AEW news: Darby Allin is finally the AEW World Champion, but was the timing of it right?

Wednesday Night on AEW Dynamite, Darby Allin got his moment as he finally defeated MJF and won his first AEW World Championship.

‘The Daredevil’ got his moment in front of his home city, finally cementing his status as a World Champion in All Elite Wrestling.

Here, Sports News Blitz Writer Mosaddek Abu breaks down Allin’s moment and whether the timing was right. 

Darby was the right person to dethrone MJF.

Firstly, let’s get this point out of the way: I do not think there was a better person to take the title of the Salt of Earth than Allin.

He was the perfect underdog babyface to go up against the arrogant, cocky heel in Maxwell Jacob Friedman. 

Allin had not beaten MJF before their match Wednesday night on Dynamite, and for the past few months had been dealing with other obstacles, either set up by the former World Champ or with other wrestlers. 

From a storytelling perspective, it made complete sense because of the two’s history and the fact that they are AEW originals who have been there since the company’s inception in 2019. 

No one else might be able to capture that same moment, because they may not be in the same position as the person to take the title off MJF.

Allin, since 2021, has been seeking revenge, and with that, the long-term story paid off as he beat MJF with a headlock takeover.

An earned and deserved moment for Allin that fans will talk about in the history of AEW.

MJF’s momentum hasn’t halted

Now, MJF doesn’t lose anything in this defeat; his momentum doesn’t stall or become derailed. As a matter of fact, he’s just fine. 

In kayfabe, he has an excuse; he showed up to Dynamite unprepared, having stayed off social media, riding on a high of his win over Kenny Omega at Dynasty this past Sunday and did not realise Allin called him out for a title shot. 

Now, AEW’s next PPV event is Double Or Nothing. Allin could have a short reign as champion, as MJF could take back his title and still go on to be in the main event of All In: London.

MJF’s rivalry with Allin is furthered and sets up a rematch on PPV at Double Or Nothing, which is set to be the first stadium show of that event and is in his home of Long Island, New York.

Plus, if we pull back the curtain, maybe MJF pitched to drop the title to Allin and, in doing so, create a freshness to the TV product and unpredictability as the weeks lead up to Double Or Nothing and as the months pass by until we get to AEW’s biggest show of the year.

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Was the timing right?

This is a topic that will be debated.

On the one hand, you can say that Allin winning the title creates intrigue around the TV product in the weeks ahead, as the build-up continues to Double Or Nothing. 

On the other hand, could the timing have been saved for a big event, such as the upcoming PPV on May 24, or even further down the line, and perhaps done in front of a large crowd at Wembley Stadium? 

As I mentioned above, I am not in disagreement with Allin being the person to take the title from MJF, even if it was a nice surprise to do it on their weekly TV programme, given how rare World title changes are on Dynamite or Collision. 

I think this moment could have been saved for a major PPV event such as All In: London.

They still could have done the match like they did this week (Wednesday, April 15), but I think the finish could have been where MJF had to cheat to win. 

Then you have a fully fleshed out programme that could last the whole summer, especially if Allin was booked to win the Owen Hart tournament. 

So I disagree with the timing, as I believe it could have been saved for a bigger show and would have garnered an even bigger reaction, making it a cooler moment. 

But for now, Allin stands on top of the main event picture in AEW and has finally become World Champion. Let’s see how this plays out.

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