AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam Review - September 20, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston def. Claudio Castagnoli in a Title vs. Title Match to Win the ROH World Championship

It's been a long time coming, but Kingston is finally a world champion, in New York, no less! This was a very good match, and although I expected the crowd to be a bit louder throughout, but they came alive down the stretch for some of the nearfalls. It was wise to have this open the show as set the tone for the rest of the night. Hopefully Kingston becoming ROH World Champion doesn't mean we'll see less of him on AEW TV going forward.

Chris Jericho def. Sammy Guevara

Jericho's matches can be hit or miss these days, but this was definitely one of his better showings in recent memory, and having an opponent as skilled as Guevara (someone he clearly has chemistry with) helped. They worked hard and had an enjoyable outing. The finish in particular was very well executed and Guevara lost nothing in defeat. Besides, he finally turned on Jericho afterward (in the same fashion Jericho turned on Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 19) and that's what people will remember most. He'll be aligned with Don Callis going forward and that's probably the best fit for them both.

Rey Fenix def. Jon Moxley to Win the AEW International Championship

Fenix was out for revenge after Moxley "injured" him last month and took him off All In. I didn't expect him to actually take the title though, especially so soon after Moxley ended Orange Cassidy's lengthy reign at All Out. They had another quality contest with plenty of big spots. Fenix is obviously stellar, so I'm all for him defending against a variety of opponents and just going on a tear. The finish was clearly changed due to an injury to Moxley, so hopefully he's okay (though I'm unsure if that affected the outcome).

AEW Women's World Champion Saraya def. Toni Storm

Storm has been killing it with her current character. She's always been excellent in the ring, but now she's hitting her stride in a different way and the crowd was behind her here as a result. That said, she didn't need to get the belt back for a third time, so Saraya retaining was the right call. This exceeded my expectations in being a really fun match. Storm's shenanigans added to the drama and Saraya looked the best that she has since coming to AEW exactly one year ago. This latest loss should drive Storm even further off the deep end (and put a nail in the coffin of The Outcasts once and for all).

AEW World Champion and ROH World Tag Team Champion MJF def. ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe (ROH World Television Championship Wasn't Defended)

Regardless of whether he won or lost, I was just happy to see Joe in the main event of a treat. His AEW run has been such a treat and he deserves to be featured prominently. This started slow but turned into a top-notch main event with a strong story. MJF is such a prick babyface that the fans are into, and Joe plays his role as the badass heel to perfection. It's worth noting that Adam Cole helped MJF cheat to win, so it'll be interesting to see if Joe goes after Cole despite shaking MJF's hand afterward.

Overall Show

Although there weren't any major surprises on this show (Kingston winning the ROH title was expected), there didn't need to be. All five matches delivered, the two title changes were eventful, and the crowd was lively throughout. This felt like a mini pay-per-view in terms of the pacing and layout, unlike like your average edition of Dynamite. A few matches are advertised for WrestleDream, but several more will need to added in the next 11 days to make it feel worthwhile so soon after All In, All Out and Grand Slam.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews