AEW Dynamite: Bryan Danielson Will Walk Out As AEW Champion

AEW Dynamite is back this Wednesday and will be broadcast live on TBS from Queens, New York as they present the Grand Slam episode of their flagship program.

AEW is going all in on this card with a number of pay-per-view-worthy matches.  All five matches announced for this card are title matches, with all the recognized AEW Titles being defended except the Trios, TNT, and TBS Titles.

In addition to four AEW Title matches, the Ring of Honor World Title will be on the line as well, as AEW looks to put on another outstanding television program and further distance itself from the memory of the embarrassment that was the All Out media scrum and backstage brawl.

Let’s take a look at the five announced matches for AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam and what to expect from each.

Chris Jericho vs Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World Title

Claudio Castagnoli will face his toughest test since becoming the Ring of Honor World Champion when he takes on Chris Jericho at Grand Slam.

Any time Chris Jericho is involved in a match, there is a strong chance of him coming out as the victor. Jericho continues to be booked very strongly and is undoubtedly still one of the biggest stars that the promotion has to offer.

There are two things to consider heading into this match. As Jericho made clear on last week’s Rampage, he has held world titles in pretty much every major promotion but has never held the ROH World Title. There is no doubt that both Jericho and Tony Khan would like to etch Jericho’s name in the Ring of Honor history books.

Couple that with Jericho being submitted last week by Bryan Danielson and the very slim likelihood of Jericho losing two matches in consecutive weeks makes this feel like a title change is coming.

However, this is also Castagnoli’s first world title run, and he should be given an excellent and lengthy run given all that he has done in his career before finally becoming a world champion.  Let’s hope Tony Khan can resist the urge of putting the ROH Title on Chris Jericho, at least for now. Winner: Claudio Castagnoli

Orange Cassidy vs Pac for the All Atlantic Title

In a rematch of Orange Cassidy’s debut match in AEW at Revolution 2020, OC and Pac will hook up again at Grand Slam, but this time with the All Atlantic Title on the line.

As maddening as some people may find it, Orange Cassidy continues to be one of the top draws in AEW. Underneath the gimmick is an extremely talented in-ring performer that usually blends comedy and storytelling together beautifully in his matches.

We have seen a bit of a different side to Orange Cassidy over the past couple of weeks, culminating with a backstage attack on Pac last week. History has shown us that OC rarely throws the first punch, so it is possible that we see a more focused and motivated Orange Cassidy in this match.

Orange Cassidy is going to hold gold in AEW, there is no doubt about that. It is very possible, with Death Triangle already being the AEW Trios Champions, that Wednesday is that night.

However, Pac was a perfect choice as the first-ever All-Atlantic Champion, and he should be built back up as a challenger for the AEW World Title in the near future. So it makes sense for him to have an impressive All Atlantic Title run with a number of significant wins. As such, Pac should win a hard-fought match here. Winner: Pac

Britt Baker vs Serena Deeb vs Athena vs Toni Storm for the interim AEW Women’s World Title

Toni Storm will defend her interim AEW Women’s Title in the same fashion that she won the title at All Out, in a four-way match.

However, with the exception of Britt Baker, Storm will have to deal with some new opponents this time, as Athena and Serena Deeb will be in the mix, replacing Jamie Hayter and Hikaru Shida.

Even though Hayter is not officially part of this match, it is very likely that she still plays a part in the outcome.

At All Out, Hayter looked to have the interim AEW Women’s Title won, when Britt Baker pulled the referee out of the ring before the three-count, costing Hayter the pinfall win and allowing Toni Storm to pick up the win just moments later.

The most likely scenario in Wednesday’s match is the exact same situation, only this time it is Hayter pulling the ref out of the ring, and costing Britt Baker the match, again allowing Storm the opportunity to come out on top and retain her title.

This will add more fuel to the fire between Baker and Hayter and set up what should end up being a very intense rivalry between the two in the near future. Winner: Toni Storm

The Acclaimed vs Swerve In Our Glory for the AEW World Tag Team Titles

After coming up short at All Out, The Acclaimed will get another shot at tag team gold when they get their highly anticipated rematch with Swerve In Our Glory at Grand Slam.

First, let’s take a quick minute to appreciate just how great of a team Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee have become. These two men have gelled together seamlessly as a tag team and really play well off of each other in interviews, as well as having developed some highly entertaining, high-impact tag team offense in the ring.

Both of these men have been great additions to the AEW roster, and both men should be in line at some point in 2023 for an AEW World Title program.

But sometimes in wrestling, an individual or team just becomes so organically over that they can’t be denied the top prize anymore. Such is the case with Max Caster and Anthony Bowens.

Caster and Bowens have built themselves up from relative obscurity to become one of the hottest acts going in AEW today. While everyone looks forward to Max Caster’s weekly raps, the duo has proven its ability inside the ring to be just as entertaining. Then you add the always popular Billy Gunn to the mix and the result has been pure magic.

On Wednesday night The Acclaimed need to walk out as the AEW Tag Team Champions. But that is not the only thing that needs to happen. If Swerve and Lee are no longer going to be the tag champs, they need to dissolve the team and move forward as singles competitors. At Grand Slam, expect a miscommunication to cost Swerve In Our Glory the titles, and then a Swerve Strickland full heel turn. Winners: The Acclaimed

Bryan Danielson vs Jon Moxley for the AEW World Title

The main event of the Dynamite portion of Grand Slam will involve two members of the Blackpool Combat Club doing battle for the AEW World Title when Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson square off.

As good as this match should be, there is the prevalent thought that whoever wins the AEW World Title at Grand Slam is just going to be holding onto it until MJF decides the time is right to cash in his opportunity at the gold.

And because of that, this match is very difficult to call.

Everything that we have seen over the past two weeks seems to be pointing towards a Jon Moxley and MJF feud moving forward. And with MJF basically the uncrowned champion of AEW in many people’s eyes, it would make sense for Moxley to walk out of Arthur Ashe Stadium as the champion to set up that match.

However, now is the time for a Bryan Danielson AEW title run.

Danielson is in the middle of a fantastic run in regard to his in-ring work right now. When healthy, he has put together amazing match after amazing match on a weekly basis. And it gets harder to remember as the weeks pass by, but in Danielson’s pre-BCC time in AEW, he was absolutely killing it on the microphone as well in programs with Kenny Omega and Adam Page.

With health concerns always lingering over Danielson, the time is right for Tony Khan to put the title around the waist of the “American Dragon”. MJF and Mox can then enter a program that ends at Full Gear before Maxwell turns his attention to Danielson and AEW Title, where MJF can win it at the Winter is Coming special and head into 2023 as the AEW World Champion. Winner: Bryan Danielson