AEW Grand Slam | |||
---|---|---|---|
Promotion | All Elite Wrestling | ||
Date | September 21, 2022 (aired September 21 and 23, 2022) | ||
City | Flushing, Queens, New York | ||
Venue | Arthur Ashe Stadium | ||
Attendance | 13,800 [1] | ||
Event chronology | |||
| |||
AEW Dynamite special episodes chronology | |||
| |||
AEW Rampage special episodes chronology | |||
|
The 2022 Grand Slam was a two-part professional wrestling television special produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It was the second annual Grand Slam event and took place on September 21, 2022, at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in the Queens borough of New York City, encompassing the broadcasts of Wednesday Night Dynamite and Friday Night Rampage . Dynamite aired live on TBS while Rampage aired on tape delay on September 23 on TNT and was expanded to two hours for the Grand Slam special.
The card comprised a total of thirteen matches, five of which aired live on Dynamite while the other eight were taped for Rampage. In the main event of the Dynamite broadcast, Jon Moxley defeated Bryan Danielson in a tournament final to win the vacant AEW World Championship. Other prominent matches saw The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens and Max Caster) defeat Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland) to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship, and in the opening bout, Chris Jericho defeated Claudio Castagnoli to win the ROH World Championship and his eighth overall world championship. In the main event of the Rampage broadcast, Ricky Starks defeated Powerhouse Hobbs in a Lights Out match. In other prominent matches, "Hangman" Adam Page won the Golden Ticket Battle Royale to earn a future AEW World Championship match, Action Bronson and Hook defeated Jericho Appreciation Society (Matt Menard and Angelo Parker), and in the opening bout, Sting and Darby Allin defeated House of Black (Buddy Matthews and Brody King) in a No Disqualification tag team match.
The Dynamite broadcast was also notable for the debut of Saraya, previously known as Paige in WWE, who last wrestled in 2017. The Rampage broadcast was also notable for an appearance by Japanese wrestling veteran The Great Muta, who came to the aid of old rival Sting.
Role | Name |
---|---|
Commentators | Excalibur (Dynamite and Rampage |
Tony Schiavone (Dynamite and Rampage) | |
Taz (Dynamite) | |
Ian Riccaboni (Castagnoli vs. Jericho) | |
William Regal (Castagnoli vs. Jericho) | |
Jim Ross (Rampage) | |
Chris Jericho (Rampage) | |
Paul Wight (Rampage) | |
Ring announcer | Justin Roberts |
Referees | Aubrey Edwards |
Bryce Remsburg | |
Paul Turner | |
Rick Knox | |
In September 2021, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) held a two-part television special called Grand Slam, which aired as special episodes of AEW's weekly television programs, Wednesday Night Dynamite and Friday Night Rampage . The event was held in the New York City borough of Queens at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, the main stadium of tennis' US Open, and marked AEW's first event held in New York City, which is primarily known as home territory for WWE, as well as the company's first full event to be held in a stadium. [2] [3] [4]
On May 11, 2022, AEW president Tony Khan confirmed that Grand Slam would return to the Arthur Ashe Stadium later that year and the event would continue forward as an annual event at the same venue. [5] During the Forbidden Door pay-per-view on June 26, the 2022 Grand Slam's date was confirmed for September 21, with Dynamite airing live that night on TBS and Rampage airing on tape delay on September 23 on TNT. Like the previous year, Rampage was expanded to two hours for the Grand Slam special. [6]
Grand Slam featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. [7] Storylines were produced on AEW's weekly television programs, Dynamite and Rampage, and the supplementary online streaming shows, Dark and Elevation .
