During his appearance on AEW Unrestricted, Tony Khan spoke on Darby Allin’s rise in AEW. Here’s what he had to say:
Darby Allin was a huge part of it, came in and had a few really important matches, and he was chasing the TNT Title. And even though he didn’t win it there in that tournament, he went on and had a great 2020 and ended on a really high note for him at Full Gear last year on pay-per-view, winning the TNT title. And then he went on to become one of the biggest draws, one of the biggest stars, and really built himself a huge fan base where he was really one of the true big stars in the business. After Darby won the title, he made nine successful defenses, which is the most of any of the TNT Champions. He had some great matches, and he drew huge ratings for us. And he brought a lot of new fans and young fans. It’s why we have the youngest fans in wrestling, and honestly, the youngest fans in sports. Last week, out of hundreds of sports programs, number one and number two, lowest median age, the youngest fan base in all sports, Dynamite and Rampage. We have a great young fan base, and we appreciate it. We’ve got fans of all ages, but it’s really exciting to bring new people into wrestling, and Darby is a huge part of that. Nobody can deny it. He’s become a huge star. and you see it everywhere we go, the kids with their faces painted, half painted up for Darby. So he’s built himself up.
Credit: AEW Unrestricted. H/T 411Mania.