On November 13th, 2021, AEW put on another killer pay-per-view with their annual Full Gear show. The show itself was an outstanding performance with twists and surprises throughout, but another article.
Interested in reading about the women’s match at Full Gear? Our excellent writer, @nickie-booshie, wrote all about it. Read it here:
https://wwtalkpod.com/2021/11/14/aew-full-gear-the-doctor-will-see-you-now-but-who-is-next/
The real fun begins once the pay-per-view ends when a select number of people can go to the post-show media scrum. Now, I am a writer, not an interviewer, but I wanted to try it. I messaged TK Trinidad and shot my shot; the next thing I knew, I had a media pass waiting for me at Target Center.
Once we got to the scrum, it was clear I was a rookie. I did not bring a tripod, my mic was clearly off the discount shelf, and I was the only one wearing heels, and yes, it hurt. I was excited to be there and thought I was prepared leading up to the scrum, making sure I packed everything: extra batteries just in case, the biggest SD card I owed, and of course, making sure I could look the part.
However, the camera that I brought was not the best for video. I had used it before for sports photography and was comfortable with it. I knew it had a recording feature, so I did not think of bringing something different. Unfortunately, it would not focus. This was my downfall as all the recordings, the whole scrum, were useless. Each clip was out of focus, the lighting was weird, and my mic did not pick up the audio as well as I hoped, even though I was in the front.
Despite all of these struggles, which entirely was my fault for not checking my equipment, being at the scrum was a moment I will never forget and hope to experience again when I am more prepared.
Now, no one came to read this article to understand our lack of media scrum videos. Since that mistake was no one’s fault but mine, and I was in attendance, I wanted to report on some of the information we received. Now I would like to preface this by saying I am not going to cover everything. If I did, this article would be a novel.
Bryan Danielson- There were many different things that Danielson was asked. However, the thing that stood out to me was a question directed at Tony Khan. In the future, he hinted at Danielson locking up with Hangman, the new champion. At this time, there is no set a date for that match. Regarding Hangman’s recent win, Danielson had this to say “As I was watching, I was a little disappointed. I know it is excellent for the fans that Hangman was the champion, but I mean, a part of me wanted to be the one to take the championship from Kenny Omega. Not only was I not able to do that, but I also could not beat him, and Hangman was. Listen, I do not have much jealousy in me, but there was a part of me that was like…ok, Hangman, let us see what you got.”
CM Punk- According to Punk, it is “strap” season, and he plans to go after the belt. Do we know how he plans to make this plan happen? Not yet, but I think we can all agree that we would love to see the build-up. When asked about AEW, Punk said there had been no surprises other than the consistency in the company. “We are not giving you one thing for two hours or three hours. We are giving you a variety of different things. I think everybody that loves pro wrestling can find something they love about the show”. He went on to call it a breath of fresh air and was one of the reasons he was drawn to this particular promotion.
Dante- The hometown hero of the night, Dante Martin participated in his first media scrum. As someone that has watched him wrestling the indies, his growth in and out of the ring has skyrocketed. We have watched this young man come out of his shell and show how much of a star he is. According to Dante, confidence was the key and the most significant thing he learned regarding the transition from the independent circuit to AEW.
Lethal- According to Lethal, the reason he chose AEW was simple. He is a professional wrestler, and the promotion is the fastest-rising company in the world. “This place is amazing. AEW is on fire!” Said Lethal.
Regarding Ring of Honor, he said it was unfortunate that the doors were closing. He reflected on the sad fact that so many had lost jobs. However, Lethal also admitted that it is a great time to be a professional wrestler because the business is booming, and wrestlers have options. Lethal’s first impression of AEW was, “it instantly felt like home.” I think the crowds’ reaction to his debut shows that not only should he feel that way, but he has every right to. The pop of the crowd proved that he has value and fans behind him.
Hangman Page- The new champion of AEW, Adam “Hangman” Page, was still beaming when he entered the scrum. The champion expressed that winning has meant everything and that he put so much of himself into this company and business. Taking the belt off of Kenny Omega was a long time coming. According to Hangman, he looked up to Omega, befriended him, then became his biggest rival.
Tony Khan- Tony Khan had the most significant portion of the scrum. Due to this, I will be providing bullet points for the information that stood out, in my own opinion.
● According to Tony, his plans for future champions for AEW never faltered. He had a plan, and if you watch all of it back, it makes sense how it was booked. Everything had a time and place; eventually, it came full circle.
● Relating to who could be the future champions, he did not want to disclose anyone in particular.
● If you watch AEW, you know that Cody Rhodes has had much negative backlash from the fans. The boos are almost deafening. However, Tony pressed on by saying fans are reacting and have a strong reaction. He currently has no plans to “simplify” the character or how he has booked.
● At the time, Khan has no plans to move Rampage to a different time slot.
● Tony Khan expressed that Canada is an excellent country for wrestling and would love to bring AEW to Toronto eventually. He also expressed interest in bringing the company over to the UK for a tour.
● Khan has been in contact with Renee, Jon Moxley’s partner. According to her, Moxley is doing better.
● One of the biggest goals Tony has for 2022 is to establish the TBS Title
● Establishing a streaming service has been talked about in AEW’s media team. As of right now, it is not a definite thing and
● Khan plans to keep Tay Conti in the top 5. He expressed that if you look back at previous champs and stars, they had a build-up. They were in great matches but never could get the BIG win. Eventually, though, they were able to defeat all odds. It is a pattern throughout AEW. Tony Khan implied that we would see Tay follow this pattern, and that is she is a vital wrestler for the future. AEW’s third installment of Full Gear was a significant success. I am curious, though, was there anything that you wish was different? Anyone you wish debuted? Let me know your thoughts on AEW’s newest pay-per-view in the comments section down below.
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