All Elite Wrestling is kicking off the new era of AEW Dynamite in a big way. On Thursday, Tony Khan announced a championship main event for next week’s broadcast: Darby Allin will challenge Samoa Joe for the AEW TNT Championship.
Allin is the longest-reigning TNT Champion in history. He defeated Cody Rhodes to win the title (AEW Dynamite, 7/11/20). He was champion for 186 days and had eight successful defenses before dropping the title to Miro (AEW Dynamite, 12/5/21).
Joe has been TNT Champion since Full Gear, when he won a 3-way match that involved Powerhouse Hobbs and former champion, Wardlow.
Wardlow got his rematch against Joe this past week on Dynamite, but came up short. After the match, Joe was confronted by Allin, setting up next week’ clash.
Allin and Sting will address the upcoming match against Joe on Friday’s edition of Rampage.
AEW Dynamite Preview (January 4, 2023)
Here’s the updated card for next week’s AEW Dynamite from Seattle, WA:
Darby Allin challenges Samoa Joe for the TNT Championship
Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Starks
Bryan Danielson vs. Tony Nese
In addition to these matches, Dynamite will feature an all-new look, including a new set, graphics, music and lighting.
Darby Allin is heading to Japan to take part in The Great Muta’s retirement match.
On Wednesday, Pro Wrestling NOAH confirmed that Muta will team with Sting & Allin in his retirement match on Sunday, January 22, 2023, although their opponents have yet to be announced.
“Great Muta Final Bye Bye” is the name of Muta’s retirement show that is being held at the Yokohama Arena and will air live via Wrestle Universe and Fite TV.
The match will be Keiji Muto’s final bout as the Great Muta character as Muto will have his last match at the Tokyo Dome on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.
The Dream Team
(via AEW)
Sting previously told Sports Illustrated that he was trying to get Allin to come with him for Muta’s final match after Muta appeared on an episode of AEW Rampage this past September by helping to save Sting & Allin during a tag team match against The House of Black’s Brody King & Buddy Matthews.
Muta will wrestle WWE star Shinsuke Nakamura at NOAH’s The New Year 2023 on Sunday, January 1, 2023.
This past Saturday night at AEW Full Gear pay-per-view event, Allin and Sting beat Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal in a tag team match.
Darby Allin was one of the first unknown names that AEW helped bring the spotlight on during the company’s initial days. Only 26 years old at the time of his signing, Darby’s daredevil style of wrestling instantly attracted people and made him a star. Though despite his early success, the former TNT champion had his own struggles before being signed. Just like he does in the ring, he also made some crazy decisions in his life to improve his chance of success. This includes going homeless for a few years.
The AEW star was the most recent guest of Renee Paquette’s The Sessions podcast. During the interview, he recalled the time he went homeless during his early days of wrestling. The high-flying star explained that he wanted to give it his all:
“Yeah, that’s when I moved from Seattle to Atlanta. Because Seattle was the black hole of wrestling. There was no shows at the time. This was before Defy and everything, you couldn’t wrestle in the state. The commission wouldn’t let you have pro wrestling shows in the state. So we’d always have to go to Vancouver, Canada, or Oregon or something like that. I was like ‘I gotta do something. I gotta get out of here.’
I just didn’t have a comfort zone. I feel like a lot of people are like, ‘Oh, I really want this to work out,’ But they don’t put everything into it. I wanted to look at myself in the mirror and be like, ‘Yo, you dedicated everything in this so you have no fucking excuse if you don’t make it.’”
‘Why The Hell Does It Smell Like Salmon?’: Darby Allin
Darby Allin later detailed the struggles he had to go through during his homeless days. He recalled living in his car and cooking food in the bathroom of a gym:
“When you don’t have the comfortability to sit down on the couch and be lazy and watch episodes of whatever. When you’re living in your car. Especially in Georgia, it was so hot in the summer. I would have to have like a strict bedtime so I got decent sleep before. Then I parked in this hotel parking garage.
It was connected to an Anytime Fitness and I got the Anytime fitness membership. Then I was just like, cooking all my food there at the George Foreman grill in the bathroom at like one in the morning. There would always [be] like one random guy that’s in there like ‘Why the hell does it smell like salmon in this fucking gym?’ Then I’d walk out like I didn’t know what he’s talking about. But it was fun.”
AEW star Darby Allin is a risk-taker in and out of the ring, but thought he wasn’t going to make it through a match with Jeff Hardy.
