Darby Allin Is... All In? (AEW News)

Having been completely absent from AEW programming in 2025 so far, it appears the long-awaited return of Darby Allin could be upon us.

Per Fightful Select, Darby is expected back in AEW "imminently", with AEW sources telling the outlet that they would be shocked if the two-time former TNT Champion didn't have a role to play at All In later this month.

For those wondering about Allin's condition after his successful Mount Everest climb, he's said to have returned "relatively unscathed" from that impressive feat, and it was noted that the 32-year-old Seattle native is in good enough shape to compete if called for.

As alluded to, Darby Allin was last seen on the 27 December episode of AEW Rampage, where he was attacked by the Death Riders in a move done to write Darby off TV. Prior to that, his most recent match came on the Christmas Day broadcast of Dynamite, in which Allin and Ricochet went to a 20-minute time limit draw in the Continental Classic.

Of course, it was known long ahead of time that Darby would be taking a prolonged absence from AEW in order to climb Everest, with this something he'd planned to do the previous year before those plans were scuppered by injury. Instead, Allin simply pushed that climb back by a year.

There was initially hope that Darby Allin would be back in the AEW fold in time for this year's Owen Hart Cup Tournament. Given how Darby officially reached the summit of Everest on 18 May, and the Owen concluded on 25 May at Double or Nothing, such hope was always fairly unrealistic. Either way, it now looks as if that Darby Allin return is on the imminent horizon.

Darby Allin's Role At All In?

Should Darby Allin indeed return at All In, when looking at what role he could have to play, the obvious one that jumps out revolves around the Jon Moxley vs. Adam Page match for the AEW World Championship.

When Moxley brutally defeated Bryan Danielson for that title at WrestleDream back in October, Darby was one of the babyfaces who came to the ring to rescue Bryan and to effectively mourn the career of the American Dragon. In fact, Allin was the babyface most focussed on at that moment and the subsequent couple of months of television, with many fans seeing Darby as the most likely person to get some slice of revenge for Danielson and ultimately take the AEW World Title back from Mox, possibly at All In.

As it happens, it's Adam Page as the one in the challenger spot when All In rolls around on 12 July, as Hangman looks to put an end to his own issues with Moxley and the Death Riders. Not that AEW ever needs an excuse to run plenty of interference in standard singles matches, but with Moxley vs. Page having now been made a Texas Death bout, that obviously opens up the door for plenty of shenanigans.

Even prior to that Texas Death announcement, some fans were speculating that the upcoming AEW World Championship match could play out in Avengers: Endgame fashion, as in, various babyfaces coming together to finally thwart the Death Riders and bring an end to Mox's reign of terror, much like what happened at WWE WrestleMania 40 as Cody Rhodes toppled Roman Reigns. If so, Darby Allin would obviously be a fantastic fit for a spot there, particularly with Moxley and his group being the ones to take Darby out of action over six months ago.