After CM Punk won the AEW World Championship at All Out, [8] Punk got suspended due to a legitimate backstage physical altercation following the event's media scrum. [9] On the following episode of Dynamite, AEW president Tony Khan announced that the AEW World Championship was vacated. A tournament then began that episode to crown a new champion, with the final taking place at Dynamite: Grand Slam. [10]
At All Out, Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland) defeated The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens) to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championship. [8] A championship rematch was then subsequently scheduled for Dynamite: Grand Slam. [10]
On the September 14 episode of Dynamite, after Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. and Serena Deeb defeated interim AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm and Athena, it was later announced that Storm was scheduled to defend the title in a four-way match against Deeb, Athena, and Baker at Dynamite: Grand Slam. [11]
During the All Out Zero Hour pre-show, AEW All-Atlantic Champion Pac, who had just retained the title, was interrupted by long-time rival Orange Cassidy, who seemingly challenged him to a title match, which Pac immediately declined. [12] After weeks of confrontations between the two, the championship match was scheduled for Dynamite: Grand Slam. [11]
Citing the seven world championships he had won, Chris Jericho confronted ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli on the September 16 episode of Rampage and challenged him to a match for the championship, as he had never won the ROH World Championship. Castagnoli accepted and the match was scheduled for Dynamite: Grand Slam. [13]
After Hook defeated Angelo Parker to retain the FTW Championship during the All Out Zero Hour pre-show, Parker's tag team partner, Matt Menard, ambushed Hook until rapper Action Bronson, who wrote Hook's theme song, made the save and took out Menard and Parker. [12] On the September 14 episode of Dynamite, a match pitting Bronson and Hook against Menard and Parker was announced for Rampage: Grand Slam. [11]
Eddie Kingston and Sammy Guevara were originally scheduled to face each other at All Out, however, Kingston was quietly suspended by AEW after getting into a legitimate backstage verbal dispute with Guevara. [14] After Kingston's suspension was lifted, a match between Kingston and Guevara was announced for Rampage: Grand Slam. [13]
At the Fight for the Fallen special episode of Dynamite on July 27, after Ricky Starks lost the FTW Championship, his tag team partner Powerhouse Hobbs attacked him, thus disbanding Team Taz. [15] A match between Starks and Hobbs was scheduled for All Out, which Hobbs won. [8] A rematch between Starks and Hobbs was announced for Rampage: Grand Slam, and was later stipulated to be a Lights Out match. [13]
No. | Results | Stipulations | Times [16] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Chris Jericho defeated Claudio Castagnoli (c) by pinfall | Singles match for the ROH World Championship [17] | 14:25 | ||
2 | The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens) (with DJ Whoo Kid and Billy Gunn) defeated Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland) (c) (with Fabolous) by pinfall | Tag team match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship [17] | 13:00 | ||
3 | Pac (c) defeated Orange Cassidy by pinfall | Singles match for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship [17] | 13:00 | ||
4 | Toni Storm (c) defeated Serena Deeb, Athena, and Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (with Rebel) by pinfall | Four-way match for the interim AEW Women's World Championship [17] | 9:50 | ||
5 | Jon Moxley defeated Bryan Danielson by technical submission | Tournament final for the vacant AEW World Championship [17] | 19:15 | ||
|
Wild Card Round Dynamite (September 7) Rampage (September 9) | Semifinals Dynamite (September 14) | Finals Dynamite: Grand Slam (September 21) | |||||||||
Chris Jericho [note 1] | 19:49 | ||||||||||
"Hangman" Adam Page | 23:04 | Bryan Danielson | Sub [11] | ||||||||
Bryan Danielson | Pin [10] | Bryan Danielson | 19:15 | ||||||||
Jon Moxley | KO [16] | ||||||||||
Sammy Guevara | 13:46 | ||||||||||
Sammy Guevara | Pin [20] | Jon Moxley [note 1] | Pin [11] | ||||||||
Darby Allin | 11:06 |
Edward Moore, better known by the ring name Eddie Kingston, is an American professional wrestler. As of July 2020, he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is out of in-ring action because of a leg injury, but continues to make on-air appearances. He was the inaugural AEW Continental Champion. Moore also performs for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Champion. Additionally, he makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former Strong Openweight Champion. All three of these championships were defended jointly under the Continental Crown Championship banner until he lost the Continental Championship.
Samuel Guevara is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Sons of Texas and is a record tying three-time former AEW TNT Champion. He also appears in AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is one-half of the ROH World Tag Team Champions with Dustin Rhodes in their first reign. He has previously worked for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), where he is a former AAA Mixed Tag Team Champion with real life wife Tay Melo, and a former AAA Cruiserweight Champion.
The Gunns are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of real-life brothers Austin and Colten Gunn, who are the sons of professional wrestler Billy Gunn. They are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH), where they are members of the Bang Bang Gang stable. They are former one-time AEW World Tag Team Champions and one-time ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions and AEW World Trios Champions.
The 2021 Full Gear was the third annual Full Gear professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It took place on November 13, 2021, at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, marking AEW's first PPV to be held in Minnesota. The event aired on traditional PPV outlets, as well as on B/R Live in North America and FITE TV internationally.
