Tag: AEW grand slam

WOL: Are WWE stars suffering from overexposure?

Posted on by Jim Valley

Happy Valley-tine’s Day or Greg Valentine’s Day. Whatever you celebrate, it’s time for Wrestling Observer Live.

TNA No Surrender Friday night was a mix of action, surprises and the usual booking.

As WWE SmackDown builds towards Elimination Chamber, does it feel like some fan favorites are running out of gas? We’ve seen them do so much during their tenure, there’s just not much else to get excited about.

Plus, AEW Grand Slam (no spoilers), WBD and politics, the WON Awards and more. Check it out.

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AEW Grand Slam Australia spoilers from Sydney

Posted on by Ian Carey

AEW Grand Slam took place today in Sydney, Australia.

Spoilers from the show were posted by various users on Reddit.

AEW Grand Slam Australia 2026 Spoilers

  • Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita for the AEW Continental Championship went to a time-limit draw
  • The Babes of Wrath (Harley Cameron & Willow Nightingale) defeated MegaBad (Penelope Ford & Megan Bayne)
    • Lena Kross ran in after and joined MegaBad in an attack on the Babes of Wrath
  • Hangman Page defeated Andrade El Idolo to earn the number one contendership for the AEW World Championship
  • Toni Storm & Orange Cassidy defeated Wheeler Yuta & Marina Shafir
  • Kyle Fletcher defeated Mark Briscoe in a ladder match to retain his TNT Championship
    • Clips from after the match appear to show Fletcher with a new custom pink-strapped TNT title belt
  • MJF defeated Brody King to retain the AEW World Championship
    • The Sydney crowd chanted an anti-ICE message at the start of the match.

Ring of Honor matches:

  • Dalton Castle & The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum) defeated North Shore Wrestling
  • Mina Shirakawa defeated Charli Evans
  • Mark Davis defeated The Tuckman

Update on AEW Grand Slam Australia broadcast plans

Posted on by Joseph Currier

February’s AEW Grand Slam Australia special will have an expanded time slot on TNT.

The TNT schedule lists that Grand Slam Australia will be two and a half hours long, airing from 8-10:30 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, February 14. Because of the time zone difference, the show is scheduled to be taped earlier in the day before being broadcast on TNT. It’s a special episode of Collision.

AEW’s trip to Australia is a two-show visit with events in Sydney and Brisbane. Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney is hosting Grand Slam on February 14, then a house show will be held at Brisbane Entertainment Centre on February 15.

In February 2025, AEW made its Australia debut with last year’s edition of Grand Slam. The card was headlined by Toni Storm (raised in Australia) defeating Mariah May to win the AEW Women’s World Championship.

Kyle Fletcher, Mark Davis, Harley Cameron, and Buddy Matthews are among the Australian talent on the AEW roster. Matthews has not wrestled since suffering an ankle injury at 2025’s Grand Slam show.

After the Australia trip, AEW heads home to the United States with Dynamite (in Sacramento) and Collision (Oceanside) being held in California on February 18 and February 21. The shows are happening in advance of Los Angeles hosting AEW Revolution 2025 on March 15.

WOL: The Final Boss or a non-playable character?

Posted on by Jim Valley

Image: WWE

The Rock calls himself “The Final Boss” — a term used in video games. But if it’s true that he may not wrestle Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41, does that make him more like a non-playable character? Is this just a twist on the Corporate Champion story from the Attitude Era?

I talk about that and more on the Saturday Wrestling Observer Live.

I recap WWE SmackDown in full, preview tonight’s AEW Collision, touch on AEW Grand Slam Australia, and WWE joins Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis in opposition to the amended Janel Grant lawsuit.

Check it out.

