AEW Full Gear 2023 Preview and Predictions
All Elite Wrestling returns to pay-per-view on Nov. 18 when AEW Full Gear 2023 airs live from the KIA Forum in Los Angeles, Calif.
The event will be the 25th pay-per-view in All Elite Wrestling history, and the fifth annual Full Gear event. Over the course of 11 matches, seven championships will be on the line, friendships will be tested and blood will be spilled, but what will happen?
Let’s try and find out! My name is Sam Palmer and here is everything you need to know about AEW Full Gear 2023.
MJF {c} & Samoa Joe vs. The Gunns – ROH Tag Team Championship:
If the All-In event at Wembley Stadium is anything to go by, MJF will more than likely open and close Full Gear in two completely different settings. He will look to defend the ROH Tag Team Championships for the third time, but this time he will have another variable to worry about.
Since Adam Cole got injured in September, Max has defended the belts by himself, but with no one to help him out, he has been forced to accept Samoa Joe’s offer in order to keep hold of his titles.
The Gunns have not lost a match since WrestleDream on October 1st, and have regularly dispatched their opponents in less than five minutes over the past few weeks. They are former AEW Tag Team Champions and have improved significantly over the past year, so they shouldn’t be underestimated.
But given the wildcard addition of Samoa Joe, who has an AEW World Championship riding on this, Bullet Club Gold won’t be starting the night off on the right foot.
PREDICTION: MJF & Samoa Joe
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Buddy Matthews:
One of the latest additions to the Full Gear card is this dream match between two men who haven’t crossed paths in nearly three years. The last time Claudio Castagnoli and Buddy Matthews wrestled each other was on an episode of WWE Smackdown in Feb. of 2021, and a lot has changed since then.
Both men are in AEW, they have dangerous groups around them, and are both looking to finish their years off in style.
Buddy successfully defeated Castagnoli’s tag team partner Wheeler Yuta on the most recent edition of AEW Collision, and the House of Black seems to have the Blackpool Combat Club in their sights.
However, just because you can get the best of the BCC’s “young boy” doesn’t mean that you can hang with the rest of them. It won’t be easy, but I think this bout will belong to Claudio, and that the House of Black/Blackpool Combat Club feud won’t be finished by the end of the night.
PREDICTION: Claudio Castagnoli
Eddie Kingston {c} vs. Jay Lethal – ROH World Championship:
Another match that was added on short notice sees “The Mad King” Eddie Kingston defend the ROH World Championship against one of Ring of Honor’s greatest champions. Eddie has been champion for less than two months but has already established himself as a fighting champion, successfully defending his crown five times.
His opponent, Jay Lethal, is one of the most successful champions in ROH history and can certainly get the job done if he wants to. However, he does have Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt in his corner to cause all sorts of distractions.
But despite all of the outside interference that could potentially play a factor, it’s going to take more than a few guitars and Karen Jarrett’s sparkly dress to get the better of the Ring of Honor World Champion.
PREDICTION: Eddie Kingston
Ricky Starks & Big Bill {c} vs. FTR vs. La Faccion Ingobrenable vs. The Kings of the Black Throne – Ladder Match for the AEW Tag Team Championship:
As if this bout wasn’t unpredictable enough, Ricky Starks decided to make this four-way match for the AEW Tag Team Championships a ladder match. Why did he do this? Since Big Bill is 7-foot, and you can’t teach that–it’s someone else’s gimmick. He made it a ladder match because his partner’s the biggest guy in All Elite Wrestling.
But just because you have a height advantage doesn’t mean those steel ladders will hurt any less. After all, everyone is the same height when they get hit with a ladder. Rush and Dralistico of LFI have the agility advantage on their side, FTR is quite possibly the most well-oiled machine in AEW, and The Kings of the Black Throne just need to switch the lights off and they are the favorites.
Despite all of this, it’s a match that I can see a lot of high-octane action, but nothing changing at the end of it as the champs will retain.
PREDICTION: Ricky Starks & Big Bill
The Young Bucks vs. The Golden Jets:
Speaking of the AEW Tag Team Championships, the winners of the ladder match will face the winners of this personal/friendly grudge match. The Young Bucks have been sitting on a tag title shot since WrestleDream, but they have become distracted by the fact that their close friend Kenny Omega has been hanging out with Chris Jericho, someone the Jackson brothers don’t trust.
Not only will Matt and Nick Jackson put their title shot on the line in this bout, but the future of Omega and Jericho as a duo is at stake too as they will never be allowed to team again if they lose. This one could certainly go either way as you might have to consider who the best opponent is for the winners of the ladder match. While I don’t think The Golden Jets has done much for either Jericho or Omega, The Young Bucks have never beaten Kenny in a tag team match, and I can see that continuing at Full Gear.
PREDICTION: The Golden Jets
Kris Statlander {c} vs. Julia Hart vs. Skye Blue – AEW TBS Championship:
Kris Statlander has become one of the most dominant champions in wrestling since becoming the AEW TBS Champion at Double or Nothing. She has defeated the likes of Jade Cargill, Britt Baker and Willow Nightingale, as well as the two women she has to face at Full Gear.
However, she’s never had to face two challengers at once, and both Julia Hart and Skye Blue have improved a lot since their last meetings with the champ.
The one blemish on Julia Hart’s record this year was caused by Kris Statlander, but she has quickly got that momentum back in recent weeks. As for Skye Blue, a change in attitude that happened thanks to Julia Hart’s black mist has led to her becoming more vicious in the ring, which has led to her being in a pay-per-view title match. Despite how much Julia and Skye have improved, I get the sense that they might cancel each other out, leading to Kris keeping hold of her title.
