AEW Grand Slam Australia 2026 Review (14/02/2026)

The massive wrestling weekend in Australia continues here, with coverage brought to you by The Arena Media! 

Sydney is starved of major wrestling shows. Back in the day, WWE went to Melbourne for the 2002 Global Warning Tour. Then a long break before Super Showdown, also in Melbourne at the MCG. Then they signed a deal with the Perth government to do Elimination Chamber and Crown Jewel the last couple of years. Sydney gets house shows- if they’re lucky. Last one was 2019, I believe. 

Enter AEW to save the day! They made their Australian debut last year at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. It wasn’t perfect- Tony Khan shot for the stars, booking the 60,000 seat Suncorp Stadium initially, leading most to believe it would be a Wembley-level PPV. But ticket sales caused a relocation to an arena, and we had the Grand Slam TV special. It was actually an awesome show in execution- kicking off with a dream tag team of Will Ospreay & Kenny Omega, an amazing sing-a-long with Cope (Edge) that US crowds tried and failed to replicate later, and finally hometown girl Toni Storm winning back the AEW Women’s Championship from Mariah May in a pivotal moment in their acclaimed feud. Whatever happened to her, anyway? 

It’s a new year, and a new state. Let’s do this! 

-------------------  

Prior to the main Grand Slam event, they held what seems to be a ROH taping, given the graphics all over the place. It wasn’t announced or promoted prior to the show- I found out through someone sending me a leaked run sheet over Messenger. 

What resulted was essentially a PWA vs. AEW show, with stars from Sydney’s lead indie promotion getting featured spots. I don’t have a ROH Honor Club account, and can’t see myself getting one just for this given my current financial situation, so here’s some quick results! 

1. Robbie Eagles def. Shawn Dean 

2. Sisters of Sin (Julia Hart & Skye Blue) def. Frankie B & Aysha 

3. Dalton Castle & The Outrunners def. North Shore Wrestling 

4. Mina Shirakawa def. Charli Evans 

5. Mark Davis def. The Tuckman 

It was funny seeing chants from PWA carry over to a big arena setting, with Will Kiedis, Sam & Jack Osborne getting serenaded with “North Shore Wankers” and the follicly-challenged Jack Osborne getting the “where’s your hair at?” Basement Jaxx chant from Colosseum last night. 

I went to the show with my mate Chad, who also sometimes comes to PWA shows. He was equally happy to see our guys get those featured spots, but also LOVED The Outrunners. YOU SONOFABITCH!  

It was interesting to see Tuckman get a match here, given that he’s got a WWE tryout this week. Keeping his options open apparently! It was pretty awesome seeing 7000+ at Qudos Bank Arena doing the Chelsea Dagger. 

Tony Khan comes out prior to the main show. He gets a positive response in contrast to last year, where the stadium PPV to arena TV special mix-up got him some boos. He thanks the crowd and says he’s changing the TV format to make us the opening of the show. Look, Ma, I’m on TV! Will actually be interesting to see how this all came across on the TV broadcast versus being there in person on Saturday night. 

-------------  

Quick scan of the crowd as Jon Moxley makes his entrance for the opening match. 

Match 1: AEW Continental Championship- Jon Moxley (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita 

Big fight feel as Mox and Takeshita stare each other down to start. Dueling chants for both men which comes across well on TV. Battle of the bulls as they trade hard shoulder blocks. Both look for finishers early but they’re avoided. Mox looks for a kimura but Takeshita rolls through into a side headlock. Chain wrestling exchange until Moxley starts firing off chops, and Takeshita responds in kind. 

Mox takes it high risk moments later with a suicide dive, and overshoots, almost landing on his head! Back in the ring, Mox spikes Takeshita with a piledriver. Takeshita tries to fight back with forearms, but Mox pokes him in the eye. A dropkick sends Takeshita flying into the barricade at ringside.  

Snap suplex gets Mox a near fall as we hit the 10 minute mark. All Continental Championship matches have a 20 minute time limit. Mox works over the arm and the hand of Takeshita. Takeshita fights back and hits a Helluva Kick and Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. Sunset flip out of the corner into a Last Ride gets another long 2 count for the challenger. They trade strikes and Mox hits a cutter outta nowhere. Nice. They battle on the apron and Mox hits a Curb Stomp. Takeshita makes it back in at 9. A second Stomp gets a near fall for Mox.  

