ALL ELITE WRESTLING
FULL GEAR 2025
NOVEMBER 22, 2025
PRUDENTIAL CENTER
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY
Watch: HBO Max / Prime / Triller / PPV.com / YouTube / Fubo
Meet Your Reviewer
Suit Williams: You can read Suit’s long-form previews and reviews of wrestling from around the world here at Voices of Wrestling, including his preview of tonight’s show! Check out his blog, Williams Watches Wrestling, where he reviewed Blood and Guts live! Follow Suit on all social media platforms @SuitWilliams.
Saturday Tailgate Brawl (Airing on TNT/HBO Max)
$200,000 Tag Team Match
Bang Bang Gang (Austin Gunn & Juice Robinson) def. Big Bill & Bryan Keith, Anthony Bowens & Max Caster, The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd)
An everybody in the pool opener here, with the focus late in the match being on Caster & Bowens’s chemistry coming back as a team despite their squabbles. Unfortunately, Big Bill & Bryan Keith kept breaking up their big spots, so that may be a Collision feud going forward. Juice Robinson, with the hair of an extra in Roseanne, rolled up Caster for the win. Juice & Austin Gunn beat FTR on the 11/8 Collision, so this is just keeping them warm for a possible title challenge. **1/2
Saturday Tailgate Brawl
Boom And Doom (Big Boom AJ & QT Marshall) (w/Big Justice, The Rizzler, & No More BS Paul Wight) def. RPG VICE (Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta)
I’ve not gone out of my way to watch Big Boom AJ. I didn’t see him at All In Texas, and I flew to that show. It’s just some undercard fluff that I don’t have much interest in. But this was a fun little bit of business here, with RPG Vice getting me with a couple of nearfalls. Trent shoved Big Justice, a 12-year-old boy, down for big heat, but Justice got his receipt with a Diamond Cutter on Rocky. Trent ate a punch from Paul Wight and got dumped on his neck with a powerbomb/blockbuster deal. Perfect for the spot on the show. ***
Saturday Tailgate Brawl
Eddie Kingston & Hook vs. The Workhorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry)
The Workhorsemen got a jumpstart on Kingston & Hook, but after a slight struggle, Kingston & Hook got the quick win. N/R
CMLL World Trios Title Match
El Sky Team (Mascara Dorada, Mistico & Neon) (c) def. Don Callis Family (Hechicero, Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita)
This was another crossover match, going from the Tailgate Brawl to the PPV card. Okada did not look pleased with the announcement that he was teaming with Takeshita on this show, and did not come out with his side. The Callis Family made sure to even the odds, with Hechicero taking out Mistico with a chair before the bell as the announcers noted Hechicero’s months-long chase of these titles. The match continued as a tag match as Okada arrived at the building in a sick-ass McLaren, and after the show crossed into the PPV portion, Okada made his entrance, complete with the lights going down and full pyro. Is it nonsensical? Yes. Did it make Okada look cool? Yes.
Mistico made his return soon after Okada, also saving his bumps for the paywall and giving us the advertised trios action. Mistico had a hell of a hot tag, running wild on the Callis Family as the crowd went wild. Okada & Takeshita didn’t even bother pretending to work together, stopping each other’s moves before Okada laid Takeshita out with another “accidental” Rainmaker. Dorada and Neon got a flurry in on Takeshita & Okada before Mistico got his revenge on Hechicero with the La Mistica and the instant tap-out. Callis did more soothing of egos before leaving with Okada, as Takeshita seethed on the ramp.
I was hoping for a big angle ahead of the Continental Classic and Takeshita’s presumed chase for the title, but it looks like that won’t be happening ahead of the C2. The crowd was into Sky Team, and Dorada was far more on point on this show than he was on Wednesday. While it wasn’t what this match could’ve been given the names involved, it was a cool “pre-show” match. ***1/2
PAC def. Darby Allin
Darby Allin is one of my favorite wrestlers in the world. Wrestling has a lot of homogeneity right now. From wrestlers to promotions, there are a lot of people doing the same thing as everyone else. Nobody wrestles exactly like Darby Allin. Nobody does the simple things that Darby does to the extreme level that Darby does it. He showcases it more spectacularly with the plunder, but I always appreciate seeing him work straight-up.
PAC promised a clean wrestling match to prove he was a better wrestler than Darby, and that’s what we got. Given the levels of mayhem we’ve gotten from Darby over the course of 2025, it was nice to get a traditional match to remind anyone who’s forgotten that Darby is a hell of a wrestler without the gimmicks.
