Brian Cage's Eliminator Tournament Opponent Set For AEW Full Gear Zero Hour

When AEW President Tony Khan announced the recent AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament, the plan was for the finals to take place at Full Gear on November 19, with the winner going on to face the champion at Winter Is Coming next month. However, plans changed when Lance Archer attacked his first-round opponent, Ricky Starks, on the November 9 edition of "AEW Dynamite." With Starks out of commission, the match was pushed to this week's "AEW Rampage," where we finally learned who would advance to face Brian Cage in a semifinal match on tonight's AEW Full Gear Zero Hour.

Just as Starks promised after the "Murderhawk Monster" attacked him, their altercation began in the backstage area well before the bell rang for their match. Once they fought their way into the squared circle, the former FTW Champion proved to be too fast for Jake "The Snake" Roberts' protege and scored the pin after a spear. With Starks' victory over the towering enforcer of Suzuki-gun, former Team Taz members are now set to clash on tonight's pre-show, which also features a 10-man tag match that pits The Factory against AEW All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy, Best Friends, Rocky Romero, and a very mysterious, very evil partner.

Following the tournament match, Cage appeared on the entrance ramp with The Embassy's Prince Nana to acknowledge his former partner. Thanks to the distraction from "The Machine," Archer was able to deal a few parting blows to Starks, including a choke slam onto the side of the steel ring stairs. 

Zero Hour is available on AEW's YouTube channel and Bleacher Report at 7 p.m. EST.