It's September and you know what that means, it's time for AEW Grand Slam!
The fourth annual free TV PPV-caliber event once again emanates from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, NY, and judging by the diminishing box office returns I think next year they should move it somewhere else. Holding any wrestling event in the same venue every year is a challenge at best, and it seems like this one has run its course at Arthur Ashe for a while. But as always the Dynamite lineup should be pretty spectacular, and even the Collision card this year looks very good. Let's take a gander.....
Dynamite
FTW Championship: Hook vs. Roderick Strong
I still think it's time to lose this fake belt, as it's not officially sanctioned by AEW and it was only ever a prop that got defended once in a while. Now it's become a full gimmick for Hook, who defends it frequently. Let's get a real title on this guy instead, huh? Anyway, this should be a very fun mix of grappling and no-DQ bells and whistles. Hook just won this back from Jericho so he isn't losing it here.
Pick: Hook retains
AEW Women's Championship: Mariah May vs. Yuka Sakazaki
I haven't seen Yuka wrestle since the early days of AEW, but this should be a good Stardom-style match. I wonder if Toni Storm will finally re-emerge or if Mina Shirakawa will get involved; Mariah-Mina seems like the plan for WrestleDream. There obviously won't be a title change here but it should be entertaining.
Pick: Mariah retains
AEW Tag Team Championship: Young Bucks vs. Will Ospreay & Kyle Fletcher
Holy jeez this should be stellar. The trios match these four had with Okada and Takeshita last week was incredible, and this oughta be right up there with it. It feels like the Bucks should keep the titles longer but I wouldn't be shocked if Ospreay and Fletcher pulled off an upset either. Seems like the Callis Family is turning babyface so maybe Kenny Omega can come back and lead it against his former friends, which I suppose would lead to the Bucks vs. Golden Lovers at some point. Anyway, I guess I'll stick with the champs to retain for now.
Pick: Bucks retain
Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin
This one will be a brutal fight. I think this is a first-time match for AEW, no? This is another one that could go either way, as WrestleDream is in Washington and a Danielson-Allin match would be huge there, but then again, Moxley just turned on Danielson so that's where the money feud is. I reckon Mox wins here, beats Danielson at the PPV, and Darby chases him for the title.
Pick: Moxley
Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness
Fifteen years minus one day since the last time these two legendary rivals faced off, the greatest feud in ROH history will write one final chapter. Say what you will about how we got here, and I wasn't crazy about the convoluted booking, but I won't ever be sad about getting to see Danielson vs. McGuinness. These two were born to wrestle each other and this is one of my favorite feuds ever. It's not for the title - I think they should've just had Nigel win the All In gauntlet - so it could conceivably go either way, but I think Danielson gets one final win over his archenemy.
Pick: Danielson
Collision
Trios Championship: Pac/Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta vs. TBD
Not sure how to pick this one since we don't know the opponents and Wheeler isn't on the same page as his BCC teammates. One would think the titles change hands here after Wheeler and the other two have a blowup, but it depends on who the challengers are.
Pick: TBD
The Beast Mortos vs. Hologram vs. Dralistico
This should be a fun one. Hologram and Dralistico are wacky high flyers while Mortos is an athletic bruiser. Mortos has been getting the highest-profile matches so I think he probably wins here, and Dralistico is in this one to eat the pin so Hologram doesn't have to.
Pick: Mortos
The Learning Tree vs. The Conglomeration
Orange Cassidy just beat Chris Jericho last week so I'd guess the Learning Tree wins this particular battle. Not sure what the blowoff to this feud is for WrestleDream. Another OC-Jericho match with a gimmick?
Pick: Learning Tree
Saraya's Rules Match: Jamie Hayter vs. Saraya
Saraya's Rules basically means Saraya can do anything she wants but Jamie can't. Seems too early for Jamie to lose but if she does, this stipulation protects her. This Collision lineup seems like it will be heavy on heel wins so maybe Jamie pulls this one off.
Pick: Jamie
Kazuchika Okada vs. Sammy Guevara
This is an eliminator match where if Sammy wins he gets a title shot at the 5th Anniversary show next week. Okada vs. Sammy for the title seems a tad out of nowhere and I feel like someone bigger should be wrestling Okada next week. That, and I can't see Okada losing to Sammy right now.
Pick: Okada
Lumberjack Strap Match: Hangman Page vs. Jeff Jarrett
This will likely show WWE and CM Punk how to properly do a strap match. None of that corner-touching horseshit. The strap is meant to be a weapon you either beat someone down with or choke them out with. Hangman will get some satisfaction over a guy he perceives to have stood in the way of getting vengeance on Swerve.
Pick: Hangman
So there's your lineup - the Dynamite matches seem easier to predict than the Collision ones. Dynamite should be a great show, Collision should be a good show. Hopefully they'll move a good number of tickets before Wednesday so the crowd approaches last year's number.
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