Posted on 10/12/126 by Bob Magee
AEW Grand Slam: France Collision Results – Young Bucks
Retain AEW World Tag Team Titles, Speedball Bailey Qualifies
for Clockwork Carnage, More
We were back in Paris for the Collision half of Grand Slam:
France from Adidas Arena on TNT and HBO MAX! It was another
perfect atmosphere for the best professional wrestling in
the world thanks to a molten-hot Paris crowd! And they got
to see a pair of championship tilts and another qualifier
for Clockwork Carnage, which is now just one week away at
AEW WrestleDream in Orlando on October 17!
The night started with a rivalry that may never end between
The Conglomeration and Death Riders in a Mixed Fight in
Paris! Willow Nightingale returned to action for the first
time since AEW All Out to join Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly
and Roderick Strong, but they fell to Claudio Castagnoli,
Marina Shafir, Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia in a chaotic
brawl!
In the main event, the Young Bucks avenged a previous loss
to The Dogs to retain their AEW World Tag Team Championship.
However, it was the Bucks’ challengers at WrestleDream, “The
Protostar” Kyle Fletcher and “The Jet” Kevin Knight, who
stood tall holding the titles after laying out Matt and Nick
Jackson to close out the night in Paris! The other
championship bout saw Andrade El Ídolo turn away Michael Oku
to retain his AEW National Championship before he was
confronted and laid out by Tommaso Ciampa, who made his next
title quest painfully clear!
Plus, “Speedball” Mike Bailey beat ROH Pure Champion Lee
Moriarty to join AEW World Champion Will Ospreay and Samoa
Joe in Clockwork Carnage. Wrathlander won a 3-Way over
Sisters of Sin and Divine Dominion to become #1 contenders
to The Brawling Birds AEW Women’s World Tag Team
Championship.
All that and more closed out a tremendous debut week in
Paris for AEW!
AEW Collision: Grand Slam France Results From Paris
Mixed Fight in Paris: Death Riders (Daniel Garcia, Claudio
Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta and "The Problem" Marina Shafir)
def. The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy, Kyle O'Reilly,
Roderick Strong and Willow Nightingale)
All eight combatants obviously knew each other quite well
and faced off at the bell with Willow and Shafir stepping to
each other, before Yuta booted Willow while she was
distracted. Everything quickly spilled to the floor, with
all eight battling outside before Wheeler and Cassidy made
their way back into the ring. Yuta took Cassidy down and
taunted the crowd, but held onto the moment too long.
Cassidy fought his way up and avoided him before rolling him
through a cradle, leading to a flurry of competing pin
attempts with neither man gaining the advantage. Cassidy
came off the ropes, only for Yuta to catch him with a tilt-
a-whirl slam.
O'Reilly came in and locked Yuta in a guillotine while the
rest of the teams continued battling outside. Shafir broke
it up, grabbing O'Reilly from behind and trapping him in a
straight ankle lock, but O'Reilly escaped into a cross
armbreaker of his own! What a tremendous exchange of mat
wrestling between the two! The pair came face to face, with
O'Reilly pulling back on a kick, only for Shafir to fake him
out and land one of her own right to his face. As O'Reilly
went after her, Garcia knocked him out of the ring, but
Willow shoved Garcia into Shafir, sending her into the
corner.
Willow chopped Shafir across the chest and hoisted her up,
but Shafir slipped free, and the two traded brutal open-hand
chops. Shafir rebounded off the ropes with a German suplex,
then went for a PK, but Willow ducked and rolled her up for
a two-count. Willow followed with a pair of chops and a
feint before body-slamming Shafir to the mat, pausing to
pose for the crowd — only for Castagnoli to sneak up behind
her. Willow beat her chest and dared him to bring it, but
Strong blocked Castagnoli’s pump kick attempt and joined
Willow in for a double-team of chops on Castagnoli. When
Shafir tried to make the save, Willow started chopping her
as well, but Castagnoli and Shafir turned it around with a
double knee lift.
With Shafir and Willow fighting on the floor, Strong
dropkicked Castagnoli off the ropes, then tried a cross
body, only for Castagnoli to catch him and dump him outside.
