Will Ospreay’s reign as AEW World Champion faces its stiffest test in the form of Kazuchika Okada. Plus, Mercedes Mone defends the AEW Women’s World Championship against Queen Aminata and Kofi vies for Bandido’s ROH World Championship. You can catch a special Tuesday night AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam France at 8pm ET/5pm PT on TSN3, TSN.ca and the TSN App.
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AEW World Championship match: “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay (c) vs. AEW International Champion “The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada (w/ Don Callis)
A storied rivalry takes centre stage as AEW hits Paris on Tuesday with Will Ospreay putting his AEW World Championship on the line against a man who has been both friend and foe in the form of the AEW International Champion Kazuchika Okada. The two men first faced off over a decade ago in England, but things have greatly changed since then. Worrying, though, for one of these two men is that their matchups over the years have been decidedly one-sided.
Tuesday night’s match came together only minutes after the conclusion of Sept. 26’s All Out pay-per-view in Chicago. On that card, Ospreay made his first successful title defence of the AEW World Championship with a hard-fought victory over former mentor Jon Moxley. Okada was also a victor that night, escaping with his International title over a game Tommaso Ciampa. It was at the post-show press conference where Okada challenged a tired and battle-weary Ospreay, who immediately accepted.
To understand the dynamic between Okada and Ospreay, you must go back to the spring of 2016. Months after Okada defeated Ospreay in their first-ever meeting in RevPro, Ospreay was welcomed into the CHAOS faction in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Okada had recently become the stable’s leader following the departure of its founder Shinsuke Nakamura.
In the fall of 2020, Ospreay seemingly grew more and more impatient with his standing in the group after years as a secondary or even tertiary piece. Feeling relegated to the junior heavyweight division, Ospreay saw the G1 as his coming-out party. In the final match of A Block action, Ospreay would face off with Okada with the winner advancing. As Okada had the upper hand, Ospreay’s girlfriend at the time, Bea Priestley, distracted the ref, which allowed for Tomoyuki Oka to come down to ringside. Oka, who had just returned from excursion, blindsided Okada with an attack. Ospreay followed up with a Stormbreaker for the victory. Initially feigning ignorance, Ospreay then laid out Okada after the match with a Hidden Blade, officially defecting from CHAOS and creating the United Empire alongside Oka, who was rechristened as The Great O-Khan.
Months later, Ospreay defeated Shingo Takagi to win the New Japan Cup and then go to defeat Kota Ibushi for the IWGP World Championship at Sakura Genesis. His reign would be short-lived, though. A serious neck injury meant he was forced to relinquish his title. Having never actually lost the belt, Ospreay returned at Night 2 of Wrestle Kingdom 16 in 2022 to take on the then-champion who happened to be none other than Okada himself. Okada defeated Shingo for the title on Night 1.
The match was a 30-minute-plus slugfest. Ospreay thought he had the match won late when he escaped a Rainmaker and hit the Hidden Blade, but Okada kicked out at 2.9999. After a landslide, Okada finally put Ospreay down with the Rainmaker to consolidate the titles.
Later in 2022, Okada again bested Ospreay, defeating him in the G1 Final. Ospreay gained a measure of revenge the following year, beating Okada in B Block action from the 2023 G1. Then in the main event of Battle in the Valley at the beginning of 2024, Okada yet again beat Ospreay in another classic match.
A rivalry this bitter couldn’t be contained to just one promotion. At Worlds End 2024, Okada and Ospreay met in the Continental Classic Final in their first-ever AEW singles match. The match was each man’s second of the night with Ospreay overcoming Kyle Fletcher and Okada defeating Ricochet earlier on the card. Like he has most times, Okada came out on top.
In another barnburner, each man had the other scouted to a T, as to be expected. Every time one went for a big move, the other countered and vice versa. It came down to who would blink first. Ducking out of a Rainmaker, Ospreay set Okada up for a Stormbreaker, but this time Okada got out and managed to hang on to Ospreay’s wrist. He then delivered the Rainmaker and got the pin to win the tournament.
Now, nearly two years later, Ospreay and Okada meet at Grand Slam France. Heading into the match, Okada holds a 9-2 all-time mark in singles competition against Ospreay. He will undoubtedly be confident as he marches down the aisle, but Okada is always confident. He should also be wary because he’s never faced a version of Ospreay that is this complete before. Knowing the mistakes he’s made against Okada in the past, Ospreay will do whatever he can to make sure they aren’t repeated.
Will Okada continue his mastery of Ospreay to become the AEW World Champion for the first time or will Ospreay pick up one of the biggest victories of his career?
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AEW Women’s World Championship match: “The CEO” Mercedes Mone (c) vs. Queen Aminata
France is a special place for Queen Aminata and it could become even more special on Tuesday. Returning to the place she attended law school, Aminata will wrestle for the AEW Women’s World Championship for the very first time. The champion, Mercedes Mone, will be making her first title defence.
Born in Guinea, Aminata moved to Paris to study law and she passed the bar there. But her passion was pro wrestling and to live that dream, she moved to the United States and abandoned law. It’s only fitting, then, that the culmination of her dream could take place in the very city where it began.
To do that, though, she will have to do something that nobody else has ever done in AEW - defeat a world champion in her first defence. In beating Willow Nightingale for the title at All In, Mone incurred a broken nose. The injury was serious enough that she was unable to defend her title at last month’s All Out. Instead, former champions Nightingale and Thekla faced off in a No. 1 contender’s match with the latter coming out on top.
Mone wrestled her first match in a month on last week’s tribute to Ben “PAC” Satterley. Though she probably didn’t need to work the match, she insisted on being part of the show to honour her late friend. Mone worked the match, a trios bout, in a protective mask, one she will likely keep donning for the foreseeable future.
With Thekla waiting for her on the horizon, Mone must take on an opponent she’s met only once before in singles action. As the TBS Champion, Mone defeated Aminata on the Oct. 16, 2024 edition of Dynamite. Mone won the match with a vicious knee strike followed by the Statement Maker.
Emotions will be running high for Aminata, but she will need to keep those in check in the ring with one of the greatest performers of her generation. For Mone, the key will be focusing on the task at hand and ensuring that she leaves Thekla for another day. In any case, neither woman should anticipate an easy night in the ring.
Can Aminata pull off the upset or will Mone ensure her first defence is a successful one?
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ROH World Championship match: Bandido (c) vs. AEW World Trios Champion Kofi
Long before Kofi Sarkodie-Mensah was a tag-team and trios stalwart, he was a singles star. The Boston native racked up an impressive number of titles over the course of his career, winning the WWE Intercontinental Championship four times, the United States Championship on three occasions and the WWE World Championship in 2019, defeating Bryan “Daniel Bryan” Danielson at WrestleMania 35. Already a champion in AEW, Kofi can add to his collection in Paris when he takes on Bandido for the ROH World Championship.
If you forgot what Kofi was capable of, he reminded people this past Saturday night on Collision. Taking on ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty in his first singles match in AEW, Kofi put on a clinic. After initially getting crossed up by Moriarty’s prodigious technical prowess, Kofi grew into the match. Avoiding a number of pinfall attempts, Kofi was finally able to strike with Trouble in Paradise to pick up the victory. It was Moriarty’s first singles loss since a defeat to “Hangman” Adam Page in an AEW World Championship match on the Sept. 24, 2025 Dynamite.
Things won’t get any easier for Kofi in Paris as he now takes on Bandido, a man he’s become familiar with very quickly in his short time in AEW. At All Out, the team of The New Level (Kofi and Austin Creed) and Swerve Strickland retained their AEW World Trios Championships over former champions Bandido, Brody King and Page in an instant classic. After spending time in the ring with Bandido, Kofi will have a feel for what he’s about, but Bandido as ROH Champion is a different kind of beast altogether.
It was at Dynasty 2025 where Bandido defeated Chris Jericho to become the ROH World Champion for a second time. Technically, his first reign didn’t end with a loss. Beating Rush for the title in 2021, Bandido was forced to relinquish it ahead of Final Battle that year after a positive COVID-19 test.
