Darby Allin is the best showman in AEW.

When he’s the champ, fans know he’s going to defend the strap week-in and week-out on television for cheering fans in whatever town the promotion happens to be running that night, and even if his “all challenges are welcomed” philosophy often limits the length of his reigns, as open challenges rarely last forever, it’s always going to be a show until he burns out in spectacular fashion.

Holding the TNT Championship for the second time in AEW, Allin’s reign came into question on the first Dynamite in February, when he gave  Samoa Joe a rematch for the strap in a No Holds Barred match but under the condition that it be the rubber match of their feud. If Allin secured the W, he would move past Joe and bring his challenge to another act, maybe the rest of the House of Black, but if Samoa secured the W, then the “Deadboy” would move aside and allow the “King of Television to have his reign without dispute.

Unfortunately for Allin, things broke into the second category, as he found himself in an absolute bloodbath that saw the “Deadboy” walk out in a studded hoodie, take insane bumps inside and out of the ring, and then attempt to put away Joe once and for all by cutting off the ring rope and removing the padding in order to put his foe away with his signature move, the Coffin Drop. *spoiler alert,* that didn’t happen; Joe picked up on Allin’s idea and countered it, putting the champ on his shoulders and killing him with an Avalanche Muscle Buster to regain the belt and end their feud once and for all.

What’s next for Allin? It’s impossible to know, but the same can’t be said for Joe, as he’s got a date with a certain Ohio native who’s out for War.