Cassidy spun Castagnoli around for a DDT and sprang right
back to his feet, but when he went for a dive, Yuta yanked
him down, leading to a tense standoff between the ropes.
Shafir hit the ropes for a pendulum kick, caught Cassidy in
a head scissors and spiked him into the apron. As she
gathered herself on the floor, Willow blindsided her with a
dangerous cannonball. When Willow turned around, Yuta came
through the ropes and took her out with a dive of his own.
As Yuta turned around, O'Reilly caught him with a running
knee off the apron, only to be flattened by a big boot from
Garcia on the floor. Garcia spun Strong into a backbreaker
against the barricade, but when Strong turned around,
Castagnoli leveled him with a running uppercut across the
ringside area. Cassidy tried to dive onto Castagnoli, but
Castagnoli caught him and spun him into a devastating
backbreaker — an absolute flurry of violence from the Death
Riders.
O'Reilly tried to fight off Garcia, Yuta and Castagnoli all
at once inside the ring, but the numbers were too much, and
they dumped him to the outside. Strong came in to try his
luck, but was thrown out just the same. Castagnoli launched
off a springboard, using Yuta's back to fly onto Strong on
the outside, sending both men crashing to the floor. Cassidy
dumped Castagnoli over the top rope and did the same to
Garcia moments later. Shafir whipped Cassidy into the
turnbuckles, but he flipped onto the apron and slammed her
into it instead, then leaped to the second rope before
launching himself outside to wipe out everyone at ringside.
Back in the ring, Willow laid into Shafir, working her into
the corner, but Yuta cut her off. Willow slapped him,
whipped him into the ropes, and spiked him under the bottom
rope to the floor. Shafir came flying out of the corner, but
Willow met her with a spinebuster and went for the cover,
only for Castagnoli to break it up with a stomp to her back.
Cassidy, however, was ready and waiting with an Orange
Punch!
Cassidy grabbed Castagnoli's legs for a giant swing attempt,
but couldn't even get him off the mat, settling for dropping
the legs and hitting a PK instead. When he went for another
Orange Punch, Castagnoli caught him, adjusted his grip and,
in a freakish display of strength, spun Cassidy through
multiple rotations of his own giant swing.
O'Reilly found an opening, bouncing to the second rope for a
flying knee on Castagnoli. Garcia came in and traded holds
with O'Reilly, each locking in a standing guillotine before
Garcia broke through with a swinging neckbreaker. Strong hit
Garcia with a backbreaker, and Shafir stepped in, clearly
familiar with Strong's style in a back-and-forth grappling
exchange. She choked him from behind; he escaped and shoved
her away, she answered with a kick, and when he tried to
lift her for a backbreaker, she slipped free and took him
down into Mother's Milk — only for Willow to break it up to
save her partner.
Garcia took Willow down and locked in the Dragon Tamer, and
when Shafir tried to break that up, O'Reilly caught her
ankle and applied his own ankle lock. With both women
trapped in submissions, they started slapping each other
anyway. O'Reilly booted Garcia away and launched him
skyward, but Yuta rushed in to cut off Strong with a Busaiku
Knee. Cassidy missed an Orange Punch and paid for it, as
Castagnoli threw him into Yuta for another Busaiku Knee.
Castagnoli tried to boot O'Reilly out of his ankle lock on
Shafir but couldn't connect on the first try — on the second
attempt, he landed uppercuts to free her, which left him
open for a barrage of attacks from the Death Riders, who, as
Jon Moxley noted on commentary, can go all night long.
Castagnoli picked up O'Reilly for a Neutralizer, with Yuta
adding extra impact by shoving him down from the second
rope, and Castagnoli covered for the three-count, giving the
Death Riders the win in the Mixed Fight in Paris. On
commentary, Moxley gave Shafir enormous credit for hanging
tough in that ankle lock, a show of toughness that
eventually helped seal the win for her team. The Death
Riders celebrated in the ring with a huddle, even pulling in
referee Bryce Remsburg, though he quickly bounced out.
AEW Collision is Heading to the Seas on November 7!
Jericho confirmed the special announcement that AEW
Collision will be live from Jericho’s Rock N’ Wrestling
Rager at Sea: Seventh Cruise of a Seventh Cruise on November
7!
