The AEW career of Darby Allin has created a new star in the wrestling business. Allin has worked with names like Sting, CM Punk and Chris Jericho in huge opportunities. The performances and youth of Darby made him a pivotal player in AEW’s early years when trying to invest in the right talents.RELATED: Darby Allin's 10 Best Matches In AEWAllin was on the independent circuit for years with mixed results before getting his first big break in AEW. Quite a few interesting tidbits have surfaced about his life in and out of the wrestling ring. AEW will likely have Darby around for many years as a flag bearer for the promotion. The following facts will share more about Allin for his biggest fans.
10 Friendship With Tony Hawk
The skateboarding background of Darby Allin saw that become one of his passions before entering wrestling. Quite a few legendary skateboarding figures have publicly expressed support for Allin using it in wrestling, but the biggest name stood out the most.
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Tony Hawk was responsible for the boom in the popularity of skateboarding. AEW was even allowed to air a segment with Hawk and Allin. The name value of Hawk is still quite popular with his video game franchise recently having a re-release.
9 Didn't Care About WWE Wrestlers In Evolve
The working relationship between WWE and Evolve Wrestling saw a lot of the independent wrestlers from the latter promotion excited about it. WWE signed quite a few names for the Performance Center and even had NXT stars appearing in Evolve.
Darby Allin was arguably the biggest standout for Evolve, but his promos about working with WWE talent was the opposite of his peers. WWE wasn’t a company Allin cared to work for and he made it clear that he wasn’t “honored” to wrestle their talent like other names in the promotion.
8 Has Heat With Gabe Sapolsky
Another interesting tidbit about Darby Allin’s time in Evolve was his dislike of the booker Gabe Sapolsky. The history of Sapolsky saw him as the top booker for Ring of Honor, the creative mind behind Evolve, and recently part of NXT’s creative team until the recent releases.
Names like CM Punk, Bryan Danielson and Seth Rollins have all praised Gabe for his creative efforts. Allin was on the other side disliking the business practices of Sapolsky in Evolve. The belief of Darby was that Gabe didn’t treat the wrestlers right and he’s taken multiple shots at his former boss in interviews for it.
7 Chris Jericho Talked Him Into Using Skateboard
Chris Jericho revealed that Darby Allin originally didn’t want to make skateboarding part of his wrestling gimmick. AEW booked Allin in one of the first major television matches when challenging Jericho for the AEW World Championship.
Darby felt that the skateboarding community would look down on him if he made that part of his life a gimmick on television. However, Jericho talked him into it and the skateboarding entrance and use of it as a weapon helped get him over instantly.
6 Straight Edge Lifestyle
The return of CM Punk to the ring saw him working with Darby Allin as his first opponent. Punk sees a lot of himself in Allin, but there is one major thing that bonds them together outside of the ring. Darby is completely straight edge with no use of drugs or alcohol in his life.
Punk is always going to be known as the most famous straight edge wrestler since he brought it to WWE. Many wrestlers have followed suit with Allin making it clear that this philosophy has become a major part of his life.
5 Still Close With Gigi Dolin
The relationship between Darby Allin and Gigi Dolin started when they were working together in Evolve. Both wrestlers were making their names before they each signed with the two major wrestling promotions to cement their status in the business.
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The former married couple divorced a couple of years ago, but they’ve made it clear they’re still friends. Dolin often posts social media videos and pictures spending time with Darby when they are on their off time.
4 Veterans Want To Work With Him
Tony Khan signed Sting with the intent of having him become the mentor of Darby Allin. The mysterious background and the use of face paint instantly made the fans link them together. Sting has praised Darby constantly in interviews as the two connected behind the scenes to match the on-screen success.
Other veterans joining the company have praised Allin consistently. Big Show named Darby as his dream opponent in his AEW in-ring career. CM Punk clearly felt comfortable working with Allin, and Bryan Danielson has been vocal about that being one of his AEW dream matches.
3 Produces His Own AEW Videos
One of the most interesting things to make Darby Allin stand out compared to the rest of the roster is his pre-match videos. There is usually a short intro playing in the minutes before Allin makes his entrance for his bigger matches.
Darby’s creative mind sees him producing those videos on his free time, unless Tony Khan has an idea. Most of them have seen Allin completely coming up with them on his own and shooting it before that week’s event.
2 Lived In His Car While Wrestling
The independent wrestling scene is not always glamorous for the talents trying to make their names. Darby Allin showed that when he revealed he was living in his car for most of his stint in Evolve Wrestling.
Even when fans started to view Allin as a rising star, he left shows sleeping in his car and showered at the gym. The wild lifestyle for Darby saw him sacrificing a lot for wrestling before making enough money to make the necessary changes.
1 Cody Rhodes Hired Him After Watching Match Vs Pentagon
The AEW Executive Vice Presidents reportedly don’t have as much power anymore, but they were part of the hiring process in the early days. Cody Rhodes was responsible for quite a few noteworthy talents getting contract offers when pitching them to Tony Khan.
Darby Allin was one of the Cody picks to get hired in the early stages of AEW. Rhodes revealed that a match between Allin and Pentagon Jr. at the NEW independent wrestling promotion impressed him. AEW witnessed Darby becoming a major star for them after multiple matches with Cody.