During the May 11, 2022, edition of AEW Dynamite, the two popular wrestlers faced off in what was billed as an ‘Anything Goes’ Match.
The match, which Hardy would eventually win, saw both men use weapons in one of the most extreme matches AEW has ever produced.
Meet my Doom
Arguably the biggest spot of the match (at least from a literal sense) came when Allin dove off a ladder in the ring, onto Jeff outside the ring.
The pair landed on ten steel chairs, earning ‘Holy Sh*t’ chants from the crowd in attendance.
Speaking on the latest episode of ‘The Sessions’ Allin told new AEW signing Renee Paquette about the trepidation going into the match.
“Earlier in the day, I climbed that ladder and I looked down and I was like ‘yeah, I’m for sure going to the hospital tonight.’ There’s no way around it.”
Despite how dangerous the spot seemed and looked to fans, Allin said he found it a mostly pleasant experience.
“Everybody asks me ‘dude how’d that feel?’ And honestly, it didn’t feel like anything, it was so safe. You can see me if you watch the video back, I kinda go to Jeff’s ear ‘that sh*t was so fun!”
“AEW-wise, that was the craziest thing. I thought for sure I was going to meet my doom.”
Darby Allin on Anything Goes match with Jeff Hardy.
The match would be one of Jeff’s most recent matches with AEW, as he was arrested and charged with driving under the influence the following month.
Wrestling Myself
With his face paint, daredevil attitude, and unique personality, Darby Allin has often been compared to Jeff Hardy.
Speaking about working with the former WWE World Champion, Allin said it was like working with himself.
“It felt like I was putting a match together with myself…It was like I was talking to myself. It was fun. A week before, it was just supposed to be a normal match. Just a straight-up match. And I went up to Tony [Khan] and I said ‘hey, nobody wants to see us exchange wrist locks.’”
Allin’s only regret is that the match was under the watchful eye of New York’s State Athletic Commission, which kept some of his most extreme ideas off of the show.
“It was in New York where there’s a state commission, and I was like ‘why couldn’t we wait a week when we’re in Texas when no-one gives a sh*t?”
Darby Allin
Out of the Ring
Allin considers the Jeff Hardy match a personal highlight of his risk-taking life, which isn’t just for the cameras.
In the interview, Allin explained how even when he’s got time to ‘relax’ his version of chilling out includes more risk-taking.
“Every time I’m off for the week, it’s like ‘alright, Darby is going to take the week off and chill out and whatever.’ [But really,] I go harder outside of work than I do in the realm of AEW. I’m never really stopping. It’s fun though because I never know when I’m going to get hit by a bus or something.”
Allin has taken to social media to show off some of his stunts, including driving a jeep over his own home.
For use of these quotes please give a h/t to SEScoops.
Allin’s recent dive off of the stage is hardly the first time the AEW wrestler has put his body on the line.
In May, Allin faced Jeff Hardy, and hit the latter’s Swanton Bomb off a ladder in the ring, onto Hardy, who was laid across several steel chairs outside of the ring.
Darby’s high-flying antics aren’t reserved to just AEW, as he also performs stunts at various events not associated with wrestling.
Last month, Allin drove a jeep over his house in an insane 96-foot jump, which he called the “sketchiest” stunt he’s done.
In the early days of AEW, there was conversation around the company’s so-called Four Pillars: MJF, Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara, and Jungle Boy. The spirit of the idea was that these were four talents who were relatively unproven on a national stage, but each of whom demonstrated remarkable potential, and AEW might grow alongside these youngsters—the company forging its identity as the four of them became household names.
While MJF and Allin in particular have remained in consistently featured roles for AEW, fans have looked on as the company also welcomed in stars who made their name in WWE, besides prominently featuring stars who had established themselves with hardcore fans in Japan or Ring of Honor.
It’s telling that of the five men who’ve reigned as world champion—Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, and CM Punk—three had previously reigned as WWE Champion and one had been a world champ in Japan. Only Page could be considered a homegrown main eventer.
With AEW seemingly at a crossroads after the high-profile controversies of recent weeks, the time has come to re-center their focus on young talent.
AEW Can Take Advantage Of This Moment Of Controversy To Shift Gears
CM Punk has always been a lightning rod for controversy, but may have reached new heights of heat in recent times, culminating in his wild press conference ranting after All Out and subsequent backstage altercation with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. That, combined with the EVPs’ role in spreading information—true or not—about Punk has created a dark cloud over AEW, and called attention to a need to shift gears and focus on some of the other high caliber talent at their disposal.