Mox transitions to the bulldog choke. We’re 15 minutes in. Mox transitions to the rear naked choke as time ticks away. Switch to an armbar but Takeshita gets his long legs on the ropes. A frustrated Mox boots Takeshita in the face, but he eats it and hits an exploder suplex! Running knee follows for a great near fall. The urgency picks up with a fight against the clock. Sleeper attempts traded before Mox hits the Death Rider- but Takeshita kicks out! With one minute remaining, they trade headbutts. They trade massive kill shots with 30 seconds left... but time runs out! 

Winner: Draw (at 20:00) 

The crowd isn’t happy, and after Mox has words with the ref, he gets in Takeshita’s face, and Takeshita hits him with the Raging Fire to some cheers. 

Thoughts: Awesome opening match. I had a feeling we were heading towards that time limit draw with some of the pacing, but I bit on some of the Hail Mary attempts in the final minute or so. I shared in the disappointment of the crowd at the lack of a clean finish, but we have to remember- as much as this is a mini-PPV on paper, it’s really a TV special with the Revolution PPV not too far away. I’m guessing they’ll run it back properly there, but to me, the actual action didn’t disappoint at all to kick off the show in Sydney. 

A video airs on the Kris Statlander-Thekla feud. Thekla won the AEW Women’s Championship last week in a Strap Match. 

Match 2: AEW Women’s Tag Team Championship- Megabad (Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford) vs. The Babes of Wrath (Harley Cameron & Willow Nightingale) (c) 

Harley begins the match by leaping at Megan and latching herself on like a koala. Yeah, that’s on brand. Willow comes in to support and Harley lands the 10 punches on Megan as Willow hits clotheslines on Penelope in the opposite corner. Strong start. Penelope gets her knees up on a splash attempt though, allowing Megan to take control. 

Megabad isolate and beat down Harley. She gets the tag to Willow, who launches Megan with a German suplex. Penelope in and she takes one as well. Cannonball off the apron by Willow wipes them both out! Back in the ring, Willow keeps it up with a shotgun dropkick. Bayne dodges an enziguri and hits a fallaway slam. Penelope in to choke Willow on the ropes then Megabad deliver a headscissors/boot combo to take her down. 

After a double down, Harley gets the hot tag in to a nice response. Satellite DDT drops Megan, then Harley drops Megabad with a double top rope cross body! Megan makes a difference, cutting Harley off with a big boot for a near fall. Everyone in to hit some moves, punctuated with an Australian Destroyer by Harley Cameron! Wasn’t quite Penta/Fenix level, but it was still cool.  

Babes of Wrath get some cohesion going with a backpack senton on Bayne for a near fall. Willow drops Megan with a Death Valley Driver but Harley misses the follow up Swanton. Penelope tags in and Megan wipes Willow out with a suicide dive (almost puts her through the front of the announce table). Harley turns it around with a backslide and gets the win! 

Winners: Babes of Wrath (at 11:06) 

Thoughts: Fun match. Not a classic, but the Babes are good vibes, Harley is ever improving and Megan has next level

presence. Worked well for its spot on the card. 

Post-match, Lena Kross appears in the ring and drops Harley with a TKO! She was rumoured to be signed to AEW a few weeks ago, but after not seeing her at all I thought maybe the rumours were false. Impactful debut, and she aligns with Megabad to end the segment. Very cool moment to see an Aussie indie standout become formally All Elite on the main Grand Slam show like that. 

A backstage promo airs with Ricochet and the GOA, targeting Jack Perry. It has Grand Slam Australia on the monitor but still might be a pre-tape- neither Ricochet or the GOA wrestled on either Australian show on this tour. 

A promo airs for the next All In London show at Wembley, Sunday August 30^th. 

Promo video airs for Hangman vs. Andrade, up next! 

Match 3: No. 1 Contendership to AEW Championship- Hangman Page vs. Andrade El Idolo 

Strong “Fuck Don Callis” chants from the Sydney crowd. A guy near me in the arena also has a sign, “Don Callis? More Like Don Phallus”. Nicely done. 

We also love us some Hangman, with “cowboy shit” chants ringing out. Andrade tries to pin him early with a boot on the chest, Hangman isn’t having it, he scrambles up and gives Andrade a chop. They trade chops and this is intense! Andrade does the Tranquilo pose in the ropes and Hangman boots him to the outside. A plancha follows.  

Andrade takes momentary control on the outside and stops mid match to take a selfie with a baddie in the front row. This time, they haven’t got a OF model- think they learnt their lesson there- this time the baddie is Aysha of MCW (and earlier in the night ROH) fame. Aysha gets a selfie and gives Andrade a kiss on the cheek. Hangman blasts him and also gets a selfie with Aysha. She goes to give him a kiss but Hangman says, “nope, I’m a married man!” 

