Darby Allin Ends Samoa Joe's Reign As TNT Champion On AEW Dynamite

Darby Allin is TNT Champion for the second time in his career thanks to a hard-fought victory over Samoa Joe in the main event of this week's edition of AEW Dynamite, which went down in Darby's backyard of Seattle, Washington.As expected, Joe steamrollered Darby for most of the match, but the Seattle crowd inspired its hometown hero, who prevailed thanks to the same underdog resilience that guided him to TNT Championship victory back in 2020 when he defeated Cody Rhodes at that year's Full Gear pay-per-view.

Allin pinned Joe after hitting the Samoan Submission Machine with two Coffin Drops from the top rope. After the bell, Sting came out to congratulate his protégé.

When the show went off the air, Darby invited his fellow Seattleite Nick Wayne into the ring and promised the rookie a title shot ... but not until Wayne graduates from high school.

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Nick Wayne is the son of the late Buddy Wayne, who tragically passed away in 2017 at the age of 50. On Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alvarez reported that Wayne's AEW deal is akin to an apprenticeship, and Wayne will have to finish high school before he can join the AEW roster on a full-time basis.

"I was hyped to go out when I did because I was having those string of main events, and we were drawing good numbers when I was main-eventing. I didn't want to overstay my welcome," Allin said about the end of his reign during an interview with the Wrestling Perspective Podcast later that month. "I didn't want to be that guy. I don't have no ego when it comes to this. I was like, 'Dude, I'm ready to roll out when I'm on top with it,' so it was good. I really liked it," he added.

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