Nick Wayne def. Jericho
Wayne was out first, looking as confident as ever despite
having lost their first encounter. Jericho followed, getting
a huge reaction from Paris as the crowd sang “Judas” all the
way to the ring. As Jericho let the people finish singing
his music, Wayne hit him with a cheap shot to start the
match, pointing down at Jericho and asking the crowd if this
was what they were cheering for.
Wayne stayed on him with a chop, but Jericho fired back with
chops of his own. Wayne answered with a flying back elbow,
taking Jericho down to the mat, then went to the corner and
admired his handiwork as if daring Jericho to get up. Wayne
hammered away, but when he went off the ropes, Jericho met
him with a dropkick, catching him flush on the chin. Wayne
grabbed his face in pain.
Jericho stayed on him with a chop against the ropes, but
when he charged, Wayne sent him over the top to the floor
and followed with a moonsault off the apron to take him out.
With Jericho down, Wayne tried to loosen up his own back,
which may have been tweaked on the landing. He threw Jericho
back into the ring but thought twice about following him in,
instead heading to the commentary desk to take off the top.
When Wayne went to grab Jericho on the apron, Jericho caught
him with a springboard dropkick, sending him back to the
outside. Jericho then went to the top rope and wiped him out
with a flying body press all the way to the floor. Jericho
slammed Wayne off the commentary desk and threw him into the
barricade, but took too much time celebrating with the
crowd, giving Wayne the chance to run up the barricade and
catch him with Sliced Bread #2 on the floor, hurting both
men.
Wayne was up first and tried to run Jericho off the steel
steps for a DDT, but Jericho caught him on his shoulders and
drove him through the commentary desk with a Death Valley
Driver, taking firm control of the match. The two battled up
top, trading blows, until Jericho took him down with an
avalanche hurricanrana. Jericho put him right back in the
corner, hit a barrage of punches, and did it again. He
repeated it a third time, and then a fourth! Four avalanche
hurricanranas in a row from Jericho!
Jericho lined up for the Judas Effect, but Wayne was ready
and dropped him with a neckbreaker, a counter he badly
needed. The two battled up from their knees, trading chops,
and Jericho ate a big thrust kick before avoiding Wayne
coming off the ropes with a back elbow, knocking him off his
feet. Wayne then reversed another Judas Effect attempt into
a stunner, but when he tried to follow up, Jericho answered
with a Codebreaker and covered him, only for Wayne to kick
out at two.
Jericho hit a bulldog and went up for the Lionsault, but as
he stepped to the ropes, Wayne kicked him in the ankle, then
caught him with a kick to the side of the head. Wayne
bounced off the second turnbuckle looking for Wayne's World,
but missed, and Jericho grabbed him for the Walls of
Jericho, trapping him in trouble in the middle of the ring.
As Wayne tried to crawl for the ropes, Jericho pulled him
back, but Wayne bit his ankle, doing enough to break the
hold. Jericho mounted him with punches, and when the referee
tried to break it up, Jericho shoved him away, which allowed
Wayne to sneak in an undetected low blow! Wayne rolled him
into an inside cradle, but Jericho kicked out at two. Wayne
then lined him up and smashed his foot across the side of
Jericho's face with a kick, following up with Wayne's World
for the three-count!
Wayne was more than pleased with what has to be considered
one of the biggest victories of his career!
Konosuke Takeshita Wants In Clockwork Carnage
"I'm a champion, and I will not stop until I have gold
again. Wrestle Dream, Clockwork Carnage, I want in! This is
the perfect match to show why I am the Alpha."
Clockwork Carnage Qualifier: United Empire's "Speedball"
Mike Bailey def. ROH Pure Champion Shane Taylor Promotions'
"TaigaStyle" Lee Moriarty
Moriarty was out first, initially flanked by Shane Taylor
Promotions before continuing to the ring on his own. United
Empire's Bailey came out by himself as well, having called
for this match just days earlier at Grand Slam: France
Dynamite. If Bailey wins, he'd face AEW World Champion Will
Ospreay, his own United Empire stablemate, as part of
Clockwork Carnage, but first he'd have to get past Moriarty.
The Paris crowd loved Bailey, and he fed off that energy
early, sending Moriarty to the outside with a head scissors,
then following up with a crossbody to the floor and throwing
him back into the ring. Bailey went to the top rope and
tried to jump over Moriarty, but Moriarty ducked, and Bailey
came back with a kick of his own. The two pushed off into a
stalemate as the intensity ratcheted up. Bailey tried to
ground Moriarty with a side headlock, but Moriarty countered
with a head scissors of his own, and the two traded
reversals until Moriarty hung Bailey up on the top rope with
a stun gun, following up with a spinning neckbreaker.
Moriarty hit a low dropkick, but Bailey kicked out quickly.
Moriarty kept him grounded on the mat until Bailey fed off
the crowd to fight free, then rolled Moriarty through the
ropes to the floor. Bailey followed with a springboard
moonsault from the ring all the way to the floor, taking
Moriarty out. Bailey tried to bring Moriarty up to the
apron, but when he charged, Moriarty moved, sending Bailey
crashing to the floor instead. Moriarty then got a massive
head of steam and absolutely crushed Bailey into the
barricade with a torpedo dive, somehow not knocking him out
cold.
Moriarty tried to pick Bailey up, but Bailey fought him off
and sent him into the floor, squashing him with a moonsault
knee drop! Both men were down, and both barely beat the
referee's ten-count. They grabbed each other's hands while
exchanging strikes, trading blows even while locked up.
Moriarty unloaded with a barrage of forearms and went for a
choke, but Bailey ducked out, and Moriarty flipped away,
landing on his feet, before snapping Bailey's neck down.
Moriarty covered for a two count, and Bailey came right back
with a cover of his own for a two count.
Moriarty choked Bailey against the ropes, but the referee
broke it up, so Moriarty kicked Bailey and hit Fang! He
cradled Bailey for a pin attempt, but Bailey somehow kicked
out at two after a move that's finished plenty of opponents
for Moriarty, but not Speedball tonight. Moriarty locked on
the Border City Stretch, but Bailey rolled it into a pinning
predicament for a two-count. Moriarty ran at Bailey, who
caught him with a Green Tea Plunge and sat on him for a pin,
but Moriarty kicked out and rolled through to grab Bailey's
wrists and legs for a bridging pin of his own, only for
Bailey to escape.
The two met each other with stiff kicks before Moriarty
locked in a rear naked choke, but Bailey ran off the second
rope and rolled back over him for another two count. Bailey
answered with a big thrust kick that sent Moriarty into the
corner, followed by a spinning roundhouse. Bailey climbed to
the second turnbuckle and looked out at the crowd, who knew
exactly what was coming, then connected with Ultima Weapon!
He covered Moriarty for the three-count to pick up the win!
Bailey has qualified for Clockwork Carnage, joining AEW
World Champion Will Ospreay and Samoa Joe in the match. As
Bailey celebrated, Ospreay made his way down to the ring to
offer his congratulations, with both men celebrating
together on a great night in Paris for United Empire.
Ricochet Wants to Be Part of Clockwork Carnage
Ricochet declared his intentions for Clockwork Carnage.
"Eight wrestlers, two periods, one winner, it's the ultimate
endurance match, and it's honestly perfect for somebody like
me, because I'm Ricochet, the greatest athlete in the entire
world! The first-ever match of its kind, and that's only
fitting, seeing as I am the first-ever AEW National
Champion, it's only right that I become the first-ever
Clockwork Carnage winner and become the AEW World
Heavyweight Champion. So it doesn't matter how many hurdles
you want to set in front of me, because I'm Ricochet, I will
leap over every single one of them, because I am Ricochet,
and I am simply out of this world, ah!"
AEW World Trios Champion Swerve Strickland def. Shane Taylor
Promotions' Carlie Bravo
Swerve was flanked by Prince Nana as well as the other two-
thirds of the AEW World Trios Champions, Austin Creed and
Kofi, as they prepare to defend their titles against
“Hangman” Adam Page, Brody King, and Bandido in a two-out-
of-three-falls match next week at WrestleDream. Bravo came
out alongside Shane Taylor, Trish Adora and Capt. Shawn
Dean.
