AEW superstar and current TNT champion Darby Allin recently spoke to Sports Illustrated to hype tonight’s “Winter Is Coming” Dynamite special, and discuss all aspects of his pro-wrestling career. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
Says he’s going to present the championship in a new light:
I’m going to create something that is entirely mine, and I’m going to present the championship in a new light. Work doesn’t end for me on Wednesdays. This is a seven-day life for me. It’s a heavy task to make this title mine, but I’m up for it.
How he was pissed that he was left off of last year’s Full Gear card:
I was pissed off. That drove me up a wall. So I worked harder and proved people wrong. Fast forward a year, winning the title from Cody, and it couldn’t have been any more different from a year ago.
How he still can’t believe he’s getting to live his dream:
I still can’t believe it. In the eighth grade, I’m the guy who had no real friends. I was such a loner. During school break I would do these weird challenges with myself, like sitting in a walk-in closet and be in complete isolation. Now, to have all these people be huge fans and supporters, it’s insane. I never thought that was going to happen.
Says he burned a lot of bridges but always stayed true to himself:
I told myself I was going to be a pro wrestler, but I said I was going to do it my way. I burned a lot of bridges sticking to my guns, but I’m being me, 100%. I’m still me. When you watch you get a real product, and you’re going to see s— with me you’ve never seen before.