10 Wrestlers Who Had To Destroy Themselves To Get Over
5. Darby Allin
A spiritual successor to Spike Dudley, Darby Allin's tragic backstory and polymath skill set him apart as something more than a one-dimensional masochist.
But, in this landscape overflowing with unreal talent, there is one thing for which he is known.
A speedball of a technician, Allin is capable of wrestling different, engaging pro wrestling matches - which should make for an excellent character arc in All Elite Wrestling - but he seems to enjoy suffering pain. It's as if that pain doubles as a release from the memory of his drunken uncle killing himself behind the wheel. There's a real pathos underpinning Allin's recklessness, and a real authenticity to his act. He's a skater who invites the sharpest pain to his bones - there is no meat on his frame to absorb it - just to taste the adrenaline, the thrill that childhood trauma has otherwise deprived him of.
What he doesn't is not, as he made clear on his eye-catching Road To Fyter Fest vignette, a gimmick. That much is palpable in his the commitment of his performances, his totally unhinged coffin drop signature move, and the classic babyface fire in his eyes.
Some critics argue that Allin is too committed - but he isn't interested in critique. This, for whatever good it is, is his therapy.