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AEW DYNAMITE GRAND SLAM: Jon Moxley Becomes 3-Time World Champ, ‘The Acclaimed’ Win Tag Team Belts For 1st Time

Photos: AEW/BowensIG

Wednesday night’s AEW Dynamite Grand Slam on TBS, direct from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York was a stacked television card featuring multiple title bouts.

In the main event, Jon Moxley faced Bryan Danielson.  Both men, who are members of the Blackpool Combat Club, won their spots to battle for the AEW World Title in a tournament after previous champ, C.M. Punk was reportedly suspended and injured, causing the AEW World Title to be vacant.

The suspension came after an alleged backstage brawl following a press scrum where Punk after AEW’s All Out pay-per-view in Chicago got into altercations with the Elite (The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega).  The Elite had previously won the AEW Trios championship but were stripped of that title, as well.

Courtesy/AEW

Going into Grand Slam, most AEW fans felt the momentum was for Danielson to win the belt.  However, it was not meant to be his night. Moxley pinned Danielson, with MJF looming in a stadium sky box complete with the large-sized poker chip that he won at All Out in the Casino Ladder Match (with the help of The Firm). MJF can cash that chip in and wrestle Moxley for the title at apparently, anytime. The smart bet is on MJF to become the next AEW World Champion given his rise in popularity with the audience, even though he is the master heel of the company. Bad boys rule!

In addition, in a history-making moment, The Acclaimed took down Swerve and Our Glory, to become first-time AEW World Tag Team Champions. The crowd was ready for the title to change hands, given this was a rematch between Anthony Bowens and Max Caster (The Acclaimed) vs. Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee (Swerve in Our Glory) from All Out.  The win makes Bowens AEW’s first LGBTQ Champion in its history.

Both Bowens and Caster took to social media after their popular victory.  Bowens shared: “When my Nana passed in 2015 I promised her I’d be a success. Nana, I made it! AEW’s first Gay Champion. Most tag team wins in AEW Most popular team in wrestling. EVERYONE LOVES THE ACCLAIMED.. your #ForeverChamps.”

While Caster shared: “YO! LISTEN! The Acclaimed are YOUR @AEW world champions. The People’s Choice. Winningest team. Best homegrown team. We are the New Legends.”

Photo: AEW

Chris Jericho won his eighth pro-wrestling title in his iconic career, beating Claudio Castagnoli with a low blow to take home the Ring of Honor Heavyweight Championship.  In another shady maneuver, ‘The Bastard’ Pac used the ring bell hammer to clobber Orange Cassidy in the head to score the pin and retain the All-Atlantic Championship.

Photo: SarayaTwitter

Finally, in the ‘sudden arrival department’, Saraya (formerly known as WWE’s Paige) put all the AEW Women’s Division on notice, when she halted Dr. Britt Baker DMD, Jamie Hayter, Serena Deeb’s beat down of Athena and Toni Storm and make her presence known. Saraya made it clear that she is going to take over the Women’s Division.

So, what did you think of AEW Dynamite Grand Slam? What did you think of the championship outcomes?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below, and don’t forget to watch a special AEW Rampage Grand Slam two-hours even this Friday night on TNT (8pm ET).

 

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??????

My thoughts also

You do realize this is Michael Fairman TV right? You did read when he posted how his website was changing correct? I did.

No, I have to say I didn’t read that. Thanks for the information.

How doomed are the soaps ???

I’m confused…why is this item on this particular site? Does this mean if I turn on ESPN, I’ll get updates on GENERAL HOSPITAL?

Well… Stephen A Smith DOES appear on both, so it’s possible.

I know they’ve always said that wrestling was a “testosterone soap opera” but…lol

Michael, I didn’t know you cared

Not a wrestling fan any longer, but I am a fan of hot pics LOL!

davlestev1…As kids we would roll around in front of the tv when my Dad had “wrestling” on. Long ago outgrew it with no appeal as an adult. Also not into over muscled, grown, sweaty men who spend far too much time at the gym lifting weights. :))

I know that wrestling is scripted and it’s sports entertainment, but I never thought I’d see the day that AEW made headlines over WWE.

Good Job Everybody!!!

AEW

AEW Dynasty: Swerve Strickland Becomes AEW World Heavyweight Champion, Jack Perry Returns, Will Ospreay Retires Move After Scary Finish

There is no doubt now, who’s house it is in AEW? It’s “Swerve’s House” after his strong showing on Sunday nights AEW Dynasty pay-per-view. In the main event, Swerve Strickland captured the AEW World Heavyweight Championship defeating Samoa Joe in a career-defining moment.

