AEW Grand Slam Australia: As Is Their Usual

Grand Slam
Date: February 15, 2025
Location: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re down under for the first time in AEW’s history and that should make for quite the big show. In this case we are going to be seeing a bunch of Australians getting title shots in a rather tacked card. Other than that, we are just a few weeks away from Revolution and the show could use some build. Let’s get to it.

Don Callis Family vs. Kenny Omega/Will Ospreay

Don Callis and Mark Davis are here with Konosuke Takeshita/Kyle Fletcher. Ospreay gets shouldered down to start as the ring looks a bit smaller than usual. Back up and Ospreay hits a flipping kick to drop Fletcher, allowing the tag to Omega. Fletcher escapes You Can’t Escape so Omega settles for the Kotaro Crusher. Omega dives onto Fletcher on the floor but Takeshita cuts him off.

A top rope backsplash gives Takeshita two and a knee to the ribs gets two. The Snapdragon gets Omega out of trouble and everything breaks down with Ospreay giving Takeshita the Cheeky Nandos Kick. Everyone is own and we take a break, coming back with Ospreay chopping away at Fletcher. A powerbomb attempt is countered into a powerbomb (that was impressive) and Fletcher is down again.

Callis breaks up the Hidden Blade though and Takeshita sends Omega flying with a release German suplex. Ospreay is back up with a heck of a dive onto Fletcher on the floor, leaving Omega to V Trigger Takeshita for two. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Takeshita two of his own and we need another breather. A not exactly smooth poisonrana takes Takeshita down so Omega tries a super One Winged Angel.

That’s broken up so Ospreay Hidden Blades Fletcher, only for the villains to come back with stereo Tombstones for two each. Back up and they slug it out until Takeshita knees Omega down for two. A Stundog Millionaire drops Fletcher but Takeshita breaks up the Hidden Blade. Omega sends Fletcher outside so Ospreay can hit a big flip dive over the post. Back in and a Hidden Blade/One Winged Angel combination finishes Takeshita (I would hope so) at 21:10.

Rating: A-. Yeah this was awesome and it was the kind of match that AEW has been needing. It was four guys going out there and just going nuts for over twenty minutes to pop the heck out of the crowd. Normally I would say that this should be it for the feud with the Callis Family, but the fact that it won’t be would only bring me down. This was a blast and a great opener.

TBS Title: Harley Cameron vs. Mercedes Mone

Mone is defending and poses on the top rope to start. A slam puts Cameron down again and Mone tells her to get out of her ring. Then why did you put her in the middle? It’s way too early for the Mone Maker and Cameron rubs her chest in Mone’s face. Naturally Cameron grabs her Mone puppet and hammers away in the corner, only for Mone to stomp on the puppet. The running knees in the corner give Mone two and another Meteora gets the same as we take a break.

Back with Cameron hitting a springboard bulldog and making the clothesline comeback. Mone grabs Three Amigos for the Eddie Dance but the frog splash hits knees. A baseball slide sends Cameron to the floor but she comes back with the puppet (as you do) and the fans start a FEEL THE WRATH chant. Back in and Cameron hits a Canadian Destroyer for two but Mone is back with a powerbomb. The top rope Meteora gives Mone two more so Cameron rolls her up for some near falls. A Swanton misses though and the Mone Maker retains the title at 12:52.

Rating: B. Cameron was working hard here but it probably would have been a step too far for her to win the title here. She hasn’t done much in the way of winning and while she has been on fire, having her beat Mone, even in Australia, would have stretched the realism a bit too far. That being said, Mone needs to move on already as it feels like she has been champion for about fourteen years.

Post match Mone mocks Momo Watanabe, who could get a title shot after her win at Wrestle Dynasty.

Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay are happy with their win. Omega wants Konosuke Takeshita for the International Title at Revolution. Ospreay wants Kyle Fletcher in a cage that night too. As the eternal feuds continue.

We recap Cope/Jay White vs. the Death Riders. Cope and White are sick of the Death Riders (making them the voice of the people) so it’s time for a Brisbane Brawl.

Cope/Jay White vs. Death Riders

Anything goes. Cope comes out first and the fans sing his song to him which is a rather cool moment. It’s a brawl (as it’s supposed to be) before the bell, during the bell and then after the bell with the Riders getting beaten down early on. Cope and Castagnoli go into the crowd, leaving White to send Moxley into the barricade.

A dive off a balcony takes Castagnoli down but Moxley puts White onto a table. Cope is back to break up the elbow through said table though, only for Castagnoli to take White out. Moxley puts Cope through the table and we take a break. Back with Cope hammering away but getting cut down with the Paradigm Shift.