Those names might include Jon Moxley who, despite recently reigning as champion, was cast a peg below Punk. There’s also Bryan Danielson, who has selflessly absorbed more than his share of losses across his AEW tenure and Keith Lee whom some fans feel is underutilized in the tag team division. There are younger talents waiting in the wings as well, though.
Injuries Have Exposed The Limitations Of Relying On Older Talents In AEW
In addition to the poor behavior of some of AEW’s more established top talents, there’s also the matter of injuries. Besides CM Punk’s poor behavior after All Out, he also reportedly got injured in his match with Jon Moxley. That issue was compounded by Christian Cage purportedly also being hurt with a similar injury. That’s immediately after Kenny Omega returned from over a half year on the disabled list and after Bryan Danielson missed time.
Injuries can happen to anyone, but it’s also a reality that older wrestlers have more mileage on them and thus tend to be more prone to missing significant stretches because they’re legitimately hurt. It’s another reason why pushing younger names may be the best thing AEW can do at this point in time.
AEW Has Its Four Pillars And Other Young Talents Available To Push
AEW seems ready to go all the way in pushing MJF. At 26, he’s a young talent and AEW can mostly take credit for building him up to main event status. While fans may have been justifiably skeptical about CM Punk putting over the heel when he cashes in his title shot from winning the Casino Ladder Match at All Out, things are more wide open now. With Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson the presumptive favorites to win the vacant title at Grand Slam, it seems entirely realistic one of them would put over MJF—likely as not at Full Gear, staged in front of an MJF-friendly crowd in Newark.
Darby Allin also looks ready for a big push. Beating Brody King in a Coffin Match and picking up the pin for his team over The House of Black at All Out both give him some real momentum to knock on the door of the main event.
Jungle Boy suffered a setback in both losing to Christian Cage, and Cage’s injury meaning Jack Perry won’t get any immediate revenge. However, he has Luchasaurus set up as a natural rival for the weeks ahead. Moreover, being out on his own still suggests Jungle Boy could move up to a better featured spot on the card.
Sammy Guevara is a trickier talent to predict the future for, with real life controversies, and very real heat with the fans perhaps putting a ceiling over what he’ll accomplish in the immediate future. Nonetheless, there’s no denying he’s an incredible in-ring talent and his willingness to play the heel wholeheartedly could pay off in the long run.
AEW certainly has room to look beyond its original Four Pillars as well. Wardlow has gotten over a high level this year and it would only be natural to revisit his issue with MJF in time. The Acclaimed had a gutsy, star-making performance at All Out. Though he’s not that young at 40, Eddie Kingston has been on a journey with AEW and if he can avoid real life controversies like his recent issues with Guevara, he could viably factor into the main event picture again.
Add on Hook, Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricky Starks, not to mention emerging stars on the women’s side like Jade Cargill and Julia Hart, and it’s easy to imagine a very different AEW landscape in a year’s time.
In the end, not everyone can be featured as a main event star in AEW. Nonetheless, out of a time of unprecedented controversy and chaos behind the scenes, the company may emerge all the stronger if it can capitalize and reprioritize around its deep pool of less established talents.
All Elite Wrestling star Darby Allin decided to get extreme as he competed for Nitro Circus.
Allin appeared during Nitro Circus’s tour Nitro Circus: Good Bad and Rad on Sep. 9. The event took place at Maimonides Park in Brooklyn, New York.
His participation at Nitro Circus: Good Bad and Rad shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Both he and AEW has promoted that he would the former TNT Champion has promoted his involvement earlier this week on social media. AEW also shared a special code offer that would’ve given fans that wanted to attend 30 percent off.
Allin has participated in Nitro Circus in the past, as he unsuccessfully attempted to do a backflip down a long ramp while on a tricycle. However, yesterday the AEW star redeemed himself and successfully performed the stunt.
Darby Allin Out of AEW Grand Slam Tournaments of Champions
Allin was unsuccessful in his recent quest to challenge for the AEW World Championship when he faced Sammy Guevara at AEW Rampage yesterday. The loss happened after multiple distractions from Anna Jay, and Tay Melo led to Guevara defeating Allin.
The loss to Guevara puts Allin in an interesting position in his AEW career. The company’s Aug. 31 men’s contender’s rankings have him ranked fifth.
His loss to Guevara removes him from contending for the AEW World Championship, at least for a little while. Now that he is no longer in the title picture, for the time being, it should be interesting to see what the company has planned for Allin.
