AEW Grand Slam Australia tonight!
Revolution less than a month away!
We have a lot to get to from Dynamite and leading into the trip Down Under tonight, so away we go…
Harley Cameron: The New Face of TBS?
The ever-entertaining Harley Cameron is riding an unprecedented wave of momentum heading into AEW Grand Slam Australia this weekend, but can she actually pull off the impossible and take the TBS Title away from the undefeated Mercedes Mone? A month ago, that would have been laughed at, but with each week, Cameron’s popularity continues to rise all while getting more and more under Mone’s skin.
And if you’ve been paying close attention, Harley may still be having fun through her own unique way of entertaining, but as we saw this past Wednesday on Dynamite, she knows what this opportunity means. This is someone who orbited around pro wrestling for years trying to find her way in and despite filling a variety of roles, it’s only now that Harley has truly found who she is supposed to be in this crazy world.
Has she found enough to pull off the upset and become TBS Champion in front of her home country? Or can Mercedes avoid feeling the wrath? It could be a special night for the worldwide HarleyHive.
That’s Our Hangman
Listen, anyone who shuts up Max Caster during his Best Wrestler Alive Challenge is automatically okay by me. However, this wasn’t the typical Hangman rage and vengeance we’ve seen over the last year. He had an issue with Caster last week and easily took care of it this week. Hangman’s focus was clearly elsewhere, as we would learn later when he had yet another confrontation with MJF. This time, Maxwell was questioning if Page had the stomach and resolve to live with everything he’s done.
Following MJF’s victory over Dustin Rhodes, the former AEW Champion continued the attack, only for Hangman to make his way to the ring much to the delight of the Austin, Texas crowd. A stare-down quickly turned into an all-out brawl with security struggling to keep the two apart for very long. And now the two will come face-to-face on Dynamite next week.
Adam Page may never be the man who first walked into AEW, as his journey has taken him down many paths of both triumph and heartbreak. It bothers MJF that people continue to ride with Hangman despite a mental struggle that saw Page carry out unthinkable actions. Maybe it’s because people relate to what he went through, whereas MJF will only act in the best interest of himself. Regardless of where you stand with these two, it’s a showdown that feels years in the making with their only singles meeting coming on Thanksgiving Eve in 2019, less than two months after the debut of Dynamite.
Is this our Hangman? If we accept him as a flawed, prideful man, who will go to great lengths to defend his family and what he believes in, even if it takes him to dark places, then yes, this is our Hangman. And maybe that’s exactly the evolution he’s needed to handle the scumbag, unapologetic nature of MJF. Two cornerstones of AEW want to get back to the World Title and it’s pretty clear they’ll have to go through each other (finally!) to get there.
Swerve at a Crossroads
The most successful year of Swerve Strickland’s career did not end on a high note. That sour taste has carried into 2025 thanks to Ricochet. Ever since losing the AEW Championship to Bryan Danielson at All In last August, Swerve is 4-3 in singles matches, including PPV losses to Hangman and Bobby Lashley. And after losing a match and the Embassy Robe to Ricochet, what’s next?
Swerve seems intent on revenge, yet Prince Nana wants Ricochet and the need for vengeance left in the past. And he has a point. Look what happened when Swerve couldn’t get over what happened with Hangman. Has Swerve ever truly gotten back on track?
Ricochet doesn’t seem interested in continuing things with Strickland, although with him in possession of the robe, it doesn’t seem like this is over. Interestingly enough, the future of what happens between these two could be in the hands of Nana and what influence he has over Swerve.
Death Riders on Their Heels?
As I have been begging for over the last few months, it appears that egos are being put aside to deal with The Death Riders. The partnership between Cope and Jay White seems to be strengthening by the week and their plan to steal the briefcase containing the AEW World Championship worked, as Moxley was forced to accept Cope’s challenge for the title at Revolution. While Marina Shafir was able to recover the case, Moxley’s inability to control his emotions and give into the challenge showed you can get to him. Can Cope and White build on the momentum in the Brisbane Brawl? Is Cope the one to take the AEW Title from Moxley next month in Los Angeles?
Big Confrontations
An impressive AEW Tag Team Title defense for The Hurt Syndicate wasn’t celebrated for very long, as the Murder Machines, Brian Cage and Lance Archer, appeared on stage to show their interest in challenging for the title. We’ve never seen a match with that much size in the tag division, but let’s hope it happens sooner rather than later.
The ongoing hostilities between Powerhouse Hobbs and Big Bill continued with another brawl on Dynamite, so we continue to wait for this match to go down, although that giant knee brace on Hobbs continues to be an obstacle he has to overcome. When this finally happens, reinforce the ring.
And finally, after some interactions in the Casino Gauntlet last month, Kris Statlander and Megan Bayne crossed paths again this past week. Whether she didn’t like the stare down or was just trying to assert her dominance, Bayne’s attack on Statlander set the stage for what could be the most powerful women’s showdown in AEW history.
AEW Grand Slam Australia Predictions
AEW Women’s Championship
Mariah May © vs. Toni Storm
Prediction: Storm via pinfall (New Champion)
TBS Championship
Mercedes Mone © vs. Harley Cameron
Prediction: Cameron via pinfall (New Champion)
Continental Championship
Kazuchika Okada © vs. Buddy Matthews
Prediction: Okada via pinfall (retains title)
Brisbane Brawl
The Death Riders (Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli) vs. Cope and Jay White
Prediction: Cope via submission
Grudge Match
Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay vs. The Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher)
Prediction: Fletcher via pinfall
Until next time, when I’m back to talk about wrestling even more…
You can see Matt as a host and analyst on AEW’s social channels. Matt is also one of the hosts of Busted Open Radio on Sirius/XM. Matt hosts a pro wrestling stream every Monday-Thursday, 3pm ET for Bleacher Report. AEW Grand Slam