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.
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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.”
AEW has added two matches to tomorrow night’s (Aug. 25) episode of Dynamite.
This week’s episode of Dynamite will take place inside the UWM Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The show will feature an appearance from CM Punk. Plus, Orange Cassidy vs. Matt Hardy, Malakai Black vs. Brock Anderson, Jamie Hayter vs. Red Velvet, and the Lucha Bros vs. The Varsity Blondes will be featured.
There have now been two trios matches announced for the card. Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston will team with Darby Allin to take on The Wingmen. Also, The Factory will meet The Gunn Club with Paul Wight serving as the special guest commentator.
Here’s an updated look at what to expect from this week’s edition of AEW Dynamite.
CM Punk Appears
Orange Cassidy vs. Matt Hardy
Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston, & Darby Allin vs. The Wingmen
Lucha Bros vs. The Varsity Blondes
Malakai Black vs. Brock Anderson
Jamie Hayter vs. Red Velvet
The Factory vs. The Gunn Club
The tag team match between the Lucha Bros and The Varsity Blondes has major implications in the tag team division. The winner will go on to meet Jurassic Express for a shot at The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Titles.
CM Punk laid out a massive challenge for Darby Allin for a match at the upcoming All Out PPV during his AEW debut on this week’s The First Dance episode of Rampage.
The former TNT champion responded to the challenge after the show went off air. He claimed that AEW has changed his life and wrestling the former WWE champion will be an honor:
“I am gonna keep this very brief. This f**king company changed my life.” said Allin, “And after All Out, everybody will know my name. CM Punk- It’ll be an honor.”
CM Punk had been rumored to make his wrestling return for AEW for a while now. In the post-media scrum of Rampage, he confirmed that he was waiting for the crowds to come back.
Darby Allin had also been teasing a match against the former WWE star in recent times. Tonight’s events finally confirmed this bout for the upcoming PPV.
Punk has been announced for next Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite so it will be interesting to see if he confronts Darby Allin during the upcoming show.
What did you think about CM Punk’s return on AEW Rampage? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Sting will wrestle on TNT tonight for the first time in over 20 years. He’ll team with Darby Allin to take on the newly signed team of 2.0. During a recent interview with Metro UK, however, Allin was asked about a possible dream match pitting him and Sting against Andrade and Ric Flair.
“Yeah, that’d be fun! Anything is possible, I feel,” Allin said about the possible dream match. “You’ve just gotta be patient and see what goes down, and where the wind takes you.”
Flair accompanied Andrade El Idolo to the ring for his match against Kenny Omega at TripleMania. Not only that, Flair got physically involved in the match. He delivered chops to both Omega and Konnan. Flair and Andrade also gave Omega and Konnan figure four leglocks simultaneously.
Allin also spoke about his relationship with Sting during the interview. The former TNT Champion noted that they spend a lot of time together backstage and have quite a bit in common.
“He’s the guy I really hang out with backstage,” Allin said of Sting. “His dressing room, he’s got his own little private dressing room and he says it’s mine.”
“So, it’s just me and him chilling and talking about a bunch of stuff. He’s cool, we’ve got a lot more common than people think – goes beyond the face paint!”
Sting Returns To In-Ring Action On TNT
Sting was quoted in an AEW press release regarding his return to in-ring action on TNT tonight.
“My relationship with TNT goes back more than 25 years, so having the opportunity to wrestle on the network that housed some of my most important moments is pretty surreal,” said Sting. “The return of crowds has already been electric enough over the past month and a half, but there’s going to be an extra surge of adrenaline in Houston knowing that we’re live on TNT on Wednesday night.”
AEW has released the new entrance video used by Darby Allin to its official AEW Music YouTube channel. The video was animated by video production company, Rooster Teeth.
A former film student, Darby Allin spoke to the Independent about filmmaking, art, and more earlier this year.
“There’s so much in this world that I want to do that I don’t want to pigeonhole myself into one thing. I love art, whether it be film-making, fashion, anything. I don’t want to be this 55-year-old guy wrestling in a high school gym, not because he wants to but because he has to,” Allin said during the interview.
“The wheels are spinning in my head on what’s after all of this, so it’s fun.”
During an appearance on the Wrestling Perspectives podcast earlier this year, Allin spoke about how he feels he’s more productive when he’s alone.