Allin and Sting seemingly ended their feud with the House of Black at AEW All Out on Sep. 4. As AEW builds towards AEW Grand Slam, it’s unclear if Allin will be involved at the event. Hopefully, the company will soon give Allin another notable feud.
AEW star Darby Allin has confirmed that he will make his next Nitro Circus appearance on Friday, September 9, in Brooklyn as part of the Nitro Circus Live: Good, Bad & Rad 2022 tour.
Allin tweeted, “THIS FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 9th LIVE IN BROOKLYN AT MAIMONIDES PARK ILL BE AT NITRO CIRCUS USE CODE AEWFAN AT CHECKOUT TO SAVE 30% ON TICKETS!”
At one of the recent events, the AEW star attempted to do a backflip on a tricycle while riding down a big air ramp. The first attempt failed as he didn’t complete a full rotation and ended up landing on his back. The second attempt saw him land the trick before wiping out.
Allin’s Latest Match
Allin was most recently in action at this past Sunday’s AEW pay-per-view, All Out, when he teamed with Sting and Miro to go against The House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews) that saw the babyfaces go over as Allin won the bout for his team as he pinned Black with the Last Supper.
We got @DarbyAllin + some special guests are coming out to select shows for the last weekend of tour in New York! ?
Darby Allin did not have an easy road to AEW. He’s been All Elite since the company’s inception in 2019, but first had to buy out his contract with another company.
Allin was DDP’s guest this week on the DDP Snake Pit podcast powered by Ad Free Shows. During their discussion, he spoke about the circumstances that led him to joining AEW.
In 2019, All Elite Wrestling executives were scouring the globe to sign talent for the upstart promotion. Former AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes attended a show for Northeast Wrestling, where Allin was wrestling Pentagon.
Allin tells DDP that prior to seeing him work against Pentagon, Cody thought he was just a ‘crash test dummy’ taking gnarly bumps. After watching him wrestle in person, Cody saw that Allin could actually work.
“At the time, I was signed with another little promotion. The moment I heard Cody was interested, long story short, I paid $12,000 to get out of my contract. I took a loan out and I remember I used to hit Cody up like every day, just blow his phone up, and he would never really answer.”
– Darby Allin on joining AEW
DDP stopped Darby Allin mid-story and told him Cody’s father, the late Dusty Rhodes, used to be ‘the worst’ about returning calls, and knows Cody is the same way. DDP joked, “Even his texting sucks!” He’s known Cody since he was 12 years old and loves him.
Choosing AEW over WWE/NXT
Allin said he didn’t care about blowing up Cody’s phone, he wanted to be part of AEW. He wasn’t going to take out that $12,000 loan without having Cody’s word that AEW was really interested in him.
AEW hadn’t even run its first show at this point and this was long before a TV deal was announced. However, there was one factor that really sold him that AEW was the right fit for him.
“All I heard, when they were promoting it, were the words ‘Creative Freedom.’ I was like, ‘That’s where I need to be.’”
– Darby Allin
Cody eventually invited him to his house and the rest, as they say, is history. DDP complimented Allin’s persistence. He sad, “What you have to be, is pleasantly persistent.”
At the time, Darby Allin was being groomed for NXT. He says he saw the writing on the wall there.
“This was back when 205 Live was a thing. I was like, hell f*cking no, I’m not going there to do that. I don’t want to be put in a box.”
– Darby Allin
Allin felt his money was wrestling ‘David vs. Goliath’ matches and he’d have a better chance to get over as himself with AEW.
Darby Allin signed with AEW in April 2019. His debut match took place at Fyter Fest just two months later. His first opponent was none other than Cody Rhodes, which says a lot about how much Cody believed in him. That match went to a time-limit draw. Allin tells DDP that before the match, Cody texted him, “20 minute broadway?” Allin had no idea what the phrase meant at the time.
Allin has gone on to become one of AEW’s most successful homegrown stars. He’s a former TNT Champion and is currently aligned with the icon, Sting.
For wrestlers, meeting and greeting fans around the world is just one perk of the job.
It can be a deeply rewarding experience for wrestlers to meet the people who admire them and give fans an experience they’ll remember.
Darby Allin has a ton of fans, some of whom came to meet him this weekend, but one person arrived looking to cause trouble.
The Attack
Allin appeared at the Southcenter Mall in Seattle for what he had planned on being a standard meet and greet session.
