As clichéd as it may be, timing is everything in professional wrestling.
Some of the biggest stars the industry has ever seen were successful because they were in the right place at the right time. When the right wrestler and the right moment converge, it creates the type of magic that makes pro wrestling so special.
But the wrong timing has the potential to derail careers. If someone becomes champion before they’re ready for that kind of spotlight, it can be hard to overcome. Fans will turn against a wrestler who is getting a main-event push before they’re ready for it. At the same time, if the moment comes too late, fans will have already moved on to someone else. It’s a balancing act that all promotions have to try to get right.
“Hangman” Adam Page could have been one of those victims of poor timing. Page is so much better off today than he would have been if he had won the AEW world championship when he first got a shot at the title in 2019. Instead of becoming champion then, Page began a two-year journey that will culminate at Full Gear on Saturday. Page will attempt to finally win the big one as he challenges Kenny Omega for the AEW world championship in the main event of the pay-per-view.
When Page lost to Chris Jericho in a match to determine the inaugural AEW world champion at All Out in 2019, he was someone who lacked a defined character. Page would have just been a blue-chip prospect who was successful in his first attempt to become champion if he had won the title then. Since that loss, Page has transformed into one of the best characters in AEW. Page’s “anxious millennial cowboy” persona has created such a strong bond between him and the fans. The struggles he’s dealt with are universally relatable. Fans see themselves in Page and know that his on-screen character is based on who he is in real life.
That connection between Page and the fans was formed as he battled insecurities and self-doubt to get to this point. The audience rooted for Page as he left The Elite and struggled to trust his friendship with the Dark Order after falling out with his old friends. The final obstacle for Page to overcome always had to be Omega. The two were AEW tag team champions together before their partnership dissolved after losing the titles at All Out in 2020. Omega’s road to becoming world champion included defeating Page in the finals of AEW’s world title eliminator tournament at Full Gear last November. One year later, Omega and Page will face off again in a match with even greater stakes. Page has to beat the best to prove to everyone, including himself, that he’s capable of being champion.
Omega vs. Page has the potential to be a truly special pro wrestling match. It isn’t often that such a well-built long-term story between two incredible wrestlers reaches its final chapter. This is the biggest match of Page’s life. Following Omega as champion will be a difficult task, but there should be no debate: Now is the right time for Page to win the AEW world title.
Full Gear will take place at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Saturday night. It will be AEW’s first PPV since September’s All Out shattered the promotion’s previous record for PPV buys. Full Gear won’t have the same level of financial success as All Out, but it will attempt to keep AEW’s momentum going during what has been a new era for the company. The show will feature CM Punk’s second PPV match for AEW, as well as Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole’s in-ring PPV debuts for the company.
Here’s a rundown of the Full Gear card, along with predictions for each match:
AEW world championship match: Kenny Omega vs. “Hangman” Adam Page
Omega has been a great world champion for AEW, but any finish other than Page’s winning the title would be a huge mistake. Going this far with Page only to have him lose would be something that Page would never recover from.
Losing the AEW world championship will also provide a reset point for Omega’s character. After letting his status as champion define him for so long, Omega will either need to find a new pursuit or focus on getting the title back from Page.
Prediction: “Hangman” Page wins
AEW women’s championship match: Britt Baker vs. Tay Conti
This match is more about the challenger than the champion. There’s no chance that Britt Baker loses her title to Tay Conti, but being in a women’s championship match on PPV is a step up from anything else that Conti has ever done in her career. She’s improved so much since being released by WWE in April 2020. Facing Baker will be a test of how far Conti has come.
At 26 years old, there’s still plenty of room for Conti to get better. If she’s able to reach her potential, she’ll be AEW women’s champion at some point in the future.
For Baker, this will be her fifth title defense since winning the AEW women’s championship from Hikaru Shida in May. She’s retained against Nyla Rose, Red Velvet, Kris Statlander and Ruby Soho.
Prediction: Britt Baker retains
AEW tag team championship match: The Lucha Bros. (Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fénix) vs. FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler)
The Lucha Bros. are set for their first PPV championship defense since winning the AEW tag team titles from The Young Bucks in a steel cage match at All Out. That all-time classic will be impossible to follow, but The Lucha Bros. and FTR are two of the absolute best tag teams in the world. Their match presents an interesting clash of styles with the high-flying Lucha Bros. facing the old-school FTR.
While attempting to disguise themselves as the masked team “Las Super Ranas,” FTR won the Lucha Libre AAA tag team titles from The Lucha Bros. on Dynamite during the build to Full Gear. It’s possible that The Lucha Bros. could lose the AEW tag team titles to FTR here and then get their revenge by winning the AAA tag team titles back. But it feels like this is too soon for Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fénix to drop the AEW tag team titles. Their match against The Young Bucks at All Out was so good that it needs to be followed by a significant title reign.
