TNT Champ Darby Allin Issues Challenge For Next Title Defense

Darby Allin has gotten very busy very quickly since winning the TNT Championship from Samoa Joe on January 4. Defending the title every week since his victory, it seemed like this would be Darby's first week without a televised defense due to his participation in the Great Muta Final Bye Bye show in Japan on Sunday. However, that was proven wrong on the most recent episode of "AEW Rampage" when he called out his next challenger for the TNT Title for the upcoming January 25 episode of "AEW Dynamite" in Lexington, Kentucky.

In his promo on "Rampage," Darby called out his old rivals, The House of Black, who went on a hiatus following their feud with Allin and Sting but have since returned to AEW television. Darby said that while he has beaten both Brody King and Malakai Black, he has never beaten Buddy Matthews and thus challenged him to a match on Wednesday night. The bout has since been made official and will be Matthews' first proper title challenge since joining AEW in February 2022.

Darby's current run with the TNT Championship further cements him as one of the most prolific champions in the title's history, widening the margin between him and his contemporaries when it comes to both combined days as champion and combined defenses. Of the eight champions in the title's history, only Cody Rhodes has had as much success with the TNT Title as Darby Allin. However, that may soon change. Both men currently sit at 11 total defenses, but with Rhodes now enjoying a successful return to WWE and Allin continuing to build momentum as champion, it seems as if Allin is poised to eclipse Cody's record on Wednesday night.