5 Surprising Moments from AEW Grand Slam Week

It's safe to say that Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega are pretty good at professional wrestling after the events of AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam, as they put on an instant classic on Wednesday.

AEW Grand Slam was one of the biggest shows in the young company’s history . The largest crowd ever in New York was rewarded with two impressive shows in Dynamite and Rampage. Fans got to see several fun tag team matches, a solid AEW Women’s Championship match, and CM Punk's first television match in seven years.

Plus, a brutal Lights Out main event on AEW Rampage finished off the unforgettable two-night show. The hope is that All Elite Wrestling can continue its great momentum through the fall and winter months, as they are certainly riding a hot streak recently.

As some fans try to figure out why Danielson and Omega enjoy taking chops so much, let's instead focus on the top five most surprising moments of AEW Grand Slam.

#5 Hobbs impresses in defeat at AEW Grand Slam

CM Punk hypes the crowd up to begin AEW Grand Slam week.

Powerhouse Hobbs is only 30 years old, and he has certainly improved a lot since he joined Team Taz in 2020. Still, it was quite surprising to see Hobbs get the honor of wrestling CM Punk in Punk’s first televised match in seven years. Could Hobbs hold his own with one of the best wrestlers in the world at AEW Grand Slam? The answer seems to be a resounding yes.

CM Punk wrestled a smart technical style, as he used a lot of kicks and submissions holds in the nearly fourteen-minute match. On the other hand, Hobbs relied on power moves to overwhelm his veteran opponent. In one scary moment, Punk hit a hurricanrana, and Hobbs landed on his head. But Hobbs recovered, so the match progressed toward an interesting finish.

Hook tried to interfere in the match, but Hobbs accidentally knocked him down. This distraction allowed Punk to hit the GTS for the victory. The two stars put on a good match, and the ending allowed Hobbs to look strong in defeat. While it was surprising to see him get Punk’s first televised match back, he is set up to succeed moving forward after his performance at AEW Grand Slam.

#4 American Top Team attacks at AEW Grand Slam

Is it a UFC invasion of AEW?

At AEW Grand Slam, Chris Jericho and Jake Hager had a match against Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky. Page and Sky have recently aligned themselves with Dan Lambert, the head of American Top Team, a group of MMA fighters.

Lambert has quickly become an obnoxious heel, as he insults AEW and its fans at every turn. It seemed he would get a well deserved comeuppance at AEW Grand Slam, but he had a big surprise up his sleeve on Friday night.

At the end of the tag team match, Lambert grabbed Hager’s foot. The distraction allowed Sky to use an inside cradle and pull out a huge victory at AEW Grand Slam. This win marked the first victory for Sky and Page on a major AEW show since June.

The sight of Page and Sky emerging victorious was unexpected, but the post-match moment was even more shocking. Multiple MMA fighters from American Top Team entered the ring to attack Jericho and Hager. Jorge Masvidal’s flying knee on Jericho stole the show, as it generated headlines throughout the wrestling world and the MMA news cycle alike.

Will popular UFC fighters continue showing up on AEW shows after the events of AEW Grand Slam? Masvidal’s involvement, alongside the rest of American Top Top, opened up countless possibilities.

#3 Homicide debuts at AEW Grand Slam

That was an unexpected debut at AEW Grand Slam.

At AEW Grand Slam, Suzuki-gun was reformed when Minoru Suzuki and Lance Archer competed in a Lights Out match against Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley. Suzuki-gun showcased its usual antics by bending the rules and using many weapons. They even attempted to strangle Moxley and succeeded at taping his hands behind his back at one point in the match. This sheer violence was a typical display for one of NJPW's leading stables.

These four men waged war in a thrilling main event, but the arrival of Homicide, a twenty-eight year veteran, punctuated the night. As someone who has a long history with Eddie Kingston, it was a fitting moment for Homicide to help his old friend on Friday night.

With this assistance, Kingston was able to recover and put a trash can lid on Archer’s head. He then hit it repeatedly with a kendo stick before he pijnned the big man in front of his appreciative hometown crowd.

Was this a one-off appearance in AEW for the New York-born Homicide? If not, it will be interesting to see how Homicide’s debut will affect Moxley and Kingston’s team going forward.

#2 Ruby Soho cheated out of victory at AEW Grand Slam

This feud isn't over....

At AEW Grand Slam, fans had a surprising main event for AEW Dynamite when Britt Baker faced Ruby Soho. It was great to see the AEW Women’s division getting such a prominent spotlight on this historic night. Baker certainly acts like a heel at all times, but she's always cheered on by AEW's passionate fans. That pattern changed in a major way at AEW Grand Slam against Soho.

The nearly fourteen-minute match started off quite slow, but it picked up to tell a unique story that culminated with an exciting ending. Baker kept finding ways to get near falls on Soho, but the challenger kept kicking out time and time again.

For the first time in AEW, the crowd was actually cheering for the babyface in a Baker match. Baker was consequently quite frustrated, and her team was finally able to distract the referee.

This interference allowed Jaime Hayter to hit Soho’s throat with a top rope attack, and Baker capitalized by trapping Soho in the Lockjaw and forcing her to tap out.

The finish allows Ruby Soho to remain in the Women’s Championship picture after Wednesday night's AEW Grand Slam, as she has a valid reason for a rematch. It will be fascinating to see what happens next in the constantly improving AEW women’s division.

#1 Bryan Danielson & Kenny Omega fight to a time limit draw at AEW Grand Slam

The dream match lived up to the billing on Wednesday night.

The most anticipated match at AEW Grand Slam was dream bout between Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega. Though it was a non-title match, fans had extremely high expectations for a contest between arguably two of the best wrestlers in the world.

Could they possibly live up to the unbelievable hype for this match? As it turns out, the competitors might have surpasssed it, as they delivered one of the best matches of the years.

It was surprising to see AEW Grand Slam open with this huge match, and it was also interesting to see that the match didn’t involve have a lot of submission moves or near falls. Instead, Danielson and Omega simply beat each other up for a brutal thirty minutes.

The amount of chops they hit each other with was remarkable, and their chests quickly showed the effects. Both men also blasted each other with stiff kicks. The knee shots to the neck of Danielson were executed perfectly, but they were still scary due to Danielson's history of neck issues.

This bout was an opportunity for The American Dragon to prove he had fully recovered from his long history of injuries over the years. At least for one night at AEW Grand Slam, Danielson and Omega went all out for thirty minutes in an incredible contest.

The ending will be both surprising and controversial, as the bout concluded with a time limit draw. This inconclusive finish sets up some amazing possibilities, as the lack of a winner sets up a natural rematch.

Could we see an epic rematch in the near future, potentially at AEW Full Gear? Some fans might be upset at the unclear result at AEW Grand Slam on Wednesday, but the chance to see Danielson and Omega face each other again will certainly make up for it.