AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam
September 25, 2024
by Doc Allen
Live from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, New York. WrestleTix estimates attendance at 8,191, significantly down from previous years. There may have been some heavy papering, the building looks more full than that number would suggest. Jim Ross, Excalibur, Taz, and Tony Shiavone are on commentary.
Nigel McGuinness vs. AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson
Bryan's music plays but he's a no-show. Nigel demands that he be given a countout victory over the "American Coward.” The ref starts counting but gets interrupted by "The Final Countdown” and American Dragon arrives in style. Fans chant "holy sh!t” while they lock up. They get reacquainted with some stiff blows. Chain wrestling gives way to snug uppercuts. Bryan grabs the LeBell Lock, Nigel gets the ropes. Bryan gets tossed onto his bad arm, Nigel follows with a drop toe hold into the steps. Danielson barely avoids getting his wrist crushed by the steps and smashes Nigel into the post. Bryan escapes London Dungeon and runs wild while clutching his arm. Bryan blocks the Tower of London, blasts the BuSaiKu knee, but is too hurt to cover. The YES kicks get a nearfall. Nigel headstands on the turnbuckles, absorbs a neck vice, but flips over for an inverted DDT. Nigel blocks the LeBell lock by clubbing the bad arm. Nigel nails a brutal lariat for only 1! Nigel thumbs the eyes, hits a ripcord lariat, only gets 2. He unloads hammer and anvil elbows, delivers the Tower of London, Bryan kicks out! Nigel goes back to the London Dungeon and pulls him over his knees. Bryan floats over and exhausts himself hitting hammer and anvil elbows. Nigel continually attacks the bad arm and hits another explosive lariat for a great nearfall. Bryan works extra hard to grab the LeBell lock. Nigel mouths "thank you” and taps at 18:47. I think audio problems kept the crowd muted, every now and then there'd be a glitch and they'd come through loud. This was a very good match on its own merits, built around pride and Bryan's injuries. It didn't live up to my wild imagination, but that's understandable considering their physical conditions and age. Still can't believe we got another Bryan/Nigel match in 2024, ***¾.Winner: Bryan Danielson
Christian Cage teases cashing in his Currency in the Safe briefcase but Kip Sabian steals it. Cage gives chase but gets blocked by Pac and Claudio Castagnoli, for reasons completely unknown.
FTW Championship:
Hook © vs. Roderick Strong (with The Undisputed Kingdom)
Hook outwrestles Strong, forcing a timeout. Hook chases Strong and relentlessly hammers him against the rails. Strong misses a kendo shot, Hook hits a brutal leg sweep into the barricade. T-bone suplex for Bennett, Strong capitalizes with a slam onto the steps. Back from commercials, Hook makes a heroic comeback right on cue. Taven passes a chair for Strong to block Red Rum. Hook answers with a judo throw onto a chair platform. Strong hits a fireman carry slam onto a standing chair and nails the Sick Kick for a good nearfall. Hook counters into Red Rum to win at 8:56. Average TV match with a couple of token hardcore spots, **¼.Winner and still FTW Champion: Hook
Roddie offers up a handshake to Hook, and the swerve is that the Undisputed Kingdom DOES NOT attack. Hook officially retires the FTW title and returns it to Papa Taz, who wipes away tears. This was the right way to finally retire the belt.
AEW Tag Team Championship:
The Young Bucks © vs. International Champion Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher
The Bucks immediately start cheating and swarm Ospreay with tandem offense. Kyle makes the blind tag and allows Ospreay to hit a moonsault from his back. Ospreay and Fletcher deliver stereo moonsaults outside. Back from commercials, Fletcher plants both Bucks and Ospreay runs wild on a hot tag. The Bucks recover with their superior teamwork, Ospreay eats a PK for 2. Somersault Senton/Powerbomb combo by the Bucks, Fletcher breaks the pin. Ospreay blocks the EVP Trigger and nails a double OsCutter. Nicholas reverses Fletchers' poison rana, Ospreay sprints through a wild rescue, nailing a 450 Splash, then no selling a Destroyer to hit the Hidden Blade. All 4 guys go down for an ovation. Fletcher and Nicholas restart with a brawl, but the Bucks' trickery leads to a rana outside. They give Fletcher a TK Driver on the apron! Back from MORE commercials, the TK Driver gets reversed into stereo Styles Clashes! Ospreay nails the Hidden Blade and Storm Zero, Matthew breaks the pin. The Bucks break up the Tiger Driver and swarm Fletcher with more tandem attacks. Ospreay interrupts More Bang for Your Buck, and blocks the TK Driver with a springboard cutter! Ospreay and Fletcher steal the TK Driver for an INSANE but silly nearfall. Another silly nearfall leads to Jackson taking a turnbuckle brainbuster. The match totally breaks down and they transition to flying outside. Don Callis passes a screwdriver to Fletcher and distracts the referee. Ospreay takes away the screwdriver, but eats a belt shot. The Bucks get a belt shot on Fletcher for a convincing false finish. The EVP Trigger ends Fletcher at 19:30. Gnarly spotfest that played out pretty much the way you'd expect, but extremely well executed, ****.Winners and still AEW Tag Team Champions: The Young Bucks
Renee Paquette hangs out with the Conglomeration, including newest member, Rocky Romero. They're facing The Learning Tree on Collision, which means new t-shirts and ass-whoopings by Mark Briscoe. I don't know how Orange Cassidy can keep a straight face while Mark rants and raves, but it's endearing.
