🩸 Betrayal, Blood, and Belts: Samoa Joe Crowned AEW World Champion at Full Gear 2025
🩸 Betrayal, Blood, and Belts: Samoa Joe Crowned AEW World Champion at Full Gear 2025
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) Full Gear 2025 delivered an explosive, emotionally charged night of action from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, featuring a seismic betrayal in the main event, a hard-fought title retention, and the dramatic return of a major star.
The night concluded with Samoa Joe defeating "Hangman" Adam Page inside a steel cage to capture the AEW World Championship, thanks to a shocking turn from a seemingly loyal ally.
I. Main Event Shock: Joe Wins, HOOK Betrays
The Steel Cage match for the AEW World Championship was a brutal, bloody affair that saw both champion and challenger pushed to their limits, culminating in a major faction shift.
The Match
Violence Ensues: The match was violent from the start, with Samoa Joe busted open early after being launched into the unforgiving steel cage by Page. The action saw both men rely on blunt force, with Page even using his own removed boot as a weapon.
Near Falls & Interference: The chaos reached its peak when the referee was accidentally knocked out. Outside interference from Joe’s stable, The Opps, led by Powerhouse Hobbs (who broke the cage door lock with a chain), provided a lifeline for the challenger. Page bravely fought off Hobbs and hit the Deadeye on Joe, but the lack of an official count kept the match alive.
The Ultimate Betrayal
With the match in disarray, HOOK, a former ally of Page and Eddie Kingston, sprinted to the ring, seemingly ready to make the save. Instead, HOOK pulled off his hoodie to reveal he was wearing an Opps shirt, before brutally striking Hangman Page over the head with the AEW World Championship belt.
The Finish: The turn allowed a dazed Joe to capitalize, delivering a devastating Muscle Buster for the pinfall victory.
Result: Samoa Joe defeats Hangman Adam Page (c) to become the new AEW World Champion (his second reign).
Swerve Strickland Returns
The show did not end there. As The Opps celebrated their victory and surrounded a vulnerable Page, the lights went out. The familiar sounds of Swerve Strickland returned, making a dramatic, post-injury comeback. Swerve charged the ring, tearing through members of The Opps, seemingly saving his bitter, former arch-rival, Hangman Page, to close the pay-per-view.
II. Title Changes and Retention
Beyond the main event, the night featured four other title matches, including the crowning of an inaugural champion and FTR securing a record-tying run.
🏆 AEW Women’s World Championship: Statlander Retains
In the second main event of the evening, Kris Statlander (c) defeated the heavily favored "13 Belts Moné" Mercedes Moné to retain her title. The match saw Moné ruthlessly target Statlander’s injured shoulder throughout the 23-minute contest. Statlander ultimately overcame the psychological and physical assault, connecting with the Big Bang Theory (a modified Tombstone Piledriver) for the clean pinfall victory, ending Moné’s pursuit of the one major belt that has eluded her.
💥 TNT Championship: Mark Briscoe Finally Gets His Due
In a chaotic, brutal No Disqualification match, Mark Briscoe defeated Kyle Fletcher (c) to capture the AEW TNT Championship. The stipulation for the match was that if Briscoe lost, he would be forced to join The Don Callis Family. Instead, Briscoe put Fletcher through a bed of barbed wire with a suplex before hitting the Jay Driller to claim his first major AEW singles championship after a 25-minute war.
🥇 Inaugural AEW National Champion: Ricochet
Ricochet was crowned the first-ever AEW National Champion after surviving a lengthy Casino Gauntlet Match. The final sequence saw him utilize his incredible athleticism to overcome challenges from a stacked field that included Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, Orange Cassidy, and Kevin Knight, whom he ultimately pinned to win the new title.
🤝 AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR's Third Reign
FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) defeated the popular champions Brodido (Bandido & Brody King) (c) to win the AEW World Tag Team Championships for a third time. The 20-minute classic was a showcase of tag team wrestling, concluding with FTR hitting the Shatter Machine on Bandido to begin their record-tying third reign.
III. Key Non-Title Developments
| Match | Winner | Key Highlight / Stipulation |
| No Holds Barred | Kyle O'Reilly | Forced Jon Moxley to submit to the Ankle Lock in a bloody, violent contest, finally getting his singles win over Moxley. |
| $1,000,000 Trios Match | The Young Bucks & Josh Alexander | Defeated Kenny Omega & Jurassic Express. The Young Bucks were immediately seen accepting their cash prize and departing with Don Callis, signaling their alignment with the infamous stable. |
| Darby Allin vs. PAC | PAC | Defeated Darby Allin after interference from Wheeler Yuta, continuing the rift and feud involving the Death Riders. |
| Women's Tag Stipulation Match | Timeless Love Bombs | Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa won the 4-Way Tag to earn the right to choose the stipulation for their Women's World Tag Team Championship Tournament Semifinal match. |
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