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AEW GRAND SLAM: AUSTRALIA
FEBRUARY 15, 2025
BOONDALL, AUSTRALIA AT BRISBANE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE
STREAMING SATURDAY NIGHT ON TNT & MAX
REPORT BY WADE KELLER, EDITOR
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuiness
Attendance: WrestleTix reported that approximately 11,000–12,000 tickets had been distributed as of a couple days ago. The arena has a capacity of 13,500 spectators when configured for concerts.
[HOUR ONE]
-They went right to a shot of the arena as Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” played and Tony Schiavone introduced the show. He called it one of their greatest cards ever. Ring introductions began for the first match.
(Keller’s Analysis: After the NBA All-Star dunk contest concluded, there were several minutes of commercials. Kevin Harlan, when plugging this show during the NBA telecast, merely said “All Elite Wrestling” was coming up next without a reference to it being a “Grand Slam” special from Australia nor mentioning any of the key names on the card, which feels like a lost opportunity for WBD to cross-promote a brand they’re invested in succeeding and growing.)
(1) KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & KYLE FLETCHER (w/Don Callis) vs. WILL OSPREAY & KENNY OMEGA
Takeshita came out first. Then Fletcher came out followed by Don Callis and Mark Davis. Fletcher plugged his ears at ringside during Ospreay’s entrance. Omega came out last. Don Callis joined in on commentary. The ring was weirdly off-center from anything symmetrical in the background opposite the hard cam. The bell rang 7 minutes into the show. Fans were into the early exchanged between Fletcher and Ospreay. Fletcher tagged in Takeshita, who charged and kicked Omega off the ring apron, then went after Ospreay. Schiavone listed the other matches on the show at this point with graphics in the corner for the matches. He said Mariah and Storm would be the main event.
Omega and Ospreay knocked the heels to the floor on opposite sides of the ring. They then pounded the match and played up their next move for nearly 15 seconds, then dove over the top rope onto their opponents who stood up at the exact right time at the same time on opposite sides of the ring to be landed on. Fans chanted, “AEW!”
A “F— Don Callis” chant broke out. They cut to the announce desk for the first time in the show to show Callis reacting. Fletcher made a comeback against both Osprey and Omega. He tossed Ospreay to the floor, then kicked Omega, then tagged in Takeshita. Omega tagged in Ospreay a minute later. Fletcher also tagged in. Omega gave Fletcher a snap-dragon, sending him to the floor. Ospreay took down Takeshita and then Fletcher. Everyone was down and slow to get up. They cut to a double-box break at 6:00. [c/db]
Back from the break, Ospreay was on the attack against Fletcher. He landed two DDTs on Fletcher, who bumped great for them. Callis grabbed Omega’s leg, which gave Fletcher a chance to recover and suplex Ospreay onto the back of his head and neck. Callis smiled at ringside at 10:00. Takeshita suplexed both Ospreay and Omega out of the corner. Takeshita went for a top rope powerbomb with an assist from Fletcher, but Omega took him down with a hurancanrana instead. Ospreay landed a corkscrew dive onto Fletcher at ringside. Omega then went on the attack on Takeshita include a V-Trigger for a near fall.
Omega went for a Poison Rana, but landed on the back of his head. Nigel said Omega seemed to get the worst of it. Omega sat up, holding the back of his head. Omega drove a knee into the back of Takeshita’s head, then hoisted him onto his shoulders and climbed to sitting on the top turnbuckle. Ospreay then delivered an OsCutter to Takeshita. Nigel said it wasn’t perfect execution. Fletcher kicked Omega as he charged at Takeshita. Ospreay pointed Omega toward Takeshita for a V-Trigger. Fletcher and Takeshita countered both Ospreay and Omega into double-tombstones. The was doing nothing about all four being in the ring and counted both pins at once. Fans chanted, “Fight forever!”
Takeshita and Fletcher double-teamed Omega. Ospreay broke up the cover with force. When Ospreay went for a Hidden Blade a minute later, Fletcher nailed him with a lariat. Omega took over against Takeshita after that. Omega set up a One-Winged Angel, but Takeshita raked his eyes. Fletcher then landed a pump kick on Omega. Omega shoved Fletcher to the floor. Takeshita then went for a move out of the corner, but Omega dropped Fletcher face-first over the turnbuckle. Ospreay leaped over Takeshita in the corner and landed on Fletcher. Fans chanted, “Holy shit!” Schiavone said: “I saw it but I don’t believe it.” Back in the ring, Ospreay and Omega finished Takeshita with a Hidden Blade/One-Winged Angel combo for the win. It was a weird finish in that Omega didn’t cover Takeshita, but the ref counted the pin as if he was covering him. He was just sitting next to him and had his ankle wrapped up casually. Omega and Ospreay stood and celebrated together.
