Tag: darby allin

Backstage reaction to Darby Allin’s AEW World Championship run

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

For 39 days, Darby Allin thrilled AEW fans with one exciting World Championship match after another. We know it got over with the fans. But how did it get over with the locker room. 

Sean Ross Sapp at Fightful Select reports that not everyone with the company thought that Allin’s title run was a good idea, but Allin impressed his critics in the end. 

“Several skeptics of Darby Allin’s title reign applaud him for going the extra mile to make the reign a special one,” Sapp writes.

Sapp adds that Allin had one believer from the beginning: MJF, the man he defeated for the title, and to whom he lost it. 

“Sources that Fightful Select spoke to believe that MJF had been supportive of the Darby Allin title reign dating back quite a while,” Sapp writes.

For the record, MJF has denied Sapp’s report. “This is false,” he posted on social media. He tagged X’s Community Notes and Community Notes and Violations accounts to ensure the proper authorities were alerted. 

Allin won the title from MJF on Dynamite on April 15; he lost it back to MJF at Double or Nothing on May 24. In between he defended the title seven times. All seven of those matches, as well as the loss to MJF, were rated **** or higher by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer newsletter. Defenses against Tommao Ciampa and Konosuke Takeshita were rated *****.

Tony Khan calls Darby Allin ‘one of the greatest fighting champions ever’ in AEW

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Tony Khan praised and appreciated Darby Allin’s commitment and in-ring fearlessness during his AEW World Championship reign. 

Speaking on the Post Show Media Scrum,  Khan praised Allin’s work ethic, defying stunts in the ring and still having a meaningful run as AEW World Champion. 

“It’s hard to put into words how much Darby Allin means to this company because nobody would ever ask somebody to put their body on the line. No boss could ever go to somebody and ask somebody to do the kinds of things Darby Allin does.”

“To wrestle that often, to wrestle that hard, to take those kinds of chances, to take the risks that he did. He’s a very, very special person and he was fantastic as the TNT Champion, he was fantastic teaming with Sting, and he’s been fantastic as the World Champion. Everything Darby Allin’s done for us, he’s done his very, very best.”

“Whether it’s been in his singles run and the singles championships, he captured the TNT title, the World Title as a tag team wrestler, or climbing Mount Everest. He’s done just about everything he’s ever set his mind to in pro wrestling, and I believe it’s one of the greatest title reigns of any kind we’ve ever had in AEW. And it’s very fitting because I also think some of the greatest TNT title reigns have been Darby’s reigns where he put his body on the line and wrestled every week, but we’ve really never had a world champion wrestle at this kind of pace, this kind of schedule multiple times a week.” 

He compared Allin’s schedules with Jon Moxley, when he was champion during the pandemic era. Khan defined how Allin defended the title multiple times a week with his high-risk maneuvers. 

“Mox wrestled on the show every week, but there was only one show a week back then in the pandemic. We didn’t have Collision yet, and it was before Rampage even. So, we probably have never really seen anything quite like this with somebody going out twice a week often and wrestling at that kind of pace and taking these kinds of risks. So he’s one of the greatest fighting champions we’ve ever had in AEW of any kind at any time, and we’re very fortunate he’s been here this whole time.”

Despite Allin’s title reign spanning across 39 days, it validated his AEW run given how he is considered one of the four pillars of the promotion.

At Double or Nothing, MJF defeated him in a hair vs. title match to become a three-time AEW World Champion before the age of 30. 

MJF retains hair & regains World title at AEW Double or Nothing, Kevin Knight turns heel

Posted on by Josh Nason

MJF will keep his hair for a while longer and can once again call himself AEW World Champion after Sunday’s AEW Double or Nothing.

In a physical match that had to follow the spectacle of Stadium Stampede, MJF got the win after a second rope tombstone piledriver, followed by a side headlock takeover — a staple of their feud dating back to the indies — for the pin and the beginning of his third World title run.

Allin put up the title against MJF’s hair as the big stipulation.

Afterward, Allin was being stretchered out when MJF stopped it to put his foot on top of him to add insult to injury. Kevin Knight then ran out to run off MJF and decided to then deliver a UFO splash from the top turnbuckle to the stretchered Allin on the outside of the ring, turning heel. There was no explanation for it with Excalibur mentioning both men were trained by the late Buddy Wayne.

