AEW are moving into their 5th PPV event, Full Gear, and they have addressed a common complaint fans have about the modern PPV format: they’re just too long. Including the Buy In pre-show, their last PPV All Out, went about 5 hours in length. The intent for Full Gear is to cut that down by an hour, making it a 4 hour show, counting the Buy In.
The Buy In
On all previous Buy In shows, there has been at least two matches booked. This time around for Full Gear, the only match booked is Bea Priestley vs. Brit Baker. Between that and video packages for the show, it’s all a preshow really needs. You show fans what to expect, and an example of the action you’ll see on the show. An hour is too long for what is essentially one last advertisement for a show, the plan this time is to have it be a half an hour.
The Main Card
Right now, there is 7 announced matches for AEW Full Gear, which will easily fit into a 3.5 hour main card. That gives each match plenty of time to shine, and leave some wiggle room for potential debuts or other angles to be run.
The announced matches include some matches which will go longer, like Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega & Chirs Jericho vs. Cody Rhodes which could reasonably each go half an hour or longer. Others like Riho vs. Emi Sakura & Hangman Page vs. Pac, will probably only go 10-15 minutes. Time management on matches will be important if their intent is for a shorter PPV length, so it will be interesting to see how it is handled.
Watching Wrestling Shouldn’t Be A Test Of Endurance
While I will never truly complain about having more wrestling to enjoy, some shows just run too long and burn out their auidences. A prime example of this was earlier this year with Wrestlemania 35 being 5 hours long, and that isn’t even accounting for the 2 hour preshow that came before it. You don’t need 7 hours for any wrestling show, and while Wrestlemania is a huge event, it began dragging every quickly, causing fans to lose interest. This isn’t just a problem with WWE, I often find myself taking a break in the middle of most wrestling shows, and returning more refreshed as I just get burnt out.
AEW addressing an issue like this is why they’re building up so much good will with their fanbase, its a simple thing that shows they respect and understand the feedback given to them; and that might very well be the strongest tool AEW has in their belt at this time.
AEW Full Gear happens November 9th, and you can watch via traditional PPV, Bleacher Report Live, or Fite TV. Look into your options early, and find your way to watch what is sure to be an exciting night of wrestling.
