Wardlow Lost More Than Just A Match On AEW Dynamite

Wardlow's man bun is no more.

Mr. Mayhem was publicly humiliated by Samoa Joe following his unsuccessful pursuit of the TNT Championship on the December 28 "AEW Dynamite" in Broomfield, Colorado. After the match, Joe struck Wardlow with his title belt before grabbing a pair of scissors from a tool box under the ring. Joe then proceeded to headbutt referee Paul Turner before cutting off a portion of Wardlow's hair, drawing loud boos from fans inside the 1STBank Center.

Joe then held up Wardlow's man bun as a symbol of his conquest, until Darby Allin made a beeline to the ring – through the crowd – and nailed Joe in the back with a skateboard. Allin then posed with the TNT Championship as fans cheered.

Allin had been away from AEW programming since his loss to Joe on the December 7 "Dynamite" in Cedar Park, Texas. After that match, Joe destroyed Allin by dropping him with a Muscle Buster onto the wheels of Allin's skateboard. Joe then choked out Allin until Wardlow made the save.

It appears AEW could be building to an eventual Joe vs. Allin title bout. Allin, only the second TNT Champion in AEW history, dropped the title to Miro on May 12, 2021.

Wardlow lost via submission for the first time in his AEW career in his loss Wednesday. Joe attacked his knee backstage earlier in the show and midway through the match, Wardlow appeared to jam his left knee while attempting a top rope move. Joe targeted Wardlow's leg for the rest of the bout. Eventually, Wardlow's knee gave out, allowing Joe to apply a rear naked choke for the victory. Wardlow passed out as the referee called for the bell.

This was Joe's third successful title defense since capturing the TNT Championship at Full Gear, following his wins over A.R. Fox and Allin. Joe has also been defending his Ring of Honor World Television Championship on a regular basis, with his most recent victory coming against Juice Robinson at the Final Battle pay-per-view.