The sixth edition of AEW's Full Gear pay-per-view takes place tonight from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, with eight matches booked for the main card and one contest taking place on the Zero Hour pre-show. Typically one of AEW's strongest events of the year, Newark hosted Full Gear in 2022, a night that saw MJF defeat Jon Moxley to win the AEW World Championship.
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Moxley walks into the Prudential Center tonight as the defending champion once again in his fourth reign with the title, this time as the leader of The Death Riders stable that looks to continue their "takeover" of AEW. Taking issue with Moxley's attitude is "Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy, who took exception to Moxley attacking Bryan Danielson at WrestleDream after Moxley won the AEW World Championship from "The American Dragon."
Moxley responded to Cassidy's initiative by attacking his former Best Friends stablemate Chuck Taylor with a chair on "AEW Dynamite," prompting the former two-time International Champion to stick up for his friend and the rest of the AEW locker room by challenging Moxley for the AEW World Championship at Full Gear. "The King of Sloth Style" has shown in the past that when it's time to get serious, Cassidy puts the jokes aside and puts his heart on the line between the ropes. This will be Cassidy and Moxley's third one-on-one match against each other, with each having one pinfall victory earned, both having been matches for the International Championship.
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While the fate of AEW is in the balance within the World Championship clash, fans have been heavily drawn to AEW's newest stable: The Hurt Syndicate. The group first debuted at "Dynamite: Grand Slam" with MVP interrupting Prince Nana. Following intimidation of Nana by Shelton Benjamin, former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland attacked MVP and Benjamin at WrestleDream.
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This didn't sit well with Bobby Lashley, who went after Nana and Strickland upon his AEW debut weeks later on "Fright Night Dynamite" after Strickland defeated Benjamin. Never a man to back down, Strickland challenged Lashley to a match at Full Gear, and showed The Hurt Syndicate earlier this week on "Dynamite" what can happen when you enter Swerve's House.
Once part of the United Empire faction underneath the leadership of "The Aerial Assassin" Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher is determined to defeat his former friend after becoming weary of comparisons being made of him to the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. Under a hood at first, Fletcher shockingly attacked Ospreay at WrestleDream with a screwdriver, allowing his fellow Don Callis Family member Konosuke Takeshita to gain the advantage and pin Ospreay to win the International Championship; Fletcher would deliver a Tiger Driver '91 to Ospreay post-match. An angered Fletcher would then shave his head on "Dynamite" days later to defy the bothersome comparisons to Ospreay, wanting to make his mark and name anew.
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Daniel Garcia announced last month that he had re-signed with AEW, and setting his sights on championship gold. The first man on Garcia's list is TNT Champion Jack Perry. Perry may have accidentally unleashed a beast in Garcia by saying he is afraid, unready, and unwilling to sacrifice to be the man he needs to be. Garcia responded by chaining "The Scapegoat" to his own bus and kidnapping the champ with "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard, making Perry watch as Garcia smashed the bus, offering a preview of what will come in the ring.
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The remaining four matches on the Full Gear card offer lots of variety. Kris Statlander will be looking to become a two-time TBS Champion if she can overcome "The CEO" Mercedes Mon, now seconded by her enforcer Kamille. Private Party will have the odds stacked against them in their first AEW World Tag Team Championship defense when they collid in a four-way with The Outrunners, Kings of the Black Throne, and The Acclaimed. "Switchblade" Jay White and "Hangman" Adam Page are still at odds after White defeated Page at WrestleDream, with Page out to avenge the loss. Adam Cole's rivalry with MJF is far from over, but before Cole and MJF can have their face-off, MJF will be looking for revenge on Roderick Strong, one of the men who attacked him at Worlds End 2023.
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Women's World Champion Mariah May will also be holding a Champagne Celebration with her friend and tag team partner Mina Shirakawa at Full Gear but before the main show starts, the father-and-son duo known as the Costco Guys will be on the Zero Hour pre-show, with "Big Boom" A.J., accompanied by Big Justice, taking on QT Marshall.