Strickland becomes the first ever Black AEW World Heavyweight Champion in the organizations history.  And it was not loss on Strickland, who spoke about it in the post-Dynasty media scrum, but also knew the moment was upon him from the moment he was going to make his ring entrance in front of a sold-out crowd in St. Louis and those watching around the world on cable outlets or via Bleacher Report.

Swerve Strickland ring entrance showed that he was dressed to impress, in a mask and black and gold spandex attire. As fans caught on , Swerve was paying tribute to the character of Kilmonger, the antagonist of 2018’s Black Panther film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But that was not all, Prince Nana, Strickland’s manager/sidekick covered Strickland with a robe that belonged to Jimmy Rave. Rave was part of Ring of Honor during the company’s early days and was part of Nana’s stable The Embassy. He has three shots at the ROH title but never won the big prize.

Photo: AEW

AEW Dynasty had three major matches back-to-back to conclude the three hours show.  Strickland in the main event defeating Samoa Joe, and before that The Young Bucks (Matthew and Nicholas Jackson) vs. FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) for the AEW World Tag Team Championships in a brutal ladder match.

Courtesy/AEW

In the deciding moment of the match after Harwood goes to climb up the ladder to reach  for the titles, a masked man runs in and knocks over the ladder. It’s revealed to be none other than the previously suspended, Jack Perry (son of the late 90210 star, Luke Perry). Perry throws up the Elite symbol as security escorts him away. Nicholas Jackson looks pleased by the interference and uses it to take advantage and climb the ladder to get control of the title belts and The Young Bucks become the new AEW tag champs, once again.

The most highly-anticipated match of the night was between two of the greatest wrestlers to ever do it – Bryan Danielson and Will Ospreay and after more than a half-hour of back and forth with high flying moves, technical precision and punches and kicks, Ospreay was able to get the pin, but unfortunately in the last few minutes of the match, Danielson went down after Ospreay delivered the Storm Driver ’91 move. Next, the referee called for medical to check out Danielson, while Will was unaware of that and continued to finish the match.

Photo: AEW

At the post-Dynasty media scrum, an upset Ospreay began by addressing reporters and sharing, “I’m super glad that everybody enjoyed the match. A little bit of a dampener on how it’s all kind of the dust has settled now. I’ve reviewed the footage myself. Seeing Bryan got hurt on the Storm Driver, and I didn’t see the referee call for the doctor and I didn’t see it. So I want to apologize on that.So even though like 90% of the time that moves been absolutely fine, seeing the damage that it’s kind of done, I’m going to retire using the Storm Driver ’91. I don’t think it’s right for me to continue using it after seeing what it did to Bryan, someone that I’ve got huge amounts of respect for, this was kind of my dream match. This is something I’ve wanted since I was a kid. Although I’m happy when everyone enjoyed the match, I’m kind of disappointed in myself. So once again, I apologize to Bryan probably apologize to AEW medics, I apologize to Tony (Khan, CEO/GM AEW).

In one of the best matches in the card, and in the opening bout, for the AEW Continental Championship Match, “Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada defeated “The Bastard” PAC to retain his title. Meanwhile, Willow Nightingale became the Women’s TBS Champion defeating Julia Hart, only to have Mercedes Mone come to the ring to challenge Willow at Double or Nothing in Vegas at the end of May.

So, what do you think of Swerve Strickland becoming AEW World Champ? Jack Perry’s return? Will Ospreay’s match-up with Bryan Danielson and its ending? Let us know in the comment section below.

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AEW

Mercedes Mone’, Formerly WWE’s Sasha Banks, Makes Her Highly-Anticipated AEW Debut

AEW Big Business in Boston, brought it with it the “CEO” on Wednesday night’s ‘AEW Dynamite’ on TBS.  Now, we are not talking about AEW chief, Tony Khan, we are talking about the WWE’s former Sasha Banks, and one of the top female wrestling star’s in the word, Mercedes Mone’.

Mone’, who in real-life is known as Mercedes Varnado, made he debut in front of her hometown crowd in Boston, and appeared at the opening of last night’s episode with new theme music to boot. While chants rang out for the “CEO”, Mercedes took it all in and was moved to tears.

Addressing the crowd and the TV cameras, she expressed, “Thanks for having my back these past two years.“ Mone’ then added, “You want to know why I’m here? Because I need to be here. I want to be here.”

Photo: deviantart.com/Youtube

Varnado has held gold  several times throughout her career including as: NXT Women’s Champion, WWE RAW Women’s Champion five times over, WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion and WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion on three different occasions. The biggest match in her career was when she and Bianca Belair headlined WrestleMania 37 and as the first two African-American women to do so.

As the story goes, back in May of 2022, then as Sasha Banks, Varnado walked out of the WWE during Monday Night Raw along with her tag team partner, Trinity Fatu (who goes by Naomi). At the time, the duo were the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions at the time, and then were suspended indefinitely.