Darby outwrestled PAC on the mat before PAC took control with a sick gorilla press from the apron to the floor. PAC had a vicious heat segment, tearing Darby’s bandages off and scratching his burned body before firing him through the ropes on an Irish Whip. Darby made his comeback as the crowd chanted You Can’t Kill Him, fighting to the ropes on a Brutalizer. The finish came when Darby had PAC locked in the Scorpion Deathlock, and PAC waved out Wheeler Yuta for a distraction. PAC drilled Darby with the baseball bat to get the win. A dirty, hypocritical finish from PAC given that he asked for the singles match, but a lot of great work to start the show. PAC once again gets the better of Darby, and handles the business that Jon Moxley couldn’t. ****1/4
Winner Picks Stipulation for Their Tournament Semifinal
Timeless Love Bombs (Mina Shirakawa & Toni Storm) def. Marina Shafir & Megan Bayne, Sisters Of Sin (Julia Hart & Skye Blue), Babes Of Wrath (Harley Cameron & Willow Nightingale)
These women worked hard, and the work was solid, but the crowd had no interest outside of Willow and Toni. I’ll note that Marina Shafir has found a style that works for her, and has improved a good bit since the last time I saw her in an extended match. Megan hit an F-5 on Mina into Shafir’s grip for Mother’s Milk, giving Toni a chance to save Mina the way she was unable to in Blood & Guts.
The match came down to Toni & Harley in a pinning predicament after everyone else dived to the floor. Toni caught Harley with the Big Package to get the win. **1/2
AEW World Tag Team Title Match
FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) (w/Stokely) def. Brodido (Bandido & Brody King) (c)
The bar was very high for these two teams, with FTR having the best year of their careers outside of NXT, and Brodido having a stellar run as champs. Bandido started off with a shoutout to Ricky Steamboat, with deep armdrags into big chops. There was solid back-and-forth action before Stoke shoved Dax out of the way of a Brody dive. Bandido was isolated, but made it work as he gorilla pressed Cash onto Dax on the floor and hit a big moonsault.
The closing stretch kicked off after FTR hit the Shatter Machine, with Brody making the save at the nick of time. There was a belt shot that Bandido kicked out of before Brodido hit the Shatter Machine for a nearfall. Wheeler cut off the assisted 450, but Bandido countered the ensuing Doomsday Device with a moonsault slam for a big nearfall. Bandido kicked out of a tandem Burning Hammer and a spike piledriver to big reactions, but the Shatter Machine got the job done as FTR won their third set of AEW World Tag Team Titles.
A great match. There were some excellent nearfalls in the match, as the crowd was well behind Bandido fighting until the end. The countered Doomsday Device got me out of my chair in particular. Brodido had a great, productive reign, but it was time to change the titles here to not only one of the best acts in wrestling, but one of the hottest acts as well as FTR cap off their stellar 2025 with the tag team titles. No return after the match as the spotlight remained on the new champions. ****1/4
Casino Gauntlet Match to crown inaugural AEW National Champion
Ricochet def. Shelton Benjamin, Bobby Lashley, Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia, Orange Cassidy, Wheeler Yuta, Kevin Knight, Roderick Strong, Mark Davis, Speedball Mike Bailey, Matt Menard
Entrants in order: Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin started the match, Ricochet, Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia, Orange Cassidy, Wheeler Yuta, Kevin Knight, Roderick Strong, Mark Davis, Speedball Mike Bailey, Matt Menard
Shelton & Lashley started the match, but instead of seeing these two go at it like Ax & Smash in the Royal Rumble, they only grappled for a minute before Ricochet came out next. He distracted them as the GOA jumped them from behind and laid them out. Claudio Castagnoli came out to a big reaction before hitting a picture-perfect uppercut on Ricochet as he attempted a dive.
The Death Riders took over the ring, as Daniel Garcia and Wheeler Yuta pummeled Ricochet and Orange Cassidy. Kevin Knight came out and got some shine with his big leaping lariats before Roderick Strong broke everyone’s back. Mark Davis had a great showing in his entrance, dropping everybody with big power moves. Jet Speed took Davis out and went after each other before Garcia locked Speedball in the Dragon Tamer. Daddy Magic came out to brawl with Garcia through the crowd.
The Hurt Syndicate reemerged and took everybody out before the match broke down into everybody brawling. Wheeler Yuta almost stole the match, but Kevin Knight broke up his pin before hitting the UFO Splash. Ricochet caught Knight off the bounce with the Spirit Gun to get the win and the National Title.
Ricochet had a ton of momentum at the start of the year after the Swerve Strickland feud, to the point where I thought he could challenge for the World Title. But it had stalled out over the summer months as the company couldn’t find a substantial spot for him. Giving him this belt and letting him travel to partner promotions with this act should help get that momentum back. As good a choice as any to win this title, and a well-structured Casino Gauntlet. ***3/4
No Holds Barred
Kyle O’Reilly def. Jon Moxley
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but Bryan Danielson is phenomenal. He sold the No Holds Barred aspect of this match extremely well, claiming it predates MMA and is more about illegal holds than plunder. Then, when Mox was outwrestled and went to Shafir for a fork, he told the story that Shafir didn’t trust Mox to hang on the mat with O’Reilly. He really is an excellent commentator, enhancing the work while getting the story across.
Mox was an animal here, pouncing on O’Reilly with the fork and then biting at the wound. He really is a phenomenal heel, working viciously enough to get sympathy for his opponent and being willing to show ass and pay it off. O’Reilly got Moxley bleeding after a really good-looking catapult into the post, then got the fork and got his receipt with some really good jabs. O’Reilly brought a chain in the ring, with Schiavone expertly calling back to the Hangman choke spot at All In as Mox showed apprehension.
The chain got linked between their hands, almost making this a Russian Chain Match of sorts. Mox and O’Reilly traded submissions as Danielson put over O’Reilly’s submission defense. Moxley stomped O’Reilly and grabbed a chair as some dipshit fans started singing Seth Rollins’ song. Not my AEW crowd, but there might not be a difference at this point. O’Reilly got his arm stomped in a chair, but O’Reilly kept fighting and excellently countered a hold into an ankle lock, with the ankle wrapped in a chain for the win. Mox feigned showing respect to O’Reilly before going back to stomp on him. Both the Conglomeration and the Death Riders came out, but neither side attacked. There was a moment when Castagnoli gave Daniel Garcia a look, but no angle happened here.
The crowd wasn’t into the style of match these two were putting on, with the heavy grappling aspect. But holy fuck, this couldn’t have been more for me if I booked it. Just nasty, violent, gritty, blood-soaked FIGHTING. No jokey haha tension-cutting nonsense to be seen. Just an ugly fight, with the babyface fighting through the pain and the onslaught of offense to make the heel submit and prove he’s better. Am I becoming a grapplefuck guy? Oh god, pull out the Volk Han tapes. ****
No Disqualification Match for TNT Title; If Briscoe Loses, He Must Join The Callis Family
Mark Briscoe def. Kyle Fletcher (c)
Briscoe had a very nice video package before his entrance, in which he spoke on losing his brother Jay before finding solace with his blood family and his found family in the Conglomeration. This was your typical plunder brawl, and while a lot of people will feel the opposite way, this match didn’t grab me like O’Reilly/Mox did. This just felt a lot more standard US wrestling.
That’s not to say that these two didn’t work hard and have a good match. It just didn’t compel me in the same way. We got tables and barbed wire and tacks, and there were some heavy spots like a blockbuster through some chairs on the floor. The effort was there, and the crowd was more into this one throughout the body of the match, but it was a match with a style that I just wasn’t in the mood for.
Briscoe took a ton of Big Turn Screwdriver shots, but avoided a brainbuster on the upturned screwdriver. Briscoe put Fletcher through a barbed wire table and hit the Jay Driller for the win and the title to a great reaction. Well earned for Briscoe, as he’s been one of the most over TV acts in the company since he entered the Tony Khan Universe. ***3/4
Million Dollar Match
Josh Alexander & The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) def. Kenny Omega & Jurassic Express (Jack Perry & Luchasaurus)
This crowd woke the hell up for Kenny Omega, but Kenny was very odd here. He came up gimpy on a high cross over the ropes and was favoring his leg. Now, he kept working, and he was probably selling the leg to set up Alexander’s big ankle lock nearfall. But there’s such a weird energy around Kenny Omega right now. He’s obviously not at a place where he can work consistently, and it feels like he’s a special guest more than a regular part of the company because of his declining physical condition.
The match itself was exactly what you’d expect here, a high-octane spotfest. But the crowd was feeling the length of the show here at 11 PM local time. The energy wasn’t strong here, even with the solid work. Omega escaped the Ankle Lock and hit Alexander with the One-Winged Angel on the floor, but the Bucks caught Perry with the BTE Trigger to win the match. Call Regis Philbin, because those men just won a million dollars.
