While most were amazed at the excitement of some annual battle royal in Houston at a baseball field promoted by this Connecticut-based wrestling promotion, a certain ROH heavy hitter came in a wreck shop at Northeast Wrestling’s Over The Top on Saturday, January 25th, taking the promotions top title from one of All Elite Wrestling’s top stars.
Before the 30 man rumble, which saw Keith Youngblood take the win, the Northeast Wrestling Championship was on the line. The reigning champion Darby Allin faced off against Ring of Honor heavyweight and former NWA Television title contender Dan Maff in a hard-hitting match.
Based on the reactions online, this was a match was can’t miss live. Similar to some of his feature bouts in AEW, Allin was undersized but scrappy. Facing off against Maff, who brought his usual high impact offense to the table. In only his third match in NEW, the indie legend brought his A-game. It left Allin severely outmatched strength-wise. While most stated Allin kept the fight going, including attempting several Coffin Drops. Dan Maff was just too much for the champion, which lead to him losing the title after a devastating submission.
For Allin, his title reign ends at 192 days as NEW Champion. One of the longest in company history, going back to when he defeated JT Dunn at NEW Six Flags Slamfest in June 2019. For Maff, it becomes his first major world title win in the Northeast region since 2012. When he defeated Low Ki for the now defunct Jersey All Pro Wrestling Heavyweight title.
Your New @newwrestling1 Heavyweight Champion @DannyMaff1 pic.twitter.com/qTQCBh3uYf
— Mike Fogman Avitable (@foggy316) January 26, 2020
Will Darby challenge the ring veteran again? Or will the stars of ROH like Maff continue to dominate in NEW? Or as I stated in my preview for this event, will the winner of the 30-man rumble, Keith Youngblood, become the next challenger for the champion?
Only time will tell as NEW has already announced his first title defense on February 15th. We will release information when it develops right here on Pro Wrestling Post.
New @newwrestling1 Champion and @ringofhonor star @DannyMaff1
He makes his first Title Defense on Feb. 15th.
Get your tickets now at https://t.co/piOoz1A9Xg pic.twitter.com/sSBm1PHeN8
— Northeast Wrestling (@newwrestling1) January 27, 2020
Caul’s Call
Darby Allin truly put himself on the map with his reign in Northeast Wrestling. In my assumption, it was his defense of the title against former champion JT Dunn, Brian Anthony, Wrecking Ball Legursky, Hale Collins and Christian Casanova that put him on the map to get signed to AEW, so his reign did the job.
For Maff, he continues to show why age ain’t nothing but a number. Becoming one of the industry’s top stars. Between ROH, NWA and now, NEW, Maff may soon be one of wrestling’s ones to watch despite being older than most of his counterparts. After an amazing showing against Wrecking Ball Legursky and Darby Allin, there will be much excitement going into his next match on the 15th of February.