Back to action in the ring. More chops. Hangman goes for a springboard but gets caught by Andrade in like a reverse Spanish Fly? Near fall. The fight spills to the announce table and Don Callis runs away. Back in the ring, Andrade gets a near fall as the crowd chants, “Take your pants off!” I understand he did it a couple of weeks ago on Collision, but why? 

They trade strikes and Andrade scores with a boot. He goes for a German suplex, but Hangman lands on his feet and hits a discus lariat. Pop-up powerbomb gets Hangman a near fall. Flying clothesline gets another one. Andrade fights out of a Deadeye and hits the Three Amigos. “Eddie” chant. Moonsault scores for Andrade. 2 count. The fight spills to the outside and Andrade goes for a tornillo, but Hangman catches him in a fallaway slam into the barricade. It comes off a bit rough but suits the tone of this match. 

Back in the ring, Hangman goes for the Buckshot, but Andrade intercepts him with a back elbow for a near fall. Hammerlock DDT gets another razor close count for El Idolo. Hangman fires back with the Deadeye. Callis is beside himself and gets up on the apron. Andrade goes for a low blow, but Hangman blocks it and hits a low blow of his own! Buckshot follows, and it’s all over! 

Winner: Hangman Page (at 16:30) 

Thoughts: Hard-hitting, high stakes match. Andrade (along with Callis) did a nice job conveying frustration, but still willingness to fight and credibility. No idea why the people of Sydney were so obsessed with seeing a pant-less Andrade though. 

Match 4: Loser of the Fall Gets Their Head Shaved- Toni Storm & Orange Cassidy vs Marina Shafir & Wheeler Yuta 

This match started wild with brawling on the outside with all four wrestlers, culminating with a piledriver by Yuta on Toni near the stage. Luther carries her out, leaving Orange in a handicap match. Seems like a Texas tornado, anything goes kinda deal here, although it wasn’t promoted as such. 

Shafir uses her MMA skills and looks credible against Cassidy, who isn’t exactly an imposing physical specimen. It seems like they’ve muffled some crowd audio here, as we were loudly chanting things to Yuta, like “Yuta’s a shit c**t”. Guess WBD didn’t like that. We can hear the “Toni Storm” and “Freshly Squeezed” chants though. 

As Shafir mocks a limp Cassidy by dancing with him, Toni returns! She boots Yuta in the nuts and they beat up Marina using some dance-based offense. Marina fights back with knees but Orange drops her with Beach Break! Yuta in and takes Stundog Millionaire, followed by a satellite DDT. He lines up for the Orange Punch but it’s Shafir in the line of fire, and Orange has an attack of conscience. She rolls him up for a near fall. The women get the men in dueling submissions, then bail on them for a stare down. Toni cracks Marina with a headbutt, then Yuta flies in with a Busaiku knee! Orange makes the save on the pinfall. Looks like I had my timing wrong, as our affectionate chant to Yuta DOES make the air here. 

An errant Busaiku knee blasts Shafir, then Orange hits her with a suicide dive! Toni sends Yuta flying with a German suplex, followed by a hip attack. Orange Punch on Yuta, followed by Storm Zero, and that mop on Yuta’s head is going! 

Winners: Toni Storm & Orange Cassidy (at 11:27) 

Thoughts: The weakest match from a pure wrestling standpoint, but probably the most fun with the investment in the characters and the stipulation attached. The anything goes format added to the fun as well. 

Post-match, Wheeler wants to get out of it, but Moxley comes back out to force him to honor the stipulation. A “you deserve it” chant rings out. Mina Shirakawa comes out, and all the babyfaces take turns shaving chunks out of Yuta’s hair. “Bald” chant from us. Orange’s music plays to end it on an unfinished but satisfying job. Toni does her writhing on the mat thing in the clumps of Yuta’s hair. 

Match 5: TNT Championship Ladder Match- Mark Briscoe vs. Kyle Fletcher (c) 

A great last-minute addition to the card with Fletcher winning back the TNT Championship from Tomasso Ciampa last week on Dynamite. Hot pace to start as the fight spills to the outside and Briscoe hits a tope con giro on Fletcher. There’s ladders leaning on the barricade which just seems placed for some crazy spot to happen, but we’ll see... 

