AEW Full Gear 2023 returns for its fifth year and it will take place on Saturday, November 18th, 2023, at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California.
Full Gear is one of AEW’s biggest PPVs of the year, and it is known for its big-time matches and surprises. The 2023 event is expected to be no different, with a number of high-stakes matches already announced.
Full Gear already has a stacked card, with MJF set to defend the AEW World Championship against Jay White as well as accepting a challenge for the ROH Tag Team Titles from The Gunns.
Other big matches on the card see the Women’s, TBS, Tag Team and International Championships on the line while Adam Copeland makes his AEW PPV in-ring debut.
As well as all the matches, Tony Khan also revealed a massive AEW contract signing is set for the pay-per-view.
The full line-up so far can be found below:
- MJF (c) vs. Jay White – World Championship
- Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Toni Storm – Women’s World Championship
- Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Jon Moxley – International Championship
- Ricky Starks & Big Bill (c) vs. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler), House of Black (Malakai Black & Brody King) and LFI (Rush & Dralistico) – Tag Team Championship
- Kris Statlander (c) vs. Julia Hart vs. Sky Blue – TBS Championship
- Hangman Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland – Texas Death Match
- Sting, Darby Allin & Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage, Luchasaurus & Nick Wayne
- The Golden Jets vs. The Young Bucks – Winner gets a Tag Team title shot at a time of their choosing, Golden Jets disband if they lose
- Eddie Kingston (c) vs. Jay Lethal – ROH World Championship – Zero Hour
- MJF & mystery partner (c) vs. The Gunns (Austin & Colten Gunn) – ROH Tag Team Championship – Zero Hour
MJF & mystery partner (c) vs. The Gunns (Austin & Colten Gunn) – ROH Tag Team Championship
With Adam Cole out injured MJF finds himself without a partner as he defends the ROH Tag Team Championships against The Gunns.
MJF is a man with his back against the wall and with threats coming at him from all sides he is in need of some support. Over the past few weeks, he has reluctantly searched for partners and found them in the Acclaimed, however, the people disguised in his devil mask took them out leaving MJF on his own again. However, Samoa Joe has offered his help in turn for another World Championship shot. MJF swore to Cole he’ll hold onto the ROH tag titles until he returns from his ankle injury but without a partner, it seems likely he will accept Joe’s offer.
Prediction: The ROH tag team titles have always seemed like Cole’s way of wearing down MJF, which is working. Before teaming with Cole to win the titles MJF rarely wrestled on television, now, he is in action every week. Yet despite his troubled position, MJF will retain the titles to continue the storyline. MJF & Joe retain.
Buddy Matthews vs. Claudio Castagnoli
The House of Black’s Buddy Matthews goes one-on-one with the Blackpool Combat Club’s Claudio Castagnoli.
The match came about after Matthews defeated Castagnoil’s stablemate Wheeler Yuta, which prompted the Swiss Sensation to challenge him to a match at the PPV.
Prediction: With Matthews’ fellow faction members all in action later on in the night he finds himself with no backup against the BCC. Claudio Castagnoli wins.
Eddie Kingston (c) vs. Jay Lethal – ROH World Championship – Zero Hour
After weeks of animosity, Eddie Kingston will defend the ROH World Championship against challenger Jay Lethal.
Lethal was granted his title shot after Kingston lost a Memphis Street Fight to Jeff Jarret on the October 21st edition of Collision. During a backstage segment, Lethal revealed to Kingston that Stockly Hathaway had granted him his title shot at Full Gear on Zero Hour.
Prediction: With all of Lethal’s entourage undoubtedly waiting in the wings to cause interference, Kingston is at a disadvantage. However, the New Yorker isn’t one to be caught off guard easily and will be able to persevere. Eddie Kingston retains.
Sting, Darby Allin & Adam Copeland vs. The Patriarchy (Christian Cage, Luchasaurus & Nick Wayne)
Adam Copeland makes his AEW PPV in-ring debut with Sting and Darby Allin to face off against the newly named Patriarchy in a deeply personal grudge match.
Bad blood has existed between the Cage and Allin for months but things escalated when Copeland debuted at WrestleDream to stop his childhood friend from delivering a con-chair-to on Sting. Following his first appearance Dynamite Copeland called on Christian to change his ways and team up for one last run. Copeland was promptly told to go f*ck himself before orchestrating an attack on his former friend some weeks later.
Prediction: With this being Sting’s retirement tour and Copeland’s first PPV match in AEW there is a strong chance of the good guys getting the win here. Sting, Allin, and Copeland win.
Kris Statlander (c) vs. Julia Hart vs. Skye Blue – TBS Championship
Kris Statlander puts the TBS Championship on the line against the House of Black’s Julia Hart and Skye Blue.
The match has been bubbling since WrestleDream where Hart came close to dethroning the dominant champion but Statlander’s power and strength saw her retain. Despite the loss, Hart remained focused on the title. However, Instead of being granted the bout, it was announced that the title would be defended in a three-way.
Hart secured her place by defeating Willow Nightingale, while Skye Blue defeated Red Velvet to become the third participant.