The 2022 Revolution was the third annual Revolution professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It took place on March 6, 2022, at the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida. The event aired through traditional PPV providers, as well as Bleacher Report in the United States and FITE TV internationally. It was the culmination of a three-day event, which began with an episode of Friday Night Rampage on March 4 and then a fan fest on March 5, both held at the same venue as Revolution.
The 2022 Double or Nothing was the fourth annual Double or Nothing professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It took place during Memorial Day weekend on May 29, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. The event returned Double or Nothing to its home of Las Vegas, after the previous two years had to be held at Daily's Place and the adjacent TIAA Bank Field stadium in Jacksonville, Florida due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2022 Full Gear was the fourth annual Full Gear professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It took place on Saturday, November 19, 2022, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, marking AEW's first PPV to be held in the Tri-State area. The event also saw Saraya's return to wrestling and first match since December 2017, as well as the return of The Elite following their suspension as a result of an altercation that occurred during the All Out post-event media scrum.
The 2022 All Out was the fourth annual All Out professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It took place during Labor Day weekend on September 4, 2022, at the Now Arena in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
The Jericho Appreciation Society (JAS) was a villainous professional wrestling stable formed in American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), created and led by Chris Jericho and also appeared in AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH). The group also consisted of Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager, Angelo Parker, Matt Menard, Sammy Guevara, Tay Melo, and Anna Jay A.S.
The Death Riders is a villainous professional wrestling stable that performs in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Ring of Honor (ROH). The stable consists of original member and current leader Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Pac and Marina Shafir. Moxley is the current AEW World Champion in his record-setting fourth reign, while Castagnoli, Yuta and Pac are the current holders of the AEW World Trios Championship in their first reign.
The 2022 Forbidden Door was the inaugural Forbidden Door professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and supershow co-produced by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and the Japan-based New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It took place on June 26, 2022, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, and was the first AEW/NJPW co-promoted event. It was the first professional wrestling pay-per-view held at this venue since Spring Stampede in 2000, which was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
The AEW World Trios Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is a specialized tag team championship, being contested by teams of three wrestlers, referred to as trios. The current champions are the Death Riders, who are in their first reign as a team, while individually, it is the first for Castagnoli and Yuta and the record-tying second for Pac. They won the title by defeating previous champions The Patriarchy, Bang Bang Gang, and House of Black in a four-way London Ladder match at All In on August 25, 2024.
AEW Grand Slam is an annual professional wrestling event produced by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The event was established in 2021 and originally aired as a two-part television special, encompassing the broadcasts of Wednesday Night Dynamite and Friday Night Rampage from 2021 to 2023, and then Dynamite and Saturday Night Collision in 2024. The event was also originally held annually in late September. The 2025 event, however, will move Grand Slam up to February, which will also be the first Grand Slam to broadcast via pay-per-view (PPV), in turn reducing the event to one night.
AEW Quake by the Lake was a professional wrestling two-part television special produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It was held on August 10, 2022, at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, encompassing the broadcasts of AEW's weekly television programs, Wednesday Night Dynamite and Friday Night Rampage. Dynamite aired live on TBS while Rampage aired on tape delay on August 12 on TNT. The event's name is in reference to it taking place in Minneapolis, which is known for its many lakes.
The 2022 Winter Is Coming was the third annual Winter Is Coming professional wrestling television special produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The event took place on December 14, 2022, at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas for the second consecutive year. It was broadcast live on TBS as a special episode of AEW's flagship weekly television program, Wednesday Night Dynamite.
The 2023 WrestleDream was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It was the inaugural WrestleDream and took place on October 1, 2023, at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington, marking AEW's first PPV to be held in the state of Washington. The event was a tribute show in honor of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) founder Antonio Inoki; it took place on the one-year anniversary of his death.
The Don Callis Family is a villainous professional wrestling stable led and managed by Don Callis. The group also consists of Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Trent Beretta, Lance Archer, and Brian Cage. They are all signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where Takeshita is the current AEW International Champion in his first reign. They also perform in its sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where Cage is the reigning ROH World Television Champion.
The 2023 Worlds End was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It was the inaugural Worlds End and took place on Saturday, December 30, 2023, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on Long Island, marking AEW's first PPV to be held in the state of New York. The event featured the final of the inaugural Continental Classic to crown the inaugural AEW Continental Champion, and subsequently, AEW's first "American Triple Crown Champion".