AEW Full Gear 2023 Post-Show Media Scrum: Attendance, PPV Buys, MJF, Will Ospreay on AEW Signing, Continental Classic Rules, Ronda Rousey Update

AEW held a post-show media scrum following Saturday’s Full Gear 2023 event at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California.

Some of the notable highlights included:

• During his portion of the media scrum, MJF stated that he suffered a busted leg injury and thanked Adam Cole for being a great friend while bashed Jay White for being a “piece of shit” but also praised him for being an incredible athlete. MJF also stated that he loves wrestling and AEW’s Full Gear 2023 show gave people many versions of what professional wrestling can be.
• MJF also dedicated his match and AEW World Championship title defense victory to his late grandfather who passed away three years ago.
• On the topic of the deal he made with Samoa Joe, MJF stated he only did it because Adam Cole was injured and he needed someone to help him defend his ROH World Tag Team Championship. MJF also teased that he might not even honor the part of the deal where he gave Joe a shot at his AEW World title since it was only a verbal agreement.
• During his portion of the media scrum, Will Ospreay gave his reasons why he decided to sign with AEW. Ospreay stated “I’ve built up and trust and rapport with Tony. I feel I’m at my best over here. I’ve enjoyed every time I’ve come over here. Right now, this is the best decision for me and my family. I’m not interrupting my kid’s school, my Mrs. can see her parents. I get to be one of the best pro wrestlers that have ever done it and I get to do it now on weekly TV and I get to really test myself in these waters.“
• On the topic of getting permission from New Japan Pro Wrestling to sign with AEW while still being under contract with them, Ospreay stated “That’s more of a question for the reps, I’m not going to lie to you. I have no idea what happens. I’ve spent eight years of my life in New Japan. I was a very immature young man and I came into the business, I don’t think really prepared for what was the come. With everything with New Japan, I’ve grown up in front of them. I can’t thank them enough. It was a true blessing, the fact that I just got to be a wrestler there. Coming out tonight, I messaged my Mrs, every mile was worth it. There was an expectation and I heard it when the music hit. I’m so grateful. I can’t tell you the gratitude I feel right now. None of you would know my name without New Japan. That’s a reality. When I did that match with Ricochet all those years ago, people just thought that was it and that’s who I was. I’ve evolved, I’ve changed. The best thing is, I’ve matured. I understand the responsibility that I’m in and the responsibility that I’m in here. It’s a heavy task because there is expectations, but I have been at my best when my back is against the wall and I’m uncomfortable. I’m really looking forward to testing myself and I’m thankful for New Japan and everything they’ve done for me. That doesn’t mean I’m done. I can still, with Tony’s blessing, I can still do some dates. It just has to be right.“
• On the topic of exploring other promotions for the next destination of his career, Ospreay stated “The TNA thing, TNA was wonderful and incredible, but it was a case of, I wanted to hear everybody out. I wanted to do what was best for my family. I can’t tell you enough, my life has completely changed ever since that woman has walked into my life. Responsibility has placed itself in front of me. I’m one of the most irresponsible people sometimes. Something has changed within me. I get it now. I understand the responsibility. I see AEW and I see the talent here and I see everything that made me fall in love with pro wrestling. I followed everything. The good, the bad, I followed everything, and I believe in this place. There was a promo Moxley did ages ago, ‘It’s time to be a legend.’ At that point, I was like, ‘I want this. I want to go here,’ and while I’m here I’m going to give everything I’ve got to this place. Not just for myself, because I want to see if I’m that good, I want to give back. I’ve had this mad anxiety coming to America, this huge anxiety coming over here, and I’m willing to face that now and I’m willing to try my best now. It’s an amazing journey I’ve been on and I’m so grateful. I’m looking forward to it.“
• During her portion of the media scrum, Julia Hart stated that she was on “cloud nine” and proud of herself over becoming the new TBS Champion. Hart also stated that her recent matches against Willow Nightingale and Skye Blue helped really elevate her to a higher level as a performer.
• On the topic of her quick rise in stardom in pro wrestling, Hart stated that she only had worked five matches prior to signing a deal with AEW so all of her career growth has taken place in AEW.
• On the topic of her prior cheerleader character, Hart stated that she was not fond of her prior character in AEW since she was not confident about doing it.
• During his portion of the media scrum, Chris Jericho stated that the reason why Kenny Omega did not show up for the post-show media scrum was due to him traveling back home right after their match against the Young Bucks to take care of his sick cat.
• On the topic of his match against Konosuke Takeshita at DDT Pro’s recent Ultimate Party event, Jericho praised Takeshita for being a very good wrestler for someone of his young age.
