Samoa Joe is the new AEW World Champion and Swerve Strickland is back. A pretty newsworthy final five minutes of AEW Full Gear 2025 if you ask me.
Like most AEW shows, this one delivered in the ring and was long. Now, the audience seemed conditioned for that and wasn’t totally fried at various points in the night. They were tired, though, which begs the “why are we running so late” questions.
AEW got a huge piece back the minute Strickland strolled through the curtain. He’s a top three company star and will undoubtedly be colliding with Joe sooner than later.
Here are my Brass Ring Ratings for the event and here’s how they work … I call it like I see it and grade accordingly. Period.
Darby Allin vs. PAC
Darby Allin had a very cool entrance and entrance video that started things off. It sold Darby’s burns from WrestleDream and then he looked the part all covered up in tape when he walked out. During the match, Allin was absolutely destroyed. He took a Gorilla Press from the apron to the floor, flew out of the ring after hitting the ring post, and even hit a dropkick from the ropes onto the floor. I know he says he’s ok doing what he does, but this style will catch-up to him at some point. Pac getting the win was a surprise. Pac winning with the help of Wheeler Yuta was not. The Death Rider drama continues. Good match.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/4
Sisters of Sin vs. Timeless Lovebombs vs. Babes of Wrath vs. Marina Shafir & Megan Bayne - Semifinal Tag Team Championship Tournament Stipulation On The Line
Action packed and gave the audience exactly what they were looking for in that regard. This had high flying from Mina Shirakawa and some blunt, but vicious offense from Shafir. Everything in-between too. A bit of a spot fest stunt show at times, but the four teams worked well together to make people care and the stakes felt like they mattered.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/2
Brodido vs. FTR - AEW World Tag Team Championships
A great tag team wrestling match and not just because there were lots of innovative double teams. The psychology of the bout revolved around making saves for their teammate and true, well, teamwork. Add into that mix of awesome some clean work and unique moves? The result is a memorable title match. FTR won and are now three-time tag team champions in AEW. A title showdown now looms between them and Copeland & Christian.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOOO 1/4
Casino Gauntlet Match - AEW National Championship
Nothing special in this one and it didn’t do much of anything to establish just what the hell the AEW National Championship is. Ricochet was funny at times and the action between Jet Speed members was incredible. Still, it felt like filler material and not on par with previous Casino Gauntlet matches the company has put on.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/2
Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly - No Holds Barred Match
Well, it was bloody. It’s like, “duh Zack.” It was bloody, but it needed to be. That was kind of the point. The two men stabbing each other in the head with a metal fork was almost too over the top, but it didn’t quite get that far. Moxley lost. It’s crazy to see him lose to someone like O’Reilly. Clearly, this is part of the story with him and The Death Riders, but it still is odd to see. Totally fine for what it was and on the higher end of my expectations.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/2
Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Briscoe - TNT Championship And If Briscoe Loses He Joins The Don Callis Family
Just insane. This was an exciting match because of huge spots, lots of violence, and weapons. That said, there has to be a recognition of some of that violence inside of the match result. Mark Briscoe kicked out of a three-count after literally getting stabbed in the head with a damn screwdriver. Look, if that kind of violence doesn’t yield a result of some kind, it stops working in matches. The fact is, both Fletcher and O’Reilly went through tacks more than once throughout the bout and everything after the first one was barely reacted to by the audience. Mark Briscoe as TNT Champion can be a fun part of weekly television for AEW, but like anything else, it has to be followed up on properly.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 3/4
The Young Bucks & Josh Alexander vs. Jurassic Express & Kenny Omega - Winner Gets $1,000,000
Meh. Sorry, folks, but it was meh. Your standard Young Bucks match with wild action, but not a lot of it had meaning. Omega didn’t get a lot of time to shine out there either. The bottom line is, you knew the reunion with The Bucks and Omega was coming and when it did, it landed like birthday present you know is coming. It’s fun, but it is what it is. The Elite vs. The Don Callis Family is on deck and that’s a fine feud for the Don Callis crew. The Bucks and Omega, though? In a perfect world, it would be nice for them to matter more than that.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/2
Kris Statlander vs. Mercedes Mone - AEW Women’s World Championship
Great match and right on par with their previous matches together. In Mone matches, you know she’s going to deliver and she usually can deliver by pulling her opponent along. She didn’t need to do that with Statlander. Not only did Statlander deliver in her moments offensively, but she very much helped the story and drama of the match with the way she sold her injured shoulder. That was tremendous and set the tone early. Mone loses again with the AEW Women’s World Championship available to her. If you’re wondering where the belt collector storyline is going with her, start there.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOOO
Adam Page vs. Samoa Joe - AEW Men’s World Championship
Another bloody match. AEW got one shot of Joe while his face was totally covered in blood. A perfect shot for that moment, so good work AEW camera people. Look, Samoa Joe is the new AEW World Champion and because Swerve Strickland came back after the win, it made Page losing the title easier to swallow. Strickland or not, that’s a weird booking call. AEW invested a lot in Page when they put him over Jon Moxley for the world title at All In and it’s Joe that takes it away? A bit underwhelming, but we’ll see where it all goes.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 3/4
What did you think of AEW Full Gear 2025? Let us know in the comments!
Subscribe to the Brass Ring Media Newsletter HERE.
Follow Zack Heydorn on Bluesky @zackheydorn.bsky.social