Before Allin began with what would be a four-hour autograph signing, he was ambushed by Brody King, who put him in a sleeper hold.
Not finished with the former AEW TNT Champion, King proceeded to powerbomb the young wrestler through a table before leaving the area.
After a brief window of time, Allin eventually recovered and completed the event as planned much to the surprise and delight of the fans who had paid to see him.
— Jerico Valmonte ? Anime Washington 2025 (@jericollage70) July 9, 2022
King Vs. Allin
This attack follows on from the recent Royal Rampage, where Allin and King were the last two in a match to determine the number one contender for the Interim AEW World Championship.
King put Allin to sleep and threw him over the rope to win the match but failed to dethrone Jon Moxley.
After Malakai Black came out to check on King, Sting did the same with Allin, telling King he belonged in AEW and asking for a handshake, an offer that King would refuse.
It looks like more than one unannounced match has been listed internally for AEW Double or Nothing.
Earlier this week, Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer reported that Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti vs. Scorpio Sky or Ethan Page and Paige VanZant was “tentatively planned” for the PPV.
It seems like there’s another match that could be added to the show late.
Fightful is now reporting that Darby Allin vs. Kyle O’Reilly has been discussed as a possible last-minute addition.
It would make sense given that Kyle injured Sting in storyline by placing his ankle through a chair and crushing it with a knee off the top turnbuckle.
Darby recently promised that he will have a presence at Double or Nothing:
Jeff Hardy is now All Elite and he and Darby Allin have already gotten to meet each other.
Hardy made his AEW debut on the March 9 episode of Dynamite. Jeff saved his brother, Matt, along with Darby and Sting from a beatdown at the hands of the Andrade Family Office. After Jeff cleaned house, he and Matt had a lengthy staredown with Darby and Sting.
“It was so cool meeting him. We talked about skateboarding, motocross, he showed me the thing he did for the video with the car, like this is so cool. We were talking about if a pro wrestler has ever backflipped a dirt bike and maybe you could be the first one.
“I think I could do it if I came into a foam pit and had some training. Yeah, we had a great conversation about extreme sports and he is one of the fastest guys I’ve ever seen. The way he does that suicide dive.
“Matt’s told me how it feels to take it, it’s like a bullet coming at you.”
On the March 23 episode of Dynamite, Matt and Jeff will team with Darby and Sting to take on The Blade, The Butcher, and Private Party.
AEW broadcaster Jim Ross shared his thoughts on Sting’s relationship with Darby Allin.
Wrestling fans didn’t know what they would see from the WCW legend when he arrived in AEW on Dec. 2, 2020. At 61 years old, he signed a multi-year deal after initially retiring from wrestling due to a neck injury. His new employers decided to pair him with Darby Allin on Jan. 20, 2021, and make him an on-screen mentor.
Teaming with Allin, Sting has had a resurgence in his wrestling career. He made his in-ring debut for AEW with Allin defeating Team Taz’s Brian Cage and Ricky Starks at AEW Revolution on Mar. 8, 2021.
Since his in-ring debut, the company has had Sting and Allin team up against other groups like FTR and the Acclaimed. Ross on Grilling Jr. shared that Sting is also helping Allin and others behind the scenes.
“… He’s taken Darby under his wing. If nothing else on traveling and planning a match or whatever it may be, said Ross. He continued, “… He’s really a good mentor to the entire roster. He also added that AEW is blessed to have Sting on the roster.
The legend spoke to Sports Illustrated Justin Barrasso on Dec. 22, 2021, about rewriting the end of his wrestling career.
“Not many people get to rewrite their final chapter, not at this level,” Sting says. “I had great matches at the Greensboro Coliseum with Lex Luger, and now I get to do it with Darby and CM Punk against MJF and FTR. It’s a great way to end my career. The crowd their appreciation makes me want to tear up. It’s almost as if they don’t want to say goodbye.” (h/t Justin Barrasso)
Sting doesn’t seem ready to end his career anytime soon. Based on Ross’ comments, the company also wants the legend to continue helping mentor younger talent.
Sting and Darby Allin were victorious in the main event of AEW Dynamite on Wednesday night. The duo took on The Acclaimed in a very good match that even saw Sting dive from the stage through a table near ringside. In the end, the team won with the Coffin Drop.
However, Sting and Allin weren’t done with the fans after the show went off the air on TBS. Following the event in Washington, D.C., Allin published a video to social media that showed he and Sting surprising some fans in traffic outside of the Entertainment & Sports Arena.
