Another year, another Grand Slam. AEW’s ‘not a PPV but a very special Dynamite followed by a taping of Rampage’ show has been consistently coming to the Big Apple since 2021 and it has amassed quite a history of matches already. Perhaps at the top of that list is 2021’s Kenny Omega vs. Bryan Danielson, where the two wrestlers shed blood, sweat, and tears all the way to a draw after the match’s time limit ran out. That same night marked CM Punk’s first on-air match since he left the WWE in 2014.
This year’s edition comes with…not a lot. It’s not that the matches are going to be bad or anything. That’s never been the problem. AEW excels at churning out explosive matches at a steady rate. It’s the storytelling. Well, the lack thereof, specifically. Consider the match card (subject to change).
AEW Grand Slam Dynamite – September 25, 2024
- AEW World Tag Team Championships: The Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson) vs. Kyle Fletcher and Will Ospreay
- AEW Women’s World Championship: Mariah May vs. Yuka Sakazaki
- AEW World Trios Championships: Pac, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta vs. TBA
- Saraya’s Rules Match: Jamie Hayter vs. Saraya
- Lumberjack Strap Match: Hangman Page vs. Jeff Jarrett
- Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness
- AEW World Championship Opportunity: Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin
AEW Grand Slam Collision – September 28, 2024
- FTW Championship: Hook vs. Roderick Strong
- Tornado Trios Match: The Conglomeration (Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly, & Orange Cassidy) vs. The Learning Tree (Chris Jericho, Big Bill, & Bryan Keith)
- MxM Collection unveil Max Caster’s jacket makeover (segment)
- AEW Continental Championship Eliminator Match: Sammy Guevara vs. Kazuchika Okada
All of these bouts have the potential to be great. Bryan Danielson vs. McGuinness, in particular, can be the start of an intense back-and-forth that could lead to a title match once Danielson beats whoever wins between Moxley and Allin for a shot at the belt. Danielson has already stipulated that he’ll retire the moment his championship run ends, so the tension is there. Strangely enough, the McGuinness fight is not a championship match. This isn’t a bad thing, though, as it might suggest McGuiness will win somehow and then go on to hype up a rematch with the belt and Danielson’s retirement on the line.
The challenge here is that AEW seems to prefer short-term storytelling. A challenger steps up, raises the stakes in one or two shows, and then main events in a special edition of Dynamite shortly after. Maybe this time things will get a chance to stay in the oven for longer and really get the time they need to grow into something special.
Okada vs, Guevara has good chances of being a crowd-pleasing match. Dangerous acrobatics and hard bumps await. Mariah May’s title defense against Yuka Sakazaki can be fun, but it has the makings of a quick match that’s propped up to further strengthen May’s reign. Jamie Hayter vs. Saraya should satisfy fans hungry for the long-awaited return of the original champ. Hayter is dead set on taking back what no one took from her in the ring to begin with, so there’s an intensity there that’s been stewing for a while already.
Again, a bit of story would’ve gone a long way to make this year’s Grand Slam unmissable. We’ll be getting the spectacle, that’s for sure. But, would it hurt AEW to afford some much-needed attention to story? You can be the place where the best wrestle while being the place where the best tell stories too.
Grand Slam 2024 will air live on September 25th from the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
