Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.

This week, Dallas Allsopp, Robert DeFelice and Callum Wiggins preview the 2020 edition of AEW Full Gear.

This Saturday marks the second ever Full Gear event. From top to bottom, the card looks extremely strong on paper. Will Cody continue to reign supreme as AEW TNT Champion? Will The Young Bucks finally claim the AEW Tag Team Championship? And will Eddie Kingston finally wrest the AEW World Championship away from Jon Moxley?


ALLSOPP: I'm very conflicted with this. Cody has been established as one of the true pillars of AEW, but that doesn't mean he should have such a prominent role in the company. The fledgling title has definitely benefited from him holding it twice, but I feel it would be better for someone like Orange Cassidy, Brodie Lee, or even Darby Allin to take the title in a new direction. If Allin was to win the title this weekend, he would be legitimised by the accolade, whilst being given a fresh slate to take the title in a whole new direction. Neither Cody, nor the title, actually need each other. Both can succeed without the other, therefore I'm team Allin this weekend.

DeFELICE: That's a tough question because of the ties that Cody will forever have with this championship. I personally don't believe that he should have won the championship from Brodie Lee, but seeing as he will now face Darby Allin who is also overdue for a major moment, this seems like a good weekend for Cody to lose the gold for an extended length of time.

WIGGINS: I think that Cody can safely lose the AEW TNT Championship at Full Gear without walking away from the title scene altogether. Frankly, per the stipulation surrounding him and the AEW World Championship, this title almost by default has to be Cody's belt. Not that this is a bad thing – having someone of his standing always around it will help ensure the title's prestige never falters. But, I think he needs to use his position to elevate younger names around him, and I can definitely see him doing that with Darby Allin on Saturday.


DeFELICE: This is the stupidest gimmick you can put on this match. First of all, it is an immediate rip off of the gimmick that Cody did at the very same event last year, and in my opinion, this should indicate a victory for Matt and Nick Jackson. I think that they are the best tag team of a generation, behind FTR, and to immediately say that they will never get another chance for the championship in the company that they plan on staying with until they retire seems facetious.

Outside of that, the build has been oft-discussed on social media. I haven't loved it, but I don't hate it. As long as the match lives up to my own expectations, which may be difficult because I do see this being one of the best tag team matches in North America for the foreseeable future, I will be happy.

WIGGINS: The most sensible option is for The Young Bucks to win the match. By already planting the seed in people's minds from last year that AEW is willing to use this stipulation and stick to the consequences if the person loses, it has actually added an extra layer of intrigue to this match, with fans wondering "well, they can't possibly do this again, can they?"

Now, does this match need that stipulation? Hell no. The Young Bucks vs FTR is a match that already sells itself, and by adding this, it sadly fogged up what is the simplest story you can tell in wrestling – two teams fighting to prove who is the best in the world. I would have much preferred if they had stuck to that.

ALLSOPP: Similarly to how Cody was locked out of the AEW World Championship scene, this storyline presents an intriguing scenario for The Young Bucks. If they were no longer allowed to challenge for the titles, they could easily act as the gatekeepers to the upper reaches of the tag team division, or even go their separate ways and wrestle as singles stars. FTR are the best option to hold the titles, therefore that shouldn't change due to this added stipulation. For me, the storyline options are better for them if they lose, especially when you consider how poor this storyline has been. Both teams are capable of magic, but for some reason, it just hasn't clicked.


WIGGINS: Whilst I agree that based on rankings Eddie Kingston should not be challenging Jon Moxley once again for the AEW World Championship, frankly the feud has been so good that I really don't care. Although this should be their final interaction for a while, the journey has been pure, old-school wrestling genius from the get-go.

That being said, Kingston has no shot of winning the championship, and that's okay. Moxley is just on a different level, and on a card as stacked as Full Gear is, it's fine that your World Championship match has a predictable outcome. What matters is the match is going to be pure, unadulterated violence, and I am so here for that.

ALLSOPP: Honestly, I would love to see Eddie Kingston become AEW World Champion, primarily because he is such an effective heel. His promos are the best in the company, whilst his in ring work is also of a high quality. In order for AEW to look like a true alternative to WWE, they need to put the title on somebody who wasn't established in that company, so why not Kingston? Jon Moxley is a strong champion, but he still has the WWE stink on him. Kingston doesn't, therefore AEW should take a risk and see if it works out well.

DeFELICE: Absolutely not. Eddie Kingston should not even be in this match. He is not ranked, and this company is supposed to care about their rankings, so that right there takes me out of the picture. Outside of that, this should be a tremendous match with two rough and tough men who know how to tell a convincing story physically and verbally, which is something that this company lacks.