We’re heading to Arthur Ashe Stadium to go to AEW’s Grand Slam. We have a friend who is not only going to AEW for the first time but to a wrestling show for the first time. We put together a preview of what to expect and we liked it so much, we thought we would share it.

If you’re going to be at AEW Grand Slam, hope to see you there! If not, hope you’re able to watch it!

AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam

AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson

What to know: We all know about the fall out after All Out, CM Punk is stripped of the AEW Championship. However, before we get to All Out, we have CM Punk winning the AEW Championship at Double or Nothing. He inured his foot at the next AEW Dynamite. Rather, than strip him of the championship, AEW decided to create an interim championship. The ultimate winner of this was Jon Moxley. Now, two weeks before AEW All Out where presumably a returning CM Punk would face Jon Moxley to unify the championships, Punk and Moxley fight to unify the titles. Moxley won the match when it appeared that Punk injured his foot again. So Moxley has been the go to person for AEW when people get hurt or otherwise can’t be champion.

Bryan Danielson is technical and violent. He is arguably the most decorated wrestler in AEW to not hold the AEW Championship. He and Moxley are in a stable together called the Blackpool Combat Club which they formed after their mutual understanding of their appreciation for wrestling violence. How did they come to that mutual appreciation? Moxley said “I can’t side with someone without bleeding with them first” so they fought each other at AEW Revolution 2022 (Moxley won). Since then, Danielson has been sidelined with a couple of injuries and he’s been focused on younger talent like Daniel Garcia reaching their wrestling potential. He has had some high profile matches, losing to Chris Jericho at AEW All Out but then defeating Jericho in round two of this tournament. Also, at the first Grand Slam, he wrestled Kenny Omega to a 30 minute draw that started with everyone just cheering.

What to listen for / chant: Moxley comes out to Wild Thing through the crowd. Danielson comes out to a remix of Flight of the Valkyries, which is on brand for him. He used to have the Yes! Chant when he was in the WWE and while he doesn’t do it anymore, the crowd still does. Also, he has the most complicated clap chant ever: You’re gonna get your fucking head kicked in. 

AEW World Tag Team Championship: Swerve In Our Glory vs. The Acclaimed

What to know: At AEW All Out, Swerve in our Glory (Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee) defeated The Acclaimed (Max Castor and Anthony Bowens) in what was the match of the night. However, the crowd was really into The Acclaimed. They were cheered over Keith Lee, which surprised everyone. The Acclaimed are AEW homegrown wrestlers (they weren’t a tag team until they were both in AEW). They are also NY based wrestlers having both trained at Create-A-Pro in Long Island. Swerve and Keith Lee have wrestled elsewhere including the WWE. The Acclaimed have momentum on their side. There’s two kinds of The Acclaimed Fans: they are either this much or that much.

What to listen / chant for:  Swerve theme says “Who’s house?” We say “Swerve’s House!” Keith Lee’s Theme starts, “WHO AM I?!?!?” and we all yell, “I. AM. KEITH. LEE!” Max Castor raps on the way to the ring. The thing to listen for is he starts with “Yo. LISTEN!” and then makes pseudo-inside references and 90’s references. You can spend days listening to Max Caster compilations on YouTube. Or just listen to “Goth Phase.”

Anthony Bowens then takes the mic and yells, “Scissor Me, Daddy Ass!” in reference to Billy Gunn who accompanies them to the ring. (Short version: Billy Gunn was also known as Mr. Ass in WWE. He has two sons who also wrestle in AEW: Colt and Austin Gunn aka The Ass Boys. Therefore, Billy Gunn is the Daddy of the Ass Boys or Daddy Ass). The crowd’s chant for Keith Lee “Ooooh, bask in his glory” became “ooooh, scissor me, Daddy” at AEW All Out; it’s likely to happen again.

AEW Interim Women’s World Championship: Toni Storm vs. Serena Deeb vs. Athena vs. Dr. Britt Baker

What to know: The AEW Women’s champion, Thunder Rosa, got hurt (there’s possible backstage drama) and they added an Interim Championship at AEW All Out. Toni Storm won. Also in that match was Britt Baker who cost her friend Jaime Hayter (not in this match) a chance to win. Athena lost a title match at AEW All Out for the other women’s championship, the TBS Championship. Serena Deeb is known as The Professor. She does a lot of submissions and is really good at breaking her opponents down.

What to listen for / chant: Britt Baker is the most liked dentist in wrestling, possibly in America. They announce her title “D. M. D.” during her entrance so we say it along with her. We respect her for having two professional jobs. Aside from that, it should be a solid match. You may see a lot of people go to the bathroom or concessions though because fans still have a ways to go when respecting women’s wrestling.

AEW All-Atlantic Championship: Pac vs. Orange Cassidy

What to know: In WWE, Pac was known as Neville and it was rumored they wanted him to wear a mask and a cape like Mighty Mouse (his ears kinda stick out). He’s an incredible wrestler and doesn’t like being treated like a joke. He finally leaves WWE and, in AEW, he ends up feuding with Orange Cassidy who he considers a joke. Orange Cassidy’s gimmick is that he’s like a sloth wrestler who kinda lackadaisically does moves and then surprises you by wrestling at normal speed. They wrestled two years ago at AEW Revolution and IT. WAS. A. BANGER. But Pac, who is the All Atlantic Champion and 1/3 of the Trios Champions, still considers Orange Cassidy a joke.

