Sports Entertainment Solidified is a pro wrestling column by Maddy Myer.
All Elite Wrestling spent the entire week in the Los Angeles area. It started with AEW Dynamite on November 15th at Toyota Arena and then moved on to the Forum for AEW Rampage and Collision on November 17th before their Full Gear pay-per-view on November 18th at the Forum. It was an incredible week of wrestling for the company, with new stars being solidified and old stars showing that they still have what it takes.
Of the entire week of action – some of which I was able to see live on the forums – Full Gear had the most impressive games. Some standout performances came from “Hangman” Adam Page and Swerve Strickland, Orange Cassidy and Jon Moxley, as well as AEW’s most outstanding star at the moment, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, better known as MJF. Here are Full Gear’s best pro wrestling matches.
Hangman Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland (AEW Full Gear, November 18)
This duel started as an absolute brawl that showed how much these men hate each other. They didn’t call this a Texas Deathmatch for nothing, and it was clear from the start. Hangman Adam Page even landed his finisher – the Buckshot Lariat – early on before dealing even more damage to Swerve Strickland, including an early chair shot. Soon, Page taped Strickland’s hands together and began putting staples into his chest and arms. Eventually, damn Strickland had enough and turned the tables on Page by ramming his head into a chair wrapped in barbed wire. Strickland slammed Page’s upper back right into a cinder block. At this point both men were bloodthirsty and wouldn’t give up. They used whatever they could – from glass to a wooden board covered with barbed wire – to get the job done. In the end, Strickland got the win by wrapping a metal chain around Page’s neck until he passed out.
Orange Cassidy vs. Jon Moxley (AEW Full Gear, November 18)
Speaking of two men who hate each other: Jon Moxley and Orange Cassidy also fit this bill. Moxley took the fight right at Cassidy, dragging him out of the ring and slamming his stomach into the barricade. The bigger Moxley continued to manipulate Cassidy with suplexes and submission holds. Cassidy finally turned it around with a suplex, but this time from the top rope. He followed with a diving DDT and another DDT right after, as well as three outside dives to knock Moxley out. In the closing moments, Cassidy picked up the win and defended his AEW International Championship by delivering six orange punches to Moxely, followed by his beachbreak finisher.
MJF and Samoa Joe vs. Austin and Colten Gunn (AEW Full Gear, November 18)
Despite being an unlikely pairing, MJF and Samoa Joe fought against Austin and Colten Gunn (The Gunns). There were some chemistry issues early on, but Joe showed he was there for MJF and even took out both Gunns with an outside dive early in the match. Once MJF was back in, The Gunns took advantage of some cheap shots and took every opportunity to isolate him, but MJF eventually reversed their double-team move with a double-DDT. The chemistry problems began again when MJF and Joe turned on each other at inopportune moments. Joe was pinned for 1, 2, 3 until MJF saved him and began attacking the Gunns outside the ring. The Gunns turned their attention back to the ring – where Joe was waiting for them – and used Joe’s submission to win. Adam Cole, MJF’s current partner and fellow Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champion, returned to ringside as he is still injured but wanted to support MJF. Joe was already leaving the ringside area after intervening to help MJF win. Without support, the Gunns used this as an opportunity to injure MJF’s knee with deliberate chair strikes, knowing that MJF would have to defend his AEW World Championship later that evening. AEW played the storyline well and brought MJF out in an ambulance to really sell the injury.
“Sports Entertainment Solidified” airs every Monday.