Bravo tried to jump Swerve at the bell, but Swerve was ready
and knocked him to the mat as the crowd erupted into loud
"Whose House?" chants. Bravo tried to send Swerve to the
outside, but Swerve fought his way back in with a couple of
low dropkicks, covering for only a one-count. Swerve locked
in an octopus hold in the middle of the ring before
releasing it to hit a spinning neckbreaker, keeping control
of the neck with a second neckbreaker and sending Bravo to
the apron for a third over the second rope.
Swerve pounded away at Bravo in the corner, but Bravo
reversed a whip, sent Swerve to the apron, and hung him up
on the top rope before firing back in with a reverse
bulldog. Bravo mounted Swerve for punches, laughing as he
took control of the match, then unloaded with right hands in
the corner and dropped him with a clothesline. He locked in
a rear chinlock to keep Swerve grounded, but Prince Nana
pounded the mat to rally the crowd behind his man, and
Swerve escaped into a suplex.
As the crowd kept up the "Whose House?" chants, Swerve fired
up, snapmaring Bravo out of the corner and nailing a second-
rope elbow to the back of the neck! Swerve danced to
celebrate, then avoided a charging Bravo in the corner to
come back with a flatliner. Swerve looked out at the crowd,
sensing the end was near, and yelled out, "Whose House?" But
when he went for the House Call, Shane Taylor distracted the
referee, allowing Dean to pull Swerve out of the ring. Dean
threw some wild strikes at Swerve, but was immediately laid
out by a pair of kicks from Lio Rush and Kofi Kingston on
the outside. Taylor came over and took both of them down
with a massive double clothesline.
As Taylor continued talking trash, he never saw Swerve
coming, who caught him with a big boot to the face. Bravo,
however, dove between the turnbuckle connectors to hit
Swerve with a tornado DDT on the floor. Bravo threw Swerve
back in the ring and hit a springboard cutter from the
apron, covering him, but Swerve kicked out at two to keep
the match alive.
Bravo tried a running kick in the middle of the ring, but
Swerve was ready, taking him down to the mat and attempting
a gator roll into a suplex, only for Bravo to float out the
back and roll him up for a two-count. Bravo landed a big
right hand, but Swerve fired back and took him off his feet
with a House Call! Swerve climbed to the top rope and
connected with a Swerve Stomp off the top for the three-
count and the win, a statement victory heading into next
week's championship defense!
Death Riders Send a Message to Mark Davis and the Don Callis
Family
AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley, Gabe Kidd and Marina
Shafir were together after the Death Riders’ victory earlier
in the night. Moxley spoke first. "We've been feeling a
little lost. It's been a long week; we're a man down. Where
does that leave us? Where are we? Every day, we’ll continue
to do what we do: wrestle harder, fight harder, work harder
than anybody else in this sport. If you get a victory over
us, it doesn't mean a damn thing; it just makes us better,
and it just pisses us off, Mark Davis? A big Continental
Title shot? We're just getting started, brother. You're in
the game now.”
Gabe Kidd followed. "You think one win is going to win you
the season? You think that's how it works? Now people think
it's over weeks, but it's not; it's every single day,
outworking every single one of you rats! Every single one of
you! And you think you're going to go out tonight in Paris,
pop some champagne, feel all good about yourself? Eff that!
Next Wednesday, Dynamite! You bring Davis, you bring Doyle,
you bring whoever else, Rocky and his uncles, aunties, next
door neighbor, postman, it don't matter! It don't matter!”
Shafir, who was still icing her ankle from the opening
match, continued, “It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter!
Because this is a war of love for professional wrestling,
and no one, no one loves this shit like we do, right? No
one! No one is as committed, no one is as willing, no one is
willing to suffer the way that we do! It’s Death Riders
against the world!”
AEW National Championship Match: Andrade El Ídolo (c) def.
Michael Oku
Andrade El Ídolo defended his AEW National Championship
against Michael Oku, with Oku out alongside Amira Blair,
making his first appearance since challenging Kazuchika
Okada in an AEW Unified Championship eliminator last
September, his biggest AEW match to date.
The two had a feeling-out process early, with Andrade
getting to his feet to soak in the crowd's reaction. Oku
came back to take him down with a knee shot to the face,
then went to throw Andrade to the outside, but Andrade
caught himself in the ropes and struck the Tranquilo pose.
