Darby Allin believes there's no secret to why AEW is having such a strong 2025.
Darby Allin has always stood out from your typical professional wrestler. The face paint, the wild stunts, the size — or for the latter, lack thereof. He’s proven himself to any doubters with his fearlessness, which all stems from a place of genuine curiosity about how far he can go, rather than a desire for attention.
As one of AEW’s originals, Allin is gearing up for a big “I Quit" match against Jon Moxley at AEW WrestleDream 2025 this Saturday and continuing to evolve alongside the company. Ahead of the St. Louis showcase, Allin believes the energy backstage in AEW has reached an all-time high. After a few years of well-documented drama behind the scenes, Allin has noticed the shift — how a former sense of competition and unease has turned into something more cooperative, with everyone pulling in the same direction.
“A few years ago, you definitely felt this tension, but now everybody's on the same page,” Allin said Monday during an in-studio appearance on Uncrowned's “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “Let's make this place as good as possible, and I feel like a lot of people have to understand how good they have it.
“[AEW founder] Tony [Khan] wants everybody, in the ring and in their personal life, to be happy. That’s a really good energy. I feel like right now, more than ever — everybody's on the same wavelength. Everybody has the same goals.”
That harmony wasn’t always there. At times in recent years, it felt as if AEW was crumbling from within, most notably after the infamous “Brawl Out” incident at AEW All Out 2022. The controversial night resulted in suspensions of numerous wrestlers involved, including original AEW executives The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, as well as current WWE superstar CM Punk. Ultimately, issues between Punk and other AEW talent such as Jack Perry persisted when Punk eventually returned, leading to his release in 2023.
Although Allin declined to name names, he noted that Punk wasn't a culprit in tainting the locker room with what he called an inflated ego or unnecessary drama. Regardless, AEW has come out better on the other side of whatever was plaguing it, thanks to other changes, said Allin.
“The cancer got cut out,” Allin said. “Just egotistical wrestlers that don't want to lose. Groups of people. There’s a lot of people.
“At the end of the day, this is all staged. It's the greatest thing in the world, but it’s all staged. So if you're going to have an ego about that, get out of the f***ing sport. Go be in the UFC. Don’t bring that s*** here. This is about having fun. This is about putting on a good energy. Come on, man — just stop. Once all that got cleared up, I really felt, ‘OK, cool. Let’s rock.’ I just don’t like egos. I can’t stand them.”
Allin’s perspective is simple — wrestling doesn’t need to be overcomplicated. In his view, it becomes far too easy for wrestlers to lose sight of what actually matters. His focus is on the experience, not status.
"To me, it's a 15-minute ride. That's all it is,” Allin said. “A lot of people believe their own hype, but at the end of the day, someone else is in control of your destiny. They're either going to make you the champion or make you the guy at the bottom. Someone else is controlling your destiny, and I have such a problem with that. That's a big reason I wanted to climb Mt. Everest, to really prove to myself I'm capable of anything.
"I don't like ego. ... The wrestling world is just going to chew you up and spit you out. If you believe your hype and it spits you out — you're literally living your life for somebody else. ... That's what's so beautiful about AEW. They're like, 'Just do you. Focus on what makes you happy inside the ring and outside the ring.' It's the best of both worlds, and the fact they let me climb Mt. Everest in essentially the 'peak' of my career, you never get that.
"I have no ego, if it ends tomorrow, f*** it."
Allin’s recently accomplished Everest climb wasn’t just a bucket-list challenge; it was something that reinforced to him how he approaches both wrestling and life in the real world. The trip gave him clarity about what matters, and he’s carried that same mindset into the ring ever since.
For anyone who’s watched Allin’s career throughout the years, taking the risk of climbing one of the world’s most dangerous mountains was no surprise. He’s arguably wrestling’s biggest risk-taker, and thrives off any and all moments he gets to show that — even if the camera isn’t recording. Allin’s most outrageous moments aren’t just for shock value. There’s more depth than the surface level provides, as he tests his limits not only physically, but mentally.
"I love it," he said. "... I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for me. I'm literally breaking down mental barriers in my mind every time I do something crazy.
"It's coming from a life of being told you're not going to amount to s***, and you spend your whole life believing what those people are saying. 'Oh, I guess I'm just going to work at a fast food joint the rest of my life.' ... You believe that. But the moment I started doing crazy s***, it made me feel like anything was possible. So I go out there and just go crazy in high school, jump off a roof into a bush or something. I'm getting mentally stronger.
"The crazier I get, the more confident I get. That's why I do the things that I do."
Allin’s willingness to take things further than most has helped define him as one of AEW’s most authentic performers. But even with his individualistic approach, he still values leadership and consistency ahead of what is expected to be his final conflict with the aforementioned Moxley — another man not shy to push gruesome boundaries.
Regarding any inspirational leader-like figures on the roster, Allin sees all the qualities in his current rival. To Allin, “Mox” represents the perfectly reliable, hardworking and ego-free wrestler that all companies hope to have.
“Anybody that leads by example — I think Moxley is that guy,” Allin said. “He's a dude when everybody was like, ‘Can someone else become world champion?’ This guy is at every show. He's there when it starts, he's there when it closes. He's got no ego. And that’s why I see myself in him a lot.
“You just got to lead by example, and he literally will do anything. He’s there all the time. So it’s great.”
Category: General Sports
