AEW Dynamite Review: Grand Slam Hits And Misses (9/25/24)

Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly AEW Dynamite hits and misses series.

All Elite Wrestling returned to Arthur Ashe for Dynamite Grand Slam. The show featured Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuiness, Mariah May, Willow Nightingale, The Young Bucks and more.

Here’s what went down on the September 25 ‘Grand Slam’ episode of AEW Dynamite.

Hit – Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuiness

Nigel told the referee to start counting to 10 because Danielson wasn’t showing up. The AEW World Champion hit the ring to The Final Countdown. Both men battered each other for nearly 19 minutes before Danielson picked up the win with the LeBell Lock.

Christian Cage came out to tease a cash-in before Kip Sabian stole his pen. Cage chased him only to find Castagnoli and PAC backstage.

Danielson and McGuiness had some wars in the past, and last night wasn’t an exception. McGuiness brought out some deadly moves from his arsenal. The Tower of London and ripcord lariat spots popped the crowd big time. I wasn’t expecting a submission win for Danielson against arguably his greatest adversary from the past. Kip Sabian preventing Cage from cashing-in by stealing his pen was funny.

Miss – FTW title match on AEW Dynamite Grand Slam

HOOK defended his FTW Championship against Roderick Strong. Strong delivered some offense but HOOK managed to defeat the former International Champion. After the match, HOOK thanked every opponent who competed for the FTW title before officially retiring the belt. He then shared a hug with his father Taz.

This was a pretty underwhelming match for what turned out to be FTW’s final title defense. That said, they picked the right city (Queens/New York City) to officially retire the title. Hopefully, Tony Khan will feature HOOK in some solid feuds. The guy has been practically booked the same for as long as I can remember.

Hit – The Young Bucks vs. Will Ospreay & Kyle Fletcher

Ospreay and Fletcher found themselves across the ring from The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championship. Both teams put on an extremely-fast paced match-up with plenty of thrilling spots on display. After plenty of near falls and false finishes and a bit of distraction, the EVPs still emerged as tag team champions.

This match was bound to steal the show, and it did. It featured plenty of callbacks to the all-star six-man tag team match that featured the Bucks and Ospreay in PWG. The double Styles Clash spot was epic. Fletcher needs to scream less. He already has an effective move set. The Don Callis spot didn’t do it for me.

Miss – Mariah May vs. Yuka Sakazaki on AEW Dynamite Grand Slam

Mariah May put her title on the line against Yuka Sakazaki. Sakazki halted Mariah’s momentum with a dive before the match even began. Mariah picked up the win with a Storm Zero. Willow Nightingale showed up to confront the AEW Women’s World Champion. Mina Shirakawa returned to reunite with her former Stardom tag team partner.

This was another underwhelming match despite AEW billing it as the champion versus one of their OGs. This match clocked at six minutes and eleven seconds. AEW really needs to give more TV time to its women’s division. They’ve got some really capable stars. Mina’s return presumably leads to a match with Mariah at AEW WrestleDream.

Hit – Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin

Darby’s world title opportunity was on the line against Mox. The former AEW World Champion spent the majority of the match on the offense. Darby had some really good comebacks but Mox wasn’t going to be denied. Marine Shafir exposed the concrete to set up a brutal Darby bump. A steel step spot and followed by an avalanche Death Rider sealed the win for Mox.

I know AEW is tailor-made for Darby to thrive, but some of the bumps were really hard to watch. I don’t want to see Darby end up with multiple back problems in the future. Shafir played her part well. It took multiple people to get Danielson off of Mox. I’m looking forward to their WrestleDream outing.

Honorable Mentions

• Seeing Mark Briscoe talk about The Briscoe Brothers last match made me emotional. Dem Boyz will forever remain one of the greatest tag teams in my books. The word of the day wisdom from Mark was hilarious. RIP Jay.
• MVP became All Elite after appearing on AEW Dynamite Grand Slam. The former WWE star had an interesting verbal exchange with Prince Nana. The Hurt Business tease popped the crowd big time. Let’s see if this leads to the arrival of Bobby Lashley and, quite possible, Shelton Benjamin, as well.

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