Oku responded by dropkicking him off the apron to the floor
and fired up the crowd before pausing at the apron himself,
drawing a chorus of boos.
Oku rushed Andrade on the floor, but Andrade threw him
overhead into the barricade, with Oku landing hard on his
head as the referee checked on him. Taking advantage of the
pause, Andrade found one of his many admirers at ringside
and grabbed her phone for a selfie. He threw Oku back into
the ring and took a moment to look over Blair, who pulled
out her own phone for a selfie, the distraction allowing Oku
to fly over the top rope with an inverted dive, catching
Andrade completely off guard. Blair and Oku celebrated with
a selfie of their own.
Andrade regained control, but when he had Oku cornered
looking for his patented running knees, Oku avoided it and
rolled into a half crab. Andrade kicked his way free, only
to eat a PK followed by Oku's version of the Lionsault, but
Andrade kicked out at two. Oku went to the top rope and
connected with a frog splash to Andrade's lower back, rolled
him back over and returned to the top, but missed on a
second attempt. Andrade looked for Dia de los Muertos, but
Oku ducked it and rolled him up for a near-fall. On the
second attempt, Andrade connected with Dia de los Muertos to
put Oku away, picking up his sixth successful defense of the
AEW National Championship.
After the match, Andrade grabbed the microphone. He’s still
waiting for the right moment to use his AEW World Title
contract. But for now, he’s going to defend the AEW National
Title every week, and if anyone backstage thought they could
beat him, he had one question.
Before Andrade could ask, he was interrupted by the music of
Tommaso Ciampa! Ciampa went face-to-face with Andrade and
the crowd went wild when they shook hands. Ciampa punctuated
it with a kiss on the cheek, which sent the crowd into an
acapella version of his theme song. Andrade went to leave,
but Ciampa ambushed him with a knee to the side of the head!
He pulled Andrade up and hit a draping DDT on the National
Title! Ciampa picked up the belt and hugged it before
leaving it with Andrade and a final kiss!
3-Way AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders
Match: Wrathlander (Kris Statlander and Harley Cameron) def.
Artist of STARDOM Champions Sisters of Sin (Julia Hart and
Skye Blue) and Divine Dominion ("Megasus" Megan Bayne and
"Colossal" Lena Kross)
A three-way match determined the number one contenders for
the AEW Women's World Tag Team Championship, with champions
The Brawling Birds, Alex Windsor and Jamie Hayter, out first
to join the commentary desk. All six women in the match know
each other extremely well, whether as opponents or partners,
but at the bell it was Divine Dominion taking out Sisters of
Sin and going right after Statlander and Cameron.
Statlander came back to clothesline Bayne and Kross over the
top rope, but Blue knocked Cameron down from behind to
officially get things started, mounting her with punches for
an early two-count. The two traded kicks until Cameron came
back with a diving clothesline and a jumping elbow in the
corner before tagging in Statlander. Cameron hit a Russian
Leg Sweep, and Statlander followed with a springboard
senton. Cameron came off the ropes, and Statlander spun her
into a splash before covering Blue for another two-count.
Statlander tagged Cameron back in for a basement
clothesline, and Cameron locked Blue into a half crab, but
Hart broke it up with a kick.
Bayne took down Hart, and Statlander hit a pump kick to
knock Bayne from the ring, only to walk right into a jumping
thrust kick from Kross, who was then sent flipping by a
running head scissors from Blue. Blue hit a knee to Cameron
and came off the ropes, but ran into Bayne as Cameron
collided with Kross, who dropped her with a headbutt. Kross
threw Cameron to the floor, and Bayne launched Blue off her
shoulders over the top rope all the way down, wiping out the
rest of her opponents at ringside.
Divine Dominion stayed in control until Cameron tagged out
to Statlander, who spun Hart around for a Fisherman Buster
and covered for a two-count. Cameron tagged back in and
tried to set up double-team offense with Statlander, but was
pulled from the ring by Blue. Meanwhile, Hart sent
Statlander out on the opposite side. Blue brought Cameron
back in, and Sisters of Sin connected with a double front
suplex and a double superkick for a near-fall, broken up by
Bayne.
