This Saturday,the latest edition of AEW Full Gear comes your way from the desert in Phoenix,Arizona, with a card that promises to be as gruesome as it is explosive. As of this writing, six championships will be contested at the event one in a Texas Death match while in the sole announced non-title match, two teams lay it all on the line in Anarchy in the Arena.But which of these matches have the Wrestling Inc. staff's blood pumping with excitement, and which ones could we do without? That's what we're here today to discover. Here are our biggest draws and biggest duds for AEW FullGear 2026!
Okay, let's try this again shall we?For the loyal readers of the Draws and Duds columns, you will know that The Brawling Birds vs. Wrathlander for the AEW Women's World Tag Team Championships was actually a pick for a dud in our AEW WrestleDream 2026 piece. The reason for that was simply because the card was fairly stacked and of all the matches on that show, that was the match that felt like it had the least amount of build. However, Jamie Hayter not being medically cleared to compete on that night meant that the match had to be postponed until AEW Full Gear 2026, and well, here we are again.Once again, when you look at the matches on the Full Gear card, this is match that feels like it has the least amount of meat on the bones. With that said, what makes this dud feel even more justified is that we are one month removed from WrestleDream, Full Gear is this weekend, and there hasn't been anywhere near enough progression in this story to make it any more enticing than it was last month.Granted, part of that is down to Hayter's recovery period being up in the air, but let's look at everything else that has gone on since WrestleDream. Wrathlander wrestled Divine Dominion on "AEW Collision," which led to the Blood and Guts match being booked where Kris Statlander, Harley Cameron, Jamie Hayter, and Alex Windsor would all have to coexist on the same team. Then Blood and Guts happened and outside of one brief moment where Statlander and Hayter butted heads, there wasn't much else when it comes to pushing the build of this match forward, and now the match is here.This once again feels like the one match on the card that feels like it would be better suited for the main event of "AEW Dynamite" than on a pay-per-view. I'm all for more women's matches on AEW's biggest shows, but you just know that with the lack of build around this, it's going to be sandwiched in between two matches that will absolutely steal the show and inevitably be the bathroom break match. That does sound disrespectful, especially considering the level of talent in the match, but that's the reality we live in.The women's tag team division is already paper-thin as it is and it's only been around for less than a year. It's all well and good having more belts for the ladies, but when there's next-to-no effort being put into their stories and matches and builds, then what's the point of having them around at all?Written by Sam Palmer
It may be the third match of their feud, if you don't count the initial Trios Roulette Royale at AEW All In London 2026, but it's the match out of the series with the most stakes, and it's set to be a brutal, gruesome bout. AEW World Trios Champions "Hangman" Adam Page, Brody King, and Bandido are set to defend their gold against Swerve Strickland and New Level's Austin Creed and Kofi in a Texas Death match. The challenge for the hardcore stipulation was initially issued by Strickland, due to his AEW Full Gear Texas Death history with Page, but in recent weeks, everyone involved in the feud has gotten on board.AEW has never put on a trios Texas Death match before. It's also the first time fans of Creed and Kofi, the former Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston in WWE, will show off their death match skills in an AEW ring. It's hard to think of the former New Day in a Texas Death match, which is part of what makes this such an intriguing, unique draw, even on a show that will also see a chaotic Anarchy in the Arena match involving Jon Moxley and the Death Riders.On the November 4 edition of "Dynamite," Bandido got revenge on Strickland, who kidnapped him and bloodied him the week prior, by taking out Kofi. Creed looked 100 percent ready to commit to the stipulation after seeing his friend laid out. It was Bandido who told Page who had been trying his hardest not to drag his teammates into his blood feud with Strickland, especially not into Texas Death that they needed to accept that stipulation. King agreed with a simple nod, and Page accepted his fate alongside his partners.Between Creed looking more than ready and Bandido out for blood, what initially felt like a third match in this trios feud that fans could do without, now feels incredibly important and exciting. Fans know how brutal Strickland and Page can get with one another, from hangings to syringe spots, and the "sickos" also know King can get hardcore. Seeing Bandido, and especially New Level, take it up a notch is likely going to be one for the history books, even though this feud is well beyond the World Trios Championships at this point.Written byDaisyRuth