The post-match was the story here, as it seemed like there would be another match with no post-match angle. But as the Bucks walked away with Callis and the money, the Callis Family scrubs beat down Omega and went to break his leg. The Bucks threw the money down, made the save, and then made amends with both Omega and Jurassic Express. The Elite, in some form or fashion, is back again. Omega looked in rough shape going up the ramp, and I left this match unsure how much Kenny Omega we have left. ***1/2
AEW Women’s World Title Match
Kris Statlander (c) def. Mercedes Mone
These two burst out of the gates to try to keep the crowd’s energy from the entrances. Statlander hurt her arm in the early going, leading to Mone hitting a meteora off the apron as the referee was checking on her. Mone went to work on the arm for the heat. She went for the Three Amigos, but the announcers pointed out that she was doing a suplex for every title she held and the World Title she was trying to win, 14 in total.
We got a call back to last year’s match, with Mone just barely beating the count after a Blue Thunder Bomb on the floor. Statlander hit a Bayley, sorry, belly-to-belly for a nearfall before locking on a crossface that Mone countered by wrenching the bad arm. Statlander got Mone to the top rope and hit a Malenko-style avalanche gutbuster for a big nearfall. Both women went for the Seatbelt pin before Statlander pulled out a package piledriver for a nearfall.
The finish saw a doe-si-doe for Tombstone positioning before Statlander finally held on to land the Staturday Night Fever to finally get the win over Mercedes Mone to a big reaction. Statlander gets another big win as the company goes whole hog with her at the top of the division. Mercedes Mone takes her second pinfall loss, both to the defending Women’s World Champion. This didn’t touch the first two matches, but it was still a showing of the great chemistry between these two, and a tentpole moment for Statlander’s title reign. ****
Continental Classic Entries
As the cage was lowering, we got a backstage segment with the Callis Family. Takeshita officially announced his entry into the Continental Classic to Okada’s chagrin. Kyle Fletcher came in upset with both Okada and Takeshita for their lack of help in his title match. To my surprise, Fletcher also entered himself in the Continental Classic. Don Callis tried to spin this as a good thing, but his three aces are not on the same page and are ready for war in the Continental Classic.
Steel Cage Match for AEW World Title
Samoa Joe def. Hangman Page (c)
I spoke on this in the preview, but this felt like an Ace storyline for Hangman. He has allies who turn on him, and he proceeds to make them pay and get his revenge. Hangman cut Joe open early after flinging him into the cage, opening the cut with repeated shots with his boot. This bladejob was unreal, as Joe painted the mat, the ropes, the cage, and Hangman with his blood. This was a disgusting, World Championship-winning fountain of blood that Joe was leaking for an alarmingly long time. There was this sick shot of him being handed the belt and spitting out more blood than Gangrel. He looked like the New Blood got him with their red, viscous liquid.
Hangman had the match in hand before Shibata tried to take off with the World Title belt. Eddie Kingston ran him off, but Powerhouse Hobbs came in and popped the chain to the door with nothing but HIS MIGHT. Hangman disposed of him before hitting Joe with the Buckshot Lariat, now possible thanks to the open door. That would’ve been an excellent finish, but the ref had gotten bumped and couldn’t count. Hook came out to wake up the referee before grabbing the World Title belt and knocking Hangman out, revealing that he was still of The Opps. Joe hit a Muscle Buster on the belt for the shock title change.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! As Joe celebrated with the Opps and a bunch of black shirts, the lights went down. An image of a burning house appeared on the screen as the crowd immediately realized this was the big return of Swerve Strickland, complete with great new music. Joe offered up a downed Hangman to Swerve, but Swerve took out the black shirts instead. Hangman recovered and laid another black shirt out, as the show ended with Swerve & Hangman side-by-side staring down the new World Champion, who was still profusely bleeding. Get that man a pressure bandage.
A shocking result, as the landscape in AEW has immediately changed. The Opps are the new top heel unit, Swerve Strickland is back in the main event scene, and he and Hangman aren’t immediately at odds. This result opens up many possibilities for the main events.
Tony Khan loves his rematches. Will AEW run back the Revolution 2023 three-way match? Are we on track for another Hangman/Swerve match, this time for the World Title? Given his brief partnership with Hook, could Eddie Kingston find himself in the mix here?
I’ve spent the last few weeks waiting for the snowglobe to be shaken up in AEW, and for some energy to be injected into these shows. Well, the snowglobe has been shaken, and Samoa Joe is the AEW World Heavyweight Champion for the second time. ***1/2