• On the topic of Ospreay signing with AEW, Jericho stated that he was really glad Ospreay signed with AEW and praised Ospreay for having one of the greatest career years ever this year.
• During their portion of the media scrum, Ricky Starks and Big Bill stated that while they have been working as a tag team and are the current AEW World Tag Team Champions, they still view themselves more as singles wrestlers.
• On the topic of past issues with sobriety, Big Bill stated that he thought he was just going to continued to lead a miserable life due to his alcoholism but credited pro wrestling with helping him become sober. Bill also stated that he felt that if he was able to get things together for his life, he could make it back to the top of wrestling and being one half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions being proof of this belief.
• During his portion of the media scrum, Orange Cassidy stated that his victory over Jon Moxley to retain his AEW International Championship was one of the biggest accomplishments in his career. Cassidy also praised Moxley for being one of the greatest ever wrestlers.
• During his portion of the media scrum, AEW CEO Tony Khan stated that Full Gear 2023’s early PPV buys numbers were currently trending higher than last month’s WrestleDream event.
• On the topic of the rules for AEW’s upcoming Continental Classic tournament, Khan stated that the scoring system is 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss or DQ. Khan also stated that the winner of the tournament will unify three different titles into a new title called the Triple Crown Championship that he mentioned would be similar to All Japan Pro Wrestling’s Triple Crown title. In regards to the titles to be unified, Khan stated that this will be the ROH World Championship, the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship, and the AEW Continental Championship. Khan also stated that no outside interference will be allowed in any tournament match.
• On the topic of Ronda Rousey’s official debut for ROH this past Friday, Khan stated “She is not signed, but we had a great conversation. It came about because there was some unfinished business. They had that match, and I thought it would be great for our fans to settle it in the ring. At the Wrestling REVOLVER show, they had the match, and I had spoken to them and I thought it would be great to have a match and build some interest and then have the story come to Ring of Honor where Athena is the Ring of Honor Women’s Champion, Billie Starkz is her minion, there is a lot of interest in that. I thought it would be great to see that tag team against two of the Horsewomen, Marina and Ronda Rousey. Ronda was happy to come here, she was great, the crowd was really excited to see her, and it was a great match. We would love to have her back some time, it was really fun, her being out here. She’s a local and lives nearby and that helped make it possible. Anytime it’s convenient, we would love to have her back.“
• On the topic of Full Gear 2023’s attendance and PPV buys, Khan stated that they had over 13,000 people in attendance at the event and the event itself generated “well over” 100,000 PPV buys based on early numbers and estimates.
• On the topic of Mercedes Mone, Khan stated that he has had great conversations with Mone and would love to have her in AEW.
• On the topic of Ospreay’s signing, Khan stated “Will Ospreay, he has been talking to me since I got permission from New Japan, which was recent. I asked New Japan, ‘Will, his contract is up, it’s no secret, it will be up early next year. I think it would be great to keep Will in our family.’ Will is such a great professional and a really important start in our galaxy. It means the world to have Will appear in AEW as a guest and the thought that Will could leave our orbit and not be around us. Even more so, the idea that Will could be here all the time. In the limited amount of times Will has been here, he’s made such a huge impact and has been so great. He’s had some of the best matches in the history of AEW in the limited amount of time he’s spent with us and to think what he could accomplish. Also, as I’ve said and can’t stress enough, we’re very focused on Wembley Stadium. It’s a big priority for me to be able to tell fans before tickets go on sale when I look at attractive things I can tell fans, I want people to know if they buy a ticket, I want you to know that you’re going to see Will Ospreay and he’s going to be with us and there is no uncertainty. That was really important. I actually got that agreement done this week and it was important to me because the on-sale is coming up, Full Gear is coming up. Will Ospreay signing is a big deal and I thought it was important to have him at Full Gear and to be able to say and explain that he is going to finish his commitments to New Japan, but he will be with us.“
• On the topic of Bryan Danielson’s broken orbital bone injury situation, Khan stated that Danielson’s injury ended up not being as serious as they had previously assumed. Khan stated that he had believed at one point that Danielson would be out of action for a lot longer time.

AEW Full Gear 2023 post-show media scrum full video:

Source: FWOnline.com, Fightful.com 1, 2, & 3