Bandido has successfully defended his title on 18 occasions during his second reign. If you add in his first reign, the number becomes 22 successful defences. It will take something truly special from Kofi to crown a new champion on Tuesday.
Will Bandido reign keep rolling or will Kofi take the ROH World Championship to a New Level?
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TNT Championship match: Darby Allin (c) vs. “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher (w/ Don Callis and “The Jet” Kevin Knight)
That a singles match between current titleholder Darby Allin and Kyle Fletcher, two men who have become synonymous with the TNT Championship, has never happened before might come as a surprise. But that one is set to happen on Tuesday should not. The bout in Paris comes at a fascinating time for both men and its repercussions in AEW will be felt widely.
The match in Paris comes only 10 days after the last time Allin and Fletcher shared a ring. At All Out, the team of Allin and Steven Borden Jr. took on Fletcher and Kevin Knight in a No. 1 contender’s match for the AEW World Tag Team Championships currently held by The Young Bucks (Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson). Just 13 minutes into the match, it was stopped when Borden was knocked out cold when he collided with Knight coming off of the turnbuckle in attempting a coast-to-coast clothesline. The Don Callis Family team of Fletcher and Knight were awarded the victory and will now take on the Jacksons at WrestleDream.
But now there is the matter of the TNT Championship. Allin is currently in his record-tying third reign and won the title by defeating none other than Knight at All In back in August. It’s a loss that still sticks in Knight’s craw and came shortly after he failed to wrest the AEW World Championship away from Kenny Omega. To see Fletcher, a man who he clearly still does not like and barely trusts, win back the title that he lost might drive Knight over the edge.
Should Fletcher win, he would join Allin, Cody Rhodes, Sammy Guevara and Family stablemate Wardlow as a record three-time TNT Champion. But Fletcher never lost his title during his second reign. Defeating Tommaso Ciampa for the belt on the Feb. 11 Dynamite, he was forced to relinquish it through injury only 56 days later. The vacant title was won at April’s Dynasty by, you guessed it, Knight. Not only would Fletcher be thrilled to get back the title he never lost, to do it with Knight watching would only make it sweeter.
Tuesday’s match will be a meeting of two men who will do anything to win. Both competitors routinely put their own bodies through hell in order to come out on top. Some of the things you see from Allin on a regular basis are nothing short of insane.
With two superstars will give no quarter, which will walk out of Paris with a title around his waist?
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Death Riders (AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley and IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion “War Ready” Gabe Kidd) (w/ “The Problem” Marina Shafir) vs. The Don Callis Family (“Dunkzilla” Mark Davis and Jake Doyle) (w/ Don Callis)
It’s been a terrible week-plus for the Death Riders in losing one of their comrades in the tragic passing of Ben “PAC” Satterley on Sept. 27. Adhering to his ethos, the group has soldiered on with the rest of the stable, including the returning Bryan Danielson, wrestling on PAC’s tribute show last Wednesday night on Dynamite. The Death Riders are moving forward just as PAC would have wanted.
In the main event of this past Saturday night’s Collision, Death Riders leader Jon Moxley took on the Don Callis Family’s Jake Doyle in a Continental Title Eliminator. The match was everything you would expect from these two performers. Giving away the size and power advantage, Moxley fought from underneath, trying to cut down Doyle any chance he could get. But the beating from Doyle took its toll. Every time Moxley thought he had an advantage, Doyle would power out of it. Eventually, Mox was able to wear Doyle down enough to slap on the Bulldog Choke and get the hard-earned win.
On Tuesday in Paris, Moxley and Doyle will run it back, but the equation will change. Backing up Mox is Gabe Kidd, while Doyle brings aboard a man who is, perhaps, even stronger than he is in the form of Mark Davis. It will be a battle of crazy versus might and it’s unlikely you’ll be able to take your eyes off of it.
Which of these two entertaining duos will pick up a big victory?
