Countdown to Full Gear with AEW’s Darby Allin

“These two were named dudes coming into the company. I think Kenny is set to let loose and turn it up. Hangman, he is such a good in-ring performer. I wrestled him on the cruise. I wish I could wrestle him every night. I would say Kenny is going to win only because he has this new mean vibe to him.”

A case can be made for either of these guys to rise to the occasion. Hangman would probably be the better fit to battle Moxley or Kingston. Kenny would be a worthy successor though. Can he afford the loss though? Winner: Kenny Omega.

Kenny Omega: -500. Hangman Page: +300. Winner: Kenny Omega

• Speaking of Rivalries, Page and Omega had a nice little tag team championship run that showed their friendship would get a bit strained at times.  But since losing the belts and going their separate ways in the singles ranks, This match is going to be another pick’em for me.  While I like how Omega is slowly turning to the dark side of smarm (and has proven he can do it well in New Japan), Page is just as entertaining as your Whiskey Warrior (BTW I’m trademarking that).  So let me flip the coin again (Heads for Omega, tails for Page).   And….
• Your Winner:  Kenny Omega

Well, the whole point of this tournament seems to have been to lead to this match, so hopefully it’s worth it. Page should win and cause Omega to go full heel. But the match – which could be very good – will likely take a backseat to the silly emotional drama of the two broken-up besties and end with a weepy hug in the middle of the ring like this was a Hallmark movie.

Darby Allin needs his breakout moment and this is it. It is time for Cody to pass the torch and move onto other pursuits. Winner: Darby Allin 

Cody Rhodes: -160. Darby Allin: +120. Winner: Cody Rhodes.

• First of all, it’s great that Rhodes name has been restored to Cody, and it’s also cool that secondary titles the TNT Championship are getting the attention it deserves.  Plus, this match with Cody and Allin just scratches my itch, and these two are proving to have a nice little rivalry, with Allin showing more charisma and poise in each of his matches.  But with Team Taz looming in the background and threatening to show up (maybe during this match) I’m calling for interference from the outside that will lead to a nice long feud with Allin and Team taz members Brian Cage and Ricky Starks.  So therefore…
• Your Winner:  The American Nightmare Cody

Cody should destroy Darby Allin but because it’s AEW, they’ll probably have a 25-minute match with Allin getting in way too many dangerous spots. They should limit blood to the Moxley-Kingston match, but look for the crimson to flow here, because AEW.

“This match came into being long before the inception of AEW. It has been four years in the making, something like that. I want to see what they are going to bring to the table but I don’t even know who is going to win that one. It is so close.”

Talk about your clash of titans. I am just very confused by the Young Bucks acting like ass clowns lately. What’s the deal with that? I have a funny feeling this is not going to end cleanly so we can push this feud even further. Winners: DQ, no contest, draw, something like that.

Young Bucks: +120. FTR: +120. Winners: Even odds.

• I’m going to echo The American Nightmare and say the Bucks didn’t need to add the stipulation that if they don’t win they’ll never challenge for the Tag straps again, but here we are.  We know the Bucks can go, and FTR has injected a lot of life into the Tag division, but I do see more heel teams in the tag team ranks than I see faces, and at this point, even if FTR drop the belts it won’t hurt their momentum because, y’know…it ain’t the other empire (*Ahem*)
• Winner:  The Young Bucks

The build-up for this match has actually been more of a tear-down, with the bad decision to have the Bucks turn into whiny brats in a misguided effort to give them some edge. Now, unfortunately, you have babyfaces that aren’t likeable, so why would you want them to win? They will, of course, because AEW.

“I think someone is probably going to die. (Laughs) That is all I am going to say about that one.”

One would assume that both men are looking to make up for how things turned out last time. This will be crazy and off the chain. The sentimental favourite would seem to be Hardy after what happened at All Out. Winner: Matt Hardy.

Matt Hardy: -160. Sammy Guevara: +120. Winner: Matt Hardy.

• The Spanish God has shown he’s more than a Cuban Justin Bieber lookalike and is starting show how utterly douch-tastic he can be.  Matt Hardy is a great addition to the AEW Roster, but I was legit worried when he got that concussion after their last match.  That said, I do want this too be the blowoff match for good, because, as much as I like this pairing, this can’t be healthy for either men, so…
• Winner:  Guevara

It would seem this will be a cinematic match because they have no original ideas for Matt Hardy. And hopefully that kind of controlled environment will limit the amount of recklessness, or at least protect these two from accidentally hurting one another. After all the stuff Guevera has done to him, Hardy should get his revenge here.

