AEW’s Grand Slam Australia was taped earlier in the day for American audiences, live from Brisbane Entertainment Centre. The show ran half an hour behind schedule due to the NBA All-Star festivities, but it was always dependent on how much drama the dunk contest produced this year—it outperformed expectations.
With a potentially massive lead-in, AEW was in a prime position to reap the benefits of delivering a memorable event to a wider audience.
Mariah May (c) vs. Toni Storm—AEW Women’s World Title
In a culmination of one of AEW’s greatest long-term bookings in the history of their women’s division, Toni Storm received her shot in front of her home crowd. This moment has eluded Storm in the past despite being a former champ. Her evolution through the ‘Timeless’ gimmick and into the weeks-long finesse job as ‘startup’ Toni Storm created an actual moment in Australia, and off the heels of Buddy’s loss (see below), she had a crowd thirsty to see one of their own leave with the strap.
The champ relinquished the ‘last out entrance’ to the home favorite, and it was clear at that moment that the crowd would play a role in this match. After Toni’s amazing Collision promo a few weeks ago, it felt like she had all the momentum—that speaks to Mariah May’s downtrend as champion.
It was a slow start, and you did not know what to expect from a matchup that has produced plenty of blood, but Toni was careful not to allow her emotions to dictate her offensive output. May, as ruthless as ever, dropped Toni on her back with a suplex on the outside. May followed that up with a dropkick from the top, but Toni regained the momentum to deliver three devastating hip attacks.
Toni’s near-fall victory led to a near-fall victory for May soon after, and the crowd reacted as they traded offense. After another Storm near-fall, she managed to cradle May up for the pinfall victory. It was a quick win and maybe not in line with the payoff expected for Toni. She celebrated as the crowd popped, but it was cut short (at least on U.S. feeds). This should have been Toni’s definitive moment, but there is a feeling that this feud may have another match in it—after May is off TV for a bit.
Kenny Omega & Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher
They saw it fit to start the card off with this banger, and it was a smart move. What was supposed to be a regular tag match turned into a full-on tornado tag filled with high spots and some of the best wrestling on any continent. Kenny Omega received the loudest pop of anyone, including the hometown kid Fletcher, it was a commentary on just how missed Omega has been on AEW TV.
This was an example of the best professionals in the sport working at a high level—all four men received the opportunity to showcase their offense. But it was the generous nature of all four men taking their own lumps from each member of the other team. Of course, there were some multi-body high spots like the ‘three-man suplex’ that saw Will Ospreay take the worst of it.
As high-paced as the action was, the consistency at which these spots came off was 5-star worthy. There were several near-falls before the final sequence that saw both Omega and Ospreay combine finishers for the win.
After the match, backstage, Omega called out Takeshita for his International Title at Revolution, while Ospreay called out Fletcher. Hopefully, this pairing of Omega and Ospreay will continue because they are must-see TV.
Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Cope & Jay White—Brisbane Brawl
It was a violent affair meant to further the stakes of Cope’s challenge for Moxley’s AEW World title. White and Cope worked well together, but their timing and cohesiveness pale in comparison to the team Moxley has curated in the Death Riders.
This felt very similar to what we have seen from Mox matches for the past several months, and he played all the hits: Yuta interference, weapon haul, and choking someone out—in this case, it was Cope. The excessive use of random parts of the ringside set-aside, Yuta, and Shafir’s interference makes the entire dynamic nonsensical when you go back to where this program originated. It is officially lost in the wind, but what kind of shakeup would a Cope title change have, really?
Mercedes Mone (c) vs. Harley Cameron—Women’s TBS Title
Mercedes Mone has come a long way from her initial flat start in AEW, but tonight, she defended both her TBS title and the idea that she can pull off big matches with weaker B-side opponents. It is difficult to sell certain storylines within a match because Mone often works a babyface arch as a heel, and selling that ‘comeback’ is an untypical strategy. This match was filled with near-falls for the challenger, but ultimately, Mone was able to retain.
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Buddy Matthews—AEW Continental Championship
Okada was successful in his AEW Continental title defense against Matthews. The crowd was very much on Buddy’s side as he represented the hometown favorite (one of several on the card). With each near-fall, the crowd counted along to the point that you almost started to believe at home. But in the end, Buddy could not contend as he learns to stand on his own now that he is no longer under the guide of the ‘Black’ fog.
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