Later, Mercedes under her new wrestling name Mone’, appeared in a January 2023 New Japan Pro-Wrestling pay per view, Wrestle Kingdom 17.  In May of last year, she sustained an ankle injury in a match with now AEW’s Willow Nightingale.

It had been speculated for well over a year that when Mercedes returned to wrestling, she would join AEW, while her former tag partner, Naomi has now returned to the WWE as of January of this year.

Watch Mercedes debut entrance from last night’s AEW Big Business below.

Now let us know, are you happy to see her back on U.S. TV and in the ring? How do you think her run will be in AEW? Will she eventually return back to the WWE?  She teased it during a recent interview with the Kicks Rocks Wrestling Podcast saying, “I know I’m going to be back there [in WWE] one day, okay? So it’s not over.”  However, in an updated version of the episode those remarked have been edited out.

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AEW

Sting Goes Out on Top in the Perfect Finale to His Legendary Career at ‘AEW Revolution’

They could not have done it any better. For weeks leading up to the Sunday’s AEW: Revolution pay-per-view, the questions remained, would AEW live up to the hype and deliver to “The Icon” Sting a befitting goodbye, when in his previous returns during his legendary career were less than stellar in TNA and WWE?

The answer was “Yes!” Every box was check-marked. It was revealed in the post-match media scrum and in subsequent articles and online, that Sting had a major hand in who he wanted to wrestle against in his final match, and how his sons would be involved in his last appearance in AEW and in a pro wrestling ring, and more.

When it came down to the main event at the historic Greensboro, North Carolina, home to the classic NWA 1988 match with Sting vs. Ric Flair, that set the tone for him becoming one of the greatest to ever do it. Now in 2024, Sting was about to enter the ring for the last time in emotional fashion with more than 16,000 in attendance and a worldwide audience watching at home.

Photo: AEW

First, a video package rolled where Sting is seated inside a movie theatre as he watches his life in wrestling up on the screen pass by. After it comes to its conclusion, he looks to camera ready for battle for the last time. Back to live action, two versions of Sting appear at the top of the entrance ramp. And, in another emotional moment, it is revealed that the two men in the iconic wrestling gear from two different eras of Sting’s career were his two sons; one dressed as “Surfer Sting” and one dressed as “Wolfpac Sting”. In fact, Sting’s sons, Garrett and Steve Jr. were a part of his final act, as they two were beaten down by the Young Bucks a few weeks back on AEW TV.

Next, Sting himself enters and the crowd erupts as the Texas Tornado match in which he is a part of takes off. In it, Sting and his partner Darby Allin are defending the AEW World Tag Team championships against the Young Bucks, Matthew and Nicholas Jackson. The match delivered death-defying moves including: Sting taking a suplex off the stage and through a table, and Darby Allin putting his body on the line crashing through a pane of glass after he dove off a ladder.

Several dear friends and wrestling luminaries were in attendance or involved in the match including Ric Flair who jumped into the ring to protect Sting at one point, and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat who was the guest timekeeper. However, both were knocked out by superkicks by the Bucks for their trouble. Those in the audience were former pro wrestlers, Lex Luger, Magnum TA, Scotty Riggs, Nikita Koloff, and Diamond Dallas Page, plus others from Sting’s extended family.

Photo: AEW

In the end, Sting scored the win performing his signature move, the Scorpion Death Lock, on Matthew Jackson. Sting and Darby Allin retained the AEW World Tag Team Championship. Fans were relieved that Sting went out a winner and many cried tears of joy.

Next, Sting was next celebrated in the ring as confetti was shot out, and fans chanted “Thank you. Sting!” When, there were only five minutes left of air time on the pay-per-view, Sting began to thank Greensboro, the crowd, his family and AEW, when suddenly time ran out and unfortunately the show ended. However, after the match, his final words to the crowd and the company were posted on social media (you can watch it below). In the post-‘Revolution’ media scrum, Sting even called Sunday night, a “Top 3” match of his career.

Photo: AEW

Sting was key WCW’s success in the Monday Night Wars in the mid-to-late nineties against the WWE, when his version of “Crow” Sting coming down from the rafters to fight Hollywood Hulk Hogan and the NWO were epic. The story built for over a year with Sting barely uttering a word, but he ultimately became everybody’s hero in a story of good vs. evil. And that’s the case with Steve “Sting” Borden, too. He will be remembered as one of wrestling’s good guys, in front of the camera and to everyone that knew him behind the scenes.

So, what did you think of the way AEW honored the iconic Sting and his final match? Were you happy with all the special moments before/during and after the match? All we can say and to echo those sentiments from those in attendance and around the world, “Thank you, Sting!”

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