Tony Khan called Darby Allin’s run as AEW World Champion one of the greatest title reigns in company history, speaking at the Double or Nothing post-show media scrum roughly an hour after that reign came to an end.
Allin lost the AEW World Championship to MJF in the Title vs. Hair main event on Sunday, May 24 at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. The 24-minute match made MJF a three-time AEW World Champion.
Khan was asked about the reign ending and reflected on what Allin has brought to the company. “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,” Khan said. “No boss could ever go to somebody and ask somebody to do the kinds of things Darby Allin does.”
“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,” Khan continued. “Everything Darby Allin’s done for us, he’s done his very, very best. 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.”
Allin captured the title on the April 15 Spring BreakThru edition of Dynamite, pinning MJF in a little over two minutes in front of a home-state crowd in Everett, Washington. It was his first AEW World Championship in his fourth career attempt at the belt.
The reign lasted close to six weeks, one of the shorter title runs in the championship’s history. Allin filled it with volume instead, defending the title seven times across Dynamite and Collision against opponents that included Konosuke Takeshita, Tommaso Ciampa, Brody King, PAC, and “Speedball” Mike Bailey before MJF took it back at Double or Nothing.
A Bruising End And A New Problem For Allin
The mileage caught up with Allin on Sunday. He passed out in his own Scorpion Deathlock late in the match, and MJF capitalized to win the title and keep his hair.
The night got worse afterward. As Allin lay strapped to a stretcher, TNT Champion Kevin Knight delivered a UFO Splash to him in an apparent heel turn. Khan said he was interested to hear what Knight has to say about the attack.
Khan also noted he had matches planned for this Wednesday’s Dynamite, but could not finalize the show until wrestlers are medically cleared.