AEW Full Gear 2021 Preview & Predictions

All Elite Wrestling’s fourth and final pay-per-view extravaganza of the year goes down this Saturday when Full Gear descends upon Minneapolis’ Target Center. Featuring the biggest AEW World Championship title match in the company’s history and the finals of the World Title Eliminator Tournament, this event’s bound to be one of the best shows of the year. The RingCrashers team is here to give you a run down of the big matches of the evening and their predictions on who’s gonna win.

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How We Got Here

The finals of this year’s World Championship Eliminator Tournament took a bit of a detour when Jon Moxley was replaced by Miro as Orange Cassidy’s opponent after Moxley announced that he’d be taking some time away from the ring to enter an inpatient alcohol treatment program. “God’s Favorite Champion” would end up winning this match to advance to the Finals. Meanwhile, The American Dragon defeated Eddie Kingston in an all-timer match to punch his ticket into the finals.

Predictions

Marc Quill: While the intrigue of a prospective Danielson/Hangman title match does seem enticing, I think Miro gets the win here to set him up as Hangman’s first challenger. A loss against Adam Page won’t hurt Miro in the slightest and would further his whole God’s Forsaken Champion angle.

Justen Jess: If I was booking this, I’d pick Bryan Danielson. I think there’s an interesting story of Danielson (who I think secretly is a heel) wanting to fight “the best”, but settling for Hangman. But I think Miro is the titan, the unstoppable tower that is a very different opponent than anything either Hangman or Kenny has fought all year. Miro wins, and we get a new color of red to describe Danielson’s chest post-match.

MK Fell: The person who wins this match is me, because I get to watch these two powerhouses beat the hell out of each other. Either one of them as the next #1 contender is very good. I hope it doesn’t mean the end of Miro cutting promos on God, though.

Barrett Tribe: Danielson wins! Omega gets involved in the Page/Danielson title match! THREE WAY DANCE AT THE NEXT PPV!!!! MIRO TRIES TO KILL GOD.

How We Got Here

Weeks of chest-puffing, angry promos, and Dan Lambert and Chris Jericho throwing every insult imaginable at one another has led to a massive ten-man tag match between the Inner Circle and American Top Team.

Predictions

Marc Quill: This match is likely to just be a fun schmozz of a match for the crowd, and the inclusion of Dan Lambert as part of the ATT contingent competing in the match pretty much guarantees he’s gonna take more than a few bumps. That said, look for The Inner Circle to win out here.

Justen Jess: I think the Inner Circle wins here because every Jericho angle goes on way too long and Jericho wins at a PPV. I doubt we’ll at least get some fun segments like with the Stadium Stampede, but I can live in hope? It feels like this match should be pre-recorded especially with so many shoot fighters.

MK Fell: This angle hasn’t been fun for me in the slightest, so I’m really hoping the Inner Circle win so Men of the Year can go do something more interesting (and less homophobic) again. Wake me up when this match is over.

Barrett Tribe: Lots of potatoes in this match. Inner Circle wins. Dan Lambert shows up on Dynamite for one more whiney promo before getting run out of the building, mayhaps by golf cart.

How We Got Here

By virtue of being at the top of AEW’s women rankings (with a 30-3 record as of 11/10/21), Tay Conti was named Dr. Britt’s opponent for Full Gear a few weeks ago.

Marc Quill: Though the result of Dr. Britt retaining the title is pretty much inevitable, this match should at least be entertaining.

Justen Jess: I don’t think that Tay’s the face that booking wants the belt on. We know it’s Thunder Rosa, and nothing has really been built up to give Tay a big feud with Britt. The TBS Championship has subsumed the singular mandatory women’s segment on AEW the past few weeks, and this match sadly feels like an afterthought. Britt wins, Tay deserves better.

MK Fell: I love Tay Conti, I do, but Britt hasn’t had the belt for long enough and frankly they didn’t give this feud enough screentime to get anyone excited about it.

Barrett Tribe: Britt Baker will win in a spirited contest. Anna and Rosa will run the Dental Assistants out of ringside. Tay will lose but come out of it looking stronger. Tay is a future champ, but Baker is the belt’s legitimizer.

How We Got Here

After Los Super Ranas, sorry, FTR won the AAA Tag Team Championships off of the Lucha Bros last month, FTR has been feuding with the Lucha Bros and wanting to get the AEW Tag Team Championship back.

Predictions

Marc Quill: It’s pretty much a given that Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero M retain here, but look for this match to be a thrilling encounter from start to finish.

