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All Elite Wrestling will present their Full Gear PPV this Saturday in Baltimore, MD at the Royal Farms Arena. Here is our take on what will happen.
AEW Champion Chris Jericho vs. Cody.
Dave: This feud has easily been the best thing going in the promotion. Cody's work on the mic has been out of this world. In a perfect world, he would win the Title here but I just don't see them doing that yet. Given the slippage in the ratings since they started, it would be easy to say Jericho is not drawing as the champ but I don't think that's the problem. I think the audience loss is more due to factors outside of Cody and Jericho's control (the overall booking and character development). Now that Cody has said he won't challenge for the Title again if he loses, it makes sense to have him lose and then create organic demand down the road for him to get another shot.
Mike: Cody's promo this week made me a believer the way Terry Funk and Roddy Piper used to make me believe. This was just great stuff from him, but I don't think he's getting the belt. If they were going to be so out and obvious with the idea that he's management, I don't think it's being used to put the belt on him. Cody is smarter than that. I think it's being used to put sympathy on him after Jericho wins. I like the idea of the judges and I suspect they will have a long match to tease a time limit draw, but I think in the end, Inner Circle interferes, MJF tries to help but hits Cody by accident. That stunts him and Jericho shocks Cody with the Judas Effect and gets the win. So we begin the MJF dissension with Cody for down the line.
Richard: So Cody says he will not challenge for the title if he does not win. When they announced the three judges, my first thought was TIME LIMIT DRAW, but then I figured it would be a red herring. Now with Cody's promo on Wednesday, I think they go to a draw and then the Judges give the match to Jericho. Cody then convinces everyone that he did not lose the match, it was the judges who took it from him so we can do Jericho/Cody at Wrestle Khandom. That match can lead to Games of Heavy Conflict Between Groups at Rhodes Wild.
AEW Tag Team Champions SCU vs. Private Party vs. The Lucha Brothers.
Dave: I have been enjoying Private Party. The Lucha Brothers had problems beating Marko Stunt. So I can see the champions doing whatever they have to do to use the chaos to retain their Titles. Much like with Jericho, it's too soon to flip belts that were just won. They need to tell a better story than that.
Mike: I love Private Party. I think they are going to be the next big thing for AEW as a team, but this won't be their night. I don't believe that it makes any sense to change the belts here so, I go with SCU. On paper, this should be just excellent. I really think this will be a lot of fun, continuing a nice string of kickass, insane tag team bouts that we've seen of late from the promotion.
Richard: I wonder if the Private Party were added to the match so the Lucha Brothers don't take a pin twice in a month. This should be a good match and who knows, maybe the referee will enforce A RULE during this match. Private Party hit their finisher on one of the members of Lucha Brothers and then SCU wins the match.
AEW Women's Champion Riho vs. Emi Sakura.
Dave: Riho took the pin on Dynamite this week. Add in her size and she will always be vulnerable, especially to a bigger opponent (which pretty much everyone is). I see her finding a way to retain so they they can continue building her as an underdog.
Mike: Sakura has a great gimmick and I enjoy her work but she hasn't been focused upon at all. I don't see this being a title change, but more of a spotlight on Riho with a good, competitive opponent.
Richard: Since Riho lost on Wednesday night, she will probably win since that is the standard formula in pro wrestling. This should be a good match.
The Young Bucks vs. Santana & Ortiz.
Dave: The Bucks are made here. LAX is the new act coming from the other place. I see a match where The Bucks are in control most of the way but lose it in the end.
Mike: I am with Dave here. It's pretty obvious the Bucks have been booking themselves to be the guys putting over and making others thus far, so they have more people to work with and something to chase in the months ahead. My gut is outside interference from the Inner Circle leads to Santana and Ortiz being Proud and Powerful as the victors.
Richard: Santana and Ortiz should win this match because of the things Dave said. But do you have all of the EVPs lose in the same night? If you want to make the Bubbly Boys the top faction and set up the Games of War, let them get the victory over The Bucks.
Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega.
Dave: I know this will come across as blasphemy to some but I have just not been impressed with Omega during Dynamite's run. What happened to the guy I saw in New Japan. I want him back. On the other hand Mox has been fantastic. This will be a crazy brawl that Mox should win.
Mike: I am guessing this closes the show as a "Lights Out" match. I'd still like to know why Moxley attacked Omega back in Vegas! This should be an awesome brawl, but to me, it still makes sense to have the villain win the first battle, so the babyface has something to chase. I expect a lot of crazy bumps and brawling all over the place, which should be fun and a nice throwback to the type of craziness Jim Crockett Promotions used to bring to Baltimore.
Richard: I hope they prove they are not like other companies and that when they announce a Lights Out Match, the lights in the arena are out and the only lights come from the miner's hat that the referee is wearing. The best thing about this match is whoever wins, it does not count for the record so what is the next step for both of these men? The winner should have been primed for a potential title match against the champ. Moxley should win since this gimmick is more tailored to him.
Hangman Page vs. PAC.
Dave: Page should probably win here but since PAC kicked the snot out of the most ridiculous gimmick in wrestling when he sent the guy who does fake kicks in a wrestling ring into next week, I would love to see him win here. And do that same kick for the next month of shows on Cassidy every time he walks into a ring with his hands in his pocket.
Mike: I say this is the moment where Hangman Page starts his built to the AEW title picture. This should be really competitive, with a lot of great near falls but Hangman needs the win a lot more than PAC does in my opinion. I am really looking forward to this one.
Richard: This is a fairly even match up, but I think Page might have the slight edge here. If PAC has his opponent's shoulders down, I hope the referee will remember that there is a three count if they don't get the shoulders up.
Joey Janela vs. Shawn Spears.
Dave: One of the things I really don't like about AEW are the records. We saw 1-2 (in singles) Spears take on 0-2 Brandon Cutler. The visual says it's a battle of losers. Spears won so he's now average! Yay! With that said, he should beat Janela, pretty handily, and get that record over .500.
Mike: I never bet against Tully Blanchard and he's managing Shawn Spears, so we'll go with Spears. I don't think the loss would hurt Janela's grit in the eyes of the AEW audience.
Richard: In the event that you were wondering why they are feuding, check out last week's episode of AEW Dark. If Spears can win this one, the Chairman should challenge LA Park. I am surprised that they are not using Janela more and I would give him the win in this one. Does this feel like a match that belongs on a Pay Per View?
Bea Priestley vs. Dr. Britt Baker. (Pre-Show)
Dave: Gotta go with the doctor here!
Mike: They've built up quite the rivalry between these two. I am going to go against the grain. I say Priestley gets the win to shock everyone and set her up for Riho in the future,
Richard: With all of the features they are doing on Baker, you would expect that she will win. It would be nice if this is going to give the winner a title match in the near future.
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