Luchasaurus Beats Darby Allin, Retains AEW TNT Title with Christian at All Out 2023
September 4, 2023
Luchasaurus defeated Darby Allin at AEW All Out on Sunday to retain the TNT Championship.
Luchasaurus hit Allin with a pair of Tombstone Piledrivers before closing out his win with a Northern Lariat.
Allin withstood some early brutality in this one.
All Elite Wrestling @AEWDarby Allin is being absolutely brutalized by TNT Champ Luchasaurus<br><br>Order <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AEWAllOut?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AEWAllOut</a> on PPV right now!<br>🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/fDofZ56Bs3">https://t.co/fDofZ56Bs3</a><br>🔗 <a href="https://t.co/iawFgea9ZT">https://t.co/iawFgea9ZT</a><a href="https://twitter.com/DarbyAllin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DarbyAllin</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/luchasaurus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Luchasaurus</a> <a href="https://t.co/rAG6lQqLRx">pic.twitter.com/rAG6lQqLRx</a>
However, he fought his way back into the match, and he even dove through the ropes to take out Christian:
All Elite Wrestling @AEWDarby Allin risking it all to try to eliminate Luchasaurus!<br><br>Order <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AEWAllOut?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AEWAllOut</a> on PPV right now!<br>🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/fDofZ563Cv">https://t.co/fDofZ563Cv</a><br>🔗 <a href="https://t.co/iawFge9Cal">https://t.co/iawFge9Cal</a><a href="https://twitter.com/DarbyAllin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DarbyAllin</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/luchasaurus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Luchasaurus</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Christian4Peeps?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Christian4Peeps</a> <a href="https://t.co/tVBsjuqurd">pic.twitter.com/tVBsjuqurd</a>
All Elite Wrestling @AEWDarby Allin has taken out Christian Cage and is within inches of regaining the TNT Title!<br><br>Order <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AEWAllOut?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AEWAllOut</a> on PPV right now!<br>🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/fDofZ563Cv">https://t.co/fDofZ563Cv</a><br>🔗 <a href="https://t.co/iawFge9Cal">https://t.co/iawFge9Cal</a><a href="https://twitter.com/DarbyAllin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DarbyAllin</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/luchasaurus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Luchasaurus</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Christian4Peeps?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Christian4Peeps</a> <a href="https://t.co/OTPMm87USX">pic.twitter.com/OTPMm87USX</a>
Ultimately, Luchasaurus was able to pull out the win.
Allin, who would have tied Cody Rhodes, Wardlow and Sammy Guevara for the most TNT title reigns in AEW history had he won, became No. 1 contender for the TNT Championship in July.
On the Royal Rampage edition of Rampage, Allin beat 19 other stars, including Matt Hardy, Jeff Jarrett, Swerve Strickland, Jake Hager and Brian Cage to earn a future TNT Championship opportunity.
Standing in between Allin and a third run as TNT champion was not only Luchasaurus, but also the devious Christian Cage.
Christian challenged Wardlow for the TNT title at Double or Nothing in a ladder match, and although he fell short, his pursuit of the championship was far from over.
On the debut episode of Collision in June, Cage was in Luchasaurus' corner for a TNT title match against Wardlow, and Luchasaurus came out on top, giving him his first singles title in AEW.
Although it was Luchasaurus who did the in-ring work to win the championship, Christian subsequently staked claim to the title in his own right, calling himself the TNT champion.
Cage continued to do that for weeks leading up to All Out, but was happy to allow Luchasaurus to do his bidding rather than to compete for himself.
Allin had a significant size and strength disadvantage against Luchasaurus at All Out, but he has been one of AEW's winningest and most successful stars since the creation of the company.
While the crowd was firmly behind him, Allin couldn't close the deal Sunday, allowing Cage to continue masquerading as the TNT champion alongside Luchasaurus.
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