I didn't think this was a tremendous match, but I did think it was another tremendous Darby performance in what's turning out to be one of my favourite title runs ever. He sold the toll of everything here, the toll of his reign, like it might be his last defence, all those previous defences - seven in three weeks - catching up to him. The commentators played it up enough as well that I'm wondering if they flip the belt back to MJF at the PPV. I don't think I've bought a PPV since 2011! There were points of this where it looked like Darby was hanging on by a thread. Guevara jumped him at the start with a curb stomp on the title belt, then went right for broke with a swanton off the ladder through a table. I've seen enough ladder and table spots by now that they aren't likely to stand out all that much in isolation, but that thing is kind of Sammy's deal (as much as Sammy has a deal at this point) and what else are you going to do to keep Darby down? I thought initially that Darby came back from it a little too easily, though I did like that he went for the Scorpion Deathlock almost as containment as much as anything else. I also love that he pretty much just passed out shortly afterwards. Like Guevara's swanton through the table, in isolation that spot could feel a little tired, maybe a little hokey or hard to really get behind if you think about it long enough. You could probably argue he wound up on the offensive too soon after it for the moment to properly resonate, and I wouldn't argue too strongly the other way, but I don't think he strung together more than three moves at any one time throughout the course of the match and he clearly never fully recovered. There were times where he'd stand up and legit just fall down again lifeless, drained, physically at the end of his rope. The first time he went for the Coffin Drop was a mistake, because Sammy wasn't worn down enough and Darby got superkicked in the leg for his troubles, which obviously he took a nasty spill off of and hit his face on the apron on the way down. Sammy could catch him off guard whenever he went to the air as well, like the double stomp dropkick thing on the apron. Usually that's Darby's card to play and even that didn't work here. When he went for the tope his leg clipped the rope slightly, and I don't think it was intentional but it did add a little extra to Sammy countering it with a cutter. It was more of Darby's exhaustion coming back to bite him, maybe. With each match he seems to have less in the tank and with every risk comes an even greater chance of him losing everything. The finish itself was more survival than anything, the way he moved out the way to avoid one of Guevara's own gambits, only then being able to follow up with the Coffin Drop.
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