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Earlier today, PWInsider.com sat down with AEW's Darby Allin to discuss his great match with MJF at Full Gear, facing Billy Gunn on tomorrow's AEW Rampage, working with Sting, the creative freedom he has with the company and much more.
Mike Johnson: Obviously, you've got a lot going on. We only have a short window here, so I'll ask you the easy stuff first. How are you feeling after quite a big week of AEW and what can we look forward to when you are against Billy Gunn on Rampage Friday?
Darby Allin: My body feels like trash, but my mind feels amazing. What I think people can look forward to most in this match with Billy Gunn is, it's one of those matches you see on paper and you never know you wanted it until you actually saw it on paper. And now people are very intrigued what the hell's going to happen. And I'm very intrigued what the hell is going to happen. But Billy Gunn, through all his years in wrestling, he's never met someone like Darby Allin, and it's going to be a wild one. And I think a lot of people that are sleeping on this match are going to be woken up once we go out there and kill it.
Mike Johnson: I think one of the hallmarks of your career has been catching people unaware. Whether it was on the independent scene or first coming to AEW where maybe the audience didn't exactly know who Darby Allin was in the beginning, but then was sort of shocked by the physical punishment you willing to put yourself through or some of the adrenaline junkie things that you were willing to do. And then, I think in recent months, just some of the different matches and some of the different twists and turns that have taken place. I feel like you always catch people unaware, that there's an AEW audience that certainly embraced you over the last two years, two and a half years of AEW, but I feel like you're still someone that have an audience member or a wrestling fan discovers you for the first time. They're like, 'who's this guy and what's he about?' And then when they see what you do, you kind of snatch their attention and force them to pay attention to you. Now that I've said all that, you've always been someone who's been so driven in terms of pushing yourself. Now that you've had some success here in AEW, is it easier to continue to push yourself and find that drive? Or has it become a little bit harder to keep yourself in tune with the hungry wrestler that you were a couple of years ago before AEW came about?
Darby Allin: No, every day I'm ready to push the envelope. I act like it's my first day on the job every single day I go out there. I'm constantly hungry. It's because there's always people to prove wrong and it's a very big driving force. So yeah, I have not lost the hunger one single bit.
Mike Johnson: I want to flash back to this past Saturday at a Full Gear, the match with MJF, which I thought was magnificent. I wrote and I felt like it was watching the ghosts of the type of professional wrestling that Jim Crockett Promotions would produce, but tweaked for a 21st Century audience. I don't know if that was your goal going into it, but either way job well accomplished. What were your thoughts on the match and how well received it was by just about everybody across the board unanimously?
Darby Allin: Yeah. I had a lot going into that match. I wanted to remind the people, the fans, the whole wrestling world that no matter who comes into AEW, the AEW Originals are going to steal the show. And we did just that. I don't care what anyone says. You give me the ball, you're never going to see the ball again. And I took one in AEW. All I needed was a chance. And once I got that chance, I was going to take off running. So going into that match, I had a lot to prove and I felt like I proved just that, and more, so.
Mike Johnson: You mentioned the idea of AEW Originals in comparison to others coming into the company. Obviously we've seen a lot of newer faces like Brian Danielson, CM Punk, Adam Cole, et cetera. Do you feel there's sort of that give and take or sort of that territorial feel of, hey, this is my place and I built this place and now you're showing up so I have to prove myself more? Or I have to remind people that it's my place? Do you think that's something that's kind of taken place in the locker room, or it's just your sort of perspective on things at the moment?
Darby Allin: Just my perspective. I don't give a damn what anyone else is doing in the locker room. I don't even talk to people really that much backstage. So this is all in my own. This is my own mind. This is just me thinking. And it just, given the company like AEW and place where I was able to drive. It's a good thing to constantly remind everybody what I'm capable of doing.
Mike Johnson: You've been given a chance to have a lot of wonderful creative things. I wanted to ask you about the car crash before the MJF match, which I thought was a cool and different way to kind of present yourself. You've done all sorts of unique entrance videos with Sting and a lot of skateboard stuff. Obviously the fight in the warehouse comes to mind, which was Sting's first official match back. When it comes to the creativity, what's it like working for someone like Tony Khan, who's really fostered the ability for talents like yourself to have such a large canvas to paint with, not just inside the ring, but in terms of expanding upon your characters and coming up with different environments to produce content in?
