5 matches that could steal the show at AEW Full Gear 2021

For AEW fans - heck, all wrestling fans - Full Gear 2021 promises to be an unmissable experience of wrestling and storytelling of the highest standards. There have been significant changes to AEW throughout the year following Full Gear 2020, with different champions rising to claim the throne and new faces to test the already stacked roster. Names like Bryan Danielson and CM Punk have emerged as "All-Elite" since and look set to make their Full Gear debuts.

There is no greater example of the effect of time relative to Full Gear than the scheduled battle between Kenny Omega and Adam Page for the AEW World Championship.

Last year at Full Gear we saw the former Tag champs collide in the final to the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament, where Omega would emerge victoriously and eventually take the title off Jon Moxley.

Likewise, the same tournament is set to culminate once again at Full Gear, as Bryan Danielson takes on Miro in the final. The finalists from last year are face to face for the belt this year, could we see a similar scenario next year?

With Full Gear on the fast approach and such a stacked card sure to deliver on its promise, which battle looks likely to take the moniker "show-stealer" when the night is done?

#5 CM Punk vs Eddie Kingston - A 15-year-old grudge realised in AEW

Not much is left to be said about the fairytale return of CM Punk to professional wrestling when he made his AEW debut. He has spent time since his return on a honeymoon period, testing himself against young prospects in an attempt to acclimate to the contested waters of the AEW rankings. That honeymoon, for all intents and purposes, appears to be at an end.

After a loss to Bryan Danielson in the World Title Eliminator Tournament semi-finals, a riled up Kingston interrupted and berated CM Punk during an interview. The brief yet heated confrontation proved to be the catalyst for a grudge match at Full Gear.

Kingston and Punk laid everything out in the ring when they verbally confronted each other, but very rarely in wrestling is anything solved on the mic, especially when it's a grudge that has grown through time.

Eddie Kingston's knife-sharp way with words and intensity towards Punk brought an edge we had yet to see from the returning hero.We are now set to see two of the top dogs in AEW battle it out and settle their differences once and for all, in a match-up that epitomizes the term "show-stealer".

#4 Lucha Brothers vs FTR - AEW World Tag Team Championship

AEW has made a point of treating tag team wrestling with the esteem and class it deserves, and that point is only reinforced by the pool of competitors for the AEW World Tag Team Championship.

Both the Lucha Brothers and FTR have earned their reputation through their devotion to tag team wrestling and their ability to tell compelling stories in the ring with their opponents.

FTR challenged the Lucha Brothers as "Las Super Ranas" for the AAA World Tag Team Championships at the behest of Andrade El Idolo, winning and adding the titles to a mantlepiece already occupied by AEW, NXT, Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

Their win was another step towards the eventual goal of re-capturing the AEW Tag Team Championship, for which they are the number one contenders too. The Lucha Brothers have had to endure a rigorous feud with FTR as a result of their reaching of the throne at All Out, and it finally looks to come to an end at Full Gear.

Two teams that have faced the best that tag team wrestling has to offer, and have helped to lay the foundations for the flourishing tag division AEW possesses. Expect Lucha Brothers vs FTR to not only steal the show but show-off the very essence of tag team wrestling.

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#3 Britt Baker vs Tay Conti - AEW Women's World Championship

While there is certainly room for growth when it comes to the way women's wrestling is presented in AEW, the promotion is once again blessed in having a deep and talented roster of women's wrestlers.

Britt Baker leads as an example of growth and nurturing talent, as she has truly risen to promenence in AEW. Not enough is said, however, of the evolution Tay Conti has undergone with AEW as one of the leading prospects in the division.

Tay has been in a rich vein of form on her climb up the rankings and has outlasted the likes of Penelope Ford, The Bunny and Santana Garrett. The clash between Conti and Baker is one that speaks of growth, perseverance and devotion.

They have both undergone such significant improvement with AEW, and at Full Gear, with the AEW Women's World Title on the line, they have a chance to steal the show and prove they belong.

#2 Bryan Danielson vs Miro - AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament Final

Since last year's Full Gear, AEW has seen a plethora of new faces arrive with the goal of taking the throne amid such vehement competition. One such face is former WWE Grand Slam champion Bryan Danielson.

Bryan arrived in AEW to fanfare and expectation as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, and has ensured that each one of his matches thus far has met expectations. He has battled the likes of Minoru Suzuki, Bobby Fish, Eddie Kingston and Kenny Omega since arriving and while the names mentioned would usually damage the likelihood of this being so, Bryan remains undefeated.

That may all change at Full Gear, though, as he faces a familiar face in Miro. Miro, formerly known as Rusev in WWE, has torn through his competition since arriving in AEW, with his sole singles defeat coming when he lost the TNT Championship to Sammy Guevara.

Miro has since appeared in vignettes, promising to win championship gold once more, before replacing Jon Moxley in the World Title Eliminator Tournament to defeat Orange Cassidy in the semi-finals.

Now the stage is set for a final showdown between the unrelenting Bryan Danielson and the unstoppable Miro. Their only prior singles clash being a Money in the Bank Qualification Match where Miro defeated Bryan.

Their match before was well-worked, but at Full Gear they will be devoid of WWE's restrictive match style and with much greater stakes. Expect a bloodbath.

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#1 Kenny Omega vs Adam Page - AEW World Championship

AEW has played host to a slow-burning storyline centered around Hangman Adam Page and his path to the World Championship since its inception. Full Gear looks to be the terminus of that journey to the top, where Page stands opposite one-time friend, championship winning tag team partner and current AEW world champion Kenny Omega.

Kenny Omega is one of wrestling's premier attractions, reigning as the world champion for both AEW and AAA. He has held gold at multiple levels with NJPW and Impact wrestling and put on stellar displays with the likes of Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, Bryan Danielson and Andrade El Idolo.

While a talented performer himself, Omega has received the fruit of various alliances, leading The Bullet Club and Elite sub-group in New Japan, before breaking off and growing The Elite stable that has kept him at the top of AEW.

Adam Page is yet another that tasted success whilst with the factions, holding tag-team gold with The Young Bucks on the independent circuit and reigning as one half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions alongside Kenny Omega. But while the Bucks and Omega possess outward and inflated egos and confidence, Page has been of self-doubt and reluctance, often times feeling like an outcast.

Inward doubt has made for lapses in his career, mainly in high-profile losses to Chris Jericho to inaugurate the AEW World Championship, against FTR for the tag titles or against Omega in the World Title Eliminator Tournament at Full Gear 2020.

Page has been on the cusp of greatness for years now, and his breakthrough to the main event has been an organic and naturally flowing tale of overcoming and perseverance. Could he finally reach the top at Full Gear and steal the show?

What matches are YOU looking forward to at All Gear this weekend? Let us know in the comments section!