WINNERS: Ospreay & Omega in 21:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: A lot of action and athleticism with some clunky spots mixed in due largely to the ambition of some of the sequences and spots. The crowd loved it as their first taste of AEW’s signature style. This had the typical AEW tag rules, meaning there was no pretense of enforcing tags with long stretches off four wrestlers in the ring and no tracking who was legal. Ospreay and Omega continue to have smooth chemistry together as a team, with Ospreay showing respect to Omega as his more accomplished elder star he looks up to, despite past differences. Fletcher was the standout in this match for his bumps and overall heel mannerisms.)
-They showed Harley Cameron backstage. [c]
(2) MERCEDES MONE vs. HARLEY CAMERON – TBS Title match
Cameron came out first. Momo Watanabe was shown at ringside. Mercees then made her entrance, draped in title belts. The bell rang 35 minutes into the hour. Schiavone and Nigel noted that Cameron picked up her first singles TV win in AEW recently, which was what earned her a title match. At 2:00 Cameron pulled out her Mercedes doll from under the ring and punched away at Mercedes in the corner with it. Mercedes made a comeback and stomped on the doll, then kicked it out of the ring. Fans booed. She landed a Meteora for a two count at 4:00. They cut to a partial double-box break. [c/pdb]
Cameron was on the attack after the break and scored a two count at 9:00. Mercedes knocked Cameron to ringside. She retrieved her Mercedes doll and went on the attack. She yelled “Feet the wrath!” Fans chanted “Feel the wrath!” She leaped off the top rope, doll in hand, with a crossbody. She landed an Australian Destroyer next for a two count at 10:00. Mercedes made a comeback and landed Meteora for a two count. Camera leveraged Mececdes’s shoulders down for two consecutive two counts. She followed with a 619 style move, played to the crowd, and then leaped off the top rope. Mercedes had time to recover and moved. Mercedes then delivered a Money Maker for the win. Mercedes flaunted her belt in the face of Watanabe afterward.
WINNER: Mercedes in 12:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: This was solid. The build up being Cameron earned a match with a single TV singles win is just a strange way to build a challenger. The puppet spots were popular with the crowd, but it doesn’t feel like she’s a main eventer when she’d doing that stuff during the match.)
[c]
-Backstage, Omega said he should be happy after their win, but he’s still bothered that during the year he was gone, Callis bragged that Takeshita beat him twice in a week. He challenged him to put International Title on the line at AEW Revolution in Los Angeles so he can prove he actually is the best and rightful champion. Ospreay put his arm around Omega and said he never imagined they’d be on the same team. He also said he never thought he’d wrestle Fletcher in his home country and the fans would cheer him over Fletcher. He was all smiles. He then challenged him to a match at Revolution in a cage.
(Keller’s Analysis: Good, straight-forward, serious promos from both Omega and Ospreay, setting up big matches for the next PPV.)
-They went to Schiavone and Nigel at ringside as they reacted to the Omega and Ospreay challenges.
-A video package aired setting the stage for the next tag match.
(3) THE DEATH RIDERS (Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli w/Marina Shafir) vs. ADAM COPELAND & JAY WHITE – Anything Goes, No DQ, No Countouts
Copeland made his high-energy entrance first. Nigel noted that Copeland said this might be the last time he wrestles in Australia. When his music stopped, fans finished the lyrics to his song. Copeland seemed moved. It was a cool moment. White came out next. Then Moxley and Claudio made their way to the ring through the crowd.
[HOUR TWO]
As soon as Mox and Claudio got to ringside, Copeland and White went after them. The ref called for the bell at the start of the second hour. Claudio and Copeland brawled up the stairs in the lower bowl as White battled Moxley at ringside. Shafir got in White’s face, giving Mox an opening to hit him. Mox and White battled in the ring. Mox then pulled a trash can lid out from under the ring. White dove at him, and Mox hit him with it mid-air. Copeland meanwhile leaped off the edge of the second deck onto Mox below with a double axe handle. Fans chanted “Holy shit!” Meanwhile, Mox choked White with a chair at ringside. Fans chanted, “Moxley’s a Wanker!” Moxley put White on a table at ringside and punched him. “Who’s the wanker now?” Mox yelled.
