AEW Grand Slam was another banger of a show from Arthur Ashe Stadium, as we knew it would be. Three stellar matches, all very different, plus two solid short matches made this show a very easy watch.
Things kicked off with the Danielson-McGuinness bout, and while not at the level of their best work, this was a helluva grappling contest that showcased the beautiful poetry of chain wrestling. Nigel looked like he hadn't missed a step in his 13 years away from the ring, exchanging holds and counters with the best technical wrestler in the world. Nigel worked Danielson's arm after slamming it into the ring steps and the post early on, and it affected Danielson's ability to use the LeBell Lock. They exchanged their big moves and Danielson went for Nigel's rebound lariat, but Nigel cut him off with a lariat of his own for a double down. But they landed in such a way that Danielson was able to apply the LeBell Lock after shaking off his injured arm, and he eventually got the tapout (Nigel appeared to say "thank you" as he gave up). Just a lovely scientific match between two of the best to ever do it. ****1/2
Next was Hook defending the FTW Title against Roderick Strong, and it was a mix of takedowns and submissions and wacky FTW stuff. Hook took out Roddy's Undisputed Kingdom buddies with a kendo stick, but they ganged up on him and Roddy sent Hook into a corner chair. Hook came back with a judo throw through two set-up chairs and eventually locked in Redrum for the submission. Roddy demanded a handshake post-match and they teased an attack, but in the end Roddy just hugged Hook and left. Hook then took the mic and announced the FTW would be officially retired, and handed it back to its creator, Hook's father Taz. They hugged and Taz wiped away tears. This was a nice moment, and thank Christ AEW is down one title belt. ***1/4
The third match was the insane-as-expected Tag Title match pitting The Young Bucks against Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher. The crowd was wild for this match all the way through. Tons of crazy stuff here, the most memorable of which was a sequence where Nick hit Kyle with an X-Factor, Ospreay hit a 450 on Nick, Matt hit a Destroyer on Will, and Will countered with a Hidden Blade before dropping to the mat. Late in the bout Don Callis handed Kyle the screwdriver, Kyle went to use it, and Ospreay stopped him, but then both guys got hit with belt shots, Kyle kicked out of a nearfall and ate a double superkick and the BTE Trigger to give the Bucks the win. Great stuff as always from these four, and it further teased a split between Ospreay and Kyle, or Kyle and Callis. ****3/4
Prince Nana cut a promo talking about how Swerve wasn't cleared to return yet but he's working on it, and suddenly MVP appeared, running down Nana's management of Swerve and saying he's turned Swerve into a joke. I guess that means the Hurt Business is AEW-bound. I have mixed feelings about this, as Swerve definitely should not be used to get a 48-year-old Bobby Lashley over. If they're bringing in Lashley to help raise Swerve's stock, then I'm okay with it.
The death spot sadly went to the Women's Title match, as Mariah May defended against Yuka Sakazaki. This was a solid little match but unfortunately the crowd was pretty exhausted from the tag match and also Yuka was never a real threat to Mariah's title. Yuka went for her signature splash but Mariah got her knees up and hit Storm Zero for the win. Mariah went to attack Yuka with the belt but Willow Nightingale ran down for the save. Then as Mina Shirakawa's music hit, Willow was distracted and got clobbered with the belt. Mariah ran to the entrance and hugged a regretful Mina. Three-way for the title at WrestleDream? ***1/4
The main event went to Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin, and these two had a brutal war of attrition. Darby charged at the bell but Mox flattened him with a boot to the face that busted Darby's mouth open. Mox whipped him to the corner and Darby went sailing through the ropes to the floor. They fought on the outside for a while, Darby momentarily got the advantage by trapping Mox in the apron, and later by shoving Mox's arm into the top of the ring post. Marina Shafir and Mox ripped up the floor mats and Mox went for a Deathrider on the exposed flooring, but Darby escaped and went for a dive. Mox moved and Darby landed hard on the floor. Mox flip-suplexed him onto the ring steps for a near-countout. Darby got the upper hand and went for a Coffin Drop but Mox countered into a choke. Darby almost passed out but made the ropes. Darby set Mox up for a superplex but Mox countered in midair for an avalanche Deathrider for the pin. Brutal match. Danielson ran down and choked Mox with a tie, but Pac and Claudio ran down to pull him off. Private Party and Komander also ran down but the BCC took them all out. Great main event. ****1/2
So another successful Grand Slam is in the books. The crowd was down again from last year, which further illustrates why they should choose a different venue for 2025's edition. But no complaints about the show's content; it was another Clash of the Champions-esque episode of Dynamite.
Best Match: Young Bucks vs. Ospreay/Fletcher, although I have a soft spot for Danielson-McGuinness
Worst Match: Probably Mariah vs. Yuka just because of the crowd
What I'd Change: Not much, maybe put the women's match on earlier
Most Disappointing Match: None
Most Pleasant Surprise: That they actually, finally, retired the FTW Title
Overall Rating: 9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment