Darby Allin is currently coming off a loss against Jack Perry for the TNT Championship at AEW All In 2024. It was a brutal casket match, with bloodshed and bodies thrown.
This loss was Darby Allin’s first loss in a casket match. It was shocking to see Allin lose, considering the casket match goes with his gimmick and how violent he is. Now that Allin has lost, what’s next for him?
Rumors have been circling about Darby Allin possibly becoming AEW World Champion. Allin is a former two-time TNT Champion and one-time Tag Team Champion with Sting.
Is it his time to become the top guy and win the AEW World Championship? Does he have the potential to have a long title reign? If he becomes champion, will this be good for AEW?
Let’s take a look at why or why not Darby Allin should become the AEW World Champion.
Why: New Matches
We are no strangers to Darby Allin’s search for new ways to impress the audience. At All In 2024, he came out with thumbtacks glued to his face, so his face was a weapon in the match.
If Allin becomes AEW World Champion, we will see new match stipulations and increased brutality. He has shown us his creativity with wrestling, from gluing the thumbtacks to his face to being put in a body bag himself and dragged by a car. Only a few wrestlers would agree to something like that.
He has received and given numerous bumps that make the audience cringe. There is no doubt that Allin puts everything he has into every single one of his matches.
That’s who we want as a champion, someone who shows up every week and always puts on the best performance they can.
If Allin becomes champion, he will push other wrestlers out of their comfort zone in matches. As I mentioned, and as we all have seen, Allin has a violent wrestling history, leaving blood, sweat, and tears in the ring weekly.
While AEW has other wrestlers who don’t shy away from violence, like Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston, not everyone on the roster has experience with such intense matches.
If Darby Allin becomes AEW World Champion, he will automatically push wrestlers out of their comfort zone. Many of his matches end up with weapons and fighting all over the arena.
It will provide an excellent show for the fans, and various matches will showcase each wrestler in a new light.
Why Not: Injuries and His Long-Term Career
While we love to see crazy matches, and Allin over-performs nearly every time, this can raise the question of how his career will be affected in the long term. The last injury Allin faced was a broken foot at AEW Big Business 2024 in March.
While recovering from the injury, he got hit by a bus and broke his nose. Allin returned only a few months later on the May 15th edition of AEW Dynamite.
Allin said in an interview back in July with Friday Night Fights that,
“I broke my foot two months ago and then got hit by a bus and broke my nose, and then returned to the ring. I had one match, and I was hung upside down with a rope by my ankles and getting kicked in the face with shoes that had superglued thumbtacks to the bottom of them. The thumbtacks got stuck in my lip and kind of remessed up my septum.”
This shows how Allin tries to rush back into the ring from injuries and consistently gets injured. It is respectable that he tries to come back as soon as he can rather than trying to delay his return, but it’s debatable if he returns feeling 100%. After returning from breaking his foot, he was seen limping.
If he becomes champion, it will encourage him to do crazier things. It is impressive to see that, but putting rules on when he can make certain moves can help preserve his long-term career.
We’ve seen many wrestlers become forced to retire due to injury or the build-up of injuries and wearing out their bodies; it would be a shame for Allin to have to join them. However, it is ultimately up to him and what he is willing to risk.
If Allin gets injured while being champion, he will most likely do anything he can to return as soon as possible.
Why: New Opportunities
Moving Allin up to the top guy position would leave a prominent spot to be filled in the mid-card.
Allin has been in the main event and puts on main event-worthy matches, but with winning the TNT Championship and Tag Team Championship, he has been competing in the mid-card for mid-card titles ever since debuting in AEW.
If he finally claims his spot as the AEW World Champion, many new and upcoming talents can be featured in his position. New challengers will be needed for Jack Perry and the TNT Championship.
Allin’s becoming champion will also open new opportunities for wrestlers to challenge him for the AEW World Championship. Hopefully, we will see new stars step up to the challenge we have yet to see Allin face.
Ricochet just made his AEW Debut at All In 2024; a match between those two is a dream match.
Why Not: Beating Bryan Danielson
While it is not certain that Darby Allin would be the one to dethrone Bryan Danielson, it must be talked about, considering the rumors swirling about Allin becoming champion.
This match would also be a dream match, but it is challenging to see where Allin’s position would be in the story, whether he would go into the storyline as a face or heel.
Allin has been a face for his entire career in AEW, but if he competes against Danielson, will there be two faces against one another?
No matter what, it will be a phenomenal match; it’s just a matter of whether the story can back it up. Allin could go into the match as a heel since Bryan will likely retire whenever he loses the championship.
Going against a babyface with so much history in the industry and a fan favorite, it wouldn’t seem too hard for fans to turn on Allin with Danielson’s retirement on the line. If Allin feeds into that story, he could be a great heel.
If Allin did turn heel, he would have to remain heel after the match. While this is hard to see because of his remarkable run as a face, it may be refreshing for Allin.
Either way, a feud and match between these two would go down in AEW history; they need the proper storytelling.
Why: Over With The Fans
As I briefly mentioned in the last section, Darby Allin is incredibly over with the fans and has been since his debut in AEW back in 2019. He brings something entirely new to professional wrestling.
With his skateboarding, punk gimmick, and violent matches, he has. We have never been presented with anyone like him.
His story appeals tremendously to fans about how he got to where he is. Allin makes it known to everyone how grateful he is to be in his position because of the tough road he had to take to get there.
Before signing with AEW, Allin was homeless and living in his car. Coming to this company significantly changed his life, but he always remembers his roots.
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Seeing Darby Allin win is like seeing an underdog win. He doesn’t look like a wrestler and is not big or bulky. He lived in his car, fighting for his dream before signing with AEW.
Many fans can relate to his story in various aspects, and seeing him be able to come out on top would be remarkable to see.
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