As expected, Allin took some considerable punishment during the match even when he was delivering on offense. Late in the match, he hit a coffin drop through a table on the stage that was set up for a possible head shaving. The drop was from above the scaffolding setup and lights on the stage and when Allin landed, he appeared to hit his head on a platform the table was set up on as he came up bleeding from the back of his head.

Our Bryan Alvarez noted it had to be a hardway cut as the New York State Athletic Commission doesn’t allow blood.

Allin nearly got injured early as he went for a tope, but hooked his heels on the ropes and landed right on top of his head for a nasty spill. He later got hit with a package piledriver onto the ringside steps and also hit a cameraman on a dive as MJF pulled him in front of Allin.

The win ends the short title run that began the Wednesday after April’s Dynasty when Allin won the championship for the first time in front of his hometown of Everett, Washington. The 40-day run saw seven successful title defenses.

AEW Double or Nothing advance PPV buys ‘way above normal’

Posted on by Ian Carey

An update is available on how AEW Double or Nothing is performing on pay-per-view ahead of tonight’s show.

Dave Meltzer addressed the show’s advance buys on Wrestling Observer Radio, noting that they are “way above normal” for an AEW pay-per-view.

Meltzer said:

“I’ve heard when it comes to advances on pay-per-view, it’s kind of weird because almost everybody buys day of, so I don’t know what it means, but I do know that the pay-per-view buys ahead of time, as of yesterday afternoon, were way above normal. I expect a pretty big one.”

Meltzer also noted that the title vs. hair stipulation for the AEW World Championship match between Darby Allin and MJF has had a major impact on secondary-market demand for tickets.

Meltzer said:

“I checked yesterday and the scalper price to get in was $153, which means the secondary market tripled from the announcement of the hair match. They were gonna sell out without the hair stipulation. They were tracking to sell out before that. They would not have sold out so quickly without it, but the stipulation absolutely worked, especially on the secondary market.”

Double or Nothing is sold out with 14,028 tickets distributed and the gate closing in on $1.5 million as of Friday. Meltzer noted that would make it the second-biggest non-WWE gate in the history of United States pro wrestling.

The full episode of Wrestling Observer Radio is available here for subscribers.

AEW Double or Nothing lineup

  • AEW World Champion Darby Allin defends against MJF in a title vs. hair match
  • AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla defends against Hikaru Shida, Kris Statlander and Jamie Hayter in a four-way
  • AEW International Champion Kazuchika Okada defends against Konosuke Takeshita
  • AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) defend against Adam Copeland & Christian Cage in an I Quit street fight where Copeland and Cage must win in order to stay a team
  • AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley defends against Kyle O’Reilly
  • Chris Jericho, Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, Kenny Omega, Jack Perry, and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. The Demand (Ricochet, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona), Mark Davis, Andrade El Idolo, Clark Connors & David Finlay in a Stadium Stampede match
  • Will Ospreay vs. Samoa Joe in an Owen Hart men’s tournament quarterfinal
  • Swerve Strickland vs. Bandido in an Owen Hart men’s tournament quarterfinal
  • Athena vs. Mina Shirakawa in an Owen Hart women’s tournament quarterfinal
  • Buy In: Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe, Roderick Strong, Big Boom AJ & QT Marshall vs. Anthony Agogo, Lee Moriarty, Carlie Bravo, Shawn Dean & Shane Taylor
  • Buy In: AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champions Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne & Lena Kross) vs. Viva Van & Zayda Steel in a five-minute title eliminator match
  • Buy In: Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia & Wheeler Yuta) vs. The Opps (Hook, Katsuyori Shibata & Anthony Bowens)

Darby Allin reveals wedding date is day before major AEW pay-per-view

Posted on by Josh Nason

Reigning AEW World Champion Darby Allin has had quite a 2026 thus far and one that will continue to get better when he gets married this summer.

The date, however, is a notable one.

Allin was being interviewed by NYC radio station Q104.3 Friday on the Jim Kerr Rock & Roll Morning Show when the topic of him getting married came up. He said the date is Saturday, June 27 in Seattle, Washington — a day before Forbidden Door on Sunday, June 28 in San Jose, California.

“So, no honeymoon here,” he joked.

