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          Everything you need to know about AEW's Grand Slam Australia show

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          Mercedes Mone on why she chose AEW: 'You can do everything' (1:15)

          Mercedes Mone details her decision to sign with AEW after a previous run with WWE and some recent time off. (1:15)

          • Joey Lynch
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              Joey Lynch is a Melbourne-based sports journalist and AYA cancer advocate. Primarily working on football, he has covered the Socceroos, Matildas and A-Leagues for ESPN for over a decade.
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          Feb 13, 2025, 08:22 PM ET

          For the first time ever All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is hitting Australian shores bringing with them some of the best international and local wrestling stars.

          So when is it? Where can you watch it? And who should you be watching for?

          Read on for our one stop shop for everything you need to know ahead of this weekend's Grand Slam Australia!

          What is Grand Slam Australia

          Grand Slam Australia is the first show that All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has ever brought Down Under. Rather than serving as a 'house' show in which events generally aren't considered part of the ongoing continuity of the promotion, this event will be filmed and broadcast as a television special, replacing this week's AEW Collision.

          Who are AEW?

          Formed in 2019 and owned by father and son Shahid and Tony Khan -- Shahid is also the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL and Fulham in the Premier League -- AEW has established itself as the second-biggest professional wrestling promotion in North America behind the WWE, occupying a position that hadn't truly existed since the collapse of World Championship Wrestling in 2021.

          Featuring some of the best professional wrestlers in the world, the promotion's flagship show is AEW Dynamite, which airs on Wednesday evenings in the United States, and AEW Collision, which airs on Saturdays. Across Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, AEW is available exclusively on ESPN.

          Where: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Queensland Australia

          When: Saturday, 15th of February, 5:30 PM AEDT | Broadcast Sunday, 16th of February, 6:30 PM AEDT on ESPN.

          Advertised Card:

          AEW Women's World Champion Mariah May vs. "Timeless" Toni Storm w/ Luther

          AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Buddy Matthews

          'Switchblade' Jay White and Cope vs. Death Riders (Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli) w/ Marina Shafir in a Brisbane Brawl

          Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega vs. The Don Callis Family (Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita)

          AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Moné vs. Harley Cameron

          Storylines:

          After establishing herself as one of the most entertaining figures on the AEW roster through sheer force of personality (FEEL THE WRATH OF HARLEY CAMERON), Cameron has spent several weeks trying to convince Moné to defend her TBS Title against her in her home country, going so far as to utilise Puppet Mercedes -- the Australian is a trained ventriloquist -- in her efforts. One of the biggest stars in women's wrestling, going by the 'CEO' title since arriving in AEW, Moné dismissed and belittled these efforts, but after picking up her first AEW win earlier in February, Cameron snapped and clocked the champion with a microphone last week, provoking the champion into this match.

          Arriving in AEW last March and almost immediately winning the Continental Title, Okada has continued to demonstrate why he's one of the best in the world across the year -- retaining his title in the recent Continental Classic -- but hasn't shown the same kind of focused brilliance that marked his dominance of New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). On last week's AEW Collision, however, Australian-born Mathews, emerged as a singles threat as part of the 'Hounds of Hell' faction that morphed out of the 'House of Black', labelled Okada's more laid-back persona a " b----hit comedy facade" and questioned if the champion knew what he was capable of. The risk the Australian is now running is that his goading may unleash the 'Rainmaker' in Okada.

          Led by AEW Champion Moxley, the Death Riders have been running roughshod over AEW since they evolved out of the Blackpool Combat Club, his character reportedly taking some inspiration from Russel Crowe's in the 1992 film 'Romper Stomper'. Returning from a layoff with Shafir at his side, Moxley ended the full-time career of Brian Danielson when he won the title last year and declared that he was going to purge the company of a growing sense of weakness and complacency, recruiting Castagnoli, PAC, and Wheeler Yuta to his cause. The storyline has drawn the ire of some fans for dragging as various wrestlers and groups have sought to defend the company against the group and bring the title back to AEW, with White and Cope (FKA as Adam Copeland, or Edge in WWE) amongst the latest to step up and the latter set to challenge Moxley for the title at AEW Revolution next month.

          A long-time friend and confidant of Omega, Don Callis betrayed the former AEW Champion after he lost the various titles the two had won together, replacing him with Takeshita as his new "Alpha" and also recruiting Ospreay, then with NJPW, into his plans. Eventually, though, after signing full-time with AEW, Ospreay began to have doubts about Callis' win-at-all-costs mentality and broke away, only to be blindsided when his friend and former stablemate in the 'United Empire' faction, Fletcher, attacked him and sided with Callis. Just last week, Callis twisted the knife again by introducing Mark Davis, Fletcher's tag team partner in 'Aussie Open' and another 'United Empire' member, as a surprise opponent for the Englishman. Now, two of the best in-ring performers of all time in Omega and Ospreay, neither of whom really trusts the other, especially given that the latter played a part in Callis' betrayal of the former, are united against a common foe and facing two of the best rising talents in the world.

          Storm and May's tale is one of the best and longest ones going around today, and it's impossible to sum up here properly. Long story short, 'Timeless' Storm, her persona that of a slightly deranged silver screen starlet, adopted May as her understudy and acolyte soon after she arrived in AEW. Eventually, May betrayed Storm and took the Women's World Championship from her, mentally breaking Storm to the extent that when she returned, she reverted to her pre-time 'Timeless' rocker girl persona and believed herself to be a rookie in AEW. This, however, was shown to be a ruse soon after Storm became the number one contender for May's title, the Timeless one returning, as well as her butler, Luther, and seeking revenge on May.

          The Locals:

          As one would expect from a promotion making its first foray into a new market, the card is packed with local talent, with every match featuring at least one performer who hails from Down Under. In fact, all three title challengers on the show hail from Australia -- raising the odds that at least one will get a crowning moment in front of a home crowd.

          Long before she became part of one of the best storylines in all of professional wrestling, Storm was beginning her training as a wrestler with a local Gold Coast promotion aged just 13, having moved to Queensland as a child from her native New Zealand. Per professional wrestling archive Cagematch, she won her first match, too, defeating Slammin' Sam by disqualification in Impact Pro Wrestling Australia back in 2010. TBS Title challenger Cameron wouldn't have her first match until 2012, losing to Scarlett Bordeaux in WrestlePro Killer Instinct, but she was also brought up on the Gold Coast, moving there as a teenager after being born just across the border in northern New South Wales.

          Born in Melbourne (he's a Carlton fan), Continental Title challenger Mathews debuted in local promotion Professional Championship Wrestling back in 2007 -- he and Damo Stylz lost to Jai Thiller in a three-way match -- and became a mainstay both there and in Melbourne City Wrestling before moving to the United States. White, meanwhile, was born in Auckland (he's a Warriors fan) and wrestled in his hometown for the first time in 2015 -- he and Aaron Henry lost to Travis Banks in a three-way match at Impact Pro Wrestling -- after leaving New Zealand to begin his career in the United Kingdom, before then moving into the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo.

          Just 26 years old, Fletcher was raised on Sydney's Northern Beaches and began his wrestling journey in the academy of Pro Wrestling Australia. One half of the tag team 'Aussie Open' alongside Davis, he made his professional debut in Newcastle Pro Wrestling back in 2014, teaming with Unsocial Jordan and Michael Spencer to defeat Cesar, Chris Abbott, and Keegan Brettle.