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All Elite Musings
Booking Full Gear
AEW Dynamite set up Full Gear in the most sensational fashion! Promos from Cody and Jericho ramped up the levels of intrigue for their AEW Championship clash alongside a fiery post match brawl to end the show.
This is AEW's first PPV with a weekly build and the anticipation is sky high. All three titles will be on the line for the first time ever. Moxley, Pac and Omega will all be in action as well as intriguing feuds such as Baker/Priestley and Bucks/Proud and Powerful set to light up the card.
Statistics and AEW rankings will be referred to throughout. These are not the official AEW produced stats and ranking. These are the PWM stats which create the +1/-1 based PWM Rankings Tables. These can be found here:
Britt Baker vs Bea Priestley
This is scheduled to be on the 'Buy In' which a lot of people have an issue with. I would have liked this to have been built up more however it seems Bea Priestley's scheduling has restricted the regularity of opportunities to further the heat between these two. What does seem likely based on their previous skirmishes is that this will he a frantic, fiery encounter between two women both aiming to be the face of AEW.
This will be Bea Priestley's first one on one match in AEW while Baker is 1-1 in one on one competition. Overall, Baker is ranked 3rd in AEW's women's division with a 4-2 record and Priestley is ranked at 10th in the women's division with a 1-3 record.
Statistically, it would be a disaster for Bea to lose again especially with the rare nature of her appearances meaning a -3 differential would be an arduous process to rectify. Britt, on the other hand, would remain 3rd in the rankings and would still have a +1 differential which at this stage in the evolution of AEW's win-loss record is a good record.
Bea Priestley should win here to start the process of maximising her notable talent. Assuming, Riho remains champion, Bea Priestley would be an excellent bullying heel to match up against the best underdog performer in AEW. Baker has already had a title match and would benefit from a prolonged road to title glory to flesh out her character. Just being a doctor is not enough...
Shawn Spears vs Joey Janela
This match was build in true AEW style, in a series of short character driven videos. The clash of styles is noticeable and the rivalry has been heat up quickly and effectively. This won't be anyone's favourite match of the evening but it should be a great clash.
Neither man has excelled in the early days of AEW in terms of their win-loss record. Spears is sitting at a -1 record at number 27 in the men's overall rankings. Janela has actually fared worse, sitting at 46th in the men's overall rankings with a -3 record. However when we look a pure matches, one on ones, Spears is evens with a 2-2 record with Janella lagging behind with a 1-2.
Spears needs this more therefore should come out victorious. Janela will be a big deal in AEW eventually, he has star quality and is very likeable. Shawn Spears has been packaged very well and his match with Cody was excellent. However, he does not have the same following as Janela, is much older and is not a stand out performer in the ring. If he is going to lose tonight it will hurt him.
AEW Tag Team Championship Match - Private Part vs SCU vs Lucha Bros
This is set-up to be an exhilarating clash. A high paced, mad-cap dash filled with multi-man spots. Although we have just seen Lucha Bros vs SCU, the participants make sense from a win-loss record stand-point.
Private Party are now the top ranked team in AEW with Lucha Bros now at number 2. SCU are ranked 5th with the obvious caveat they are the champions. Private Party have a 3-1 tag record, Lucha Bros have a 4-2 tag record and SCU have a 2-2 tag record. This doesn't make the champions look strong however when you factor in all match types Sky and Kaz are now ranked 2nd and 3rd in AEW overall rankings.
Booking a winner from this match is tricky. Taking the belts off of SCU already seems like it would devalue the belts, however the way they presented the tournament to crown the first champions build a lot of prestige around the belts possible giving it some protection. Crowning new champions already would add to the sports based anything can happen including upsets.
Despite all of this, SCU should prevail here as the other two teams will be AEW Tag-team champions in the future and a loss for SCU here would undermine their status as the inaugural champions.
Pac vs Adam Page
These two have been associated with each other since the inception of AEW. Both would benefit from being separated for a while and with all the friction between Page and the other members of The Elite it seems likely another focus is on the horizon for him. Nonetheless, this match needs to be a success to ensure both men's stock rises with fans to legitimise AEW's match quality.
Pac is joint second in the Men's Singles (one on ones) standings whereas Page is joint 10th, +3 and 0 differentials respectively. When we include all male wrestlers and all match types Pac is 9th with a +2 and Page is 16th with a +1. From this we can surmise that Page hasn't had the success of Pac in one on ones but isn't too far behind within the Overall standings.
Pac will win this match. Page doesn't need to win, he is now more over than ever before and looks as if he is about to enter an Elite faction disfunction storyline. Pac on the other hand, has been packaged as a big threat as a wrestler and a badass. He needs this win to cements this.