Tony Shiavone hosts Prince Nana on the stage. He gives an update on Swerve Strickland. Mentally, no one can stop Swerve, but physically he's not cleared to compete. He's interrupted by Montel Vontavious Porter! MVP has been watching Swerve all year and thinks his only failure has been "management.” He passes a business card to Nana, just in case Swerve wants to be taken seriously again. Nice surprise and good story seed.
Dramatic video package shows the Scapegoat Mobile driving towards Queens.
AEW Women's World Championship:
Mariah May © vs. Yuka Sakazaki
Yuka welcomes May with a springboard plancha. Modified Tiger Fade Kick by Yuka gets 2. They slug it out until Yuka nails a roaring elbow. May gleefully answers with a shotgun dropkick on the floor. She hits a spinning power slam for 2. Yuka counters with the Tarantula. She blocks May Day and gives her rolling body scissors for 2. May answers with a German suplex, then a botchy slam for 2. Yuka hits a Northern Lights bomb, May blocks the Magical Girl Splash. Storm Zero ends it at 6:47. They displayed a disappointing lack of chemistry, and arbitrarily exchanged moves until the finish, **.Winner and still AEW Women's World Champion: Mariah May
Willow Nightingale confronts May, but gets distracted by Mina Shirakawa's arrival. May embraces Mina, who looks uncomfortable with what just transpired.
Jon Moxley (with Marina Shafir) vs. Darby Allin
Allin's AEW World title shot is on the line. Mox greets him with a big boot. Mox obliterates Darby until he bleeds from the mouth. Mox delivers the meanest Irish whip ever to send Darby crashing outside. Darby traps Mox in the ring skirt for some easy offense. He traps Mox's arm in the ring post for more free shots, then hits a Coffin Drop outside. Lightning somersault tope by Darby, Marina steps in and distracts him for Moxley to hit a body slam. Back from commercials, Mox is confidently picking Allin apart. Darby answers with a missile dropkick through a chair! Code Red gets 2. Mox recovers with a shotgun dropkick into the buckles. Darby responds with a springboard crossbody and grabs an armbar. Mox escapes and slaps Darby off the buckles. Marina exposes the tennis court floor, but Moxley can't hit Death Rider. Darby misses a tope and takes a nasty landing on the exposed floor. Mox hits a twisting power slam on the steps. Darby beats the countout, fans chant "You can't kill him!” Darby sidesteps a head of steam, but Mox reverses the Coffin Drop into a rear naked choke. Allin is foaming at the mouth but still gets a rope break. Marina's distraction allows Moxley to hit an avalanche Death Rider and win at 18:45! Darby once again sacrifices his body to have a great match, ***¾.Winner: Jon Moxley
Bryan Danielson runs in to choke Moxley with a tie. Pac and Claudio make the save, but get jumped by Private Party. The BCC manage to save Mox from a BuSaiKu knee and retreat. Danielson declares war and vows to kick Moxley's f***ing a** at WrestleDream.
Final Thoughts: This was a very good episode of Dynamite that played out like a mini-PPV by ending some chapters and setting the stage for WrestleDream. It's continually depressing to see AEW's live attendance continue to regress. I really don't see any solutions to the problem, other than avoiding becoming complacent again. WWE can afford to half-a** it for two decades and be just fine, AEW still needs to sing for their supper, especially since WWE has become a hot product again. Overall, Grand Slam was satisfying, and a good step forward, but they've got a lot of work to do.
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