Allin also revealed that he proposed to his now fiancee while he was the top of Mount Everest in May 2025. He explained the two have known each other since meeting on the school bus in high school and reacquainted years later via Instagram when she saw him doing crazy things and reached out to catch up.

Allin said they went bungee jumping on one of their first dates and also revealed she was the victim of a gunshot from a gang member shooting her then-boyfriend that went through him and caught her in the head, resulting in her being medevaced to a trauma center. She later became an ICU nurse.

Allin said the two plan to have children.

He defends the title against MJF Sunday at AEW Double or Nothing in a title vs. hair match.

Darby Allin not willing to ever change in-ring style

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Darby Allin would rather walk away from pro wrestling than ever have to change his in-ring style.

Ahead of Double or Nothing, the AEW World Champion was interviewed by Busted Open Radio on Friday. While addressing the risks he takes and how hard he competes, Allin vowed that he will never change the way that he wrestles. He is going to go as hard as he can until the wheels fall off.

“I’m out. If I can’t do it the way I want to do it, I’m out. I’m out,” Allin said. “And that’s okay. And the thing is, it’s like the biggest thing I’ve taken away from Sting and being with Sting is, hey, you have to be at peace with yourself life after wrestling. You have to.

“And then the thing is, it’s just talking to Sting about it. It’s like, I’m ready. If this all ended tomorrow, I’m ready. But until then, I’m going to ride it until the wheels fall off. I don’t want to be that guy who’s not doing the version of Darby that you currently see.”

Darby Allin’s approach to AEW World Championship reign —

Not playing it safe is how Allin has approached his reign as AEW World Champion. He’s defended the belt weekly on Dynamite and sometimes on Collision as well. Allin told Busted Open that his goal is to make this reign unlike anything people have ever seen before.

“That’s why I wanted to do every single week, twice a week,” Allin said. “People are like, ‘Oh, whoa, whoa, what’s the point of this?’ Because it’s the exact opposite of what people expect a champion to do. They expect, like, hey, we’re going to, you know, work to the pay-per-view. But, no, I want to go crazy every week. But that’s why I like to live the way [I do], because it could end at any moment. But I love to live in that state. It just keeps you so on edge.”

If he dies tomorrow, Allin will be at peace with the life he lived. He’s willing to give everything to AEW and is grateful for everything the company has afforded him.

Sunday’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view in New York City will see Allin defend the AEW World Championship against MJF, the person he defeated last month to win the belt. MJF’s hair is on the line as a stipulation of this rematch.

Darby Allin says Matt & Jeff Hardy showed him he could make it in wrestling

Posted on by Ian Carey

Darby Allin says it was Matt and Jeff Hardy who showed him he could make it in wrestling.

Allin took part in an interview with ESPN ahead of his title defense against Mike Bailey on AEW Dynamite and his match against MJF scheduled for AEW Double or Nothing this weekend.

During the conversation, Darby reflected on watching the TLC match at WrestleMania 17 as an eight-year-old.

“[Jeff and Matt Hardy] definitely made me feel like it was possible because it wasn’t about their physique,” Allin said. “It was more about whatever they’re willing to endure for the crowd.”

Darby also said he’s at peace with whatever may happen to him in the ring one day.

“If the worst that is going to happen to me is dying, so be it,” Allin said. “It’s fine, but it’s not worth sitting by and watching this life go by and doing nothing interesting with it.”

“Instead of shying away from the fire, I just kept going toward it until I could get into the fire because that pain is what made me feel alive,” he continued.

Thirteen years after watching the TLC match, Darby moved back to Seattle and enrolled in the Buddy Wayne Academy. Nick Wayne was nine years old when Darby came to train at his father’s school and said he immediately recognized there was something different about him.

“The second I laid eyes on him, I said to myself that he’s different,” Nick Wayne told ESPN.

Wayne said Darby became more involved in his development after Buddy Wayne died from a heart attack in 2017.

“He was incredibly disciplined,” Wayne continued, “and taught me how to live without fear as well as time being the most valuable thing on this earth that can’t afford to be wasted.”

Darby also discusses his pairing with Sting in AEW, his early career, and enrolling in an Arizona film school before deciding to give pro wrestling a shot.

His full interview with ESPN is available here.

Sting: Darby Allin ‘taught me how to live life to the fullest’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Teaming with Darby Allin in AEW had a big impact on who Sting is as a human being.