“Being a former champion Nyla has had to take a backseat in the women’s division. Her having to sit back and watch Shida take the spotlight is going to push her to take the title back.”

No offence to the other champions but Hikaru Shida has had the best title run thus far. AEW shouldn’t be in any hurry to take the title off her soon. At the same time though they need to build up the angles in the women’s division to give their matches more meaning and more of a purpose. Winner: Hikaru Shida.

Hikaru Shida: -200. Nyla Rose: +150. Winner: Hikaru Shida.

• As much as I love AEW, they haven’t been doing too many favors with the Women’s division, in my opinion.  True COVID slowed up the travel of most of its roster like Riho, and they have added other stars like Ivelisse and Diamante, it just hasn’t clicked.  That said, Shida and Rose have proven to be the best and have really worked hard to shore up this division.  Also, for those of you saying this match was put together too quickly for the AEW Women’s strap, please kindly relax.  This could lead to something big down the road, and if Rose gets the strap back, with Guerrero as her mouthpiece (to put it mildly and loudly), that can present more interest in the long run.  So who do I pick?
• EXCUSE ME!  Your Winner:  Nyla Rose

This match could be good if it wasn’t for Nyla Rose. On the other hand, it looks like Botch-A-Mania will have some good material to mine for their next video. Shida wins..

“I wonder if this is going to be a straight-up fight or a wrestling match. It will be interesting because it is a pay-per-view and Jericho always comes through. MJF though wants that spotlight just as much.”

What I hope is the payoff here is that MJF joins The Inner Circle and eventually forces Jericho out. Jericho becomes a face again. Winner: MJF.

MJF: -300. Chris Jericho: +200. Winner: MJF.

• Never been big on heel vs. heel matchups, but this one is a unique take, with the Salt of the Earth trying to worm his way into The DemoGod’s good graces and into the Inner Circle’s heart.  From a snappy little duet to Jericho calling MJF “soft”, not to mention the majority of the Inner Circle ain’t happy with him, this match will draw eyeballs.  But pay attention to the shenanigans of outsides interference (specifically Wardlow) making a difference in this match to help MJF prove he’s better than Jericho.
• Winner:  MJF
• P.S.  Here’s the clip from said duet:  https://youtu.be/grzbDJdiwLo

The storyline between these two would seem to be leading to MJF joining the Inner Circle and then taking over as the leader, leading to them eventually kicking out Jericho. So look for that to start here with a win by MJF.

(Laughs) “I don’t know, man. I could have been facing Orange Cassidy if Silver didn’t screw him out of things. That is their own s—t and I don’t have much to say only that I would like to step in the ring with Orange Cassidy one of these days but Saturday is no that day.”

Orange Cassidy is finally back where he belongs at the bottom of the card. Who wins? Who cares? Winner: John Silver. 

Orange Cassidy: – 950. John Silver: +500. Winner: Orange Cassidy.

• Speaking of sleepers, this one looks to be a snoozefest.  I don’t know what in the name of AEW Dark someone decided this match needed to be on the card, but maybe it’ll serve some purpose for an angle with the Dark Order to go after the King of Sloth Style (as commentary has called Cassidy), but lets be honest folks.  We know how this will go
• Winner: Orange Cassidy

There are very few wrestlers I dislike more than I dislike Randy Orton. These two are on the list.

Welcome back Serena Deeb. What a fantastic comeback story. No chance Deeb is losing here. Winner:  Serena Deeb

• If you watch UWN’s Prime Time Live or follow my recaps of the show (Check them out here) you know that Serena Deeb won over Thunder Rosa to take the NWA Women’s strap.  With the recent news that now Allysin Kay, erstwhile of NWA, is now a free agent and she was the former NWA Women’s champ during the NWA POWERRR time, this match looks to be a pick ‘em, and the sleeper match of the night.  Not sure to who to pick so I’ll flip a coin and see where it lands (heads for Deeb, tails for Kay). 
• It’s tails so:   Allysin Kay for the NWA Women’s Championship

It makes no sense for this match to be on the Buy-In pre-show, as this will likely be actually worth paying to see, unlike a lot of the other crap that’s going to be on the PPV (*cough* Nyla Rose *cough* Orange Cassidy *cough* John Silver *cough*) Since Kay just left the NWA, it doesn’t make sense for her to win the title. But this being an AEW show, they may do exactly that, because AEW.