AEW Full Gear 2025: Where Do We Go From Here?

Last Saturday brought us the latest AEW Full Gear, and it was a night full of surprises. We would not have predicted Samoa Joe emerging as the new AEW World Champion – in fact, we predicted exactly the opposite, along with plenty of other mistakes across the card. Thankfully, now is the time for us to leave the past behind and start looking ahead, and the best way to do that is with another series of bold predictions. Yes, our recurring Where Do We Go From Here column is back again, with our writers pondering their metaphorical crystal balls and laying out the immediate future of AEW. 

Along with the downfall of "Hangman" Adam Page, tonight's "AEW Dynamite" will surely follow up on Kris Statlander continuing her AEW Women's World Championship reign with a win over Mercedes Mone. Plus, tensions continue to rise between Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita, especially now that both men are officially entering the 2025 Continental Classic. There's also the Death Riders to think about, as Jon Moxley comes off another loss that may have his followers second-guessing their choice in leadership. Let's dive in and talk about what we should expect in the days ahead.

The Steel Cage main event of Full Gear concluded with outside interference, as HOOK turned heel to assist Samoa Joe in becoming the new AEW World Champion over "Hangman" Adam Page. Although Page was more than four months into his title reign, few were expecting the belt to change hands on Saturday, and the situation was made even more intriguing with the return of Swerve Strickland afterwards. He and former rival Page stood side-by-side in the ring after fighting off their adversaries, indicating that they'll be teaming up against The Opps.

Considering the way the show ended, there are at least a few different directions the company could go with the world title. Neither Page nor Strickland were announced for this year's Continental Classic tournament, so it seems they'll both continue focusing their attention towards Joe and the rest of The Opps. They'll be outnumbered, but the two will likely find an ally in the form of Eddie Kingston, who had been tagging with HOOK until the second-gen wrestler's recent turn. At some point in the near future, it's very likely we'll see the trio of Page, Strickland, and Kingston taking on members of The Opps.

As for the world title itself, the big question is: who will challenge Joe first between Page and Strickland? Will Page step aside to let Strickland try to end Joe's reign like he did the first time he held the title, or will the two butt heads as they try to decide who becomes number-one contender? Page defeated Joe once already in recent months, and his loss on Saturday came after interference. Because of that, Page will likely get his rematch before Strickland, either at AEW Worlds End or on "AEW Dynamite" before that. However, I wouldn't put any money on him taking the championship back from Joe just yet.

The company could decide to throw Joe into a multi-man match against Page and Strickland at Worlds End, with MJF possibly even involved due to the title contract he won at AEW All In. However, I'd opt away from that, and have Joe pick up separate wins against Page and Strickland to keep this training rolling. That could even reignite the rivalry between the two challengers, because I doubt anyone would complain about seeing those two wrestle on opposite sides once again. In the end, whenever it comes, I expect MJF to be one to dethrone Samoa Joe.

Written by Nick Miller

Kris Statlander shook off accusations of being an underdog with a Women's World title retention over Mercedes Mone, proving she can beat the rival she had fallen to two times prior when it truly counts. Not only did that make her just the second woman to beat Mone in AEW – the fourth overall since she left WWE in 2022 – but it also added another accolade to her title reign after having already dethroned "Timeless" Toni Storm. 

Naturally, when one has already accomplished so much in a short span of time, the question falls to what, or rather, who next. And that in itself isn't a simple answer. Many of those who could be considered realistic challengers for Statlander are currently embroiled in the tag team tournament, with Storm teaming with Mina Shirakawa against Megan Bayne and Marina Shafir, and Harley Cameron and Willow Nightingale taking on Julia Hart and Skye Blue. 

Shafir and Bayne were the dominant victors inside Blood & Guts, forcing Storm to surrender rather than watch Shirakawa get choked out. Statlander was also involved in that match, on the losing side. And while Bayne tried and failed to wrest the title from Storm earlier in the year, Shafir has yet to get such an opportunity since her starring role in the Death Riders took hold. Another involved in the match on the losing side, Jamie Hayter, has made it clear she wants to get the title she lost due to injury in 2023 back. And while she has yet again had opportunities in recent months, she was never truly beaten and has not been for quite some time. 

Statlander also has a best friend and worst enemy in kind with Willow Nightingale. Although Nightingale is currently tied up with the tag team tournament, there is always a chance they'll hash out their differences and fight for the top prize at some point in the future. 

Finally, it would also be worth noting that, technically, having got a win over the TBS Champion at long last, Statlander could also make a play at belt-collecting herself. It wouldn't be too far out of the realms of possibility for their to be a Title for Title chapter four at Worlds End. Would it?

Written by Max Everett

Coming out of Full Gear 2025, one moment that had everyone talking was Kyle O'Reilly once again getting the better of Jon Moxley, with the former AEW World Champion being forced to tap out at the end of their bloody No Holds Barred match. After dominating the company as the champion, Moxley has now lost all but one of his pay-per-view matches since April, with his sole victory being over Darby Allin in their Coffin match at All Out, with a win that was in large part due to PAC returning from injury.