Bayne dragged Cameron to the corner and tagged in, and she
and Kross tried stereo body slams on Sisters of Sin, but
Hart DDT'd Bayne and Blue did the same to Kross to escape.
Hart and Blue both connected with superkicks, then climbed
to opposite turnbuckles, only for Cameron to cut off Hart on
one side and Statlander to stop Blue on the other. Kross and
Bayne got back up and flipped both pairs over with
simultaneous powerbomb towers of doom, sending everyone
crashing down in the middle of the ring to a huge ovation
from the Paris crowd!
As Kross held Hart in place for Bayne, Bayne connected with
a jumping boot, setting Hart up for Kross's German suplex.
Bayne covered, but Blue broke it up just in time. Kross
punished Blue in the corner, and Bayne came back with a
running boot and a German suplex. During this, Statlander
made a blind tag, but was immediately dropped by Kross.
Kross and Bayne picked up Statlander for the Divine
Intervention, but she used her power to flip both women
overhead with a double hurricanrana.
Statlander tried to charge for a dive, but Hart caught her
and spun her into the Heartless submission. Statlander
immediately stood up out of it and hoisted Hart onto her
shoulders, while Cameron pushed Blue off the top turnbuckle
and into Bayne and Kross on the floor. Back in the ring,
Statlander connected with Staturday Night Fever on Hart and
got the pinfall! Statlander and Cameron are the new number
one contenders for the Brawling Birds' AEW Women's World Tag
Team Championship! The two turned their attention toward
Windsor and Hayter still at the commentary desk, before
celebrating further with the crowd.
AEW World Tag Team Championship Match: Young Bucks (Matt
Jackson and Nick Jackson) (c) def. The Dogs (Clark Connors
and David Finlay)
In the main event of Grand Slam: France Collision, the AEW
World Tag Team Championship was up for grabs! The Dogs
attacked before the bell, jumping the Bucks and sending both
Matt and Nick Jackson to opposite corners. They tried to
alternate attacks, but the Bucks got out of the way and
turned things around with their own do-si-do attacks in
opposite corners, meeting in the middle with double
bulldogs, punctuated by the signature Young Bucks high five,
officially starting the match.
With the bell ringing, the Bucks quickly seized the
advantage as Matt springboarded Nick into a double dropkick
on the Dogs. Connors and Finlay rolled to the outside, but
when Finlay tried to get back on the apron, Matt trapped him
with a head scissors, and Nick came across the ring with a
kick to send him back to the floor. Matt dove through the
ropes with a double boot and held the top rope down so Nick
could flip over him and take out both Connors and Finlay on
the floor. Matt and Nick celebrated their offense as the
crowd chanted “The Elite! The The Elite!”
Nick went to the top rope to attack Connors in the ring, but
didn’t see Finlay sneak up behind him and crotch him on the
turnbuckle. Nick fell into the ring, and Finlay picked him
up and sent him to the Dogs’ corner. Connors tagged Finlay,
and they hit double-team attacks on Nick in the corner, but
Nick ran them into each other and tagged Matt. Matt flipped
over a doubled-over Connors and hit a flying clothesline,
then ran into a boot from Finlay in the corner before going
into a locomotive series of Northern Lights suplexes,
grabbing Connors to punctuate the final one. Matt tagged
Nick and held Finlay over the second rope so Nick could come
off with a senton, but Finlay kicked out at two. Matt tagged
back in, and the Bucks took Finlay down in the corner with a
superkick before doing the same to Connors to knock him from
the ring. They brought Finlay to his knees looking for the
BTE Trigger, but Finlay ducked, sending Matt and Nick
colliding knee-to-knee. Connors clotheslined Nick all the
way to the floor, and back in the ring Finlay hit a
backbreaker on Matt before tossing him outside. Connors got
a head of steam and ran over Matt with a big shoulder
tackle.
The Dogs were in full control and could have been on their
way to a second victory over the Bucks, only this time, it
could bring them the AEW World Tag Team Championship. Matt
remained isolated in the wrong corner for several minutes,
but found a flash of offense when he avoided a Finlay charge
in the corner and took out Connors with a crossbody from the
apron. Matt got back in the ring and tried to jump for the
tag to Nick, but Finlay caught him and pulled him down,
rolling him up for a near-fall. Finlay tried it again before
picking him up for a powerbomb attempt, but Matt reversed it
with a head scissors into the corner, where Nick was waiting
with an upkick. Matt followed with a kick and a quick DDT to
Finlay, and Nick fired up the crowd to will Matt to the
corner. It worked! Nick made the tag and hit a crossbody on
both Finlay and Connors, following up with a two-for-one
head scissors and arm drag combination after an Escalera.
