Quick Takes on AEW Full Gear 2021 Fallout, Future of The Elite, Heel Owens, More

After much anticipation, AEW Full Gear 2021 delivered the goods when it mattered most.

The exciting evening was capped off by Adam Page finally unseating Kenny Omega as AEW world champion in a spectacular main event. Not only was it the moment many had been waiting for with Hangman, it also seemingly marked a new chapter in the era of The Elite.

The Young Bucks' apparent approval of Page becoming champ did not go unnoticed by fans. That should lead to further dissension within The Elite, and it could make for an interesting faction war depending on what side of the fence Adam Cole falls on.

It was a semi-eventful week for WWE as well with Kevin Owens seemingly turning heel at the end of last Monday's Raw. He viciously assaulted WWE champion Big E, and although it's clear what the intent of the angle was, it's a nice spot for Owens to be in before he likely leaves soon for greener pastures.

This installment of Quick Takes will tackle what's next for The Elite, Owens' booking, and the upcoming clash between Bryan Danielson and Page. MJF and Darby Allin ripping it up at Full Gear along with the return of WarGames in NXT will also be discussed.

After being booked as the top heel faction in AEW for the better part of the past year, it may not be long before all of The Elite are back to being babyfaces if the conclusion to Saturday's Full Gear was any indication.

Instead of interfering, The Young Bucks watched from ringside as Adam Page defeated Kenny Omega in clean fashion to capture the prestigious prize. It was the first time they had shown compassion for Hangman in over a year, so while Page probably isn't rejoining the group, it's possible the moment was designed to hint at Young Bucks realizing the error of their ways.

Omega could remain a heel and oppose Young Bucks with The Good Brothers serving as his tag team partners, but it would be far more interesting if Omega went back to being a babyface with them. From there, they can begin the build to a bout between The Elite and Undisputed Era.

Adam Cole and Bobby Fish have already established an alliance on AEW. The only person missing, aside from NXT cruiserweight champion Roderick Strong, is Kyle O'Reilly, whose contract expires with WWE at the end of 2021, according to Mike Johnson at PWInsider (h/t Jeremy Lambert of Fightful Select).

If O'Reilly leaves WWE to join AEW, there is no reason that dream match can't be booked. Besides, Cole should remember The Elite betraying him years ago when they were still part of Bullet Club, so this would be his way exacting revenge.

Perhaps the most disappointing developments from last Tuesday's edition of NXT was the announcement that NXT TakeOver is all but dead even though the live specials will still somehow live on.

The first major event under the NXT 2.0 banner will be WarGames on December 5, marking the fifth installment of the event since it was resurrected as its own show in 2017. Looking at the landscape of the brand, there is not a single feud on the show that warrants taking place inside the structure.

Rather, it's an attempt to get fans invested in NXT again and to show them that the more things change, the more they stay the same. It's a forced and unnecessary move otherwise.

With the women, it's possible a WarGames match could be booked featuring the members of Toxic Attraction against a babyface squad. However, they haven't been feuding long enough to justify it being blown off in such a structure.

A men's match inside WarGames is even worse because nothing belongs in WarGames at the moment. Stars from NXT 1.0 squaring off with stars from NXT 2.0 is an idea, but even that doesn't feel great.

The biggest issue with NXT 2.0 is that it's still trying to figure out what it's supposed to be. Some storylines and acts are clicking while a majority are not, raising the question of why they're rushing into a WarGames event when it's too soon to be holding one.

In the leadup to Full Gear, Darby Allin and MJF boasted about being two of the four pillars of the company along with Sammy Guevara and Jungle Boy. It was already understood among fans that those four were the future of AEW, but Allin and MJF proved that with their exceptional outing at the event.

They had the distinction of starting the show, which gave everyone else the tough task of having to follow it. They went all out and had a back-and-forth battle before MJF cheated to secure the victory.

Both men will be main event players in this promotion sooner rather than later. Not only that, they'll rekindle their rivalry over the AEW World Championship at some point in the not-too-distant future.

As enjoyable as it would be for them to continue feuding coming out of the pay-per-view, it's understandable if AEW wants them to move in different directions and go back to it down the road.

MJF would be an ideal candidate to eventually dethrone Adam Page as champ. From there, Allin can get his win back over MJF and embark on a title reign of his own.

Regardless of when it is, expect these two to continue to kill it whenever they're in the ring together.

Kevin Owens' character arc has been bizarre recently.

He's been trying to improve his reputation for years by not turning on his teammates more. He threw that out the window when he snapped on WWE champion Big E at the end of last week's Raw, however.

The execution of the apparent heel turn was poor, but there can be no question that Owens is most in his element as a villain. If that's the direction WWE is going in with the storyline, but it's a smart use of both Big E and Owens before the latter's contract is reportedly set to expire at the end of January, per Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select.

There's no chance Owens takes the title, especially if he plans on leaving, but he's a fantastic foil for a beloved babyface such as Big E in the meantime. The matches will be entertaining and, more importantly, Owens can take Big E to that next level on the mic and establish him as a bigger star than he already is.

It's rare Superstars get to go out on their shield in WWE, but Owens could be the exception. We have Big E vs. Seth Rollins to look forward sometime soon, but Big E vs. Owens could be the former's defining feud as WWE champion.

Not only was a new AEW world champion crowned at Full Gear, fans also found out that Bryan Danielson is the No. 1 contender to the title by virtue of his victory in the finals of the tournament.

His win left the door open for Kenny Omega to possibly retain in the night's main event given his issues with Bryan lately, but, thankfully, that did not happen. Instead, it will be Adam Page vs. Danielson for the championship on a date to be determined.

That would be the perfect time for Hangman to hand Danielson his first singles loss since coming to the company.

Danielson has been wisely protected and has had a hot streak of stellar matches in AEW. It makes perfect sense for him to be getting a title shot, but Page must retain.

It would be an excellent main event for an upcoming episode of Dynamite or even the Revolution pay-per-view if the company waits that long. Danielson has been built up so that a young up-and-comer of Page's caliber can eventually beat him.

If and when that happens, Page's credibility will have increased tenfold and will get his cowboy run off to the strongest start possible.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.