Before retiring in March 2024, Sting spent the last few years of his career paired with Allin. They became AEW Tag Team Champions and still held the belts when Sting went out victorious in his final match. Allin, now in the midst of the biggest singles run of his career, is AEW World Champion and has a title defense against MJF set for Double or Nothing this Sunday.

ESPN published a feature story on Allin ahead of the pay-per-view and interviewed Sting about their partnership. With Sting in his 60s, he initially tried to talk Allin out of some of his riskier ideas, but it was Allin who won out, with Sting even joining in and doing the stunts with him.

“At first, I was trying to talk some sense into him by saying he didn’t have to do these risky moves every match. But, man, he rubbed off on me, and I ended up taking way more risks than I anticipated myself taking,” Sting said. “By the end, you didn’t know whether the young guy was going to jump off the balcony or the old guy was going to jump off the balcony. And sometimes we both did together.”

The bond that Sting and Allin formed is one that Sting believes will be lifelong.

“We haven’t had a chance to go play miniature golf together. I still owe him that,” Sting told ESPN. “We’ll be friends until one of us leaves the earth. He taught me how to live life to the fullest.”

Sting was there when Allin won the AEW World Championship from MJF last month. The Allin vs. MJF rematch on Sunday is a hair vs. title match where MJF is putting his hair on the line for a shot to reclaim the belt.

Sting’s continuing legacy —

Allin is helping to continue Sting’s legacy with his AEW success, and now Sting’s two sons — Steven and Garrett — have entered the business. Neither had any interest in becoming wrestlers until taking part in their father’s retirement tour. Now, Steven has already worked dark matches for AEW and is competing on the indies. Allin helped train him for his debut and participated in Steven’s first-ever match in October 2025.

Not quite as far along as his brother, Garrett had his debut last weekend for Dustin Rhodes’ Rhodes Wrestling Association.

AEW World Champion Darby Allin makes surprise indie appearance

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Coming off his successful title defense against Sammy Guevara, Darby Allin made a surprise visit to indie promotion One Fall Wrestling.

The AEW World Champion showed up at 1FW’s television taping in McDonough, Georgia on Sunday, taking part in an angle where he laid out his protege Kiran Grey. Grey was standing over a group of wrestlers and got on the microphone to warn that the result would be the same for whoever walked through the curtain next. The lights then went out so Allin could make his entrance.

After ducking a chair shot, Allin punched Grey, gave him a Scorpion Death Drop, and followed with a Coffin Drop.

1FW is owned by AEW wrestler/executive QT Marshall, and Allin has appeared for the promotion before. He took the mic after laying out Grey and thanked all of the fans who came to the show.

“I just got off a plane from Collision last night, but I had to make a stop here,” Allin said. “And I’ll tell you why: I want to thank everybody that’s here today because this business starts in places like this. I want you to support all the people that you love in the back, follow their career, because you never know where it’s going to end up.”

Allin, a fighting champion since winning the belt from MJF last month, has a title defense against “Speedball” Mike Bailey coming up this Wednesday. A rematch between Allin and MJF is then scheduled for AEW Double or Nothing on Sunday (May 24). In order to get the match, MJF agreed to put his hair on the line.

WOL: You’re wrong about Rousey vs. Carano & I was wrong about Darby Allin

Posted on by Josh Nason

For the first time in nearly three months, Josh Nason has returned to the microphone for the Sunday Wrestling Observer Live, filling in for Andrew Zarian.

And what a fitting time to fill in as Josh returned to his MMA writing & talking roots following Saturday’s inaugural (?) MMA show on Netflix featuring Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano after a combined 27 years of inactivity.

Josh debunks some of the bad faith narratives that emerged after the show and gave his thoughts on the highs and lows.

He then delves into the latest with AEW including the Double or Nothing card a week away from the show, this Wednesday’s killer card for the combo Dynamite/Collision show in his old hometown, and why he admits he was wrong about the Darby Allin AEW World title run.

All that and a bit more awaits at no charge.

You can listen (no sub needed) on our site, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Darby Allin, Willow Nightingale title matches added to AEW Collision

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

Big AEW Collision news on ROH: Supercard of Honor tonight. A pair of championship matches for tomorrow’s TV show were announced during tonight’s premium event.