Nick fired up the crowd again, got Finlay stuck in the
corner, and on the opposite side sprung to the apron to
catch Connors with a shot to the back of the head. He then
hit a springboard stomp to the lower back of a doubled-over
Connors and rolled through for a lung blower that sent
Finlay crashing out of the corner with authority.
Matt and Nick simultaneously ascended the turnbuckles and
dropped a senton and an elbow, but Nick only got a two-count
on Finlay. Matt tagged in and grabbed Finlay, but Finlay
dropped behind and ran him into the turnbuckle. Nick jumped
over both and grabbed Finlay, and when Finlay tried to boot
Matt in the face, the Bucks turned it around into an
assisted sunset flip German suplex. Nick hit a dive to the
outside on Connors while Matt came out of the corner with an
inside-out stunner, covering Finlay for another two-count.
Matt draped Finlay over the top rope and Nick hit a double
stomp, setting him up for a sit-out powerbomb from Matt, but
once again Finlay kicked out. Matt locked Finlay in a
Sharpshooter as Nick did the same to Connors, and with the
crowd fully behind them, the Bucks looked for a double
tapout, but Connors and Finlay grabbed each other’s hands
and fought to the bottom rope.
The Bucks called for a Superkick Party, but Finlay caught
Nick’s leg and threw it into Matt. Finlay tried for a
Uranage, but Nick rolled out of it, and Connors planted Nick
with a powerslam. Connors got a ton of momentum going for a
spear, but Nick leapfrogged him, and Matt laid Connors out
with a superkick. Nick hit a superkick to Finlay and Matt
followed with one of his own, but Finlay rebounded off the
second rope and took both Bucks down with a double
clothesline. The Bucks sprung right back up and took out
Finlay with double superkicks, leaving all four men down as
the crowd rallied behind the champions.
Matt started trading strikes with Finlay in the middle of
the ring, and when Connors came from behind, Matt quickly
dumped him to the outside. Finlay tried to throw Nick to the
outside, but Nick stayed on the apron and hit a stun gun
that sent Finlay right into Matt’s arms for a tombstone
piledriver attempt, only for Connors to interrupt by
spearing Nick through the ropes on the apron! Back in the
ring, Finlay hit a Dominator on Matt for a near-fall.
Connors and Finlay went to opposite corners with Matt in the
middle, looking to finish things with a high-low, and it
connected. Finlay covered Matt, but he kicked out. The Dogs
loaded up for Full Clip, which also connected, and Finlay
covered Matt again, but this time Nick was there to break up
the cover and keep the Bucks’ fourth reign alive!
The Dogs sent Nick to the floor, and Connors lifted Matt up
to Finlay on the second turnbuckle for a super powerbomb,
but Matt reversed it with a hurricanrana that sent Finlay
crashing to the mat! Nick hit a superkick to Connors, and
the Bucks hit superkicks to Finlay before crushing him with
the BTE Trigger! Matt covered Finlay for the three-count and
a successful AEW World Tag Team Championship defense!
As the Bucks began to celebrate, “The Jet” Kevin Knight and
“The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher attacked from behind. As the
#1 contenders for the AEW World Tag Team Titles, they made
sure to get a big piece of the champions, with Don Callis
joining in with some extra cheap shots. Knight hit a Crash
Landing on Nick as Fletcher drove Matt into the mat with a
Sheer Drop Brainbuster! Fletcher and Knight picked up the
AEW World Tag Team Championships and celebrated with Callis,
bringing Grand Slam: France Collision to a close!
Merci, Paris!
Catch a special 3-Hour AEW Dynamite and Collision this
Wednesday on TBS & HBO Max live at 8/7c from the Wolstein
Center in Cleveland, Ohio!
Tickets on sale now! – AEWTIX.COM
And remember… We are AEW—Where The Best Wrestle!