As you will see in the clip, the two wrestlers approach a car full of fans and start chanting “A-E-Dub!”, much to the surprise of those in the car. The shocked fans then do the chant back at the two AEW stars before they jump back in their car.
After Dynamite, CM Punk took to Twitter to praise the 62 year old Sting for his work on the show.
“Sting is amazing. Amazing in multiple decades. Not easy to do, but you couldn’t tell by watching him. Makes it look effortless. Sting is AMAZING,” Punk wrote.
Sting is amazing. Amazing in multiple decades. Not easy to do, but you couldn’t tell by watching him. Makes it look effortless. Sting is AMAZING.
Earlier in the show, Punk defeated Shawn Spears in what was effectively a squash match as Punk continues his road toward MJF. A promo video aired with Punk hinting that he could face MJF in a place MJF wouldn’t want to face him, hinting at the possibility of a match in his hometown of Chicago (Dynamite will be there on February 2nd).
What did you think of Wednesday’s edition of AEW Dynamite? Let us know in the comments section below!
Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.
Ric Flair recently spent some time on his podcast talking about AEW’s Darby Allin. Flair had nothing but praise for the 28-year-old.
“There’s nothing you can say but good,” Flair said. “He’s a kamikaze pilot! When I watched him do that thing and dive off the rope backwards with his hands at his side, the first time I saw him do it I came out of my chair.”
Flair and Mark Madden continued to talk about the angle Darby Allin and Sting did with the Gunn Club.
“The thing I thought last week with Sting and Darby Allin and Billy Gunn and his boys, I thought it was fantastic. How proud do you think Billy Gunn is of those two boys, huh? And Billy looks like he’s 35 years old.”
“And he’s a very, very nice guy. Very humble,” Flair continued to say about Darby Allin.
Flair continued to mention that he hopes Darby Allin doesn’t suffer any injuries or mobility problems as a result of his in-ring style, however. He also noted that he once felt the same way about Mick Foley.
“I just hope that when he’s 35-years-old he can walk. That’s what I used to tell [Mick] Foley.”
Flair’s comments can be heard in the player below:
AEW star Darby Allin and NXT star Cora Jade are trending worldwide on Twitter after getting involved in a heated exchange earlier yesterday.
It all started when the former TNT champion made a post showing him skateboarding at a local park. This prompted a number of responses.
A fan suggested that Allin should have a skateboarding match with Jade, whose NXT character is also based around skateboarding.
Responding to the fan, Darby Allin fired some shots at the NXT star. He wrote: “Skating is a huge part of my life not a fake character for tv lol”
This led to Cora Jade firing back at the AEW signee, she wrote back: “Being a good person with no abuse allegations against me is a huge part of my life and not just a character I play on TV.”
Both the stars have since deleted their tweets, but social media has been eating up this inter-promotional spat.
Jade is referring to Allin being accused of sexual abuse by indie wrestler Hawlee Cromwell during the speaking out movement last year.
Jade is a friend of Cromwell and the two have previously teamed in the indies. Allin’s ex-wife Gigi Dolin, who is one-half of the current NXT tag team champions, has also feuded with Jade.
Booker T isn’t a fan of AEW’s decision to have CM Punk defeat Darby Allin.
Darby is a rising star under the AEW banner. He is considered to be one of the “Four Pillars” of AEW. The others are MJF, Jungle Boy, and Sammy Guevara.
Three months after Punk’s victory, Booker T believes more harm than good may have been done to Darby. He gave his take on the Hall of Fame podcast.
“There’s a lot of hypocrites in the world out there because if it was a character in WWE doing the same thing that CM Punk has done since coming into AEW — like Punk said the first person he called out is Darby Allin, ‘And I beat him.’ Why?
“Tell me why. Why did you beat Darby Allin when Darby Allin is considered one of those guys, pillars of that company? Why beat him?
“I’m just trying to figure it out, and if that same thing would’ve happened vice versa it would be talked about from a negative perspective.
“So, don’t be so hypocritical when you see stuff like that happen because me personally, I do not think Darby Allin should’ve got beat. Reason why, there was no reason for Darby Allin to get beat.
“[Punk] could’ve beat all of these guys that he’s beaten after Darby Allin and we would’ve still had the same thing that we have right now and Darby Allin would still be — what has Darby Allin done since CM Punk?”
Punk is in the midst of a high-profile feud with MJF. Meanwhile, Darby has been in a rivalry with The Gunn Club, which has been disappointing to some fans.
