With multiple title changes, a huge return and a lot of brutal spots, AEW Full Gear 2025 saw the company present a stacked night of its signature action that will continue to divide fans with the amount of brutality featured over the past month.
Airing live from Newark, New Jersey, All Elite Wrestling presented Full Gear for the 7th time in history. With the event previously playing host to brutal matches such as Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston and Swerve Strickland vs. Adam Page, 3 of the matches on the 2025 card saw a lot of bloodshed just over 2 weeks after Blood and Guts. Closing out the show with a shock result and surprise return, Full Gear has given fans a lot to talk about.
Much like at WrestleDream, the pre-show spilt over into the main card as Kazuchika Oakda, Konosuke Takeshita and Hechicero faced Místico, Máscara Dorada, and Neón for the CMLL Trios Titles. With The Don Callis Family unable to stay on the same page once more, Okada once again “accidentally” struck Takeshita, which played into the trio losing the match as Hechicer submitted while his partners were on the outside. With the tension being prevalent each week, AEW needs to book the match sooner than later so that the long-awaited match doesn’t feel stale. With both men set to take part in the Continental Classic, this could also be foreshadowing the final.
The main card officially kicked off with PAC facing Darby Allin in a straight wrestling match, where PAC felt he had the edge over Allin as the former TNT Champion was unable to use weapons to his advantage. However, with Allin being a great wrestler in his own right, PAC struggled to get the job done on his own, and had to resort to Wheeler Yuta providing interference to pick up the win. The 4-way women’s tag team match followed, where the winners would pick the stipulation for a future match in the tournament. Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa won, and will likely pick another brutal match for the women to fight in, but this match did feel more like an afterthought, considering Blood and Guts was only a few weeks ago.
The first title change of the night took place next as FTR defeated Brodido to become 3-time AEW Tag Team Champions. This was the match of the night for the standard matches with a lot of nearfalls and another great performance from Bandido. In the end, FTR used their experience to isolate Brody King and hit the Shatter Machine onto Bandido, which is also likely the next stage in their feud with Adam Copeland and Christian. Here’s hoping that Brodido remains a team for the foreseeable future, as a rematch is definitely needed.
Next was the Casino Gautlet match to crown the first-ever National Champion. The announcement of yet another championship drew some groans from fans, as it is believed by many that the company already has too many titles before the latest one was introduced. Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin started the match off before Ricochet interrupted and became the punchline throughout the match, as he was often on the receiving end of big moves for comedic effect. However, it was Ricochet who had the last laugh as he hit the Spirit Gun to win the match and become the inaugural champion. Even though the Casino Gauntlet match has become very popular among AEW fans, the company is in danger of watering it down, especially as this one had no surprises. While it doesn’t have to be as big as a Chris Jericho or MJF, having the likes of Nigel McGuinness, Danhausen or even Jeff Jarrett would have been great to pop the crowd, especially as Jarrett is set to end his in-ring career soon and there has been no follow-up on the storyline.
AEW then went into full-on violence mode for the next 2 bouts as Kyle O’Reilly defeated Jon Moxley and Mark Briscoe defeated Kyle Fletcher to win the TNT Championship. The Moxley vs. O’Reilly match saw Mox use a fork to bust O’Reilly open, and also on O’Reilly’s nipple, with O’Reilly responding with a heavy chain that brought back bad memories for Moxley. Moxley lost the match via submission again as The Deathriders looked on disappointed in what was the latest big loss for the group’s leader. Moxley attacked O’Reilly after to try and save face, but it will be interesting to see how much longer Moxley will be respected by the faction.
Briscoe vs. Fletcher was equally as violent with thumbtacks, a barbed wire table and a screwdriver all used throughout. With an emotional Jay Briscoe tribute video playing beforehand, Briscoe paid homage to his late brother in the end as he hit the Jay Driller onto Fletcher to win his first AEW Championship. Fletcher has had a great reign as TNT Champion, and an elevation to the main event scene is inevitable.
Letting up from the violence, The Young Bucks and Josh Alexander faced Kenny Omega and Jurassic Express in a match where $1 million was on the line. This was the perfect match to put after the double header of bloodshed as it was filled with high spots and fast-paced action that AEW’s six-man tags are known for. The Bucks and Alexander won the match, but it appears that the alliance with The Don Callis Family may be coming to an end as they reunited with Omega in the end.
Unfortunately, Kris Statlander and Mercedes Mone were given the death spot as they were on after all the action so far and right before the main event. That being said, both women gave it their all and Statlander won with the Saturday Night Fever out of nowhere, meaning that Mone is still unable to win the big one despite the fact that she has 13 other titles to her name. This was the right call as Mone does not need another championship, and Statlander needed a big win to cement her reign.
Then it was time for the main event, which looked to be a foregone conclusion before the bell rang. In a rematch from WrestleDream, Adam Page put the World Title on the line against Samoa Joe inside a steel cage. As expected, the steel cage did not do its intended job of preventing interference as Katsuyori Shibata and Powerhouse Hobbs both got involved, but were neutralised by Eddie Kingston and Page, respectively. In the end, HOOK made his way to the ring and struck Page with the title, allowing Joe to hit the Muscle Buster to win the match and title, with HOOK also reuniting with The Opps in the process. While this appeared to be the shock closing angle, the lights went out and Swerve Strickland made his return to AEW for the first time since being taken out with injury at Forbidden Door. Clearing the ring of The Opps and their prospects, Strickland stood by former rival Page to close out the show in what looks set to be a major can they coexist storyline given what both men have been through. Although the finish divided some fans, there’s no denying that the return angle sent the fans home happy.
AEW Full Gear 2025 Review: Final Thoughts
Although most of the results had the logical finish and next steps for the respective storylines, the main event was one that not everyone agreed with. With Page losing the title so soon, his second title reign has sadly mirrored his first, where the title-winning match was a great moment, but what followed was rather lacklustre. Many were hoping that Page would have a better reign the second time around, but there were not enough key matches and storylines to rank it highly in the all-time reigns. However, with Strickland back in the picture, it appears that AEW’s Batman and Joker look set to try and work together, but the World Championship will likely tear them apart once more.
Statlander retaining was the right result as the Mone downfall feels like it is not too far away, and Briscoe winning the TNT Championship was an emotional crescendo to his in-ring career that forced him to move as a solo act due to the tragic passing of his brother. There wasn’t a bad match on the card, but nothing from Full Gear will be in discussion for match of the year. Very much a variety of violence, title changes and a big return angle to close things out, Full Gear ticked the boxes of being value for money and an enjoyable show, but lacked the killer matches to make it stand out as one of the big 4 events on the calendar.
Featured image: AEW