What to listen for / chant: The crowd LOVES Orange Cassidy, legitimately the first break out star of AEW. Listen for the “Ohs” when he does his kicks.

ROH World Championship: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Jericho

What to know: Tony Khan bought ROH at the end of last year. They’re still figuring out how to brand and market it separately from AEW but they sometimes defend ROH championships on AEW programming. Claudio (formerly Cesaro in the WWE) is one of those wrestlers who everyone said was great but never won a World Title. Then he won the ROH World Championship earlier this summer. Chris Jericho is the most decorated champion in AEW but he’s never won the ROH Championship. Claudio is a member of the Blackpool Combat Club (see Mox, Danielson, Wheeler Yuta and William Regal) and they have been feuding with the Jericho Appreciation Society (JAS are “sports entertainers,” a WWE term,  as opposed to “wrestlers”)

What to listen for / chant: Everyone will sing the words to Judas, a song by Fozzy, a band that Jericho fronts. Well, almost everyone.

“What have I become?”

Originally tweeted by Kyle Lewis (@KeepItFiveStar) on May 12, 2022.

Well, almost everytwo.

Duuuuude

Originally tweeted by Josh Alba (@JoshuaAlba) on May 12, 2022.

What to look out for: Maxwell Jacob Friedman aka MJF

One thing hanging over AEW Dynamite is the wrestler MJF. He’s a wildcard in every sense (he “walked out” on the company for 3 months after calling out Tony Khan). He’s good on the mic, walks that line between truth and storyline, and, in New York, he is often cheered even though he acts like a heel. He’s from Long Island so he might be cheered wildly. Arthur Ashe is close enough to Long Island. He won the Casino Ladder match at AEW All Out, earning a title shot when he wants. Will he cash it in at AEW Grand Slam?

If you see a lot of knock off Burberry Scarves, we’re in MJF Country.

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AEW Rampage: Grand Slam

Action Bronson & Hook vs. Matt Menard & Angelo Parker

What to know: Hook is this phenom that shows up, beats you up and leaves. He’s wildly popular and I can’t fully explain it. He wrestled Angelo Parker on the All Out Pre-show. After he beat Parker, Parker’s partner, Matt Menard attacked Hook. Action Bronson, who was ringside and gave his song “The Chairman’s Intent” to Hook to use as a theme, came to Hook’s defense. Now they’re going to fight. AND WE’RE FUCKING HERE FOR IT!

What to listen for / chant: The crowd might chant “Hook is gonna kill you”

Sting & Darby Allin vs. Brody King & Buddy Matthews (No Disqualification)

What to know: Sting, Darby Allin, Brody King and Buddy Matthews have been feuding for a while. Sting is a legendary wrestler and it’s exciting to see him in person. Because he’s STTTTIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGGGGG! Lately, he’s been jumping off of stuff. Darby Allin is small and throws his body at his opponents with full force. There will be spills. Brody King is a beast. Buddy Matthews is the best kept secret in wrestling and will put on a display.

What to listen for / chant: Cheer for Sting. Pray for Darby. Fear Brody. Watch out for Buddy.

TBS Championship: Jade Cargill vs. Diamante

What to know: Jade Cargill is another phenom. She’s 37 – 0 and just screams X-Factor. Her entrance at All Out was her as She-Hulk.

AGAIN. HERE. FOR. IT. Diamante is veteran wrestler. She heard that Cargill was looking for a fight and is willing to oblige.  Look for Cargill to go 38 – 0 but look for Diamante to out up a hell of a fight. A new challenger may appear during or after this match.

What to listen for / chant: Nothing really? There’s no chant for Jade yet.

Samoa Joe & Wardlow vs. Tony Nese and Josh Woods aka Team Sterling

What to know: Samoa Joe is the ROH TV Champion and an ROH legend. Wardlow is the AEW TNT Champion and is another breakout AEW star. He powerbombs people repeatedly into a ‘symphony.’ The crowd goes crazy. ‘Smart’ Mark Sterling is a manager who maintains a stable of strong workers Tony Nese and Josh Woods. He’s also super annoying so everyone wants to see him get beaten up by Joe or powerbombed repeatedly by Wardlow. Look for Wardlow to salivate over powerbombing the shit out of Sterling.

What to listen for / chant: “Joe! Joe! Joe! Joe!” “Joe is gonna kill you…” Something about Powerbombs

Rey Fenix vs Jungle Boy

What to know: Rey Fenix is just one of these wrestlers you need to see. He has a different relationship with gravity than the rest of us. Jungle Boy Jack Perry is another of AEW’s upcoming stars. He’s a former tag team champion that is now making his way as a singles wrestler. This should be a fun match up because Jungle Boy can keep up with Rey Fenix until Fenix decides he can’t.

What to listen for / chant: Jungle Boy comes out to Tarzan Boy so the crowd sings along with that

Grand Slam Golden Ticket Battle Royale

What to know: Winner gets a title shot, probably. So far, these 4 people are in it but there will be more. Look for some of the New York based wrestlers to be in it: Eddie Kingston, Private Party, Ortiz, John Silver aka Johnny Hungee as well as other wrestlers like Sammy Guevara, Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia

What to listen for / chant: We’ll play it by ear.