champion (a Joe, Wardlow, Hobbs type) squashes Wrestler 2 in four in a row - you can then use Dominant Champion to make an open challenge at BOTB and hype that, or you can show a graphic during match four that you have a stand-by match ready to go - just as a fun little off the beaten path thing to 1) make it seem a little more real, like for example the couple times a match ended during PiP, and 2) push the historic nature of Dominant Champion pulling off four in a row.

[DreamBroken]

18 hours ago, Andrew POE! said:

MJF's whole spiel as a heel is running down the town / garnering cheap heat. If they give him a year long title reign (or at least until his contract runs out) and have him do nothing but that, fans going to the show would get sick of it. "I'm going to defend the title tonight!" *fans cheer* "But not in a crappy town like (insert name of town). I'm taking the night off." That gets stretched for months and eventually people stop paying money to see AEW because the World champion won't do anything but talk about how it's his time.

MJF needs to change/evolve his character and this run-up for the title match was the opportunity to do that. Moxley's character also needed a change too. But no, TK books the show for a bunch of fickle fans who are cheering MJF right now and it's such a cluster of an ending.

Agreed, the Piper comparison is always there but I definitely felt babyface Piper vibes when he was beating up the Firm the other week but now just feels like back to the same old routine. 

[YouHaveUntil5]

It would be great if Regal’s actions were because he thinks the BCC is losing their way (Yuta lost the Pure title, Dragon and Claudio couldn’t beat Jericho for the ROH title, Moxley didn’t even know what day the show was and couldn’t finish MJF off when it mattered) and he helped MJF win to light a fire under the group’s asses to make them killers again. 
 

I don’t think that’s what we’ll get, but it would be pretty cool if we did. 

Edited November 22, 2022 by RefMattyD570