“So I really just feel super more productive when I’m by myself. But when it’s time to go out there and put a match together or put a storyline together, I’ll be totally in your face like super collabing and just talking, but otherwise man I really like to be left alone.”
Out of the entire AEW roster, few stars have caught fire as quickly or as heavily as Darby Allin. The relentless one has won the hearts of the audience with his death-defying antics. His coffin drop through the lid of the coffin on night one of Fyter Fest will be one every highlight reel for a long time to come. Darby also caught the attention of Jim Ross, who spoke highly of the young man during a recent episode of his Grillin’ JR podcast.
Talking about Darby, Jim Ross said how he had been able to sit down and have a great number of conversations with him already.
JR & Paul Bromwell watch back the 7/15/02 episode of #WWERaw! This episode is most remembered for Eric Bischoff making his debut as the new Raw GM! Plus, we see Undertaker & Brock Lesnar vs. RVD & Ric Flair, Booker T vs. Big Show & much more! pic.twitter.com/K6wFZZEUKs
— Grilling JR w/Jim Ross (@JrGrilling) July 15, 2021
“Darby Allin has a great mind. I’m very privileged to have the opportunity to have private conversations with Darby. We have a very good relationship, and he runs ideas by me all the time. Some of them I agree with, and some of them I don’t. The good thing he knows is he’s going to get an honest opinion from me. He’s a good kid and he’s learning early. The more input you can have in your creativity, you increase your odds for success.”
Jim Ross is a Valuable Source of Knowledge for All AEW Stars
Aside from Chris Jericho, very few of the AEW locker room have anywhere near as much experience as Jim Ross. He is a valuable asset to the promotion that reaches far beyond his skills on the microphone.
Not only is AEW a young company, but it is a young and largely inexperienced roster. Having someone around to act as a sounding board for ideas and the creative process is only going to help them all grow.
Jim Ross spoke about the fact that AEW gives a lot of their wrestlers’ creative room. A level of freedom that might not be afforded elsewhere. Like him or loathe him, Jim Ross is an experienced head who has been there, done that and got BBQ sauce on the t-shirt.
The Jackass movies are a continuation of the popular MTV series Jackass (2000-2002), which featured a group of friends performing a variety of dangerous (and disgusting) stunts.
Jackass 4 will reunite the Jackass gang one more time, including Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Jason ‘Wee Man’ Acuña, Chris Raab, Ehren McGhehey, Dave England, and Preston Lacy.
Jeff Tremaine will return to direct the fourth Jackass movie, with Tremaine, Spike Jones, Knoxville, and Steve-O serving as producers.
Guest appearances by extreme sports legends Tony Hawk and Matt Hoffman, comedian Eric Andre, UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and basketball great (and AEW part-timer) Shaquille O’Neil.
Jackass is rooted in skateboard culture and Darby Allin’s love of skating is well-documented. The former TNT Champion is friends with members of the extended Jackass family, with Steve-O and Tony Hawk both appearing on AEW Dynamite in some of Allin’ segments.
All Elite Wrestling star Darby Allin recently appeared on the Wrestling Perspective podcast. The former TNT Champion talked a number of topics during the interview, including his high risk and daredevil style of pro wrestling.
“I’m all in or nothing, for the most part” Darby Allin would note on the podcast. “And I always made a commitment to myself that I’d rather have a real short career and then just push it hard every day.”
“[I’d rather that] then just try to focus on outside projects when the time’s up,” Allin added, making it quite clear that he doesn’t intend on having a very long pro wrestling career. “As of right now, I feel like I’m just gonna keep going and going and going until my wheels fall off, but I feel wonderful right now.”
Darby Allin Talks Risk Taking Style
“I’ve been doing DDP Yoga with Dallas over in his house” Allin revealed, at least giving somewhat of an indication that he’s looking after his body. “And I’m insane about physical therapy and you know, I don’t take any drugs.”
“I don’t take aspirin or anything like that” Allin noted, as he is a staunch straight edge believer. “I just take a bunch of ice baths and you know, yoga and just… yeah, man.”
Former TNT champion Darby Allin cuts quite the figure in WWE. Aside from his partnership with Sting, it is easy to see why he draws so many parallels with the Hall of Famer.
In a recent interview, Darby spoke openly about how he likes to keep to himself, especially when he’s at Daily’s Place. Preferring his own company, and changing down in the boiler room. Escaping the maddening, gossip fuelled work of wrestling locker rooms.