Darby is a former TNT Champion and one of the most popular stars among the “Four Pillars.” Time will tell when he’ll get his next major feud and victory.
Please H/T SEScoops with a link if you use any quotes from this article
This week on AEW Dynamite, Darby Allin’s facepaint was a little different than usual. There was a notable design change around his eye. The design is similar to the one often worn by Hank von Hell (Hans-Erik Dyvik Husby), who at one time was the lead singer of the Norwegian Death Punk band Turbonegro.
Von Hell died on November 19th, 2021 and Allin’s facepaint change was a likely tribute to him. He was 49. No cause for his death has been revealed.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWeavVjME2N/
“It is with immense sadness we received the tragic news that Hans-Erik «Hertis» Dyvik Husby has passed away,” reads the band’s tribute to their singer on Instagram. “We are thankful for the times, the moments and the magic we shared with Hans-Erik in Turbonegro during the years 1993-2009.”
Footage of Van Hell performing is available in the player below:
Darby Allin appeared on AEW last night as him and Sting confronted The Gunn Club. Billy and Colten Gunn had just defeated Bear Country when Sting appeared on the ramp. On Rampage last week, Darby Allin had defeated Billy Gunn in single’s action before The Gunn Club attacked both him and Sting after the match.
As Austin Gunn ran after Sting, Darby Allin came out of nowhere and took him out. Sting and Darby Allin then attempted to enter the ring but the remaining members of The Gunn Club bailed.
Booker T is a fan of MJF and Darby Allin, and he likes how AEW has utilized them.
MJF and Darby Allin are considered to be two of the four pillars of AEW in terms of young talent. The two collided at the Full Gear PPV with MJF picking up the win.
Many believe the sky’s the limit for MJF, who is widely considered to be one of the best heels in wrestling, and Darby, who is a top babyface.
Give em props
During an episode of the Hall of Fame podcast, host Brad Gilmore expressed his belief that AEW does a good job balancing established stars while still building towards the future.
Booker T was in agreement, naming MJF and Darby Allin as prime examples.
“It’s a balancing act and you got a guy like MJF who’s definitely pulling his weight as a young guy. Like you said, under 25. There’s not very many young guys under 25 that’s gonna be in that position.
“Guys like Darby Allin who definitely has been a bright light in that company being one of the guys that you wouldn’t think ever would be working in that position just because he’s not the prototypical guy.
“Sometimes talent, man, trumps everything. Really, hard work it trumps even more. So, when you watch guys like that go out there and do their thing, yeah they definitely are doing a hell of a job. Give em’ props.”
MJF seems to be gearing up for a feud with CM Punk. As for Darby, he’s gotten involved in a feud with the Gunn Club.
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AEW founder Tony Khan has reflected on the time he first pitched teaming up with Darby Allin to Sting.
Sting and Darby have been aligned since late 2020. Many believe the two are a perfect pairing and that Sting’s wealth of knowledge has been a great asset to Darby.
Speaking to Z100 New York, Khan looked back at the time he first told Sting about the idea of pairing him with Darby Allin.
“When he first talked to me, I said, ‘There’s a young kid, please look at him because I think you’d be so great together and it’d be such a great pairing.’ And now, in real life, they’re such close friends, and they’re such a big part of each other’s life. They have so much in common. They’re both these straightedge, gray-hearted people who do all this great work, charitable stuff for kids. Neither of them does drugs, drink, nothing, and they’re both completely straightedge, and they’re both just so cool and have so much in common. But they had never met, and bringing them together and now seeing what it’s become to people around the world, it’s one of my favorite things about wrestling.”
Since making his AEW debut, many have been surprised by Sting’s performances in the ring. After all, he suffered a scary injury in a match against Seth Rollins back in 2015 and it appeared his in-ring career was over. Sting has since had a few matches in AEW and most agree he’s looked better than he has in years.
Not bad for a 62-year-old.
As for Darby, he’s one of the bright young stars of AEW. He’s currently involved in a feud with another young star in MJF. The two are expected to clash at the Full Gear PPV on Nov. 13.
Darby Allin isn’t exactly clamoring for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship at the moment.
It’s clear that Darby is one of AEW’s fastest-rising stars. His popularity has grown immensely in a short period of time. In fact, some believe he is destined to one day hold the AEW World Heavyweight Championship.
Don’t tell that to Darby Allin just yet, however. During a panel at the New York Comic-Con convention, Darby pushed back on the idea of him chasing the world title right now (h/t Fightful).
