Persephone remains AEW TBS Champion after surviving a determined challenge from Hyan on AEW Dynamite, retaining the championship through a pinfall that came with a clear measure of underhanded leverage.
The finish saw Hyan attempting to create an opening from the top turnbuckle after an energetic late-match rally. Persephone countered her challenger into a cradle, then held onto the ropes while the referee counted the fall. The added leverage allowed the champion to keep Hyan down for three and leave with the TBS title still in her possession.
It was a controversial end to a match in which Hyan repeatedly demonstrated that she could match Persephone’s speed, power, and urgency. The challenger prevented Persephone from establishing control in the opening exchanges, fought through several momentum swings, and came close to putting the champion away on more than one occasion. In the end, however, Persephone’s willingness to bend the rules proved as important as any move she delivered in the ring.
Britt Baker was at ringside on commentary for the title defense, though she did not need to get physically involved. Persephone handled the final moments herself, taking advantage of an opportunity the official did not see and preserving her reign.
For more background on this topic, read ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey Accepts Will Ospreay’s United Empire Invitation On AEW Dynamite.
Hyan refuses to be overwhelmed early
Persephone entered the match carrying more than one notable accolade. Along with holding the AEW TBS Championship, she is the CMLL World Women’s Champion, making her one of the most decorated competitors featured in the bout. That status did not intimidate Hyan, who made sure the champion could not simply dictate the pace from the opening bell.
The two wrestlers began by exchanging pin attempts, each looking for a quick route to victory. Hyan was especially effective at denying Persephone a chance to use her offense uninterrupted. Rather than allowing the champion to physically overwhelm her, Hyan kept moving and responded to the early attempts at control with counters and covers of her own.
Persephone finally broke through with a back elbow coming off the ropes. That strike shifted the match in her favor and allowed her to display a more ruthless side, standing with her boot across Hyan’s throat. The moment emphasized the champion’s confidence and aggression, as well as her readiness to press the boundaries of what the official would permit.
Hyan did not stay down for long. She rallied back into the match and brought the fight to Persephone, forcing the champion to retreat to the floor. Hyan followed outside with a dive through the ropes, connecting cleanly and keeping Persephone from gaining the breathing room she appeared to be seeking.
Momentum changes hands in a competitive title fight
Back inside the ring, Persephone answered Hyan’s dive with a springboard moonsault. It was an athletic response from the champion and briefly looked like it might be enough to end the challenge. Hyan kicked out, however, demonstrating the resilience that kept her in contention throughout the match.
Frustrated by the near fall, Persephone drove Hyan back into the corner and struck her with chops. The champion continued trying to wear down the challenger, but Hyan found another opening. A big boot halted Persephone’s attack, and Hyan followed it with a lariat off the ropes that knocked the TBS Champion off her feet.
That sequence changed the complexion of the contest once again. Hyan had already shown that she could endure Persephone’s offense, but the big boot and lariat established that she could also put the champion on the defensive. For a stretch, it appeared that Persephone was in danger of losing control of the match entirely.
The action returned to the rapid-fire style of the opening minutes, with both wrestlers trading roll-ups and attempting to catch the other by surprise. Persephone nearly scored the deciding fall after a Northern Lights suplex, but Hyan escaped. The challenger’s ability to survive that close call was one of several moments that made the eventual finish feel particularly significant.
Persephone then attempted to set up Hyan for a Razor’s Edge. Hyan worked free before the champion could complete the move and immediately fired back with a spear. The spear was among Hyan’s strongest shots of the match, but it still did not keep Persephone down for the deciding three-count.
The champion finds a controversial way out
With Persephone vulnerable, Hyan looked to capitalize. She moved around the ring to line up a running knee strike at the champion in the corner. Persephone avoided the attack, denying Hyan what could have been the decisive blow and leaving the challenger to regroup.
Hyan then headed to the top turnbuckle in pursuit of another high-impact maneuver. It was at that point that Persephone found her opening. The champion countered Hyan into a pinning combination and, as the referee made the count, grabbed the ropes for leverage.
The official did not catch Persephone’s use of the ropes. Hyan was unable to escape before the count of three, and Persephone was announced as the winner, retaining the AEW TBS Championship.
Persephone’s title defense ended with her holding the ropes for leverage during the deciding pinfall.
The finish gives Persephone a successful defense on paper, but it also leaves no question about how narrowly she escaped Hyan. The challenger had countered the Razor’s Edge, landed a spear, survived a springboard moonsault, and created multiple near-fall situations before the champion resorted to illegal leverage.
For Persephone, the victory further establishes the lengths she will go to in order to remain champion. She did not require assistance from Baker or anyone else at ringside, but she did make the most of a moment when the referee’s view was limited. The result keeps both of her championship credentials intact while adding another contentious chapter to her TBS title reign.
What the result means for Persephone and Hyan
Persephone leaves Dynamite with the AEW TBS Championship, but Hyan’s performance ensured that the match was far from a routine defense. Hyan consistently answered the champion’s offense, delivered sustained attacks of her own, and came within a single counter of a potential title-changing moment. Even in defeat, she showed that Persephone could not dismiss her as an easy challenger.
The presence of Baker on commentary added attention to the match without affecting its physical outcome. Persephone did not receive outside interference, meaning responsibility for the finish rests entirely with the champion. Her rope-assisted pin may have been unseen by the official, but it was decisive in preventing Hyan from extending the contest or potentially capturing the title.
As reigning AEW TBS Champion and CMLL World Women’s Champion, Persephone continues to carry considerable momentum. Yet this defense also revealed how much pressure a challenger such as Hyan can place on her. Persephone escaped with the title, but she did so only after Hyan forced her into a situation where a conventional victory was no longer guaranteed.
Hyan’s loss will be recorded as a defeat, while Persephone’s reign continues. The details of the match, though, tell a more complicated story: a challenger who repeatedly threatened to win, a champion who could not put her away cleanly after several major attacks, and a final pinfall secured with leverage that should not have been available.
That controversy is now attached to Persephone’s latest successful TBS Championship defense. For one night on AEW Dynamite, it was enough for her to retain the gold. Hyan, meanwhile, left having pushed a double champion to the limit and having every reason to point to the rope-assisted finish as the difference between a hard-fought challenge and a championship victory.
In pictures
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.