Prediction: Statlander could find herself at a 2-on-1 disadvantage as her former friend, Blue, becomes increasingly distant following exposure to the dreaded mist expelled by Hart some weeks ago. Since then Blue and Hart have a sort of kindred spirit to become the new TBS champion. Julia Hart wins.
Ricky Starks & Big Bill (c) vs. FTR vs. House of Black vs. LFI – Tag Team Championship Ladder Match
Ricky Starks and Big Bill have a tough test in LA when they defend their Tag Team Championship against three other teams – FTR, The House of Black and LFI.
After losing the titles to Starks and Big Bill in a swift and shocking fashion they have been determined to get them back. But the new tag team champions have also drawn the attention of the imposing teams of Malakai Black and Brody King and Rush and Dralistico.
Upon the match being announced Starks revealed that he added a ladder match stipulation to even out the odds in his and Bill’s favour.
Prediction: The once-great AEW tag team division has been in need of a boost for some time. Despite some stellar defences, FTR’s second reign lost steam and unfortunately, Starks and Big Bill haven’t really been given the chance to shine as champs. Therefore, crowning new champions here would give the titles and the division an injection. House of Black are also in need of some direction and a win here would certainly give them that of Black wins.
Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Jon Moxley – International Championship
Orange Cassidy and Jon Moxley will go one-on-one for the International Championship for the second time in three months.
At All Out, Moxley beat Cassidy to a bloody mess en route to winning the International title. But just 17 days later he was forced to drop the title to Rey Fenix following a legitimate mid-match injury. Then an injury Fenix resulted in Cassidy recapturing the title. Moxley returned from injury and typical fashion attacked Cassidy and challenged him for the title.
Prediction: If this is anything like their previous encounter then expect a bloody battle followed by the same result. Moxley gets another crack at running with the International Championship after his first reign was cut short due to injury. Jon Moxley wins.
Hangman Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland – Texas Death Match
Hangman Adam Page and Swerve Strickland take their feud to the next level when they bathe LA in blood in a Texas Death Match.
These two clashed at WrestleDream after exchanging some harsh words about wasted potential and entitlement. However, this did little to squash the beef and Strickland took things too far by breaking and entering Hangman’s home while he was away. An enraged Hangman attacked Strickland with a chair and hit him with a Deadeye through a table from the entrance ramp before calling him out to a Texas Death Match.
Prediction: Hangman has the advantage of having previously experienced the brutality of such a match, but Strickland is no stranger to releasing his violent side. Therefore the result of this fight isn’t going to be pretty but it will definitely be intense. Strickland holds a victory over Hangman steeming from their excellent encounter at WrestleDream, so to even out the odds and set up a rubber match the former World Champion will leave bloody but victorious. Hangman Adam Page wins.
Hikaru Shida(c) vs. Toni Storm – Women’s World Championship
Hikaru Shida defends the Women’s World Championship against her long-time foe Toni Storm, but this version of Storm is much different from the one she has faced before.
Storm’s descent into 1950s-Hollywood-Diva madness started when Shida surprisingly dethroned her as champion prior to All In. Her dramatic turn has seen her rise to prominence in the women’s division and back into title contention.
Prediction: Unfortunately, Shida’s latest title victories have been transitional ones, and this reign is no different. Storm has created a truly unique character that has turned her into one of the best of things on AEW television and thus heads into the match with all of the momentum. Toni Storm wins.
The Golden Jets vs. The Young Bucks
Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho take on the Young Bucks in a match with two stipulations – If The Golden Jets win, they will get The Young Bucks’ AEW World Tag Team Championship opportunity and if The Young Bucks win, The Golden Jets must disband as a team.
Omega and Jericho began teaming as the Golden Jets after they found themselves fighting a common enemy of the Don Callis Family. However, the Young Bucks took offence to Omega’s choice of partner stating he should’ve come to them as they are part of the Elite.
Prediction: As the Young Bucks are the more experienced team it would seem more than likely that the brothers Jackson are the ones to come away with the win. But, as we have seen many times Jericho is an expert in maintaining his position in top storylines and is not one to let it slip. Omega and Jericho win.
MJF(c) vs. Jay White – World Championship
In what will be his second match of the night, MJF defends his championship against the leader of Bullet Club Gold Jay White.
White went after MJF, challenged him to a title match and then stole his championship. After weeks of attempting to get it back, the BCG’s numbers advantage has reigned supreme once again highlighting that MJF is all alone at the top of the mountain. What’s more, the group led by the mysterious person in MJF’s Devil mask seems intent on keeping it that way meaning that the champ has the odds stacked against him.
Prediction: While the match, will undoubtedly be excellent the feud leading to it has been lacklustre at best. The verbal back-and-forth in which MJF got the crowd to chant Tofu at White was lame, the theft of the title made the champion look weak, and the whole thing has been overshadowed by MJF’s other storylines. The storylines that interweave with this feud, such as the secret assailants will most certainly come into play during the bout, which will see the champion retain. MJF wins.
How to watch AEW Full Gear 2023
AEW Full Gear is available to watch on Saturday 18th November 2023 at 8 PM ET on Bleacher Report and FITE.TV.