Talking on the Wrestling Perspective Podcast, Darby Allin said that he found it tiring to be around the gossips and the showboating.
“You can’t find me backstage. We’ve been in Daily’s Place now for the last year and it sounds ridiculous, but I literally change in the boiler room by myself.” Darby shared. “I lock myself in there and I just come up with storylines all day and working on promos and working on everything that I do outside of the ring; all of the business deal and random stuff; clothing line.”
“I just feel way more productive not hearing people’s gossip about stupid ‘who slept with who’ and ‘who’s talking to who.’ I don’t have time for that. It pisses me off and I don’t — So I really just feel super more productive when I’m by myself. But when it’s time to go out there and put a match together or put a storyline together, I’ll be totally in your face like super collabing and just talking, but otherwise man I really like to be left alone.”
A known practitioner of the Straight Edge lifestyle, Darby Allin sounds like a serious professional. Whatever he does, it is certainly working for him. He has a very bright future within the AEW ranks.
AEW star and former TNT Champion Darby Allin recently appeared on the Wrestling Perspective podcast. The former professional skateboarder talked about a number of topics during his time on the show, including his Championship loss to Miro on a recent episode of AEW Dynamite.
Before the loss, Darby Allin had been a major ratings success for AEW in the main event of shows. Having a multiple week run of main event matches, Allin would consistently draw well and prove to be a asset across multiple demographics.
Darby Allin Talks TNT Title Loss
“I was hyped to go out when I did” Darby Allin began, talking about his Championship loss to the former WWE Superstar Miro on AEW programming. “Because I was having those string of main events and we were drawing good numbers when I was main eventing. I didn’t want to overstay my welcome.”
“’Like, ‘What the f*uck, when’s this guy gonna lose?’ I didn’t want to be that guy” Allin continued, “I don’t have no ego when it comes to this. I was like, ‘Dude, I’m ready to roll out when I’m on top with it,’ so it was good, I really liked it.”
The former TNT Champion is currently scheduled to team with Sting to take on Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page at the Double or Nothing 2021 PPV event at the end of the month.
This week’s eventful episode of AEW Dynamite ended with a big championship match between the TNT champion Darby Allin and ‘the best man’ Miro. The finish of this hard fought main event saw Miro picking up the victory and becoming the new champion after he caught the title holder in his game over submission.
The cameras went off air with Allin still lying in the ring but it wasn’t the end of the show. After the feed went off air, Darby Allin cut an emotional promo addressing the fans. The now former champion said that people have been asking him when is he gonna win the AEW title but he doesn’t need that s***:
“When I became TNT Champion, I told everybody it was the only championship that meant anything to me, and I mean that one-hundred percent. People ask me, ‘When are going to win the big one? When are you going to win the AEW [World] Championship?’ I look them dead in the eye and said, ‘I don’t need that s***. I need the TNT Championship.’
“I don’t need to collect any other belts from anywhere else in this world. I need the TNT Championship. And I guarantee you — every single one of you here — this is not the last time I am TNT Champion. Thank you for all the support. It means the world to me.”
The team of Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky have been interfering in the business of Sting and Allin in recent weeks and the Icon had to fight them off after the main event match this week as well. This suggests that we are going to see a feud between these two teams in the coming time.
As for Miro, he was confronted by Lance Archer after his big win on tonight’s episode of Dynamite. While these two have not been feuding, the segment seemed a clear indication that we will see these two competing over the title in the upcoming times.
Darby Allin previously fought all comers and did so successfully, but when he went up against Miro, he fell short.
As seen on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place on TNT, Allin defended the TNT Title against Miro in the main event. The lengthy fight saw Allin try to overcome the tough challenge that Miro brought, but it wasn’t enough.
Miro won the match with a rear=naked choke and now is the new champion. Post=match, Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page tried to attack Sting, who fought them off. This led to Lance Archer coming out to the stage and was held back by Jake Roberts as he was trying to protect his guy.
— “All Ego” Ethan Page (@OfficialEGO) May 13, 2021
Darby Allin won the TNT Title from Cody Rhodes last November at the Full Gear pay-per-view event.
It will be interesting to see when Allin gets his rematch for the title. Based on the post-match angle, it appears All Elite Wrestling is building to a future match between Archer and Miro. It could take place at the upcoming Double or Nothing pay-per-view event later this month.
