Dustin Rhodes is the TNT Champion.
Dustin defeated Kyle Fletcher, Sammy Guevara and Daniel Garcia to win the title, at Saturday’s AEW All In Texas.
Below is an excerpt from Alex Kahrs’ AEW All In Texas recap of how Dustin won the title.
Rhodes starts to go now, but Sammy cuts him off…so HE can catch Fletcher with the kick as well! Finally, Dustin rounds things out to send Kyle to the floor…but Dustin gets caught by an attack by Garcia, who looks for a Dragontamer on Guevara. Sammy fights out of it and gets a two count in the process, before climbing up for a frog splash! Garcia with the knees up, setting up a Dragontamer…but Fletcher pulls him out of the ring to break the hold.
Fletcher is on a second wind here as he goes back in the ring to go after Dustin Rhodes…only to be taken out with a cutter by Guevara! Garcia comes in to take Sammy down, but Dustin gets a crucifix pin for a two. Garcia fights back to set up for a Dragontamer, keeping Rhodes trapped in the middle of the ring.
Dustin looks trapped here…but instead of tapping, Rhodes manages to trap Garcia in a modified cradle, picking up the win just before Sammy can slide in to break it up!
Huge pop from the hometown crowd for Dustin, who is presented the championship and gets to celebrate with the Von Erichs entering the ring. Guevara is in the corner, allowing his tag partner to soak in the moment before offering a handshake for a job well done.
This was the second match of the night for Dustin and Guevara and Rhodes. They teamed with The Von Erichs (Ross Von Erich & Marshall Von Erich) to defeat Shane Taylor Promotions (Carlie Bravo, Lee Moriarty, Shane Taylor & Shawn Dean) during Zero Hour.
Dustin and Guevara successfully defended the ROH World Tag Team Titles at Friday’s ROH Supercard of Honor in a match against The Infantry and then wrestled in an eight-man tag team match on Zero Hour early in day on Saturday.
It was revealed by The Dallas Morning News this past Thursday, that Dustin signed a new multi-year deal with the company that will keep him with Tony Khan’s promotion through 2030.
An emotional Adam Cole spoke in the ring before the match, relinquishing the TNT Title due what is now his to his third injury since joining AEW. Cole was out of action from September 2023 through October 2024 due to an ankle injury at Grand Slam Dynamite in 2023, after he leaped off the stage, running to ring to cheer on MJF in his match against Samoa Joe. That injury required two surgeries. Cole then was again out of action from June 2022 through March 2023, after suffering a concussion at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view.
Jerome’s thoughts:
It is great to see a 56-year old Dustin Rhodes hold the ROH World Tag Titles, ROH World Six-Man Tag Titles and now his first singles championship in AEW. Dustin is well deserving of it. I like that he is getting these opportunities and showing he can still go at his age.
As for Adam Cole, in real-life he is a genuinely nice guy and I feel really bad for him. I hope that he can take care of whatever injury he has and come back better than ever. However, if he must retire from in-ring competition, he already does great on commentary and would be a huge asset to help younger talent with promos and even help improve their in-ring skills.