Justen Jess: I expect the Lucha Bros to retain their title here. I think a two-month reign for the Lucha Bros would be a disgrace.

MK Fell: Full agree with Justen here. If it were any other tag team, maybe, but FTR has already had the belts once and to give them the championship back after such a short run for the Lucha Bros would just be a really bad look.

Barrett Tribe: The Lucha Brothers need a long reign, if only so we can see them in marquee matches at all the PPVs and events. Luchas pick up the win. FTR can always say they are the true champions since, as AAA title holders, they represent America and Mexico. “That’s TWO COUNTRIES! Mejores chicos, adios.”

How We Got Here

After a loss in the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament to Bryan Danielson, Eddie Kingston was incensed and went on a bit of a tirade backstage. Unfortunately for him, this interrupted CM Punk, and it set off a wave of hostility between the two. On last week’s Rampage, Kingston unleashed fifteen years of frustration in a promo, calling out Punk for 15 years of passing him by.

Marc Quill: This is one match I’ve been looking forward to since they teased it on Rampage. With that in mind, while I wouldn’t be surprised if CM Punk won, I’m honestly pulling for Eddie Kingston to win here. His excellent essay on The Players Tribune makes it really easy for me to root for him in this scenario.

MK Fell: To be completely honest, I do not care who wins this match. I would be VERY surprised if this isn’t my Match of the Night (okay, tied with Omega vs Hangman). Do I want Eddie to win? Yes, I’m biased, I love him to pieces and he deserves a huge win. Will I be upset if he doesn’t, given how much heart and soul he and Punk will pour into this match? Not in the sense that I think it’ll be a bad decision, but more because I’ll be sad on his behalf.

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Justen Jess: I don’t know who you have win this match, but I want it to be Eddie Kingston. I don’t think it will be, though, as I think AEW wants to have CM Punk’s first loss to be to someone they plan on crowning a future champ. The storyline has been there, though. The story of Punk’s matches have been about him being slower, going by on wiles and veteran instincts. What if the Mad King wins on sheer aggression and passion?

Barrett Tribe: CM Punk is going over here. Has to. Eddie is building momentum toward an eventual TNT or AEW title run, but he’s not the right guy to give Punk his first loss. Punk is a draw and needs to keep his mystique for as long as possible. Eddie wins by losing. He’s Rocky.

Since September, MJF has antagonized Darby Allin, attempting to get into his head mentally by invoking his uncle’s death in a drunk driving accident, but to no avail. When that didn’t work, Max opted to instead use brutal beatdowns to sideline Darby and mentor Sting. This feud would intensify on the 10/27 Dynamite when Darby & Sting outsmarted MJF and the Pinnacle with a surprise attack.

Predictions

Marc Quill: This match could honestly go either way, but I think we have Darby Allin getting the win as he proves Max wrong. Plus, you need to accelerate the MJF/Wardlow fissure, so perhaps a failed cheating attempt spells the end for Max?

MK Fell: It kind of looks to me like they’re setting Wardlow up to turn his back on MJF soon, which I think will happen faster if MJF loses here. I guess I’m more interested to see if Darby goes this whole match without losing his composure? Not sure what the others might think about it, though.

Justen Jess: This is a match that is ridiculously hard for me to put the pulse on. Darby Allin’s last three losses this year have been against CM Punk, a handicap match against the Men of the Year, and Miro for losing the belt. MJF meanwhile has only lost to Chris Jericho in Singles competition this year. I think Darby wins here, but I think it’s going to get ugly. I expect both Darby and MJF are going to have some moments of lost composure.

Barrett Tribe: Good will overcome evil. Allin is going to out-wrestle MJF until MJF snaps. This is going to be an opportunity for Allin to showcase his pure wrestling skill on a PPV. MJF will lose his goddamn mind and go pure CZW about ¾ of the way through. Allin wins by submission.

How We Got Here

I feel like you could write a book on what’s transpired between Christian and Jurassic Express and the Elite just since All Out, where the first thing that Adam Cole did upon entering AEW was kick Jungle Boy in the face. The two groups have gone against each other repeatedly, with Christian taking an indietaker on a ramp, Luchasaurus being powerbombed through a table, and Jungle Boy getting thrown off a stage. It was just last week that Christian Cage subjected Adam to a one-man Conchairto, and then this match was announced.

