Darby Allin, a former TNT champion (having held the belt for 186 days, longer than anyone else), one of AEW’s four pillars, his partnership with Sting and of course the chosen one to wrestle CM Punk in his first match in seven years. With all of those accomplishments I just mentioned, it’s safe to say Darby Allin is a pretty big deal within All Elite Wrestling.

I’m all for Miro teaming up with the Brothers in Paint 2.0 against the House of Black, I just don’t get why Darby Allin is losing to a second-rate stooge like Brody King. I heard a lot of good things, in regards to Brody teaming up with Malakai Black on the independent scene, but if I’m being honest Brody has been a disappointment since showing up in AEW.

I would have been OK with Malakai going over Darby, given he’s the leader of the House of Black. Hell, I would have even been fine with Buddy Matthews given his credibility and accomplishments in the big leagues (which let's face it, that's something Brody doesn't have). Darby has always been booked as a big deal, I always liked that, especially since he's one of my favorites, I just hate seeing him, lose to a scrub like Brody.

Anyways, is anyone else interested in seeing Darby feuding with House of Black? Do you like the guy, or dislike him? Since seeing him, when AEW debuted, I always thought he had the potential to be like Jeff Hardy/Rey Mysterio, in that he's AEW's ultimate underdog.

My biggest concern with Darby is his size.

Oh, no. You can't say that in 2022 - that's sizephobic! You don't understand how booking works! It's not 1999!

He works a crash-and-burn style of wrestling, that will one day result in a pretty nasty break. That's my concern.

He does look good for 175lb, he's in shape - lean, athletic, little body fat and he's been smart enough to incorporate that skeleton imagery into his look to really own his frame. My concern is his long-term durability working his style of match.

There's an old notion if you put the World title on a smaller guy, will they last with the increased workload and higher intensity and length of matches? And I think that's a fair call in Darby's case.

He's got a unique style, a unique type of charisma, a marketable look and I like the pairing with Sting. But if he's wanting a top spot in the future, I'd suggest another 20lb on his frame to weather the abuse he's putting himself through, solely for the purpose of self preservation.

And give AJ Lee her shorts back.

Really enjoy all of his stuff except for the coffin drop isn't great especially when you have people like Samoa Joe using a running senton as a regular move.


3:20

I really like Darby Allin, there isn't a wrestler like him. His style is one of a kind and you can tell his wrestling gimmick is pretty much who he is as a person, so not really a gimmick at all. That's why it's so good.

That said I must agree with NATH45 on his limitations. His crash-and-burn style won't hold up for long, and if Darby has to change his style at some point, then how would he wrestle? I suppose if Jeff Hardy made a career out of it, maybe Darby can too.

He is a victim of AEW bad booking style for a new promotion. Their are a ton of people who start to get over with the crowd and due to the rotation style booking they are either taken off tv for a while, began to lose, or both. Tony believes they will keep the same amount of popularity when he only pushes them for a short period. It doesn't hurt Darby as much as others but still hurts him.

He should be AEW present not its future because with his style he probably won't have a long career.

I'm really liking these superstar centric threads, Lony.

I've said it before, but Darby Allin is the break-out star of AEW for me. When I first saw him, I immediately made an impression in my head and thought he'd be a very niche wrestler. However after I watched him week after week bump and sell his ass off before making these big fluid comebacks I was immediately in awe. It reminded me so much of watching Rey in WCW circa 1996 where he seems like a side-show attraction, but he just plays to his strengths so well it's hard not to be impressed.

Admittedly, I'm not as invested as I once was. I was interested to watch his creative and his ascent up the card. However for over 18 months now he's been on this run with Sting and the whole thing is like watching Queen with Adam Lambert. It's a tribute act and it's kind of a shame to see somebody so talented just hitch their ride to this act that's had it's run. It is something I am struggling with AEW, as they try to book like ECW with really stacked cards but be as inoffensive as possible.

As far as House of Black, I've enjoyed the interactions so far. They're another act where I wish they had a bigger presence on the show, but again they really want to get that ensemble cast going. However I enjoyed the Brody King/Darby Allin match and I'm sure they'll have a few more quality matches leading into All Out.

Jul 24, 2022 10:06:10 GMT Emperor said:

I really like Darby Allin, there isn't a wrestler like him. His style is one of a kind and you can tell his wrestling gimmick is pretty much who he is as a person, so not really a gimmick at all. That's why it's so good.

That said I must agree with NATH45 on his limitations. His crash-and-burn style won't hold up for long, and if Darby has to change his style at some point, then how would he wrestle? I suppose if Jeff Hardy made a career out of it, maybe Darby can too.

The problem is without that he loses his identity in the ring. He looks like he's 150 pounds soaking wet, dresses like a cirque de soleil performer with those leggings and I haven't seen if he can throw a good punch or do any kind of chain wrestling worth a lick. Jeff Hardy looks almost twice the size of Darby Allin and I doubt he can get outside the comfort zone of his to do something else. 

I'm looking forward to Darby facing off The House Of Black. IF Malakai Black Can make his riddles make sense, that would be nice.