AEW Grand Slam and NXT Vengeance Day key takeaways: Toni Storm's star, the criminal underuse of Austin Theory, plus more

Yahoo

16-02-2025

It's been a great weekend for professional wrestling, with both AEW and NXT running special shows on separate sides of the globe — AEW Grand Slam in Australia and NXT Vengeance Day in Washington D.C.
In addition to seven combined belts being on the line across both events, we were treated to a smattering of grudge matches and several teaser moments designed to whet the appetite for each promotion's upcoming flagship event (AEW Revolution in March and NXT Stand and Deliver in April).
What were the biggest takeaways from this veritable wrestling feast? Here are the moments and questions that stood out once the dust settled.
Hats off to A-Town Down Under, who brought the house down in an energetic triple threat with NXT Champion Oba Femi — easily the most dominant NXT competitor since Bron Breakker got his WWE call-up.
While no one expected the challengers to leave victorious, Austin Theory and Grayson Waller threw absolutely everything at this one, with a procession of hard-hitting and acrobatic spots that made the champ look like a million dollars.
The match was a barnstormer. But it also showed how criminally underused these two are at the moment, with just a handful of appearances over the past six months on "WWE SmackDown." Surely it's time we saw more of these two on the big events, either as a duo or as singles competitors?
It would be trite to comment on the night-and-day difference from three years ago, when Theory was being presented as a world champion in waiting. But this match left zero room to argue that Theory and Waller aren't getting a raw deal with their current booking.
There were some rumblings of discontent on social media that Vengeance Day lacked an appearance from a certain Ricky Starks, the former AEW talent who made a surprise return on this Tuesday's episode of NXT.
It's true that we've been left with more questions than answers when it comes to Starks (his WWE ring name hasn't even been revealed yet). But NXT's track record onboarding the likes of Ethan Page and Giulia means I'm willing to trust the process on this one.
That said, there is one particular, unavoidable question this stands out on Sunday morning: Is Starks behind the mysterious faction of masked men who launched unprovoked attacks on every (male) NXT champion, including delivering a Shield-esque powerbomb to Oba Femi?
Was it a coincidence that three of the four assailants were also left nameless, referred to by Vic Joseph merely as 'PC [WWE Performance Center] athletes'? I suspect the boy from New Orleans may have some backup as he looks to take NXT by storm.
I've commented before on how it's become almost obligatory to refer to NXT as 'the best women's division in wrestling' — and that trend is only moving in one direction. Just look at how often the tagline is used by WWE itself these days.
As any screenwriter worth their salt will tell you, it's always better to show rather than tell. And luckily the fatal four-way for the NXT Women's Championship did just that, with stellar performances all around and a number of nail-biting close falls that justified its main event billing.
With Giulia just over a month into her title run, a successful defense was always the likeliest outcome. But the match served as an excellent victory lap for all four performers — and a potential swan song for Roxanne Perez, whose WWE main roster call-up feels like an absolute lock right now.
The surprise appearance of Jordynne Grace afterward — whose staredown with Giulia felt like a teaser for April's NXT Stand and Deliver show — leaves me thinking we'll likely be hearing that whole 'best women's division' accolade for a good few months yet.
Given that Jon Moxley vs. Cope is looking like the path for this year's AEW Revolution, Saturday was a reminder of just how much the global wrestling fan base values 'The Rated R Superstar.'
Whichever name you know him under, Adam Copeland is probably the closest thing that the wrestling world has to a Tom Hanks figure — e.g. a universally-admired performer whose decades of acclaim haven't dented his reputation for being an all-around decent chap.
Hearing the Brisbane crowd belting out 'Metalingus' felt like a genuine goosebumps moment in the best traditions of AEW. But things soured quickly after the match, when the same audience loudly chanted 'bulls***' as Jon Moxley choked Cope into submission.
Truth be told, I admire Moxley's creative impulses. But pretending that the crowds haven't lost patience with this Death Riders title run requires Chemical Ali levels of self-deception. If that belt isn't going to Cope when we get to Los Angeles for AEW Revolution, I dread to think what they'll be chanting next.
One of the best arcs in wrestling reached its crescendo on Saturday, as Timeless Toni Storm finally got revenge on her long-time tormentor, Mariah May. The Aussie starlet has been an absolute delight on her most recent run and it was great to see her get those well-deserved flowers in front of her countrymen and countrywomen.
Between WWE and AEW, we've seen a lot of these 'homecoming' matches in recent years (Gunther in Berlin, Rhea Ripley in Perth, Will Ospreay at Wembley) but this one felt the most emotionally satisfying of the bunch — which is no small feat.
But there was no such luck for Storm's countrywoman, Harley Cameron, who failed to win the TBS Women's Championship from the ever-dominant Mercedes Moné in what has to go down as a missed opportunity.
It's true that Moné losses only come around once in a blue moon, but Cameron had already pulled off something even rarer: Winning over the fans completely organically with some of the most hilarious segments in AEW history.
It would have been a brave move for AEW head honcho Tony Khan, admittedly, but who knows how long he'll have to wait for another opening as brilliant as this one?