Mox climbed to the top turnbuckle. Copeland met him up there and tried to suplex him onto the table. Shafir hit Copeland with the stick. White yanked it away from her. Claudio then gave White a European Uppercut. Claudio then powerbombed Copeland off the ring apron through a table below. The cut to a double-box break at 5:00. [c/db]
During the break, Claudio gave White a Claudio Swing right into a trash can shot by Mox to his ribs. Copeland leaped off the top rope and clotheslined both Mox and Claudio. Mox fired back with a Paradigm Shift on Copeland and threw him to the floor at 9:00. White bashed Claudio and Mox with a kendo stick until there was nothing left of it. Claudio threw White head-first into a chair wedged in the corner to halt his momentum. White side-stepped a charging Claudio and sent him into a chair wedged in the corner. White gave Caudio a Blade Runner. When he made the cover, Wheeler Yuta showed up and whipped White. The ref stopped his count for no reason and stood up to admonish Yuta, despite his interference being totally legal and despite White still appearing to have Claudio covered with his shoulders down.
Yuta whipped White as White increasingly no-sold it and let out a yell. White then gave Yuta a Blade Runner. Yuta rolled to ringside. Mox stomped White’s head. Copeland yanked Claudio by his legs crotch-first into the ringpost. Copeland entered the ring and played to the crowd. Then he battled back from a Claudio uppercut and drove Claudio through a table leaning in the corner. He speared Moxley seconds later, then grabbed a chair wrapped in barbed wire from ringside. He bashed Mox across his back with the chair. They showed Moxley’s back bleeding. As Copeland wound up with the chair, Yuta yanked it out of his hands and scurried out of the ring. Shafir then entered the ring and hit Copeland in the head with the briefcase.
Claudio gave Copeland a Neutralizer. Mox then applied a Bulldog choke. Yuta held White back at ringside as the ref checked on Copeland. Copeland eventually passed out and the ref called for the bell. Moxley held on to the Bulldog choke. Fans chanted, “Bullshit!” The Death Riders music played as they stood over the fallen bodies of White and Copeland as Schiavone plugged Moxley defending the AEW Title against Copeland at Revolution. Schiavone said the match was as violent as they thought it’d be.
WINNERS: Moxley & Claudio in 12:00.
(Keller’s Analysis: It’s the match you’d expect with those four with the anything goes stip. The finish deflated the crowd and does feel like an odd way to build up Copeland as a threat to Moxley.) [c]
(4) KAZUCHIKA OKADA vs. BUDDY MATTHEWS – AEW Continental Championship
Schaivone noted that Matthews is a native of Melbourne who moved to the U.S. in 2013. Nigel said he’s a perfect combination of power, speed, and agility and called him “a sensation. Okada came out second. The bell rang 23 minutes into the second hour. Matthews offered a handshake. Okada moved in for a handshake, then gave Matthews a middle finger gesture instead. At 2:00, Matthews gave Okada a middle finger. Okada rolled out of the ring and grabbed his belt and threatened to leave. Matthews said, “I know I’ve been calling you a bitch, but over here you’re just being an absolute wanker.” Okada rolled back into the ring and locked up with Matthews.
Okada and Matthews exchanged strikes mid-ring. Matthews slammed Okada onto the edge of the ring apron. Okada dropkicked Matthews off the ropes and knocked him to the floor. With Matthews clutching his leg, they cut to a partial double-box break at 5:00. [c/db]
Back from the break, Matthews made a comeback and leaped off the top rope with a Meteora for a two count. Okada drove the back of Matthews neck onto his knee. Okada landed a top rope elbow next, then gave the crowd the middle finger gesture. Matthews grabbed his finger. Okada kicked him a few times, but Matthews held onto his finger. Okada landed a forearm, but Matthews came back with a kneelift to his jaw. Okada avoided a stomp and then hit the Rainmaker. Matthews kicked out. Schiavone said Okada looked shocked. Nigel said no one they’ve seen in AEW in his recollection has kicked out of the Rainmaker. Okada grabbed his belt from ringside. The ref took it from him. Matthews rolled up Okada for a two count. He landed a stomp and scored another two count. Matthews followed up with a fireman’s carry turning slam for a near fall. Okada put his leg over the bottom rope. The crowd was into the near falls, then fell into brief silence. Fans chanted, “Bullshit!”
Okada DDT’d Matthews at ringside, then rolled him back into the ring. Matthews rose and knocked Okada off balance with a rising knee strike, although it showed some light, prompting Nigel to say he didn’t get all of it. Matthews landed a superplex and a Jackhammer for a near fall. He applied a standing leglock. Okada powered out and sent Matthews toward the ref. Okada then held onto the ref and mule kicked Matthews. Okada then landed the Rainmaker again for the win.