On paper, the idea of Kazuchika Okada taking on Adam Copeland seems like a great idea. A modern great in "The Rainmaker" taking on a legend of the business in the "Rated-R Superstar" in a match that seemed inconceivable just a few short years ago sounds like a guaranteed draw, and yet the match finds itself in the dud section for AEW Full Gear 2026.How you ask? In the words of The Sandman: Who's going to do the work?A lot has been said about Okada's run in AEW since he arrived in 2024, mainly by people who only knew him from the NJPW boom of the 2010s where he was one of the undisputed best wrestlers in the world. Then there were those who only tuned in to NJPW for big shows, saw Okada have a great match, and assumed he was like this every week when in reality, he was kicking back and having fun on "Road To" shows most of the time. His AEW character is vastly different to his NJPW character, but when he's paired with the right guy, the NJPW version of Okada can still pop up just look at his matches with Kenny Omega, Konosuke Takeshita, and his two Continental Classic runs for example.In this case, he's going to be paired with Copeland who, while still a fan favorite, is more than likely getting this match because he wants to wrestle Okada before he retires. That's what lands this match in the dud section. Sure, AEW can pull a fast one and give Copeland the belt since he his retiring next year, but you would think that maybe Tony Khan would hold out and give Copeland the AEW World Championship for a cup of coffee to cement his legendary status, not the AEW International Championship. That fact makes this match a little too predictable for my liking.The current AEW World Champion also has something to do with this match being in the dud section. Since AEW WrestleDream 2026, you can tell AEW is building towards Copeland vs. Will Ospreay and many assumed it would take place at Full Gear. However, the less than favorable feedback to the idea seems to have contributed to Ospreay facing Kyle Fletcher much earlier than some fans would have liked, while Copeland now faces Okada in a match where I don't think either man is capable of pulling out something great out of the other. Like with most AEW pay-per-views, I will happily be proven wrong and this could end up being fantastic, but when you look at the card, this is the match that sounds good in theory, but will likely be underwhelming in practice.Written by Sam Palmer
Will Ospreay will put his World Championship on the line for the fourth time when he faces arch-rival Kyle Fletcher at this weekend's Full Gear. Ospreay captured the title from Kenny Omega at All In in August and has since seen off Jon Moxley and Fletcher's Don Callis Family stablemate, Kazuchika Okada, before emerging victorious in a Clockwork Carnage match at WrestleDream.But it was Fletcher who stood over the World Champion victorious during last week's "AEW Dynamite: Blood & Guts," holding a screwdriver to a bloodied Ospreay's throat to force Adam Copeland to surrender. So, while Ospreay does hold a 5-1 record in their singles saga thus far, it would be hard to say Fletcher doesn't stand a chance of winning this contest. In fact, many might say that he is the perfect person to inherit the title from Ospreay, given their past and the quality of wrestler he is.The last time Fletcher and Ospreay met in singles action was at Revolution 2025, a Steel Cage match which Ospreay went on to win. Fletcher has continued to improve in the meantime and Ospreay is now the World Champion so it feels natural that they would continue their affair on a larger stage.Ospreay is among the best wrestlers in the world, and could be argued as the best of them. Fletcher is also great, but is younger and has yet to break into the upper echelon in terms of accolades. That makes this a big fight purely in terms of what's at stake Ospreay defending the title against someone many would say acts as his number two, and Fletcher making the case for why he shouldn't be considered beneath Ospreay.Then there's the fact that it's undoubtedly going to be an otherworldly match between two wrestlers that, love them or hate them for it, simply do not know when enough is enough and just continue to give until there's nothing left. The World Championship match is often the draw on any card, but when it also stands a chance of being a Match of the Year contender, then there's just that little more incentive to tune in.Written by Max Everett
