Darby Allin Wins AEW Gold In His Hometown

Darby Allin reclaimed the AEW TNT Championship from Samoa Joe during the first "AEW Dynamite" of 2023 in his hometown of Seattle, Washington.

Allin's chances of dethroning Joe seemed bleak after he hurt his knee diving off a ladder in the early stages of the bout. Thereafter, Joe targeted Allin's knee and dominated most of the match. However, Allin persevered and hit two timely Coffin Drops for the pinfall victory. After the match, "The Icon" Sting came down to the ring to celebrate with his pupil as the Seattle crowd showered them with loud cheers. 

Allin previously held the TNT Championship for a record 186 days until he lost the title to Miro on May 12, 2021. Following that loss, Allin received several shots at reclaiming the title against the likes of Sammy Guevera and Joe, only to come up short.  

Meanwhile, Joe held the title for less than 50 days following his victory over Wardlow and Powerhouse Hobbs at last November's Full Gear pay-per-view. Prior to Wednesday's match, Joe had successfully retained against the likes of A.R. Fox, Allin and Wardlow. Joe, as a dual champion, had also defended his ROH World Television Championship during the same timeframe.

The Joe vs. Allin title bout came about following the events of last week's "AEW Dynamite," where The Daredevil rescued Wardlow from a post-match beatdown at the hands of Joe. Allin had returned to AEW programming for the first since the December 7 "AEW Dynamite," where Joe viciously dropped Allin with a Muscle Buster onto the wheels of Allin's skateboard following his first title defense.

During his previous title reign, Allin was a fighting champion who defended his title on a regular basis against the likes of Jungle Boy, Matt Hardy and Brian Cage, among others. With Wardlow seemingly written off AEW programming since losing his man bun, it remains to be seen if Mr. Mayhem is the first to step up to Allin in the coming weeks.