AEW Full Gear Zero Hour pre-show results: MJF and Samoa Joe vs. Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn for the ROH Tag Titles, Eddie Kingston vs. Jay Lethal for the ROH Title, Claudio Castagnoli vs. Buddy Matthews – Pro Wrestling Dot Net

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

AEW Full Gear Zero Hour Pre-Show
Aired live November 18, 2023 on AEW social media platforms
Los Angeles, California at the Kia Forum

Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness checked in on commentary and turned things over to ring announcer Bobby Cruise for the introductions of the opening match…

1. Eddie Kingston vs. Jay Lethal (w/Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett, Satnam Singh, Sonjay Dutt) for the ROH Championship. Stokely Hathaway sat in on commentary and said Kingston makes him sick. The wrestlers adhered to the Code of Honor handshake. Kingston clotheslined Lethal over the top rope to the floor. Jeff and Dutt dared Kingston to come to ringside.

Kingston turned around and then Lethal rushed back to the ring to blindside him, but Kingston saw him coming. Both men traded chops. Kingston got the better of it and then Lethal went back to the floor. Lethal pulled Kingston to ringside and ran him into the ring post. Lethal returned to the ring and did the strut while Jeff and Dutt did it on the apron.

Once Kingston was back in the ring, Lethal distracted the referee and then Dutt snuck in a cheap shot. Lethal suplexed Kingston into the corner and then covered him for a two count. Lethal threw chops at Kingston, who came back with an exploder suplex. Kingston hit Lethal with a series of chops in the corner and then hit him with a running boot to the face before covering him for a two count.

Lethal came back briefly and went for the Lethal Injection. Kingston stuffed it and performed a Saito suplex and a uranage slam. Dutt climbed onto the apron. Kingston knocked Dutt off the apron and onto Jedd on the floor. Lethal took advantage of the distraction and put Kingston down.

Karen climbed onto the apron and distracted the referee. Meanwhile, Kingston and Lethal crawled to reach a guitar that was left on the other side of the ring. Ortiz appeared at ringside and slammed the guitar over Dutt’s head. Kingston stuffed another Lethal Injection and countered into a half and half suplex. Kingston followed up with a spinning back fist and scored the pin…

Eddie Kingston defeated Jay Lethal in 10:55 to retain the ROH Championship.

After the match, Kingston and Ortiz joined Renee Paquette and RJ City on the entrance ramp. Kingston called Hathaway a baldheaded bitch and thanked the LA crowd. After Kingston and Ortiz, Hathaway stood by Paquette and City while they ran through the pay-per-view lineup…

Powell’s POV: A decent opener. I was hoping we’d get the old Lethal for one night since he was going for the ROH Championship, but it was what’s become the norm with all the distractions and interference from his sidekicks.

A video package aired on the Orange Cassidy vs. Jon Moxley match for the AEW International Championship…

Dasha took over as the ring announcer for the second match…

2. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Buddy Matthews.