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This week's episode of AEW Dynamite was an exciting show yet again.
The AEW TNT Championship was on the line as Darby Allin defended his title yet again. He faced one of the top young babyfaces in the company, as it was a clash between two stars AEW has portrayed as their future.
Meanwhile, Hikaru Shida defended the AEW Women's Championship against the No. 1 contender for the title - Tay Conti. The two women became close over the past few weeks as they came to each other's aid.
There was also a battle between two of the top veterans in the wrestling industry. QT Marshall, founder of the Factory faction in AEW after breaking away from Cody Rhodes' Nightmare Family, faced former WWE Superstar and D-Generation X member Billy Gunn.
There were other matches and segments that impressed the fans once again. In such a situation, there were five wrestlers who stood out on the show.
Let's take a look at the power rankings of the five best wrestlers from this week's episode of AEW Dynamite.
It should be noted that Christian Cage is an honorable mention, as he put on another excellent match against Powerhouse Hobbs yet again this week during the show.
#5 Hangman Page defeated Ricky Starks on AEW Dynamite
Hangman Page faced Ricky Starks in the opening match of the night. Starks put Page's AEW dominance in 2021 to the test as he brought everything to their match.
Page was intense in his approach to the match. He hit some of his big moves early on, including the Avalanche Fallaway Slam from the top rope and some big dives. But at the end of the match, he showed his uncanny ability to target the weak spot of his opponents.
He overcame Starks' spear and put pressure on his leg with a submission move, targeting his opponent's injury. That was enough at the end of the night to get a win. He even held his own against Hook after the match, when Team Taz attacked. His choice of allies saved him as The Dark Order came out to stop Cage's assault.
#4 Pentagon Jr. got a controversial win on AEW
Trent faced Pentagon Jr. during this week's episode of AEW Dynamite and both men brought everything to the bout.
Trent recently returned to AEW in-ring action following injury, which made this match against Pentagon a big one. The match was between two of the most athletic stars on the AEW roster and they certainly did deliver.
Pentagon Jr. brought out his Pumphandle Driver, only for Trent to respond with a piledriver on the apron. They hit the big moves, but Pentagon was always a step ahead. He used Alex Abrahantes to gain an advantage as the latter provided a distraction on the outside. Orange Cassidy tried to get involved, but Pentagon took him out.
All of this resulted in a flustered Trent getting himself into trouble. With the referee's attention distracted, Alex hit Trent with a mic to the head. Penta managed to finish him off with the Package Piledriver to finish him and win the match.
The match was an important statement from Pentagon as he ensured that he would be taken seriously on AEW.
#3 The Factory make a statement on AEW
QT Marshall recently turned his back on Cody Rhodes and the Nightmare Family, showing a new side to himself in AEW. He faced Billy Gunn, a veteran wrestler with a lot of accolades to his name, during this week's episode of AEW Dynamite.
Both veterans went into the match with something to prove. However, QT Marshall never needed to show he was the better wrestler. Instead, he needed to showcase the superiority of his faction. The purpose of the match was to prove that QT Marshall was an effective leader who knew how to use his faction members in the best way possible.
That's exactly what happened during the match. Early on, Nick Comoroto provided a distraction before he battled The Gunn Club to the back.
But the crucial moment came later in the night. Comoroto was gone from ringside, but Anthony Ogogo arrived out of nowhere and hit Billy Gunn with a powerful gut punch.
It allowed QT Marshall to pick up the win with the Diamond Cutter.
They even withstood the attack by Dustin Rhodes, who came out to save his friend. It appeared that QT Marshall figured out how to use his stable in the best way possible as the Factory looked even more threatening once the match was done.
#2 Hikaru Shida defends her AEW Women's Championship once again
Hikaru Shida defended the AEW Women's Championship against Tay Conti during this week's episode of Dynamite. The two women were friends heading into the match as they backed each other against mutual enemies, but when it came to the title match, neither held back.
Tay Conti has risen up out from anonymity in AEW in recent weeks through repeated impressive performances. She became the No. 1 contender and faced Shida in what was one of the best matches of the night this week.
Tay Conti brought out everything she could to defeat the AEW Women's Champion. She hit the Tay-KO and the DD-Tay, impressing every fan watching the match. Once Shida and Conti were done, fans were ready to say that it was one of the best AEW women's matches so far.
However, in the end, the AEW Women's Champion revealed why she was the one holding the title. Shida overcame Conti to defeat her with some shocking offense. Be it the Witch's Shot, or one of the many knees she hit, her finishing move, the Katana worked, and she came away with the win.
Hikaru Shida held on to the title and once again showed why she has held the title for so long.
#1 Darby Allin defended the AEW TNT Championship on Dynamite
As one of the youngest stars on the roster, Darby Allin was a standout performer in AEW from the start. Fans noticed him for his talent and also the way AEW portrayed him. It was clear that he would be one of the best-pushed wrestlers in the company, and that's exactly what happened.
While the start of his AEW TNT Championship reign was lackluster, the company noticed and began to push his title reign better.
This week's title defense against Jungle Boy was a statement of intent from Darby Allin. He proved, yet again, that he has what it takes to be the one fans talked about at the end of an AEW Dynamite episode.
The match saw Jungle Boy hit Darby Allin with everything he could. Darby managed to survive multiple suplexes and extreme high-flying offense to fight back and use his intense style of wrestling to get back in the match.
Darby showed why he was known for being an insane risk-taker as he hit the Coffin Drop on the ring apron.
In the end, Darby Allin showed why he was deserving of his title as he used the Last Supper for a sudden and unexpected pin to retain the title. Both men did really well in the match and Jungle Boy gave a good account of himself, but Allin managed to survive.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