Fletcher fires back with a half and half suplex on the floor. Briscoe returns with a vertical suplex on the floor moments later.  Briscoe climbs a ladder and Fletcher flings him off onto the apron! At first it looked like he landed head-first, but on replay it may have been his shoulder. Nasty in any event. Not done there, Fletcher moonsaults off the ladder onto Briscoe!  

They get back to the ring, but Fletcher lawn darts Briscoe into the ladder, and damn, that thing bounces out of the corner across the ring! Briscoe comes up bleeding. He prevents Fletcher from climbing with a Russian leg sweep off the ladder! Briscoe blasts him in the face with a ladder and now they’re both bleeding. They set up a ladder bridge and Briscoe hits a Froggy Bow with Fletcher on it. Briscoe climbs for the belt but Fletcher stops him and powerbombs him through another ladder! Good thing we’ve got so many. 

These guys are killing each other but they’re not done. Fletcher sets up another ladder bridge in the ring and Briscoe hits him with a Jay Driller through it! Brutal. Fletcher somehow gets up after that. He hits Briscoe with a high angle brainbuster from the top of the ladder! Somehow, Briscoe isn’t dead, as he gets up and sets up a second ladder. Fletcher pushes him off it after a battle and unhooks his title! And still! 

Winner: Kyle Fletcher (at 16:00) 

Thoughts: Easily the match of the night. Everyone loves a good ladder match, and this was a great one, even if it pushed suspension of disbelief down the stretch. A bloody, brutal battle befitting their 7 match series. And while the Sydney crowd was firmly pro-Kyle Fletcher, we still liked Mark Briscoe. It was just “fuck Don Callis” all day. 

Main Event: AEW World Championship- Brody King vs. MJF (c) 

MJF comes out with the Randy Orton 2004 golden shower pyro. Awesome. ‘Fuck ICE” chants as the main event starts, in line with Brody King’s values. 

Obvious size difference here and the commentary team mention how quickly Brody beat MJF to get this title shot. He decimates MJF with a huge clothesline in the early going. Big chops in the corner follow. Gorilla press slam as MJF yells, “Oh shit!” 

MJF avoids the cannonball in the corner and goes to work on the leg of Brody to even the playing field. Brody fights up and goes for the Gonzo Bomb, but MJF slips out and hits a chopblock. He then hits the Kangaroo Kick! Fitting, but cheers turn to boos when he flips Sydney off. He then hits a suicide dive! Have we had one in every match? Feels like it. 

The work on the leg continues and the big man is struggling. MJF hits the running dick attack- shades of Matt Hayter- but it just pisses Brody off, and he gets to his feet in a rage! Couple of chops, then the leg gives out. Another chopblock by the champ, chopping that tree down.  

The fight spills outside the ring and Brody gets an advantage. He delivers a crushing cross body to Max against the barricade! Back in the ring, the cannonball connects! Near fall. Gonzo Bomb attempted but MJF reverses into the sleeper. Bandido comes out to support his tag partner Brody and he comes back to life! He drives MJF into the barricade and a steel chair. They fight back to the ring and Brody locks in the sleeper on the apron! MJF goes limp very quick- hey, maybe he figured he could play dead and be let go quicker? In the ring, the Gonzo Bomb connects... but MJF kicks out! 

They fight on the apron. MJF reverses another sleeper attempt  by attacking the knee, into a Tombstone, followed by the Heatseeker... and it’s all over! 

Winner: MJF (at 21:37) 

Thoughts: High quality main event. They had a believable structure for the smaller MJF to get the advantage, particularly after their initial squash match. Didn’t have the “holy shit” factor or the hometown pops like the ladder match, but still well worked. Brody came across like a believable main eventer, and it was a strong title defence for MJF. 

Hangman Page comes out with the match contract in hand. He feigns punching MJF, who begs off. Hangman’s theme plays to end the show. 

Overall Thoughts 

A very good TV special, and although only 7000ish fans turned up to Qudos Bank Arena, I believe it’s more down to the lack of proper promotional efforts. So many Aussie wrestling fans had no idea this show was even happening until a day or two out. Quality of the show was there, and the people that did show up were loud and invested. Hey, maybe next time, the show won’t be on Valentine’s Day, and we won’t have 70,000+ people next door at an Ed Sheeran concert? 

The late addition of the ladder match really carried this show. Last year’s was stronger with star power (pretty gutted that Omega vs. Swerve is happening on Dynamite instead of us getting it), but everyone bell to bell worked extremely hard and gave us our money’s worth. Hopefully, we get another big show in Sydney soon (it’ll be Melbourne again next, just watch). 

Overall Score: 8/10 

Until next time, take care.