White swings away with a kendo stick for a needed breather but gets sent into a chair into the corner to cut him right back down. A quick Blade Runner hits Castagnoli so here is Wheeler Yuta to whip White with a belt. That earns him a Blade Runner of his own and Cope spears Castagnoli through a table in the corner. Cope whips out a barbed wire chair to cut Moxley’s back open but Marina Shafir is in with a briefcase shot. Moxley chokes Cope 14:41.

Rating: B. It was another wild brawl and of course the Death Riders get the win because they’re all violent and hardcore. I’m not sure why Moxley choking Cope out a few weeks before their title match is supposed to make me want to see them fight again, but did I mention how violent Moxley is? And the villains have the briefcase back, making that whole thing quite the nothing story point.

Post match Moxley keeps up the choke until he just lets go.

International Title: Buddy Matthews vs. Kazuchika Okada

Okada is defending and naturally flips Matthews off rather than shaking his hand. Matthews takes him up against the ropes for a slap on the chest, with Okada flinching a bit. The dropkick misses for Okada but the stomp misses for Matthews and they go to a kneeling standoff. This time Matthews flips him off so Okada tries to walk off, earning him the designation of a w*****.

Okada comes back in so Matthews knees away, sending him right back to the floor for a needed breather. Back in and the dropkick sends Matthews off the top and to the floor as we take a break. We come back with Matthews hitting a top rope Meteora for two but Okada neckbreakers him down. The top rope elbow (more of a falling one than anything resembling a jump) lets Okada flip him off again, only for Matthews to grab the finger.

That’s broken up and Okada hits a quick Rainmaker for two, leaving him stunned, despite it rarely working the first time. The stomp and Matthews’ Law give Matthews two and the fans are NOT pleased. Back up and a superplex into the Jackhammer gives Matthews two more so he grabs the Prism Trap. Nigel: “Something of a tribute!” With the directionless tribute over (yes I know what he meant), Okada kicks him low and hits the Rainmaker to retain at 13:24.

Rating: B-. This had its moments but Okada doing the middle finger thing so often has lost its appeal over time. Other than that, it was Matthews doing his usually awesome stuff and looking good, though Okada has to hold the title for the better part of ever. Another Australian loses their title shot and I’m sure it should set up a big title change in the main event, but it’s also a bit disheartening.

Since just having Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita for the title at Revolution is to easy, we’re getting an International Championship Series, with Roderick Strong vs. Orange Cassidy taking place next week on Dynamite, with the winner of that getting a title shot against Takeshita the next week. The winner of that gets Omega at Revolution, meaning that somehow the person who issued a challenge is in the title match (with his one singles win in over a year), but the champion has to earn his way in. Because AEW.

We recap Toni Storm challenging Mariah May for the Women’s Title. May beat her for the title, but Storm came back and faked amnesia to get the title back, despite already having the title match.

Women’s Title: Mariah May vs. Toni Storm

Storm is challenging and is introduced by Luther. They stare at each other to start with Storm taking her into the corner to take over fast. Storm has to be dragged off so May is back up with a Sling Blade into a dropkick into the corner. May Day is countered into a German suplex and Storm snaps off five more of them to really prove her point. They go outside with May sending her into the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Storm hitting some clotheslines before grabbing an STF. The rope gets May out of trouble and she grabs May Day on the floor to leave them both down. Back in and May dropkicks her into the corner but Storm is back up with the running hip attack. May grabs a pair of May Days for two so she yells at the referee, who shoves her back down. A Stratusphere is broken up and Storm hits a powerbomb into Storm Zero, with May rolling outside. Back in and May gets in a Storm Zero of her own, only for Storm to small package her to get the title back at 15:45.

Rating: B-. That was a really weird ending as Storm hit her finish but May was right back up, leaving Storm to win on almost a fluke ending. I’m not sure why you wouldn’t want Storm to win dominantly in front of her home country crowd but at least we’re…back to where we were for months on end with Storm as champion. It’s the big feel good moment for the live fans, but Timeless Toni as champion has been done for a good while.

Overall Rating: A-. For a special show that aired on free TV, they nailed this with nothing close to a bad match and the big moment at the end. As usual, AEW is at its best when they ignore almost anything involving storylines and have a wrestling heavy show, and that’s pretty much everything they were doing here. Pretty awesome show, with the opener being great and the rest being more than good enough.

Results
Kenny Omega/Will Ospreay b. Don Callis Family – Hidden Blade/One Winged Angel combination to Takeshita
Mercedes Mone b. Harley Cameron – Mone Maker
Death Riders b. Cope/Jay White via referee stoppage
Kazuchika Okada b. Buddy Matthews – Rainmaker
Toni Storm b. Mariah May – Small package

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