Darby Allin: It's amazing. He literally has stopped asking questions. He's like, go off and do [inaudible 00:06:43] who you want to do. And I'll just turn in the that's me and my cameraman filming that and editing that it's not anything to do with AEW. And we just turned in the final product and put it on pay-per-view on TV. So a hundred percent creative freedom, nobody tells us what to do, or so it's amazing. That's all I can ask for, because that's the reason I dropped out of film school. They try to chain you down. And I said, screw you. So, yeah, AEW, it's amazing.
Mike Johnson: Given that you do come from that sort of background and you have such an artistic flare, would you ever want to take the step forward of saying, hey, I'd like to direct a show, or I'd like to direct a special, or I'd like to produce something that is Darby Allin's view of what All Elite Wrestling is, and kind of have a different sort of take and maybe a different production style to it. Would that be something you'd be interested in doing? For not just yourself, but to present other AEW competitors under that sort of purview?
Darby Allin: When it comes to wrestling? No. I feel, but there is something in the works, where people are going to see really soon something Darby Allin-esque outside of AEW. And it's going to be big and it's going to be wild. So, but as for wrestling, no.
Mike Johnson: You've had the chance to be aligned with Sting for quite a bit now in All Elite Wrestling. What's the best part of being aligned with him and having the chance to kind of pick his brain and work with him on camera and behind the scenes?
Darby Allin: It's literally the alone time we have just sitting in his locker room, just talking. It's just me and him back there. It's nice. He has a lot of good pointers and just talking about storylines and creative ideas, use that alone time with him is very valuable. And it's awesome.
Mike Johnson: Obviously he's got a long legacy, but your part of your legacy will always be, you were kind of the conduit for Sting to return to the ring. What does that mean to you that you had the chance to kind of team with him against FDR Grand Slam and stood by him. But people thought his career was over and you helped to facilitate him being back in front of live crowds, taking bumps, and wrestling again. When you think about that, what does that mean to you on a personal level?
Darby Allin: It means a lot. It means a lot that given its the first year I started wrestling, it was essentially the year he was supposed to retire after his neck injury. So me watching that show in my first year wrestling, and then fast forwarding to playing a part in him returning, you can't put a price on that. So it's amazing. It's a real honor to be in the final chapter of his career.
Mike Johnson: For yourself, you mentioned at the beginning, your body's banged up right now. You obviously put yourself through a lot of physical pain and you put yourself through a lot, not just in the ring, but in general with different environments that you've done crazy dives in and whatnot. As you're getting older, as we all are, do you find yourself kind of wanting to start to pull away from some of that craziness and settle down a little bit more? Or do you feel it's kind of what keeps the adrenaline going for you?
Darby Allin: Hell no, I'm not going to start settling down at all. It's going to be wild shenanigans until I die. So no, I don't see myself settling down anytime soon.
Mike Johnson: Well, we talked a little bit about the wild shenanigans this Friday at Rampage. What's interesting to me about yourself against Billy Gunn is, two very distinctly different personalities, but also two very distinctly different styles in the ring. And I think when you have an environment like that, it's either going to be something that really captures the imagination of the audience, in a good way or in a not so good way. But it's a unique challenge for you. You talked a little bit about getting involved with Billy and wrestling him, but for you, what other opponents that are unique in AEW would you like to have the chance to wrestle, that maybe you haven't had that opportunity yet? There's got to be a million different combinations of performers that you look at and you go one day, we're going to do something cool and different and people aren't even going to know until we get there. Is there anyone else that you kind of have your eye on, in terms of who you'd like to work with in the future?
Darby Allin: There's a bunch of people, but mainly Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole, people like that, where it's kind of a test to show everyone that I can hang, and it's not just hang better than those guys. So it's a fun challenge to get in there and show people what the hell I can do. I'm down to make the most out of anybody. Because like I said earlier, Darby Allin against anyone, is very much, is a wild matchup on paper. I thrive in showing that you can give me any situation and I'll make it a damn moment.
Mike Johnson: Well, I know you've got to run and grab a flight. I appreciate the time. Last question. Fans have followed you over the course of your career. They've seen a lot of ups and downs to you personally and professionally. What's your message to everybody who kind of helped empower you through the bad times so that you get to enjoy the AEW run and the success, who now get to enjoy watching you at this level now?
Darby Allin: Well, thanks for anybody believing in me, one, I know it sounds corny. People seeing a guy wearing face paint and short shorts on the independents and think, that's the dude. They stuck with their guns. And now they get to see me in AEW on a major scale and I think it's a very cool step because I haven't changed anything about myself. So the original fans got to see Darby Allin himself in the beginning and now. So, thanks for letting me be me. That's all I can say is the most important thing is just being accepted for that. So I'm changing the whole game.
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