It looked like Darby Allin suffered a concussion on last week’s episode of Dynamite when he was brutally attacked by Ricky Starks. AEW blurred the lines of reality by having nobody come out this week (July 29) on Dynamite when Allin’s entrance music played for his Tornado tag team match in the main event.
As a result, AEW world champion Jon Moxley didn’t seem to have a partner. Taz and his boys, Starks and Brian Cage, were delighted. They cut a promo about the ass whooping that was coming Mox’s way.
But looks are often deceiving, and Darby came out of nowhere with a Coffin Drop onto the heels.
.@DarbyAllin from out of nowhere!
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) July 30, 2020
Watch #AEWDynamite NOW on @TNTDrama or https://t.co/GdI7QAsxEP for our International fans. #AEWonTNT @AEWonTNT pic.twitter.com/VNGoOzs8vu
Allin later finished the match off by ripping Starks’ back to a bloody mess using a skateboard covered in thumbtacks.
.@DarbyAllin brings back an old friend!
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) July 30, 2020
Rewatch #AEWDynamite via the @tntdrama app or https://t.co/GdI7QAsxEP for our International fans. #AEWonTNT @AEWonTNT pic.twitter.com/ccswk2jlV9
This was all done to shine a big spotlight on Allin, who suddenly has an AEW world championship match coming up next week (Aug. 5) against Moxley. That booking decision explains why Allin was curiously included in the top five singles rankings despite not wrestling much recently.
What did you think of AEW going with a thumbtacks spot in two consecutive episodes and then quickly moving Allin into a world title match?
Get complete Dynamite results and coverage here.