Marc Quill: The SuperKliq probably get the win here, and given the trajectory of the title match and the possibility of Omega losing to Hangman Page, wouldn’t it be interesting if Cole and the Bucks won while Kenny lost? We’ve already seen tensions between Omega and Cole play out ever so slightly, so this might help that along.  

Justen Jess: To remove the possibility of anyone interfering in the championship match later that evening, I think Christian and Jurassic Express win, in a violent brutal fashion. In fact, after that Conchairto last week, I wouldn’t be surprised if maybe some…heelish behavior occurred. 

MK Fell: To be fair, the Superkliq losing doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t interfere in the championship match. And I agree that them winning and Kenny losing puts tension in their relationship— I wanted the inverse at Double or Nothing, after all. That said, I think Jurassic Express and Christian win here. I can’t wait for the flippy stuff and the possibility for a rematch down the road… maybe with some Trios belts on the line?

Barrett Tribe: I’m going against the grain and giving it to The Super Elite. The show is already face heavy by my predictions. Neither team really needs a win. Jungle Boy will be the star though, bank on it. He’s been losing more of the jungle stuff as time has gone on and I’m hoping he abandons the silly parts of the gimmick soon. Maybe he can turn into “Jungle” Jack Perry like JR wants him to.

How We Got Here

It’s been a long, long, long road to get to this point, but we’re finally here. What started at the dawn of AEW’s inception seems to be reaching its breaking point. The last time these two faced each other one-on-one was in last year’s World Title Eliminator Final with Kenny defeating Hangman in a spirited bout. What followed was Kenny’s descent to the dark side after capturing the AEW World Title from Jon Moxley and holding it for nearly a year with the Elite at his side. Hangman re-entered the title picture after winning the Casino Ladder Match on the two-year anniversary Dynamite and has returned more confident than he has ever been.

Predictions

Marc Quill: The long and short of it is that Hangman Page finally achieves his destiny to become AEW Champion. This has to be it. AEW has generally been good with giving fans what they want and not blueballing them constantly, so anything but a Hangman win would be a mistake here. Adding to that is the end of the go-home Dynamite where Kenny got the upper hand on Hangman, which generally means in wrestling terms that Kenny is gonna take the fall on Saturday. Look for some real Cowboy Shit coming this Saturday.

Justen Jess: Hangman wins, of course, but the question is going to be how. Do any of the Elite back up Kenny? Who corners Hangman? Will Kenny reach deep into his reserves and attempt a Phoenix Splash in a moment of desperation? Will the One-Winged Angel be attempted? 

MK Fell: I’ll say it— not crowning Hangman here would be disgraceful. Kenny’s run as champion has been a blast, and I’m not the only person who’d be happy to see it continue for a while longer, but… it’s time for Cowboy Shit. He deserves it.

Barrett Tribe: To piggy back off of Justen; over the last couple of years, Omega has slowly removed all of his past moves that were references to Ibushi, Okada and anything he was doing in Japan. Lately we’ve been seeing them creep back into his repertoire. Kenny is going to pull out everything he can, likely attempting a Buckshot or Deadeye alongside a host of classics, but Page’s heart will win the day. Expectations are high but I’m thinking Meltzer will give it over five stars.

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Andrade El Idolo & Malakai Black vs Cody Rhodes & PAC

How We Got Here

Malakai Black has tortured the Nightmare Family for months, and Andrade El Idolo has tried to mess with PAC and the Lucha Bros for just as long. The two storylines have coincided now, and we get this very fun match lineup now.

Marc Quill: Andrade El Idolo & Malakai Black will pick up the win here, with the “Nightmare traitor” that Black hinted at last week playing a role in the win.

Justen Jess: Even a month ago I would have thought this was a weird match, but it’s got promise. I’m leaning towards Andrade and Malakai in this one, as I think we need another heel victory here. I expect it will be a fun match, and Cody takes the pin.

MK Fell: Ah yes, the last-minute match announced during the Go Home show. I’m not complaining, there’s just always one. Andrade and Malakai win this one for me, hands-down. I did just imagine how short Pac is going to look next to all three of them and had a nice chuckle about it.

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Buy-In: Nyla Rose & Jamie Hayter vs Thunder Rosa and Hikaru Shida

How We Got Here

This match to open the night at Full Gear will feature four of the women who are in the TBS Championship tournament. In the second round, Nyla is set to face Shida, while Thunder Rosa will take on Jamie Hayter. This should be a high-energy tag match to help kick the night off in full gear, so to speak.