User reviews

Taking place in the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California, the 2023 AEW Full Gear is the fifth running of the PPV event for All Elite Wrestling, however, it starts with a recap from the Zero Hour pre-show where MJF, who is booked in the main event to defend the AEW World Championship against Jay White, has suffered a horrible ankle injury at the hands of The Gunns after he and Samoa Joe defeated them to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship.

Starting with a Trios match with the team of Sting, Darby Allin, and Adam Copeland (the third man better known in his WWE days as Edge) against The Patriarchy (Christian Cage, Luchasaurus, and Nick Wayne), this PPV is amazing, and shows AEW has gone far to become a good alternative to WWE. When it is learned that MJF is unable to wrester, and Jay White would become the new AEW World Champion by default, Adam Cole would come in to defend it for him (despite the fact he himself is also injured, as he need crutches to walk), setting up the main event, but the main match of the PPV is the Texas Death Match between Hangman Adam Page and Swerve Strickland, a grudge match from Wrestledream, which would go on to become talked about, as some found the match to be disturbing due to the use of a staple gun, resulting in a lot of red stuff being spilled. But I found it to be a good match despite some negatives like Brian Cage's interference, and basically shows All Elite Wrestling is willing to do stuff World Wrestling Entertainment is afraid to do after the Attitude Era. The other matches are awesome, as the wrestlers perform well.

This PPV was pulled off incredibly by AEW from the Zero Hour pre-show with an entertaining build-up, to a non-stop thrill ride from first bell to last bell on the main card. It also had an unforgettable match of the year candidate in the mix, with Hangman Page vs Swerve Strickland Pt. 2 - as brutal as it was to watch, it really managed to stay true to the storytelling and keep you guessing throughout the entire match. In my opinion, every match delivered - including the most confusing match of the night at the end. Sting's last match of his illustrious career in California, alongside the incomparable Darby Allin and Adam Copeland was great. The new free agency signing was fulfilling and what many fans hoped for. The Young Bucks vs The Golden Jets (Jericho+Omega) was fun. For me, the ladder match came in a close second for match of the night, as it was action-packed and SO hard-hitting. It's a miracle no one was permanently mangled during it. Too many other high spots to mention. PPVs are definitely AEW's speciality and they knocked it out of the park. Side note: This Los Angeles capacity crowd did not disappoint and added a lot to the atmosphere for the evening.