Since the group was created, the goal of the Death Riders has been very simple: force the stars of AEW to reach Moxley's level in order to improve the quality of the company as a whole. However, that plan may have actually started to backfire on Moxley, as he has not only been matched but even surpassed by a number of people in AEW. After all, if you had said to people at the start of the year that by the start of the Continental Classic, Kyle O'Reilly would have forced the then AEW World Champion to tap not once but twice, not many people would have believed you.

Moxley's crown of invincibility has been gone for a few months now, but while he still moves and acts as if he is the top dog, when he gets dragged into those deep waters (specifically by his ankles as of late) he panics, he flails, and he does the one thing that is inevitably going to have him eaten alive by his own pack of wolves: he gives up.

There is a growing sense of dread surrounding Moxley right now, where you just know that at some point in the future, the Death Riders are going to have had enough of their ruthless leader getting bested and take matters into their own hands. As for how we get there, Moxley needs to take one more major loss on a big stage, and that loss should come at Worlds End in December. Earlier this week, Moxley was announced as one of the competitors in the annual Continental Classic tournament, and this presents an excellent opportunity. Tony Khan could have him miss out on the semi-finals in a tie-breaker, or have him reach the final four, only to lose to whoever wins the other league and have that be the moment where the Death Riders cannibalize him.

It's not a matter of if, when it comes to the Death Riders turning on Moxley; it's when. That "when" should be at Worlds End, and it's simply a case of figuring out which straw breaks the camel's back for his loyal followers.

Written by Sam Palmer

Full Gear saw the AEW Women's World Championship cemented as the one title that Mercedes Mone cannot get her hands on, with Kris Statlander matching Toni Storm's All In performance to become only the second woman to defeat Mone in the company. Still, Statlander has just one victory in their personal saga, which is still 2-1 in favor of Mone. So while there is every chance that the "CEO" doesn't end her pursuit after falling at the first hurdle, one would expect her to have to defend the titles she already has. 

For almost 550 days, Mone has been the TBS Champion and is now the longest-reigning in the title's history; she has defended the title 23 times, last in October against Mina Shirakawa, winning to become the Interim ROH Women's TV Champion. So she is due a title defense sooner rather than later, and that's without considering the others including ROH's Women's TV title. 

The question really hinges on who will be stepping up to the role as challenger, with the last two people to hold a technical victory over Mone embroiled in the tag team tournament they eliminated her from; Harley Cameron and Willow Nightingale have tried and failed to wrest the TBS strap from Mone, the latter losing the title to her in the first place, and got the win over her and Athena. That said, Mone is in a new state of vulnerability, owing to her second failed challenge for the Women's World title, and there is no better circumstance for someone to take another shot at the TBS Champion. 

Red Velvet could, in theory, seek a rematch for the ROH title she lost to Mone. Final Battle is on the approach so perhaps that's a direction better suited to HonorClub, but then there is the question of whether Mone would even appear on ROH TV. If not, then that's another option for her direction on AEW TV.

Written by Max Everett

The annual Continental Classic tournament is back, with the stars of AEW once again duking it out in a round-robin competition to see who will enter 2026 as the AEW Unified (or maybe just Continental) Champion. So far, every year has featured a story going into it that could dictate the rest of the tournament, and it's abundantly clear that the 2025 tournament will revolve around two of Don Callis' favorite sons who absolutely despise each other: Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita.

This was the direction many thought the company was going to go in last year, but having Okada in the definitive heel role while Takeshita is the mistreated babyface works so much better because it sets up such a natural story throughout the tournament. Tony Khan correctly put Okada and Takeshita in separate leagues, and now he should have them beat literally everyone in a game of: anything you can do I can do better. Then, they can meet each other in the finals, where either man getting the victory would set up a great story for the first quarter of 2026.

With both men competing for New Japan Pro Wrestling at Wrestle Kingdom 20 on January 4, 2026, it does offer up a conundrum as to who you have win the Continental Classic. NJPW probably wouldn't want their champion losing a big singles match so close to their biggest show which leans towards a Takeshita victory, which could also give NJPW fans hope that Hiroshi Tanahashi might actually have a chance of beating Okada in his final match. However, Okada getting the win for a second consecutive year, rolling into the Tokyo Dome to beat Tanahashi, all while Takeshita falls at the final hurdle in the C2 and probably loses the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship to Yota Tsuji, could be a way for Takeshita to be exiled from The Don Callis Family and branch out on his own.

The Don Callis Family also has a wildcard in the C2, that being Kyle Fletcher who has just lost his AEW TNT Championship. Fletcher has already proved that he can be a future main event star through his match with Page at All Out, so don't be surprised if Okada and Takeshita cancel each other out, leaving the path open for a Fletcher victory. However, I personally wouldn't go down this route as it would basically nullify all of the build up between Okada and Takeshita over the past few months. Someone from the family is winning the C2, it's just a question of whether it will be "The Rainmaker" or "The Alpha."

Written by Sam Palmer