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FREE B&V: NXT Vengeance Day & AEW Grand Slam reviews

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

The Bryan & Vinny Show is back with tons to talk about including a special appearance by Lance Storm to talk the NXT PLE PPV, and also AEW Grand Slam Australia! Ninety minutes of fun, and it’s FREE! Get the best in pro wrestling and MMA coverage with Wrestling Observer podcasts. For just $9.99 a month on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, you get 84 shows per month, full archives, and exclusive content, all for just pennies a day. Stay informed with the most in-depth analysis and insider news, available anytime at WrestlingObserver.com. Subscribe now and never miss a moment!

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WOR: AEW Grand Slam Australia & NXT Vengeance Day recaps, Gran Hamada, more WON Awards talk

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the death of Gran Hamada, full reviews of AEW Collision from Australia, NXT Vengeance Day, Smackdown, and more, plus Josh Alexander and some Category B Observer Awards thoughts. A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:

Start: Gran Hamada, Alcatraz pass away

16:20: AEW Grand Slam Australia recap

44:22: WWE NXT Vengeance Day recap

58:48: WWE SmackDown notes

1:05:08: Josh Alexander’s status

1:07:33: Thoughts on the Category B Wrestling Observer Awards

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Wrestling Observer Radio: WWE Royal Rumble preview, Saraya’s comments about WWE

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

Dave Meltzer and I are back with our Friday episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, talking about all the big news from today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Here were some of the things we covered:

  • Come hang out with Bryan and Dave in Las Vegas
  • Royal Rumble preview
  • The two obituaries in the issue
  • Saraya’s comments to TMZ
  • AEW Grand Slam
  • AEW Dynamite & NXT ratings
  • Bryce Mitchell’s idiocy
  • The rest of the categories for the Observer Awards

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Fight Game: WWE Royal Rumble predictions, lackluster AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

John LaRocca and I are back to talk about the major topics in the world of wrestling on this week’s Fight Game Podcast.

We kicked off the show with our Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down winners and losers of the week before going through our Top Five topics which included:

  • A very lackluster AEW Dynamite
  • AEW Grand Slam Australia build
  • The list of episodes for this season of Dark Side of the Ring
  • A check-in on NXT
  • Royal Rumble predictions

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New broadcast start time listed for AEW Grand Slam Australia

Posted on by Josh Nason

The mystery around when AEW Grand Slam Australia will air on TV domestically has been solved, according to the upcoming TNT schedule.

The official listing has the Saturday, February 15th show airing as a two-hour AEW Collision at 10:30 PM Eastern on TNT following NBA All-Star Weekend coverage. It’s assumed the broadcast will also simulcast on Max at that same time, but that is not confirmed as of now.

Two weeks ago, AEW mistakenly displayed a graphic during Dynamite that the show would air at 8 PM Eastern that Saturday. To this point, they have yet to officially announce a start time on TV other than a graphic showing it would air on TNT and Max.

The show will emanate from Brisbane, Australia, in the company’s debut in the country. Originally set for Suncorp Stadium, it was moved to the indoor Brisbane Entertainment Centre due to what is assumed to be lower than expected ticket sales.

As of this writing, just two matches have been announced.

AEW reveals broadcast plans for Grand Slam Australia

Posted on by Josh Nason

After speculation that it may be airing on Max as a live special, the broadcast plans for AEW Grand Slam Australia were apparently revealed on Wednesday’s Dynamite but with a conflict.

Following Toni Storm’s win in a Casino gauntlet match to earn a shot against rival and AEW Women’s World Champion Mariah May at the event, the match graphic displayed a start time of 8 PM Eastern on TNT and Max on Saturday, February 15th.

Since the event is taking place in Brisbane at 5:30 PM AEST that day, that would be 2:30 AM Eastern time, meaning the show will air on tape delay in place of that week’s Collision.

However, the NBA will be hosting All-Star Weekend activities live on TNT that night during that time. It is possible it airs at 8 PM on Max and after the NBA content on TNT, but that is unclear.

