Jon Moxley defeated Bryan Danielson in the finals of the Grand Slam Tournament of Champions on the Grand Slam edition of Dynamite at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City on Wednesday night to become AEW world champion for a record third time.
New champ determined by the six-man tournament
Just days after CM Punk defeated Moxley in the main event of All Out to win the AEW World Championship, the title was vacated due to Punk suffering an injury and reportedly getting suspended because of a backstage altercation with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks.
In order to determine a new champ, AEW president Tony Khan announced a six-man tournament featuring wrestlers who had held major titles in AEW and other promotions previously. Moxley and Chris Jericho received byes into the semifinals, while four others had to battle it out in the first round in order to move on.
Danielson, who was a five-time world champion in WWE and one-time world champion in Ring of Honor, took down former AEW world champion “Hangman” Adam Page in the first round. Meanwhile, Sammy Guevara beat Darby Allin in a clash of former TNT champions.
In the semis, Moxley was victorious over Guevara, while Danielson got revenge for his loss to Jericho at All Out by making him submit and securing a spot in the finals of the tourney.
The winner of the #AEWGrandSlam Tournament of Champions and NEW #AEW World Champion is @JonMoxley, after an absolute WAR with #BlackpoolCombatClub teammate @bryandanielson! What a night of action here on #AEWDynamite Grand Slam on @TBSNetwork! pic.twitter.com/Kn1H9U7l9V
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 22, 2022
Danielson entered into a rivalry with Jon Moxley
Danielson arrived in AEW in September 2021, and it wasn’t long after that he entered into a rivalry with Moxley. That led to a match at Revolution in March, which was won by Mox.
Moreover, after the contest, William Regal made his AEW debut by breaking up a fight between Danielson and Moxley, and he ultimately united them by creating the Blackpool Combat Club.
Danielson and Moxley fought alongside each other ever since, but they were rivals once again at Grand Slam since the biggest prize in AEW was on the line.
Ultimately, it was Moxley who prevailed and became the first-ever three-time AEW world champion. The win also likely set the stage for a title match against MJF, who became No. 1 contender by winning the Casino Ladder Match at All Out earlier this month.
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