WINNER: Okada in 14:00 to retain the AEW Continental Title.
(Keller’s Analysis: Really solid match start to finish. I could do without Matthews essentially no-selling a DDT on the ringside floor, though, as that immediately preceded his rally with near falls. Okada using a mule kick to beat Matthews feels unnecessary, but AEW’s booking wants heels to cheat to win to keep their heat, but it’s not like Okada is actually going for genuine heat, so instead it seemed a way to placate the crowd and give Matthews an out in his home country.)
-Schiavone announced an International Championship Series with Orange Cassidy vs. Roderick Strong on Dynamite next week, the winner of that against Takeshita on the Feb. 26 Dynanite, and then Omega facing whoever the champion is at that point at Revolution. They also plugged The Opps vs. The Patriarchy and Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Big Bill in a street fight.
(Keller’s Analysis: If they’re going to have International Title matches between now and Revolution, I guess. this “Series” just puts out there that Omega has a shot at the next PPV, but it’s a given who that shot will be against.)
-A video package previewed the Mariah May-Toni Storm match narrated by Renee Paquette. When they got to Toni Storm’s return in her original gimmick, Renee asked, “Was it role play therapy or alaborate performance art? Only she knows for sure.” Renee said the shoe is now on the other foot and acknowledged the pun. She said Storm is now on her home town and she reunites with the women she’s loved and loathed.
(Keller’s Analysis: I’m glad they did that. It didn’t answer anything at all, but it at least recapped the path to get here and established that the official stance is no one know what Toni was truly up to other than Toni.) [c]
(5) MARIAH MAY vs. “TIMELESS” TONI STORM – AEW Women’s Title match
After Mariah made her entrance first, Luther made his return by walking down the arena steps. He pointed to the stage for Storm’s entrance. Storm then came out in black and white in her old Hollywood “Timeless” get-up. Arkady Aura did formal ring introductions. Mariah stared down Storm, then raised her belt and posed for the crowd and the camera. The bell rang 47 minutes into the second hour. Fans chanted, “Toni! Toni!” They locked up mid-ring. Toni took Mariah down with a Thesz press and punched away at her, then stomped away at her in the corner. The ref pulled Storm out of the corner. Fans chanted, “F— her up, Toni, f— her up!” Mariah came back with a dropkick and then stomped away at Storm in the corner at 2:00.
Storm took over with five German suplexes. She attempted a German suplex off the ring apron, but Mariah held on and then yanked Storm’s neck over the top rope and then yanked her to the floor. Luther inspected the scene as they cut to a double-box break. [c/db]
Mariah dominated in the ring during the break. Storm made a comeback and applied a crossface on the mat. Mariah cried out in pain. Mariah avoided a hip attack on the ring apron and then landed a Mayday slam to ringside. Both were down and slow to get up. Fans chanted “Let’s Go Toni!” Mariah caught Storm with a leaping dropkick off the top rope back in the ring and then smiled. She charged at Storm in the corner and landed a hip attack. Storm landed a Mayday slam out of nowhere for a near fall. She landed three more and then a piledriver for a near fall.
Mariah was dead weight. She pulled her up and set up a fireman’s carry, but Mariah made a sudden 100 percent comeback and landed a gut-wrench suplex and then two Maydays for a believable near fall. Mariah grabbed the ref in frustration. Then she turned to Storm and slapped away at her. Mariah kissed Storm before going for a top rope move, but Toni came out of the corner with a running powerbomb and a Storm Zero. Mariah rolled to ringside.
Storm dragged Mariah back into the ring. Mariah yanked Storm into the middle turnbuckle head-first and landed a headbutt followed by a Storm Zero on Storm. Storm then contered a Mayday with a small package for the win.
WINNER: Storm in 15:00 to capture the AEW Women’s Title.
(Keller’s Analysis: A small package finish to a main event felt a little flat, but it sorta worked since it was a counter to Mariah’s finisher and surprised the crowd. They definitely went into the spamming finishers and kickouts, which is a bit of a bane of the current era main event style sometimes, but the match largely worked really well in terms of pace and fitting the backstory, as murky as some of that has been.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: A good two hours of in-ring wrestling. It was very basic in presentation with just a couple video packages and one backstage promo, but made it feel like the big matches were the centerpiece of the evening over the usual mixed format of Collision. It’s a shame the NBA lead-in didn’t do a better job hyping the event as their show concluded, and it’s unfortunate it started so late overall. The Australian crowd knew the product and brought the energy, and that always is a good boost to AEW’s brand when they get a crowd over 10,000 reacting that enthusiastically.
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