ROH World Champion Bandido Retains Title At AEW Grand Slam: France

Following his recent non-title victory over ROH Men's Pure Champion Lee Moriarty, The New Level's Kofi called for a match involving the brand's top prize, thus setting the stage for him vs. ROH World Champion Bandido was set for "AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam France."

Before a lively crowd in France's capital, Bandido and Kofi kicked off the action with a friendly hug and a series of dance moves. A monkey flip followed, with Kofi successfully landing back onto his feet. Bandido did the same, but soon found himself knocked out of the ring from a dropkick. Kofi kept him there with an additional dropkick and dive through the ropes. When they eventually returned to the ring, though, Bandido regained control by dropping his challenger with a vertical suplex.

Back from commercial break, Kofi fired back with a Boom Drop and a hopeful Trouble In Paradise. Bandido managed to dodge the latter, then land a thrust kick. He followed with a diving tornillo for a near fall. Kofi gained a near fall of his own by connecting with a springboard kick.

In the match's closing moments, Kofi caught Bandido off a top-rope dive and launched him into the turnbuckle with an SOS. A crossbody to Bandido's back earned him another two count. A Blockbuster left him reaching for the bottom rope to survive. As Swerve Strickland and "Hangman" Adam Page argued on the outside, Bandido then hit 21-Plex to finally put him away.

With his Grand Slam win, Bandido marked the 19th successful title defense of his second and current ROH World Championship reign. It kicked off at AEW Dynasty in April 2025 as he defeated Chris Jericho in a Mask vs. Title match.

Later in the show, Darby Allin will defend the TNT Championship against Kyle Fletcher. AEW World Champion Will Ospreay will also put his respective title on the line against Kazuchika Okada.