Darby Allin is pushing back on a popular label tied to AEW’s early rise.
As one of the company’s original breakout stars alongside MJF, Jack Perry, and Sammy Guevara, Allin has often been grouped into the so-called “four pillars” of AEW.
However, during a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Allin made it clear he’s not a fan of the term—and explained why he believes it doesn’t reflect the full picture.
“I really don’t concern myself honestly too much with that term,” Allin said. “I really don’t like that term, four pillars, because I believe it takes more than four to actually get this thing up and going.”
Allin didn’t dismiss the group’s contributions, but emphasized that AEW’s growth has always been a collective effort from the entire roster, not just a select few names.
“The beauty to me with being on the ground level of AEW is you could see when the company got to the highest points, it was just through us,” he continued. “It was not through us as in the four pillars, but through everybody on the roster working together because this wasn’t a machine that was built years and years and years ago. This was only in 2019. So the fact that we got to 81,000 plus people at Wembley is incredible. And I think people really don’t stop and think about that.”
That perspective, Allin noted, comes from experiencing the company’s ups and downs firsthand since day one.
For Allin, it’s always been about the team—not the label.
“As high as we go and then as low as we go and now we’re going back up, it’s so rewarding when you’re a part of something from the ground up and it truly feels like your baby,” Allin said. “You can’t have an ego with this because when there’s egos that’s when the ship starts to sink. But if we all work together it pulls it up and you can feel that energy. So that’s why it’s important for me to lead by example more than anything, and not have any ego with anything.”
Looking ahead, Allin is set to return to the ring at AEW Dynasty, where he will face Andrade El Idolo. The pay-per-view is scheduled for Sunday, April 12, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
