AEW has announced that Tommaso Ciampa will defend the AEW National Championship against Ilja Dragunov at Full Gear on Saturday.
The title match was officially set on Wednesday’s three-hour Dynamite and Collision special in West Valley City, Utah, shortly after Ciampa successfully defended the belt against Mike Bailey.
Ciampa hit Bailey with a running knee and got the pin. It was his first title defense. Following the match, the arena lights went out and Dragunov appeared on the stage to a big pop. In the ring, Ciampa held up the belt in front of Dragunov, who pointed at the big screen, where the match was announced for Full Gear.
Full Gear will take place at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona, and the main card is set to start at 8 p.m. ET.
Ciampa defeated Andrade El Idolo to win the National title on Saturday’s Collision from Chris Jericho’s cruise. Full Gear will be his second title defense in just three days, and it’s exactly a week after he won the belt.
Dragunov, who debuted in AEW less than a month ago at WrestleDream, confronted Ciampa on the October 28 Dynamite after Ciampa called himself the biggest signing in company history. Ciampa and Dragunov have wrestled before with a title on the line. On the December 12, 2025, SmackDown, Dragunov defeated Ciampa to retain the WWE United States Championship.