PREDICTION: Kris Statlander
Hangman Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland – Texas Death Match:
There are a number of people on the Full Gear card that claim they ‘hate’ their opponents, but hate doesn’t even come close to describing what Hangman Adam Page feels about Swerve Strickland.
Page lost to Swerve at WrestleDream, Page lost his ROH Six Man Tag Team Title because of Swerve, and to add insult to injury, Swerve broke into his house and planted a t-shirt in the crib of his real-life infant child. So in the words of John Kramer from Saw 2: “Oh yes, there will be blood.”
How much blood you ask? Well, it depends on how much they are willing to spill. We know Hangman is willing to put his body on the line in this match, we’ve seen it happen many times in the past, but how will Swerve handle being in a Texas Death Match? Strickland has a history with hardcore wrestling thanks to his work in CZW, but if you were forced to put money on who will answer the ten count more, it’s got to be the cowboy.
PREDICTION: Hangman Adam Page
Hikaru Shida {c} vs. “Timeless” Toni Storm – AEW Women’s Championship:
The Hollywood Homecoming that everyone has been waiting for, even though she is technically from Australia (and was born in New Zealand … and lived in England for a while), this is looking to be Toni Storm’s finest hour.
She hasn’t been able to keep her brain intact since Hikaru Shida beat her for the AEW Women’s Championship in August, but getting the belt back won’t be the easiest thing in the world.
If there is one thing that people have doubted about Hikaru Shida can she keep hold of the title now that she’s back in front of a live audience? She held the belt for a full year during the pandemic, but lost it when fans got back.
She beat Toni Storm for it, but lost it at Wembley. Now that she’s facing someone who is convinced that she will be walking out of LA with her crown, can she overcome the odds? My guess is unfortunately not. Also, keep an eye out for Mariah May, she might get involved as well.
PREDICTION: “Timeless” Toni Storm
Orange Cassidy {c} vs. Jon Moxley – AEW International Championship:
Orange Cassidy has become a little bit like Gollum from Lord of the Rings when Jon Moxley beat him at All Out for the AEW International Championship, he needed his precious title back.
But when he got it back, something just didn’t feel right. Getting the belt back would have made him feel better right? No. Beating Jon Moxley is what he really wants to do.
The problem is Jon Moxley is even angrier than he was in their first meeting. Mox respected the efforts of Cassidy leading up to All Out and showed him respect, but since then he’s become more annoyed with Orange than anything.
For those in the know, Moxley was never meant to lose the belt to Rey Fenix, meaning that Cassidy was never meant to get the belt back, to begin with, but I believe that order will be restored this Saturday when Jon Moxley becomes the new champion.
PREDICTION: Jon Moxley
Sting, Darby Allin & Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage, Luchasaurus & Nick Wayne:
Arguably the match with the most moving parts to it could become something of a chaotic brawl if one or two things go sideways. Adam Copeland didn’t want to face Christian Cage, he wanted to team up with him before retiring, but seeing how much of a slimeball Cage has become has led to Sting and Darby Allin standing by his side to try and beat some sense into the TNT Champion. However, Christian has “The Patriarchy” with him in the form of Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne.
Cage is the TNT Champion, but Sting has never lost in AEW. Darby will do whatever it takes to win, but Luchasaurus has already beaten him. Nick Wayne has never been in a match with this much star power, but Adam Copeland has.
To top it all off, Ric Flair is meant to be at ringside, so we know that he’s going to get involved at some point. It’s a tough one to call, but I think Nick Wayne being the youngest man in the match will be the one to cost his team, leading to Darby, Sting and Copeland walking away with the victory.
PREDICTION: Sting, Darby Allin & Adam Copeland
Tony Khan’s Mystery Signing:
Just a quick note before we talk about the main event as one of the biggest things people are talking about heading into Full Gear isn’t even a match, it’s who Tony Khan has signed to the company. His newest acquisition will be revealed in Los Angeles, and many names have been thrown around in recent weeks.
Ronda Rousey made her ROH debut last night, Katsuyori Shibata has been working without a contract, as has El Hijo del Vikingo, but I get the sense that it could be someone AEW fans are already familiar with who could be the mystery man.
Thanks to the relationship between AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, my money is on Will Ospreay signing a deal that will not only see him become “All Elite,” but also fulfil the rest of his duties for NJPW. Will’s NJPW deal expires in February, so putting pen to paper on a deal that will allow him to transition smoothly from one company to the other will certainly have people excited.
PREDICTION: Will Ospreay
MJF {c} vs. Jay White – AEW World Championship:
10 matches down and one to go because it’s time for your main event! MJF will have already wrestled (and if my predictions are right, won) by this point in the night, but with The Gunns being part of Bullet Club Gold, you have to believe that they will try and do Jay White a favor before the Full Gear main event. “Switchblade” is walking into the bout fresh, and with Max’s title belt, making Friedman even more furious than before.
My first prediction is that this match will be long. Max and Jay have both been in main event matches that have exceeded 20, 30 and 40 minutes, so go to the bathroom before this one starts.
Secondly, Bullet Club Gold will get involved, but that could also lead to the likes of Samoa Joe, The Kingdom, and The Acclaimed getting involved too. Last, but certainly not least, The Devil will play a factor in … MJF retaining the title.
If The Devil is revealed at Full Gear, it’s probably going to be Adam Cole helping Max keep the belt because he is, after all, his best friend. Jay White’s already been beaten down by The Devil and his goons, and at the end of Full Gear, Better Than You Bay Bay will be back together, and still have all the gold.
PREDICTION: MJF
Are you looking forward to AEW Full Gear 2023? Let us know in the comments section below, and remember to follow Vendetta Sports Media on all of your favorite social media platforms!
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