Darby Allin is a unique pro wrestler.
From the moment his theme hits, you know that you are about to watch a match and a wrestler that is one of a kind.
Allin is a man with a propensity for doing insane spots, one may be able to describe Allin as an American equivalent of Kota Ibushi. Allin, like Ibushi, has never seen a balcony he wouldn’t moonsault off. Allin also carries a one-in-a-kind look to the ring, allowing him to stand out in the increasingly generic independent scene.
But there is another factor that allows Darby Allin to stand out and one he will need in the future: Allin will need his fighting spirit.
Allin is not a large man. He is not muscular. He is not a big lad, or even a regular sized wrestler. Allin stands at 5’8’’ and weighs in at 180 pounds, but he is a man who wrestles as if he weighed nothing. He is a man who is willing to risk it all to prove he belongs, and he shows this on his sleeve as he performs. Allin is a man who makes up for his physical disadvantages with pure heart and passion.
This mini-doc, released by WWN in late March, helps tell the complex story of Allin’s passion for pro wrestling.
For his entire life, Allin has been looked down upon. He has been told he is too small to be a professional wrestler, not good enough to be a top guy. When Allin loses, he takes it personally.
Allin is all about improvisation, which has led to him rising up the ranks of the EVOLVE cards. In order to even stand a chance in his matches, Allin must go to depths not seen many times in the wrestling ring. Whether it is a flip off fifteen feet high scaffolding, or taking a bump inside of a trash bag off the top rope, there is no move too risky for Allin to move.
Allin wrestled 54 matches last year, participated in the Scenic City Invitational, and is on pace to be near that number again this year. From the moment he debuted in EVOLVE against Ethan Page during WrestleMania weekend two years ago, Allin has slowly scratched and clawed his way up in the ranks. In January, Allin aimed to cement himself at the top by challenging Zack Sabre Jr. for the EVOLVE Championship at EVOLVE 98.
Allin didn’t win. Allin put it all on the line, but it simply wasn’t enough to beat a world-class wrestler in Zack Sabre Jr. However, a simple loss won’t make Allin quit, despite the mental anguish it may cause him.
The next night, he want back at it. He was not ready to let his title dreams die. But in his attempts to gain Sabre’s attention, he instead gains the attention of a man who has all the traits Darby doesn’t—WALTER.
WALTER didn’t respect Darby Allin. When WALTER saw Allin, he saw a punk playing pro wrestler, a guy who had his chance, failed, and therefore should move on. WALTER, by humiliating and putting down Allin’s ability as a pro wrestler, instead brought out the fire in Allin.
The match was made, WALTER vs. Darby Allin, WrestleMania weekend’s EVOLVE 103 show. It was another match added onto Allin’s already busy schedule, as he was booked to work five WWN shows on top of a Thunderbastard match for PROGRESS. Working this amount of matches in such a short period of time would be a test on whether or not Allin’s style could hold up or not.
It did not. Allin started the weekend by doing what he does best, losing to Keith Lee in brutal fashion at EVOLVE 102.
After the match, Allin wanted more. He felt he deserved more punishment. He begged Keith Lee to give him more. Lee didn’t oblige, but EVOLVE’s resident magician Jarek 1:20 did, leaving Allin downed on the mat.
After WALTER’s tag team match later in the night, Allin came out and challenged WALTER to fight him then and there. WALTER decided that he would just end Allin then and there, throwing Allin out of the ring and powerbombing him when he tried to get back in. It would bring an end to the day of Darby Allin’s beatings.
The next day was scheduled to be crucial for Darby Allin. He would participate in three matches, beginning his day with the aforementioned PROGRESS show before his important clash with WALTER. Unfortunately, Allin’s day would end before it really got started, as, according to Joey Janela, Allin picked up a serious concussion in the match that would put him out for the rest of the weekend.
While Darby Allin may have not been able to pick up that decisive win in his EVOLVE career yet, he went out doing the daredevil style of pro wrestling he loves so much. Darby Allin has taken a unique path to get this far, and his journey to the top will assuredly continue.
The character and the man of Allin wouldn’t let his career end before he got what he truly wanted: the acknowledgment that he is a real professional wrestler.
