Exclusive | AEW Full Gear Prudential Center 2025 review: Where to buy tickets

Let’s get one thing out of the way first before officially starting this story.

I am not a lifelong wrestling fan.

In fact, I’ll admit I know next to nothing about the sport. Sure, like pretty much any Millennial guy, I grew up hearing the names Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple-H and The Undertaker bandied about on the playground.

Yet, somehow, I never really got into WWE, much less AEW.

Still, on Saturday, Nov. 22, I attended All Elite Wrestling’s Full Gear at Newark, NJ’s dynamic Prudential Center — with my brother-in-law who is a legit fan — and had a blast.

OK, now, here’s the story.

Road tripping to Newark

Ahead of the AEW Full Gear match, I boarded a Newark Penn-bound train from NYC’s Penn Station.

Two locomotives showed up in quick succession; the 5:58 and 6:01. Both filled up fast. This was going to be a packed event.

My suspicions were confirmed when I arrived in Newark; wall-to-wall wrestling fans lined the escalators. We weren’t even at the venue and this was already way crazier than when I saw The Who or Missy Elliott at Prudential.

Once we exited the cramped space, thousands of fans walked a few blocks in lock step to the New Jersey Devils’ home arena. While on the way, wrestling diehards butted into conversations.

I know this because it actually happened to my brother-in-law and me while we chatted about Mr. T’s Wrestlemania history. A fellow fan couldn’t help but share his thoughts and add color to our dialogue. At that moment, I realized I wasn’t going to a normal sporting event; this was more a community gathering where everyone engages with one another. A brotherhood, if you will.

Now I couldn’t wait to get inside and see what all the fuss was about.

Inside the Prudential Center

Upon entrance into the inviting arena, we hustled to our plush seats just as the event began.

Pretty quickly we were treated to something special for us normie fair-weather fans. The Rizzler showed up! Yes, the nine-year-old New Jerseyan popped up with internet sensations A.J. and Big Justice (better known as “the Costco Guys”) to do battle.

Alright, we’re having fun.

A.J. — the Costco dad who brought the world the phrase “five big booms” — entered the ring. As expected, the crowd was shouting “boom” in no time as pops wailed away on heels Roppongi Vice, who fought back with electric double clotheslines.

Jersey quickly embraced these internet chuckleheads as kids quietly explained to their dads just who the Rizzler was under their breath. Perfect all-ages fun.

The Rizzler and Big Justice talked trash and got smacked.

Delightful.

Then, the real show got underway

Yonkers native/clear-cut fan favorite Eddie Kingston and his tag team pal Hook took the ring next following elaborate intros.

The pair handily defeated The WorkHorsemen aka JD Drake and Anthony Henry. Of course, I had to be that guy and ask every wrestling fan’s least favorite question, which, of course, is “is this all choreographed?”

After having seen a dozen telegraphed moves, I had to get a real loyalist’s honest opinion.

My brother-in-law sighed and compared wrestling to movies. “You suspend disbelief and have fun,” he answered. That’s a good way to put it. Even if the fighting isn’t “real,” the performers are putting on a gladiatorial performance full of pure, uncut machismo.

More and more undercard matches

The CMLL World Trios Championship — which seemed like a big deal — came and went next. The El Sky Team (Máscara Dorada, Neón and Místico) made quick work of the Don Callis Family (Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita and Hechicero).

What was most noticeable for an outsider here wasn’t the exquisite acrobatics in the ring (or laughable scripted acting intros) but the crowd.

I don’t think I’ve ever been to such a large-scale event dictated so much by crowd chants. There is no cringe here; just sincerity. This is a family that supports each other.

Over the course of the evening, we shouted positive messages like “this is awesome” and “AEW” in unison along with negative screeds that were mostly variations of “f— you, ref.” Either way, regardless of how fun the fight in the ring is, the fans elevated the experience in a way that you won’t find at an NFL stadium or MLB ballpark.

For once, the audience is as much the main character as the performers.

