AEW Full Gear is the first All Elite Wrestling PPV to take place since the inception of Dynamite. It’s a landmark occasion, and I’m taking a look at every match announced for the show, one by one. I’m Jordan Huie of the Overtimer and here’s what we’re looking forward to on Saturday!
We now go to by far the match that’s been building for the longest time, the feud that spawned this event’s name…
Hangman Page vs. PAC
I laid out the history of this feud when the challenge was made, but it’s only right that I discuss it here as well. It dates back to the very beginning of All Elite Wrestling in just about the most literal possible sense, as the two confronted each other at the inaugural AEW rally. This was on January 8th, ten months ago to the day of this writing. The two of them were then scheduled to square off at AEW’s first show, Double Or Nothing on May 25th. In the lead-up, Page started a very BTE-esque storyline on Being The Elite, in which his friends needled him over his physique in comparison to PAC’s, claiming he wasn’t full gear-ready, suggesting he shouldn’t be wrestling in trunks.
In response, he took the Full Gear Challenge to try and get into the best shape of his life. But after months of anticipation, just a week or so before the event, PAC ended up pulling out from the show due largely to a dispute with Dragon Gate. Instead, the two faced off at an indy event in a match that ended with PAC getting himself disqualified.
It was three months before the next chapter in the story unfolded.
On August 31st, during the post-show media scrums at All Out, PAC and Hangman came face-to-face once again. It was clear things were far from settled and shortly after, the match was announced for the premiere episode of AEW Dynamite on October 2nd. The two finally squared off in an AEW ring, only for PAC to win the match via a low blow whilst the referee’s vision was impaired. Weeks later Page would finally earn some redemption, pinning PAC in a tag match, albeit only after Jon Moxley turned on him.
That next week, after the show went off the air, Page made the challenge for one last showdown. And there really couldn’t be a more fitting place to settle this feud than a show that’s actually called AEW Full Gear.
From the outset, it’s been clear that they want Hangman Page to be a big star. Slowly but surely he’s looking the part more and more. But he’s still lacking that one signature win, that one match that puts him on the map. This is, by all rights, supposed to be the one. I’m quite eager to see if it delivers.
After all this time, I think there’s really only one natural conclusion. This is the night that Hangman Page gets the win.
AEW Full Gear takes place November 9th in Baltimore, Maryland out of the Royal Farms Arena. It airs live on traditional PPV in America and on FITETV internationally.