First, because Darby Allin hasn’t been defending the AEW World Championship frequently enough lately, another challenger has stepped up. Sammy Guevara, one-half of the ROH World Tag Team Champions alongside The Beast Mortos, noted that he has won many singles championships. He also said he has beaten Allin four times in the past, and challenged him for Collision. 

Allin and Guevara have met several times in AEW, in singles, tag team, and other matches. Their most recent one-on-one encounter was the Four Pillars tournament final in April of 2023, when Guevara won by disqualification. 

Later in Supercard of Honor, ROH Women’s TV Champion Red Velvet complained about not being in the Owen Hart Cup brackets. She then challenged Willow Nightingale for her TBS Championship, also for Collision. 

Velvet and Nightingale have met just once before, with Velvet coming out on top in an Owen Hart qualifier in 2022. 

Fight Game: Should Jacob Fatu have lost at Backlash?

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

John LaRocca and I return with a brand-new Fight Game to discuss some of the most topical things going on in pro wrestling this week.

You can also watch full video of the show below.

We gave out our thumbs up and thumbs down before jumping into the major topics of the week which included:

  • Darby Allin’s current AEW World Title run
  • If there’s a chance MJF loses his hair
  • Will Ospreay and Jon Moxley
  • If Jacob Fatu should’ve lost to Roman Reigns at Backlash

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)

Owen Hart Foundation bracket reveal, Will Ospreay vs. Ace Austin set for AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

AEW has announced several new segments for next week’s episode of Dynamite.

With the Owen Hart Foundation set to return, AEW announced that the brackets for the tournament are set to be revealed next week. Both the men’s and women’s brackets are scheduled to be shared on the May 13 episode of Dynamite in Asheville, NC.

In addition to this, Will Ospreay is set to return to in-ring action in a match against Ace Austin. Kazuchika Okada has now also been replaced by Konosuke Takeshita in the AEW World title match against Darby Allin. Also, a ten-man tag match is set to take place alongside an appearance by former champion MJF.

AEW Dynamite | Next Wednesday | Asheville, North Carolina

  • Darby Allin (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita for the AEW World Championship
  • FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler), Tommaso Ciampa, War Dogs (David Finlay & Clark Connors) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson), Christian Cage, Adam Copeland & Orange Cassidy
  • MJF to make an appearance
  • Will Ospreay vs. Ace Austin
  • Men’s and Women’s AEW Owen Hart Foundation brackets to be announced

Konosuke Takeshita to replace Kazuchika Okada in upcoming AEW World title match

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Things are set to get more tense for Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita in AEW.

Despite belonging to the same faction, Don Callis Family, Okada and Takeshita have never seen eye-to-eye. Throughout their time on the roster, a sense of tension has existed between the two.

Before their singles match against each other at AEW Double or Nothing, Okada was set to face Darby Allin for the AEW World title on the upcoming May 13 episode of Dynamite. However, with Okada visiting Japan for a personal reason, the match has been changed. It was announced on AEW Fairway to Hell that Takeshita, representing the Don Callis Family, will take on Allin for the World title next week.

Update: In a report noted by our Bryan Alvarez, it was shared that, “Okada going to Japan on family business is legitimate.” It was reported as the reason behind the change in Allin’s previously scheduled World title defense.

Darby Allin defeats PAC on AEW Fairway to Hell, Retains World title

In the main event of the AEW Fairway to Hell show, fans saw Darby Allin survive all odds to retain his AEW World title against PAC.

From surviving a massive 25ft drop and crashing through four tables to other brutal moments throughout the match, Allin stood tall and defeated PAC after a Coffin drop. The AEW Fairway to Hell episode closed with Allin standing tall before his World title match next week against Takeshita.

AEW Fairway to Hell live results: Darby Allin vs. PAC World title match

Posted on by Josiah MacDonald

A trademark filed quite some time ago finally comes to fruition Saturday in West Palm Beach, Florida, with AEW’s first-ever Fairway to Hell one hour special on TBS.

In the headliner, AEW World Champion Darby Allin will defend against PAC who called for the shot last Wednesday on Dynamite. The two have had a rivalry of sorts over the past few years with Allin last defeating him this past January. The winner will defend against Kazuchika Okada this Wednesday.

AEW National Champion Jack Perry will defend against Mark Davis. It will be Perry’s fourth title defense and a rematch of his first from April’s Dynasty.

AEW Women’s Tag Team Champion Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne & Lena Kross) will appear in a non-title match.

Our live coverage kicks off at 8 pm Eastern.

****************

Jungle Jack Perry vs. Mark Davis (w/ Don Callis) for the AEW National Championship

Jack Perry countered Davis with a hurricanrana out of a powerbomb right away, and landed on his feet after missing a moonsault into the ring. Davis went to the floor, so Perry hit a moonsault to the floor on him. Perry hit a shotgun dropkick on the floor and went for a Tiger Feint kick around the ring post, but Davis cut him off and hit a clothesline that saw Perry crash to the mat on the ground. Davis took Perry back into the ring and hit a series of hard strikes that kept Perry grounded. Davis hit a shoulder tackle on Perry as he was on the apron, and Perry nearly hit the guardrail.

Davis got the heat on Perry throughout the ad break, and we heard the production count down from 10 to live on MyAEW, which was kind of fun, though obviously a mistake. Perry hit a flying forearm off the ropes and Davis went down to his knees, but not fully down. Davis hit a back elbow as Perry charged the corner, and Davis put Perry on the top rope before going for a superplex. Perry bit Davis and then hit a sunset flip powerbomb of the ropes for a 2-count. Both men ended up on the apron and Perry hit hurricanrana from the middle rope off the apron on Davis before hitting his Tiger Feint Kick (which Schiavone called an Area Code kick, which I liked) around the ring post and a flying elbow off the top rope for a 2-count. Perry charged and Davis turned around and hit a lariat that stopped Perry in his tracks.

Davis hit a lariat and then a piledriver for a 2-count, but Perry kicked out. Davis tried to piledriver Perry off the middle rope but Perry sat up on it and hit a hurricanrana that sent Davis back into the ring. Don Callis ran down to distract the referee, and Ricochet ran out with a golden golf club in full golfing gear and cracked Perry in the back with the club. As the referee turned around, he saw Davis piledriving Perry for the victory!

Result: Mark Davis defeated Jack Perry for the AEW National Championship

This was a good match with an ending that I did not expect. Davis winning is very cool, and it also continues the feud with Perry and Ricochet.

–A great hype video aired for Nick Wayne touring with New Japan Pro Wrestling in the Best of the Super Juniors for the second time, and this time he wants to join the likes of Will Ospreay and Ricochet as a winner of the tournament. Excellent stuff here.

–Jack Perry was backstage talking about how Don Callis and Ricochet took away the title he worked so hard to win, and how he was so proud to win it in front of his family. Perry then said he was going to get revenge, and he was joining Chris Jericho against the Callis Family and Ricochet. Perry also announced that the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega will be joining too, so the Callis Family and Ricochet were in trouble.

–Don Callis was backstage with Mark Davis and Ricochet, and talked about how he just got the greatest gift he ever wanted from Jack Perry because he is being given a chance to have his guys beat up Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega on the same night. So, he is going to join Ricochet and the Gates of Agony in the Stadium Stampede and negotiate with Ricochet about which members will be joining besides Davis.

Divine Dominion (Lena Kross & Megan Bayne) vs. Ruthie Slay & Rachel Lay

This was a 5 minute challenge, and Kross wasted no time beating on Lay and Slay (hey, that rhymes!) and tagging in Bayne, who hit a German suplex on Lay. Slay blind tagged in and went for a crossbody, but Bayne caught her and hit a Samoan drop on Lay and a fallaway slam on Slay before hitting Divine Intervention with Kross for the win.

Result: Divine Dominion defeated Ruthie Slay & Rachel Lay

–A hype video aired about Jamie Hayter beating Skye Blue on Dynamite and it was followed by the announcement of a 4-way match at Double or Nothing featuring Thekla vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Kris Statlander vs. Jamie Hayter.

–Don Callis was backstage again, and he talked about how no matter who won the the world title match tonight, the Don Callis Family was taking the title on Wednesday. Callis announced that Okada had to go to Japan to handle some family business, so Konosuke Takeshita was going to take his place on Wednesday to fight for the title against the winner of Darby Allin and PAC.

–A hype video aired for Kyle O’Reilly, showing his defeat of Jon Moxley last year, and then his winning the Trios titles with Roderick Strong and Orange Cassidy.

Mike Bailey (w/ Kevin Knight) vs. Kiran Grey

Bailey wasted no time, kicking Grey all over the ring and then hitting a triangle moonsault to the floor. Bailey climbed up the ropes again, but Grey cut him off. Bailey shoved him off, but Grey got right up and cut him off. Grey hit several strikes, but Bailey managed to recover, knock him off the ropes, and hit Ultima Weapon for the pinfall.

Result: Mike Bailey defeated Kiran Grey

–Kevin Knight grabbed a mic afterwards and said that Bailey was red hot, and while Knight did not win the world title, he and Bailey can still make it to the top.

–A hype video aired for PAC and Darby Allin. This was excellent.

Darby Allin vs. PAC for the AEW World Championship

Allin and PAC immediately rushed up the golf green in this unique venue. Darby hit a code red on PAC into the sand trap, and the crowd popped for that. Allin then hit a running shotgun dropkick and PAC did a full moonsault into another sand trap to an even bigger reaction. PAC, however, threw sand into Allin’s face and then hit a belly-to-belly suplex into the sand trap before locking on the Brutalizer in the sand. Tony Schiavone noted that while there are no countouts in this match, the match needed to end in the ring. PAC did not seem to care and just wanted to inflict punishment in the hopes of keeping Allin down before finishing him later.

PAC picked up Allin in a Gorilla Press and tossed Allin into the sand trap as they went to an ad break on TNT. PAC took Allin to the ring for a 2-count. PAC started hitting the ropes to go for a lariat, but Allin swept him from his feet and hit a Scorpion Death Lock for a 2-count. PAC cut Allin off and then hit a gigantic falcon arrow from the top rope for a 2-count. PAC setup a table at ringside and went for a shooting star press off the rope, but Allin moved and PAC crashed face first through the table. That had to suck. Allin then took PAC into the ring and locked on the Scorpion Death Lock, and PAC barely made it to the ropes to escape.

PAC then called for the Death Riders to run down, which distracted Allin and let PAC hit Allin from behind. PAC then sent the Death Riders to grab another table, with Daniel Garcia and Wheeler Yuta setting up a table at ringside. PAC then picked up Darby Allin and hit a tombstone piledriver on the steel steps. As PAC put Allin on his shoulders he started walking him backstage as Yuta and Garcia setup four tables on in the entry way. Marina Shafir joined PAC, simply watching as PAC dragged Allin up a flight of stairs and over the announce area.

PAC dragged Allin over the entry way where the tables were setup and looked to launch Allin from the balcony through the tables. Allin started to fight back but Shafir distracted the referee and PAC was able to hit a low blow (I am not sure why, as the referee has allowed the usage of tables, so a low blow shouldn’t be a DQ). PAC then threw Allin off the balcony through the four tables, which was insane. PAC ran down the stairs and picked up Allin and threw him into the ring for a cover, but Allin kicked out at 2! The audience popped huge for that, so that absolutely worked. I am not sure how Allin can take this kind of punishment in real life, let alone in character, but man, what a tough man.

The Death Riders tried to interfere and the referee threw them out. As the referee was getting rid of Yuta and Garcia, Marina Shafir put the world title in PACs hands. PAC was about to hit Allin, but Allin fired up, kicked PAC low in revenge and hit PAC with the title before hitting the Coffin Drop for the pinfall. This match ruled.

Result: Darby Allin defeated PAC to retain the AEW World Championship

This was a fantastic main event, and exactly what you would expect from a no count out match with Darby Allin in it. Absolutely fantastic main event, and now we are going to get Darby Allin vs. Konosuke Takeshita on Dynamite, which should also be awesome. Once Allin loses this title I hope he takes a break for a few weeks because this pace is astonishing, but it has been very fun with him as champion thus far.

Final Thoughts

This was an easy thumbs up show with Darby Allin and PAC being the highlight, but we also got a title change in the opener with Mark Davis defeating Jack Perry and a series of good promos from the Callis Family throughout the show. I am not sure what the real reason is for Okada missing Dynamite, but Takeshita is a worthy replacement, and that match should be excellent. All in all, this was a great episode of Collision, and an easy watch even with the long overrun.