Did AEW sell Full Gear?

Tomorrow night, All Elite Wrestling presents Full Gear from Newark, New Jersey, and a glance at the nine-match main card and the television to promote the card, have me wondering, why exactly is the selling point of this pay-per-view with a $50 price tag? This is where the details of the new television deal, which include some components to the Max streaming platform, are important. The reason that I point this out is that if this card was offered at a cheaper rate on a streaming service, any discussion about the sizzle to substance ratio would probably be moot.

However, this is still the traditional pay-per-view format, and one of the pitfalls I discussed when Tony Khan began to expand the AEW PPV calendar to monthly events was that it would be increasing difficult to book cards that justify the hefty price tag in the modern era. Keep in mind, outside of the UFC schedule and a few select boxing cards a year, traditional pay-per-view, particularly within the world of sports entertainment, is almost an antiquated concept. The vast majority of pro wrestling fans have been conditioned for more than a decade to pay $9.99, $4.99, or even in some cases there was a period of time when The WWE Network was included with a subscription to Peacock to watch the signature events of the year within the industry.

Sure, it's possible that you can sell fans a $50 pro wrestling card in the modern era, All Elite Wrestling has proven that, because while their television audience has eroded, the core group of around 100,000 fans will pay continuously for the pay-per-views, which increased based on the specifics of a card.

Still, you have to wonder when even that core number will slip if there's not enough meat on the bone in terms of progress within the company. Full Gear, similar to many other All Elite PPV cards, should have some spectacular in-ring action, but the storyline portion of the show, also similar to many other AEW pay-per-view cards, is lacking, at least on the surface. Remember, there are dazzling spot fests on Dynamite on a regular basis, does the audience have to pay $50 to watch more high spot wrestling?

The sizzle/substance ration that I mentioned earlier is really key here because as is usually the trend with AEW programming, there has been such a disjointed approach to Dynamite recently that nothing truly stands out as "must see" for the Full Gear event.

The Roderick Strong/MJF bout should be solid in the ring, but what's the point? The entire angle of the Undisputed Kingdom reforming with a focus on MJF is just bizarre. Remember that MJF was actually the baby face in the reveal storyline last year? Furthermore, if there's a group of baby faces against one heel, isn't that a conflicting narrative because it technically portrays MJF as the underdog since the odds are against him? Finally, why in the wide world of sports would Tony Khan book ANYTHING as a reference to, let alone a continuation of a storyline that completely flopped last year? As I've written several times, the goal should've been to get Cole and MJF, both individually and collectively, as far away from any reminder of the failed devil mask reveal as possible. I get that the premise is that it will probably eventually lead to a Cole vs. MJF match, but does anyone want to see that? I say that with the full acknowledgement that they are two of the most talented guys on the roster, but again, nobody wants to be reminded of the angle that was panned in 2023. MJF is currently filming a movie so his participation in the angle will be minimal, and Adam Cole isn't even on the card so how is this getting anyone over?

While nobody cares about the result of MJF/Roderick Strong, especially because it's not the focal point of the feud, that is still MJF vs. Cole, the same can be said for the TNT title match. I get that they are trying to sell Jack Perry vs. Daniel Garcia as a grudge match on television, but this is a storyline where the disjointed portions of the program make it too murky for the fans to be invested. Perry, and much of his reign as TNT champion, was involved with The Young Bucks, who abruptly left TV. Presumably, this is to repackage them as baby faces to combat Jon Moxley's rouge group, but until that happens, it leaves Perry rather directionless, specifically because his return to the company several months ago was based on an alliance with The Bucks. Listen, we've heard that Daniel Garcia got paid major money to re-sign with All Elite, and good for him, that's the entire point of the business to make as much money as possible, but nothing that Tony has booked for him as allowed him to evolve as a character. Even if he wins the TNT title this weekend, he beat a heel that has no direction and minimal heat anyway.

On the other side of the coin, they are a few bouts that should be absolutely tremendous and give the viewers their money's worth, even if there isn't a major storyline behind them. Despite the fact that Adam Page has flipped from heel to baby face too many times for the crowd to have the chance to invest in his character, he can go bell-to-bell. Jay White had somewhat of a lackluster baby face turn, at least within the context of this feud, but where does that put his stablemates? Are they all baby faces now? Regardless, Jay White is a top-notch performer inside the ring ropes, and quite frankly, hasn't been given nearly the opportunity to be a major star as compared to the talent that he brings to the table. I understand that money talks, and that New Japan simply can't compete with Tony's offers, but Khan took a top guy in New Japan that proved he had the skills to be a top star, and reduced him to a mid-card tag team act. That being said, from a pure in-ring perspective, Page/White should be a great contest that provides some substance to the card. The same can be said for the International title bout of Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ricochet because, depending on the criteria you want to use, the argument could be made that Takeshita is the best performer in terms of consistent quality in the business right now. It will be another dazzling spot fest on the card, but the difference is that this will be a spot fest at the highest level as far as performance, which is why it will stand out on the card. I'd expect much of the same will be said about Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher, but I think they will probably fall into a few of the typical bad habits that make a segment look too overly choreographed. I understand that there's a storyline behind Ospreay/Fletcher, and I could be wrong, but it seems like the audience still views Fletcher as just a former sidekick from Ospreay's career prior to AEW. Nothing against Fletcher, but the priority should be establishing Ospreay as potentially the franchise star of the company, not trying to get his former sidekick over with the audience. Regardless, in terms of quality, those three bouts should be highlights of the pay-per-view.

The four-way tag team match is a usual Tony booking trope to shoehorn as many wrestlers onto the card as possible, and will probably be more of a traffic jam than a compelling segment. Mercedes Mone, particularly with her promo on Dynamite this week that barely got a reaction, is one of the most underwhelming acts in the entire industry. After she arrived in AEW earlier this year, her mic work has been subpar and her matches have been sloppy. Kris Statlander probably has the talent to be a more featured star in the division, but it seems like she's just booked for this to give Mercedes and opponent.

I'd expect Bobby Lashley vs. Swerve Strickland to be a solid match, although I'm not sure if it will be the contest that the fans are hoping for on this particular card. Lashley just made his debut so it will be unwise for him to take a defeat, but Swerve hasn't been made to look too strong recently so it's possible this could be a one-sided match to set up a rematch next month.

Technically, the main event is supposed to be the biggest selling point of a pay-per-view, but all things considered, I don't think that's realistically the case for Full Gear. The entire Moxley takeover of the company seems forced and almost like the stable is trying too hard to be an updated version of the NWO from more than 25 years ago. Moxley's cryptic promos to start the angle implied that there was something bigger on the horizon, but so far, it's just a rather flat beat down of mid-card talent most weeks on Dynamite. As I've written before, it's not his fault, but Moxley has been overexposed in AEW. He carried the company when they needed a star to step up in the role as champion, but at this point, does Moxley really need to be the champion for a fourth time?

Finally, as much as he has a cult following and has displayed talent in the ring, the Orange Cassidy character just isn't the wrestler to book to challenge the rogue champion. The comedy stuff has a place on the card and as mentioned Cassidy is a talented performer, but the promo segments on Dynamite have been cringe worthy. The audience can't take it seriously when the guy that was pure comedy for the past five years immediately gets scripted to potentially win the title from the rouge heel in the company.