There was no rest for Darby Allin following his AEW World Championship victory over MJF last week as he made his first defense of the title on the April 22 episode of “AEW Dynamite” against Tommaso Ciampa. MJF did come out and demand that he have the match instead but Darby refused, and after a wild and bloody affair, Ciampa couldn’t get the job done and Darby emerged with the gold around his waist.
Darby tried to recreate what happened with MJF one week ago by hitting the Coffin Drop but Ciampa moved to the outside. This led Darby to hit the Coffin Drop on the outside to take an early advantage, an advantage that didn’t last long as Ciampa gathered his bearings and bring the pain to the champion on the outside as the match entered the commercial break. During the break, it was all Ciampa as he threw Darby from pillar to post, and as the match came out of the break, he hit a Slingshot under the ring apron so Darby’s throat hit the steel structure of the ring.
The champion would make a comeback and Ciampa tried to create some distance, but that led to Darby launching himself off the ring post to hit a Splash on Ciampa, with both men going through the timekeeper’s table. Ciampa emerged from the wreckage with a crimson mask which Darby immediately took advantage of with a Tope Suicida, and when the action returned to the ring, Ciampa tried to expose the top turnbuckle. He did manage it, but only after taking a Scorpion Death Drop, and as Ciampa’s blood filled the ring, Darby went for a Coffin Drop on the apron. However, he took too long and Ciampa cut him off, which led to the challenger hitting a huge Psycho Driller off the second rope to the floor as the match went to another commercial break.
Ciampa tried to take advantage of the situation, despite injuring his tailbone in the midst of hitting his signature move, but Darby would recover and the two men would be evenly matched throughout the break. Back from the break and Ciampa got the better of the strike exchange and tried to use the exposed turnbuckle to his advantage, but Darby improvised and hit a Stomp to counter. Ciampa would get a glimmer of hope with a running knee, only for Darby to fire up and hit the Code Red for a near fall. Darby got caught going for a Coffin Drop as he landed in Ciampa guard who locked in a Rear Naked Choke. Darby would escape but he hit his head on the exposed turnbuckle and was hit with another knee strike for a near fall. Another near fall came after a Project Ciampa and a third knee, leading to Ciampa trying to lock in the Scorpion Death Lock, but Darby countered and locked in one of his own which eventually forced Ciampa to submit.
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