Young Bucks vs Proud and Powerful
This could be the in ring quality match of the night. Both teams are excellent workers and are masters of their craft. The factions will be a big part of this match with it almost being a opening act for Cody/Jericho. The build for this match has seen Proud and Powerful get the best of the Young Bucks repeatedly on Dynamite. It seems they may have got in the heads of the Bucks with this week's episode of Dynamite seeing Nick Jackson take a huge risk to get at his adversaries and Matt Jackson being the trigger for the Inner Circle's and Elite's re-engagement after being successfully separated briefly.
Proud and Powerful have a 100% record in AEW thus far, having won both of their matches. Young Bucks have wrestled in significantly more matches with a more mixed record. They are 3-2 in tag team competition and 6-3 in all match types.
Proud and Powerful need this more and should take the victory. This wouldn't be a defeat in the same upset vane as the one to Private Party for Matt and Nick so it would not undermine their standing or the sports-centric packaging of AEW. The Bucks are established, uber-popular and can climb the rankings at any point. It would take an unnecessary re-building job to re-establish Proud and Powerful after a loss and would be to the detriment of the Inner Circle's build.
AEW Women's Championship Match - Riho vs Emi Sakura
A hastily put together match perhaps suffering from the defending of the title against Britt Baker on Dynamite. The mentor-student dynamic is an engaging one and will need to be highlighted more via a preview video or commentary. However, it is disappointing to see AEW's Women's division struggling already and giving the impression of being an afterthought. With the championship belt looking sub-standard in comparison to the other belts, this is not a good look and is many people's biggest criticism of AEW thus far and I would echo these sentiment.
Riho is 4th in the company statistically with Sakura languishing in 28th. Overall records are at 6-2 for Riho and 2-2 for Sakura. Significantly, Riho is 3-0 in one on one singles competition with Sakura not even having wrestled a match on on one in AEW.
Riho will win here, Emi Sakura is not going to be pushed as champion. This will be a good match due to the numerous previous times the competitors have worked together. Hopefully, this match will aid the ailing Women's Division.
Lights Out Unsanctioned Match - Kenny Omega vs Jon Moxley
Potentially going on last as it is outwith the show, this is a huge matchup and a first time meeting of two global stars. The animosity between Omega and Moxley has followed a refreshingly untraditional format. This is not heel versus face. Moxley has crossed the lines between the two traditional roles. Both assaulting Kenny Omega from behind and refusing to use numbers advantages against him. Even saving him from beatdowns at the hands of others.
Moxley is unbeaten in singles competition in AEW, with a victory over Shawn Spears and an unsanctioned match win against Joey Janela. Omega has had his ups and downs, he has a 2-2 one on one record and a 4-4 record overall. Omega also holds a lights out victory over Joey Janela.
Moxley needs this more than Omega, therefore he should take the win. Some will argue Omega hasn't been built up like the megastar he was in NJPW to the newer members of the AEW audience and must start to collect victories in high profile matches to do so. However, Omega is such a talented worker and character-builder he can shoot himself into the stratosphere whenever the company is ready to make him the main man.
Moxley, albeit, the most recognisable face outwith Chris Jericho needs the win more. He suffered from being off TV with his injury and does not have all the momentum he built during his indy run and New Japan exploits post-Dean Ambrose. Moxley should be a huge star in AEW and this could be the next step.
AEW Championship Match - Chris Jericho vs Cody Rhodes
The build for this match is unlike anything wrestling has seen for some time. The character work by Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes has been on a different level.
Chris Jericho has reinvented himself yet again and has produced memes, character work and promos of the highest echelon. Some may have questioned his position at the top of the card as the very first champion due to his age and WWE affiliation. However the way he has taken on the role and elevated others in adversary or co-operation is gold-dust for AEW.
On the other hand Cody, another ex-WWE performer, has matched Jericho's wonderous heel work with some spectacular babyface work of his own. The promo this week and the segment where he stormed the VIP box will live long in the memory of wrestling fans. The stakes being raised, putting his eligibility to challenge for the top title in the future on the line, alongside the already intriguing stipulation of judges separating the competitors in the event of a time-limit draw, makes this a layered and hard to call match up.
Jericho leads the AEW standings with a +6 differential, 2 points ahead of everyone else. He is 3 and 0 in one on one singles competition and has an unblemished record in AEW match ups. Cody also has a strong record matching Jericho's unbeaten status in one on one matchups and is 4-1-1 in all match types. He is unpinned in AEW.
The future implications for Cody do make this match seemingly more difficult to book but they don't. Jericho must win here. He is doing an incredible job in his role thus far and should be permitted to continue. The Inner Circle would immediately look far less threatening with a loss of the title belt and AEW would benefit from Jericho being dethroned after a lengthy reign.
The future of Cody becomes fascinating if he loses here. It seems unlikely that he will actually never challenge again. This opens up the possibility of a truly cathartic babyface moment years down the line when he eventually becomes champion after years of fighting his way into a position where he is undeniable. Alternatively this is how Cody replaces Jericho as the uber-heel of AEW. Throwing his promises out of the window and politicking his way to AEW champion. The storyline possibilities are mouth-watering.
Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think. :-)
