It appears AEW is back in the habit of switching its TNT Title between wrestlers at a pretty quick pace. After less than a month with the championship, Darby Allin is once again title-less. Allin failed to beat Samoa Joe on Dynamite this week in a brutal match, losing the belt back to the person he beat for it on the first AEW show of 2023.
Samoa Joe Is Once Again TNT Champion
All bets were off in the rematch between Joe and Allin on Wednesday night as the pair clashed in a no disqualification match. Both men got any number of weapons involved in the action, and a brutal move was needed for Joe to finally be able to keep the now-former champion down for a three count. A Musclebuster, a move Joe uses rarely at this stage of his career, onto the exposed boards in the ring.
After having gone to war with Allin to get the TNT Title back, Joe then needed to deal with Wardlow. The last man to hold the championship for a significant amount of time is back having not competed in a single match yet in 2023. The last time we saw Wardlow on Dynamite was when he attempted to win back the TNT Title from Joe but lost the match by submission at the end of December.
Wardlow's Back
That alone wasn't what annoyed Wardlow. Not content enough with the win last year, Joe proceeded to cut off his opponent's ponytail. Hence Wardlow gunning for Joe on Dynamite this week, but the new champion escaped right before Wardlow could lay him out with a powerbomb. Enough damage had already been done to Joe anyway who needed stitches after his violent match with Allin.
Blood could be seen above Joe's eye as he escaped with the TNT Title. As for the severity of that injury, The Samoan Submission Machine shared a short video on Twitter after Dynamite in which some stitches fixing the gash can be seen. A bittersweet night for Joe, although the veteran probably enjoys leaving a good match with battle scars almost as much as escaping with new hardware.
TheSportster Podcast has returned! Check out the latest episodes of the show where Jim Parsons and Norman Quarrinton cover the latest news and events happening in the worlds of WWE, AEW and more!