Written by Brandom Hoffman
It’s Saturday. You know what that means. AEW Grand Slam Australia on tape delay from the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney had Americans wait patiently for a big card. We go straight into the action to start the show with a Death Riders v. Don Callis Family singles showdown.
Jon Moxley (c) v. Konosuke Takeshita – AEW Continental Championship Match
The amount of sexual tension in this match is insane. Someone had to say it. Moxley overshot a Tope Suicida early on and landed in an ugly way. Such intensity from both peeps ramped up the desperation to win. The time calls of minutes passing towards the end of this match also made for a big deal, and Mox and Takeshita refused to die. They even kicked out at one after hitting impactful moves within the last minute.
This one ended in a time limit draw, and it was a great way to protect both these peeps. Fans naturally booed once the bell rang without a winner, but this result is the best method to secure a rematch in the back pocket. If this is the first of more matches to come from Mox and Takeshita, I won’t complain about this non-finish to start the show.
Kris Statlander’s backstage promo after losing to Thekla this past Dynamite looked really cool. The promo featured her blood dripping off her face as she said that “Karma isn’t a bitch, it’s a cosmic killer.”
Babes of Wrath (Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron) (c) v. MegaBad (Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford) – AEW Women’s Tag Team Championship Match
It is absolutely lovely to see tag team matches that feature double team moves being the bulk of the offense as opposed to one person from each side taking turns. Megan Bayne looked properly strong once again with Ford taking the rollup loss thanks to Gold Coast’s own Harley Cameron. Gold Coast is closer to Sydney than Brisbane or Perth, so Cameron played the closest to a “hometown hero” here.
Speaking of Perth, Lena Kross appeared to assault the Babes of Wrath after the chemistry-filled tag match ended. She is officially All Elite now, and aligned with MegaBad. It felt like AEW were expecting more of a reaction to Kross’s appearance, with Excalibur putting her over on commentary as an “Australian independent standout.” Oh well.
Andrade El Idolo v. “Hangman” Adam Page – AEW Men’s World Title #1 Contendership Match
Another attractive woman in the crowd just can’t resist Andrade. But Hangman intercepted the rizz to take a selfie with the woman, but nothing more since he’s a married man. Let’s hope this selfie doesn’t strum up controversy. Very chop and lariat-heavy offense in this match with great selling from Andrade. At one point he sold a sit-out powerbomb and fooled me into thinking he was concussed. What a worker.
Tons of individual sequences here made the match go up in gears beautifully. It culminated with Page hitting a Buckshot Lariat after kicking Andrade in the penis for the win. Page will now face the AEW World Champion at Revolution and to be honest, this was the wrong option. The Bluesky Cowboy already won the World Title, while Andrade has yet to get a sniff at it. AEW even teased Andrade v. MJF at one point, and now they aren’t doing it. This isn’t a hate brigade against Hangman, but rather a fist-shaking frustration just in general.
Toni Storm & Orange Cassidy v. Marina Shafir & Wheeler YUTA – Mixed Tornado Tag Team Match, Whoever gets pinned must have their head shaved!
The fight started out in the crowd and Yuta piledrove Toni Storm onto a table. The intergender wrestling got on full display with Cassidy’s struggle against the two v. one advantage while Storm got taken to the back. After recuperating, Storm took part in the dance against the Death Riders, literally dancing with Cassidy at one point. This match would end with quite the combo from both Storm and Cassidy ono Yuta. The Sweet Cheeks Music, Orange Punch, and Storm Zero all pinned Yuta.
Initially Yuta didn’t want to shave, but disappointed dad Jon Moxley yelled at his hairy stablemate to get back in the ring and just do it. Thus, the scene pictured below delighted AEW fans as the crowd chanted “You Deserve It” at Yuta while he got shaved. Brilliant all around, Storm and Cassidy remain an entertaining pair, and Moxley’s energy of a dad scolding his son Yuta was so funny.
Kyle Fletcher (c) v. Mark Briscoe – AEW TNT Championship Ladder Match
Every time you think you have seen the “match of the night” on an AEW card, they continue to top themselves. So many ladder spots dominated the match, including some very awkward landings. There was a point where Briscoe landed neck first on the apron, and later, Fletcher landed on his neck after being hit with the Froggy Bow on a ladder bridge. A Jay Driller through a ladder too, good lord. Briscoe even bit Fletcher on the head and screamed “Tastes like shrimp on the barbie!” which got a pop out of me.
So much madness that climaxed with a nasty Brainbuster off a ladder by Fletcher to Briscoe. Ouch. Fletcher won this one to successfully defend the title in quite the spot-filled battle. Both these guys threw caution at the wind and kept doing insane moves all for the sake of the TNT Title. Between this, Mox/Takeshita, and Page/Andrade, I truly don’t know what to call the match of the night. They were all unique in their own sense and each magnificent as a standalone segment. It’s all just one awesome thing after another tonight.
MJF (c) v. Brody King – AEW Men’s World Championship Match
The “F**K ICE” chants carried over into Australia; it looks like this is going to be a regular thing for Brody King matches? If so, super. MJF called back to his teaming with Adam Cole and hit a Kangaroo Kick on King before MJF flipped off the crowd. King’s leg was the target practice for MJF throughout this one. It made for a methodical pace, bringing wrestling back down to a core as opposed to flippy dippy business.
Bandido showed up at ringside to support King at some point in the match. Broken thumb and all, Bandido showed off his enthusiasm and desire to see King win. In fact, his excitement was so overwhelming that he banged his injured hand against the apron. This hot momentum led to the Gonzo Bomb, but MJF kicked out of it. Now that is very surprising, after putting over this move as a big deal it gets a two-count? Dang.
MJF continued with the punishment and bit King’s exposed knee. The Heat Seeker then defeated King in an underwhelming ending when all was said and done. After all the great matches we’ve seen tonight, this main event World Title match by comparison was just okay. The limb work style of wrestling is not as exciting as a spotfest ladder match, so the reactions were not as favorable as most other matches on the same card.
The momentum Brody King built up going into this match turned out to all be for nothing, especially evident with “Hangman” Adam Page coming out to the ring post-match. AEW is already looking ahead to Revolution, which potentially means Brody King won’t be in the main event scene for the foreseeable future. Let’s wish upon a star that King can stay in the main event somehow.
Overall, it was a fantastic night of wrestling. Perhaps if Brody and MJF kicked off the show and something else main evented, fans could walk away from this show happier. Regardless of the match order, there are a ton of replayable matches and moments from tonight that make AEW Grand Slam Australia a grand slam dunk.