Darby Allin is in for the fight of his life this Wednesday on AEW Dynamite. The reigning TNT Champion will face his toughest challenge to date when he defends against Miro.
Last week on Dynamite, Miro declared his intention to take Darby Allin’s title. He delivered a sobering warning by billing the match as, “The man who doesn’t mind dying meets the man who doesn’t mind killing him.”
Later in the show Darby Allin was thrown down a flight of steps by Ethan Page. Allin said his shoulder is in bad shape, but he is not going to let that phase him.
Miro replied by warning Allin that denial will get him hurt. He took another dig at Sting, calling him Darby Allin’s emo face-paint Daddy.
Denial will get you hurt bad. Ask emo face-paint Daddy @Sting if you can win. If he wants to protect you he’ll tell you it’s over too. https://t.co/rDrA2FaiZr
Darby Allin replied to Miro’s comments with some trash talk of his own. He knows exactly who he is, but is Miro in touch with his own self? The Bulgarian brute came into AEW with great fanfare, but was soon relegated to playing video games and serving as Kip Sabian’s sidekick.
“Do you know who you are Miro?” he questioned. “You show up the hottest free agent just to talk about video games and be some best man. You’ve gotta be the most underwhelming Thing I’ve seen.”
He finished by warning Miro, “You ain’t taking shit away from me.”
You say Darby’s this & Darby’s that I know exactly who I am.
Do you know who you are Miro? You show up the hottest free agent just to talk about video games and be some best man. You’ve gotta be the most underwhelming Thing I’ve seen.
AEW commentator and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross recently spoke about AEW’s ratings success. Discussing how well the company has done on Wednesday nights since NXT moved, JR specifically brought up how Darby Allin has been bringing in ‘extraordinary’ numbers.
“I was surprised that we did as well as we did,” Jim Ross began on Grilling JR, talking about the first AEW Dynamite event with NXT having moved a few weeks ago. “I thought we might do [900,000], I thought that was being generous. But to do 1.2 million, that was pretty phenomenal.”
Jim Ross on Darby Allin
As AEW Dynamite looks to establish momentum with viewers, Jim Ross knows the best way to do that is by putting on a great product consistently.
“Hopefully we will earn the trust and the dedication from the audience and the only way we’re going to do that is to have a hell of a show every week,” said JR. “Is that possible? I don’t know, but I know the effort will be there.”
He then turned his attention to the TNT Champion specifically. “A lot of our young talents are getting better, they’re getting over,” Ross said. “I think they’re getting better and assuming their roles better. Look at the ratings, quarter hour ratings for Darby Allin were extraordinary and he’s a home grown talent.”
Are you enjoying seeing Darby Allin in the main event of Dynamite recently? Let us know in the comments
Former AEW ‘Le Champion’ Chris Jericho recently appeared on WrestlingINC’s daily show. The former WWE Undisputed Champion discussed a number of topics on the show, including how AEW has built younger stars into viable talents on a national stage.
“Our goal from the start was to make new stars” Jericho began the interview. “Because that’s what wrestling’s all about. It always has been. If you look at last week’s show, where we had Jungle Boy vs. Darby Allin in the main event, we had Shida vs. Tay Conti in a main event.”
“Those are two kind of fence post matches on our show and they both did a great number” Jericho continued. “We’ve made Darby Allin into a legit main event draw. I mean last night he’s in the main event with Ten for God’s sake and it will probably do a good number.”
“I give us a full Barry Horowitz pat on the back for that because we set out to do it and we did it” Chris Jericho added. “It’s not hard to do; pick the right guy and just stick with them.”
Jericho finished by discussing how the inclusion of Sting has really helped the Darby Allin character get over as the TNT Champion. “We paired Darby with Sting, so he got that rub. And now Sting is almost, I’m not going to say lackey, but he’s almost Darby’s second at this point. And that’s probably exactly what he should be.”
Would you like to see Chris Jericho vs Darby Allin in a feud over the TNT Championship? Let us know in the comments
AEW star and TNT Champion Darby Allin recently discussed the taping of the AEW Revolution match. Allin teamed with Sting at the PPV in a cinematic match against Ricky Starks and Brian Cage.
Darby Allin was reportedly extremely involved in the creation of the match; as Allin has an extensive history in filmmaking and independent releases.