My favorite match of the night

At this point of the night, I’ll admit I still wasn’t fully sold on wrestling. The matches were fun but not exactly dramatically compelling. It felt like I was watching an action film without sound effects.

That all changed when the terrifying Darby Allin swaggered up to the ring for his match with the menacing PAC.

For the uninitiated, Allin is a 32-year-old Seattle native and fully committed performer. With a painted face, dyed white hair and bandages covering up burns all over his torso, the guy looks more like someone in need of help than a professional athlete.

Yet, no one was more interesting or scarier to watch than the Washingtonian. Although he weighed nearly 20 pounds less than his opponent — did you know there are no weight classes in wrestling? — I feared for PAC’s life. Nothing is scarier than a wrestler showing up to a match in street clothes. Or one with more tattoos than bare skin.

Over the next 15ish minutes, Allin scrapped but PAC got the better of the injured madman. Although he deserves props: Allin refused to quit after being thrown out of the ring and having his bandages pulled off only for his opponent to rub his burns.

For my money, this was the first truly messed-up, balls to the wall match where it seemed anything could happen. I’d liken it to watching Batman villains fight without Batman anywhere in sight.

And, with that, now I get wrestling.

At its best, it’s unfiltered madcap mayhem.

Prudential started to get really fun

After that, a 4-way tag match brought the Timeless Love Bombs, Babes of Wrath, Sisters of Sin and Megan Bayne/Marina Shafir to center stage.

The charismatic group — eight athletes in total — entered wearing colorful masks while fire billowed and Shazam-able songs blared. Their ramshackle fight was an intense, no-holds-barred battle where not a single member of the octet held back. The crowd was delighted as was I. Who doesn’t love seeing eight people wail on each other all at once?

They set the stage for the dramatic AEW Women’s World Championship showdown between Kris Statlander and Mercedes Mone’ later in the evening. The stakes were certainly felt as so much was on the line between the two. Even though I wasn’t familiar with their history, the animosity made it easy to pick up right where they left off.

Maybe just maybe the fights aren’t exactly “real” but the emotions are.

Calling it a night

Although Full Gear would go to 11:30 that night, I had a hard out at 10 p.m. Lame, I know, but I had to be up early the next day. After watching FTR and Bandido shake the ring and the crowd get riled up at Jon Moxley, I bid my brother-in-law adieu and squeezed through the aisle to the exit.

Yes, I missed Samoa Joe take down “Hangman” Adam Page in the AEW World Championship Steel Cage Match. Nor did I see the Young Bucks win…a million bucks. Heck, when I was there, I didn’t even notice Ricochet had become the national champion, which my seat-mate told me was the highlight of the evening.

Still, I got more than I bargained for. After years of attending live events, I witnessed things I’d never seen before like a backflip off a ring (now, that’s a real trust fall), a wrestler catching his adversary like a pop fly or truly high flying acrobatics from giants that made me wonder “did that really just happen?”

Admittedly, I was scared to write this piece when I was first assigned this story. I know wrestling fans are serious about their sport. Yet, now that I’ve been there, I realize that preconception is all wrong. Yes, they care about the sport but they’re as welcoming as any other community I’ve ever seen.

For that, I’ll be going back.

And, I gotta admit, I’m curious what Darby Allin is going to do next.

Random thoughts

• Wrestling is like watching acrobats doing a dance where they happen to hit each other.

• Someone brought a two-year-old to Prudential Center. That rules.

• Fans chanted “AEW” all throughout the night. I’ve been to hundreds of movies over the course of my life and have never heard a crowd shout the name of the studio. That being said, I’d love to finish a film and hear the audience cheer “A24! A24! A24!”

Want to go? AEW: Christmas Collision comes to Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom on Sunday, Dec. 21.

Upcoming AEW matches 2025-26

Want to go to a match or three?

Here’s when and where you can catch AEW events in the near future.

That’s not all.

There’s still so much more wrestling.

WWE events can be found here…and you can click here to pick up Wrestlemania tickets.

This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.