Prediction: The Lucha Bros. retain
AEW world title eliminator tournament finals: Bryan Danielson vs. Miro
The final match of the world title eliminator tournament was originally planned to be Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley, but that had to be changed when Moxley entered an inpatient alcohol treatment program earlier this month. Miro replaced Moxley in the tournament and defeated Orange Cassidy to advance to the finals.
Danielson’s matches in AEW have been such a joy to watch. If there was any doubt, Danielson proved that he’s still capable of being the very best wrestler in the world. He’s on a short list of the greatest in-ring wrestlers of all time.
Miro is a far more intense wrestler than he was in WWE. His match against Danielson at Full Gear should be wonderfully violent. Miro would actually make more sense as a first challenger for “Hangman” Page, but Danielson is probably the favorite here since Miro joined the tournament only as a late replacement.
Prediction: Bryan Danielson wins
CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston
With just a couple of weeks of build, CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston has become one of the most anticipated matches of the night at Full Gear. They’ve played off their real-life history with each other to create a genuinely compelling story. Kingston has said that Punk was one of his heroes when he was breaking into wrestling, but all Punk did was treat him poorly and judge him. Punk responded by calling out Kingston for not living up to the potential that Punk thought he had then.
Feuding with Kingston has helped bring Punk to the next stage of his AEW career. He’s no longer someone who is just happy to have returned to wrestling. Kingston has brought Punk’s angry side back out. Kingston getting the win would extend their feud, but this isn’t where Punk should take his first loss in AEW.
Prediction: CM Punk wins
Darby Allin vs. MJF
Darby Allin vs. MJF has been positioned as a matchup between two of the “pillars” of AEW. Along with Sammy Guevara and Jungle Boy, Allin and MJF are two stars that the future of AEW is being built around.
Allin is AEW’s top up-and-coming babyface star, while MJF is the promotion’s best young heel. In the not-too-distant future, they’ll be feuding over world titles. MJF is the safest bet of the four pillars to become world champion first. But at the moment, Allin would benefit more from winning this match. MJF can bounce back from the loss quicker as a heel without having his credibility hurt too much.
Prediction: Darby Allin wins
Falls count anywhere match: Christian Cage and Jurassic Express (Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy) vs. Superkliq (Adam Cole and The Young Bucks)
Beating Adam Cole and The Young Bucks would be the type of signature win that Jungle Boy needs, but it’s hard to see Superkliq losing in Cole’s first PPV match for AEW. Cole is a superstar and is someone who should be in heavy consideration to be the next AEW world champion after “Hangman” Page. With the falls count anywhere stipulation, there’s no doubt that this will be one of the best matches of the night at Full Gear.
Prediction: Adam Cole and The Young Bucks win
Minneapolis street fight: The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Santana, Ortiz and Jake Hager) vs. Men of the Year (Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page) and American Top Team (Junior dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski and Dan Lambert)
As an attraction match, this street fight features two former UFC heavyweight champions in Junior dos Santos and Andrei Arlovski. American Top Team owner Dan Lambert will finally get his comeuppance as he’s forced to face The Inner Circle. In the story line, The Inner Circle chose who would represent American Top Team and was able to pick Lambert after he cut a promo where he accidentally left himself eligible to be selected.
Lambert, who is a huge fan of old-school wrestling, is such a great heel manager. This feud with The Inner Circle has only worked as well as it has because he’s so good on the microphone. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more of Lambert in AEW after Full Gear.
Prediction: The Inner Circle wins
Cody Rhodes and PAC vs. Malakai Black and Andrade El Idolo
The intersection of the rivalries between Cody Rhodes and Malakai Black and PAC and Andrade El Idolo has allowed all four to be featured on the Full Gear card. AEW having a packed roster isn’t a problem with there being so many spots on television every week, but some deserving wrestlers are inevitably going to get left off PPVs. Black and Andrade seem more likely to stay aligned in the future than the team of Rhodes and PAC.
Prediction: Malakai Black and Andrade El Idolo win
Thunder Rosa and Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose and Jamie Hayter
This tag team bout will take place on AEW’s “The Buy-In” preshow for Full Gear. The match will air on AEW’s YouTube channel for free starting at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Thunder Rosa, Hikaru Shida, Nyla Rose and Jamie Hayter have all advanced to the quarterfinals of the TBS women’s title tournament. Rosa will be Hayter’s quarterfinal opponent, and Shida will take on Rose. The babyface team should get the win in Full Gear’s opening match.
