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!