It will be the promotion’s debut in the country, taking place at the indoor Brisbane Entertainment Centre instead of Suncorp Stadium as originally planned. While a reason wasn’t given for the move, ticket sales are assumed to be the primary driver.

The Storm vs. May match is the first announced for the event.

Fight Game: AEW Grand Slam recap, ‘Mr. McMahon’ thoughts

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

John LaRocca and I are back to talk about the major topics in the world of wrestling on this week’s Fight Game Podcast.

We kicked off with our Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down winners and losers of the week before going through our Top Five topics which included:

  • The debut of a new segment called “What had happened was…”
  • The build to Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson at AEW WrestleDream and the steps that were skipped
  • Other thoughts on AEW Grand Slam
  • MVP’s fit in AEW
  • Shane McMahon’s photo with the Young Bucks
  • The Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes face-off on WWE SmackDown
  • ‘Mr. McMahon’ docuseries
  • NXT on the CW

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AEW Collision Grand Slam spoilers from New York

Posted on by JJ Williams

The following are spoilers for the Saturday, September 28 AEW Collision Grand Slam episode taped Wednesday night, September 25 in New York City.

In addition to Collision, a match for future Ring of Honor TV airing was also taped.

**********

Ring of Honor TV spoilers —

  • Dustin Rhodes, Ross Von Erich, and Marshall Von Erich defeated Mark Sterling, Tony Nese, and Ariyah Daivari in a ROH trios title Proving Ground match

AEW Collision Grand Slam spoilers —

  • Jack Perry defeated Minoru Suzuki — Katsuyori Shibata saved Suzuki after the match and the two embraced.
  • Brody King defeated Action Andretti — Top Flight saved Andretti after the match.
  • Tornado trios match: Chris Jericho, Big Bill, and Bryan Keith defeated Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly, and Mark Briscoe
  • Saraya’s rules match: Jamie Hayter defeated Saraya
  • Lumberjack strap match: Hangman Page defeated Jeff Jarrett
  • AEW World Trios Championship: Claudio Castagnoli, PAC, and Wheeler Yuta defeated Komander & Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) to retain the titles — Yuta scored the submission after elbows and cattle mutilation and didn’t let go of the hold. Claudio slow clapped for him after the match. New music for Claudio, Pac, and Yuta, a sad version of the Claudio symphony.
  • Three-way: Hologram defeated The Beast Mortos & Dralistico — Mortos and Dralistico continued fighting after the match. Rush came in and got them on the same page, then all three attacked Hologram.
  • MxM Collection had Max Caster’s jacket on a model they called Hans. They unmasked to be Billy Gunn.
  • AEW Continental title eliminator: Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada defeated Sammy Guevara

MVP appears at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam, offers to ‘talk business’ with Swerve Strickland

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: JJ Williams

MVP made his surprise debut at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam Wednesday, confronting Prince Nana and trying to create conflict with he and Swerve Strickland.

Nana was informing Tony Schiavone about Strickland’s status after he lost to Hangman Page in a violent cage match at this month’s All Out. He said the former AEW World Champion wasn’t cleared to come back yet, but was working hard every day to come back.

MVP then cleared his throat on the microphone and strutted out on the entranceway to interrupt him. He put over Strickland as the most dangerous man in AEW and the most phenomenal wrestler in the company before turning his ire toward Nana.

He said the losses are a failing of Strickland’s management, saying Nana was more worried about selling his coffee and “shuckin’ and jivin’ and dancin’ for these people.” He then told Nana when Strickland is willing to be serious again, please give him my business card and let him know I’m ready to talk “business.”

Strickland, who was in New York Wednesday to appear on The Breakfast Club show, tweeted the following image after the segment:

https://twitter.com/swerveconfident/status/1839114319176360264

MVP parted ways with WWE in mid-August. Earlier this month, our Dave Meltzer reported there was an expectation that MVP and fellow free agents Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin would revive their Hurt Business faction under the new Hurt Syndicate name in AEW.