Kazuchika Okada Defeats Buddy Matthews, Retains AEW Continental Title At Grand Slam

Kazuchika Okada made the 10th successful defense of his AEW Continental Championship on "AEW Collision: Grand Slam Australia" from Brisbane, defeating local favorite Buddy Matthews to continue his 333-day reign. Matthews distinguished himself during the match, even kicking out of Okada's longtime finisher, the Rainmaker, but he ultimately fell short, and a second strike with the legendary clothesline was enough to keep him down for three.

With the victory, Okada is now just over a month away from having held the Continental title for a full calendar year. He's just the second champion in the belt's history, having won it from inaugural titleholder Eddie Kingston back in March and successfully retained it in the 2024 Continental Classic, defeating Will Ospreay in the finals. Matthews, meanwhile, loses just the fifth singles title shot of his AEW career — he still has yet to hold singles gold in the promotion, though he is a former AEW World Trios Champion. With the recent departure of now-former stablemate Malaki Black, Matthews and Brody King have realigned as the tag team Hounds of Hell (with Julia Hart by their side) and could potentially be in line for a push in that division.