“I was writing storyboards for months before the PPV” Darby Allin began, speaking on Drinks with Johnny. “When I saw the location where we were filming, I took all these photos and was plotting everything in my brain.”
“[I was] sitting in the boiler room, just coming up with all the shots” Allin noted. “We had an awesome crew and Steve Yu, who helped direct it. When we’re shooting it, I was running around and doing everything possible. ‘I wanna shoot it like this.’”
Darby Allin on Sting
“When we got done with the cut, I’d run through a pane of glass, and go, ‘alright, get the next shot.’ I was doing everything and I felt on autopilot” Allin stated. “I had an adrenaline rush and felt we could go all night and was on fire with it.”
“The only thing that stopped me was when I had to throw the bat to Sting” Darby Allin said. “I was like, ‘Alright, I’m going to throw this down.’ Tony [Khan] put it best, ‘You know how the laws of physics work, right? That bat is going to come down and we don’t know if it’s going to break Sting’s face.’”
Darby Allin finished by revealing that Sting was able to do the shot in the very first take. “First time in the whole shoot I started thinking like, ‘what if I do break Sting’s face and he can’t finish the match?’ He’s the one who was like, ‘I’m catching that bat.’ Perfect catch, first try, beat the f*ck out of everyone. I was on cloud nine.”
In the aftermath of AEW Dynamite pulling in 1.2 million views this past week, TNT Champion took to social media to call out his boss, Tony Khan.
Allin told Khan to pick a Top 5 contender to be the next challenger. That list includes a who’s who of AEW’s deep roster: Hangman Page, former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, Jungle Boy, former TNT Champion Cody Rhodes and Powerhouse Hobbs of Team Taz.
AEW has since announced that TK selected Jungle Boy the #1 contender to the TNT Championship. The undefeated member of Jurassic Express will get his chance to make history next week. This will be an exciting contest between two of the top young babyfaces in All Elite Wrestling.
Jungle Boy commented on the news of his upcoming opportunity. The 23-year-old is grateful for the chance to win his first championship gold on the big stage.
Darby Allin is one of the most exciting figures on AEW right now. His bond with Sting has been entertaining and fitting given his character. The best part about it was that it wasn’t necessary. It wasn’t done to push him into main even status, it was done because they were a good fit, and that always makes more compelling television.
His run to the TNT title was the reward for a job well done. Putting aside the tragedy of Brodie Lee, Darby earned his title shot and took the chance he was given.
Since then, he has never backed down from a challenge putting on some memorable matches along the way. His recent match with John Silver – who has a big future with the company – being just one example.
Titles shouldn’t change hands every few weeks. A champion should be the best man in the company at that time. Their reign should reflect the reward for their work. With only two singles titles in the organization, it doesn’t make sense to dilute either of them with short runs. The odd surprise here and there makes for entertaining viewing, but on the whole, strong champions make for strong titles. As it stands, it doesn’t look as if Darby will be dropping the belt any time soon.
Yes, he is closing in on a six-month reign, but with Omega being the true heel, and following the more traditional route of only defending his championship at specific, grand occasions, it makes sense to keep the TNT belt active and around the waist of a wrestler who gives his all every single match and can take a beating like nobody else on the roster.
Christian Cage recently spoke to TVInsider. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion discussed a number of topics during the interview, including which AEW stars he sees as having the most potential.
Captain Charisma says MJF and Darby Allin stand out to him as two guys who have the ‘it’ factor to become huge stars.
“MJF gets it and understands what he’s trying to convey at all times,” said Christian. “He has that poise and confidence that is hard to teach. He just has it.”
“I look at Darby Allin, who has that cool factor about him” Christian Cage continued. “That Jeff Hardy feel where people just gravitate to him. It will be interesting to get that newer Jeff Hardy-type feud against Darby.”
Christian Sees Potential
He also named a few women that he believes will be the foundation of the AEW women’s division.
“I look at the women,” he continued. “Jade Cargill has all the tools to be a huge star. Britt Baker is doing great things. She is the face of the women’s division. She really stood out to me as well as Thunder Rosa. Their match was unbelievable. The future is pretty set up here in AEW.”
Christian and Kazarian have actually crossed paths before. Shortly after AEW announced this match, Impact Wrestling tweeted the following clip from 2007:
Check out Christian Cage vs. Kaz from Genesis 2007.
