Darby Allin is one of the pillars of All Elite Wrestling.
He has been there since the beginning, and has seen a lot of top stars, rookies with potential and others in the pro wrestling world pass through the AEW locker room at one point or another.
And it wasn’t until recently that the backstage atmosphere became one he enjoys being part of.
During a recent in-depth interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, the AEW star sounded off on the changes backstage in AEW throughout the years, how they finally improved it after “cutting the cancer out,” and his passion for proudly representing AEW.
Featured below are some of the highlights from the interview where he touches on these topics with his thoughts. Also below is a complete video archive of the discussion.
On how the backstage atmosphere in AEW is these days: “It’s amazing. I’m not just saying that. Say like a few years ago, you definitely felt, like, this tension. But now it’s like, everybody’s on the same page. Let’s make this place as good as possible. And I feel like a lot of people have to truly understand how good they have it. Because Tony doesn’t, he wants everybody in the ring and in their personal life to be happy. That’s a really good energy. Where it’s like, ‘Hey, everybody, be the best versions of yourself.’ And I feel like right now more than ever, everybody’s on the same wavelength. Everybody has the same goals.”
On what changed to improve things in the locker room in AEW: “The cancer got cut out. Just egotistical wrestlers that don’t want to lose. It’s the greatest thing in the world, but it’s staged. So if you’re going to have an ego about that, get out of the f*cking sport. Go be in the UFC. Go try, you know what I mean, don’t be bringing that sh*t here. This is about having fun. This is about, like, just putting on a good energy. It’s like, ‘Come on, man. Just stop.’ And that was like the biggest thing with me, once all that got cleared up, I really felt, ‘Okay, cool. Let’s rock.’ But I just don’t like egos. I can’t stand them. Can’t stand them.”
Darby Allin is scheduled to square off against Jon Moxley in an “I Quit” match at the upcoming AEW WrestleDream pay-per-view on October 18 at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, MO.
(H/T to F4WOnline.com for transcribing the above quotes.)