“Out of all of those matches, I can say it was probably the one I lost to Miro. It was lots of fun, but it was during the pandemic, I was having the best matches of my career, and long story short, I’d like to run that shit back in front of a live crowd. We’ll continue to show everybody why that championship is the most important championship in AEW. Everyone is like, ‘I can’t wait until you become World Heavyweight Champion.’ I don’t give a shit about that. Give me that TNT Championship.”
Darby held the TNT Championship for 186 days. That run ended courtesy of Miro back in May. Darby is the longest-reigning TNT Champion in AEW’s short history.
At the moment, Darby is involved in a feud with MJF. MJF has tried to make things personal with Darby but once the mind games weren’t working, he and members of The Pinnacle attacked Darby in a parking lot.
AEW commentator Tony Schiavone believes CM Punk elevated Darby Allin.
Punk returned to the wrestling industry on the Aug. 20 edition of AEW Rampage. After addressing the fans who had been missing him for seven years, he turned his attention to Darby. This led to a match at the All Out PPV. Punk ended up winning the match after hitting the GTS.
Schiavone, who called the match between Punk and Darby, appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast. During his appearance, he explained why he feels Darby benefited from sharing the ring with CM Punk.
“I know there’s a lot of trolls on here, as they are on social media. They’re gonna say, ‘CM Punk put Darby over? No he didn’t. CM Punk beat Darby.’ It’s not about wins and losses you freaking dumb asses. It’s about making stars, and CM Punk made Darby an even bigger star, elevated Darby’s career that night. What she’s talking about, and I wholeheartedly agree that, these veterans and known stars coming in working with our younger talent is making everybody better. It’s not wins or losses anymore.”
Punk has moved on to feud with members of Team Taz. He’s due to face Powerhouse Hobbs on the Sept. 24 edition of Rampage. As for Darby, he’s got some issues with Tully Blanchard and members of The Pinnacle. Darby and Sting will meet FTR in a tag team match at the AEW Grand Slam Dynamite on Sept. 22.
Many fans noticed that the match between CM Punk and Darby Allin at All Out shared multiple similar spots to an influential match from the past. Bret Hart faced the 1-2-3 Kid (Sean Waltman) for the WWF Championship in July of 1994. Punk would have been 15 years old at the time the match took place. In the build-up to Punk vs Darby, Punk mentioned that if he was 15-years-old, Darby would be his favorite wrestler.
A Bret Hart fan page on Instagram posted a video showing several spots where Punk and Darby Allin paid homage to Hart vs 1-2-3 Kid at All Out.
Waltman doesn’t always remember his matches with Bret as clearly, however. He responded to a thread about another match he had against Bret that took place in February of 1994.
I had no recollection of this, so I asked Bret. He told me we did this match with Owen & Shawn during a 4 day loop of Wisconsin in February 1994. https://t.co/f1XfyZrlmw
Usually it comes back to me once I'm reminded. Hunter, R Dogg & I had a match on Smackdown w Rock & Earl Hebner that was one of the hottest TV matches I'd ever been in & I forgot it ever happened until I ran across it on YouTube.
Based on fan ratings from Cagematch.net, Hart vs 1-2-3 Kid is the 14th highest rated match of Bret Hart’s career. It was the 3rd best match of Waltman’s career according to the same website. The match received a 4.5 star rating from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
The full match between the 1-2-3 Kid and Bret Hart can be viewed in the player below:
This week’s episode of Dynamite will mark the 100th episode of the show. Dynamite first aired on October 2, 2019. Tomorrow’s episode will be significant for the 100th episode and the last episode before All Out. AEW also announced five matches for the 100th episode. However, the promotion hasn’t revealed what the main event would be.
AEW promoted on August 29th that Chris Jericho would do an in-ring interview with Jim Ross on tomorrow’s episode. Today, AEW shared that CM Punk will also appear on the show to promote his upcoming match with Darby Allin at All Out.
CM Punk Return to Chicago
Punk will be making his return to Chicago after his debut on AEW Rampage on August 20th. As a Chicago native, Punk received a thunderous ovation from the crowd. On the August 20th episode of Rampage, he also challenged Allin to a match at All Out.
In his return, Punk said to Allin, “…You’re the first on the list. I’m going to help you because you are a daredevil and you like danger. Well, Darby Allin, there is nothing you could do that is more dangerous than wrestling CM Punk. Except wrestling CM Punk in Chicago.”
