During a recent interview with TV Insider, Darby Allin commented on winning the TNT title, being called the “face of TNT”, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On what it means to be called ‘The Face of TNT’ after winning the TNT Title: “It mean I have to hustle more. It’s, ‘Wow, he actually did it.’ I can’t stop and smell the roses.”
On how he compares his first match against Cody at Fyter Fest to their match at Full Gear: “Cody handpicked me to go against him for my debut. You couldn’t ask for a better debut. I had a lot to prove that night. Coming from the independent scene, a lot of people told me I didn’t belong, that I wouldn’t be a main-event type player. I said hell no to that. I went out swinging against Cody. Then fast forward to our fourth match at Full Gear. In my eyes it was the biggest match because it was for the TNT championship. It was a good feeling to step foot in the ring with him and step out as champion.”
On fans who look up to him: “I feel good because being myself is paying off. I don’t feel any added pressure. I’m going to keep being myself. I never said I was a role model, but if they want to take me as one I’m down. A lot of kids for example look at me because I’m straight edge. I don’t drink or do drugs. I feel like that’s a cool outlook for kids to see. I remember in fifth grade and people would come to the school as part of D.A.R.E to talk about drugs and alcohol. It would be “Don’t do this or that.” Us kids were like, ‘Why would we listen to this guy? He doesn’t even seem cool or anything.’ So if people want to look at me as inspiration for that, I’m cool with it.”
On comparison between him and the ‘Crow’ Sting persona: “My face paint just comes from my real life. That’s not really a character thing I try to rip off of anybody. I’ve always just liked the dark stuff. I’ve always been a fan of the gothic aesthetic. Just weird stuff. I’m flattered by [the comparison], it’s cool, but it’s definitely not what I’m thinking about while I’m doing it.”
On producing content with Tony Hawk and Steve-O: “They just started following me on Instagram. I hit them up. I said, ‘Yo, this is what I want to do. I want to bring my world into wrestling instead of just wrestling into wrestling.’ I was inspired by names like Tony Hawk, Steve-O and Bam Margera. I want to bring that world into wrestling because I feel there are a lot of fans that fell out of love with wrestling. Now they can see all these cool people collaborating and doing stuff. I’m at Bam’s house right now filming stuff. I’m trying to do as much as possible.”
On criticism of his ring style: “My trainer is old school. His name is Buddy Wayne. He is super old school. I’ve learned the old-school style, and I do apply it if you see my matches. It’s not just high spots. There is a lot of storytelling behind everything I do. There is a brain behind what I do. As far as what people say about me, that I need to slow down, I know what works for me, and my body feels great. I’m really on physical therapy, recovery, stretching, and icing. I feel great.”
On his next goals in AEW: “I want to main event a pay-per-view for starters. That’s the biggest thing. In life, I want to finish this movie I’m doing. I have to finish that up.”
