Original Plans For Darby Allin's AEW Return (AEW News)

AEW originally hoped to have Darby Allin back in action by now.

Darby Allin
All Elite Wrestling

With AEW's Darby Allin currently somewhere on Mount Everest, there are now some details on when it was originally hoped that the former two-time TNT Champion would be back in action.

As per Fightful Select, AEW had initial hopes that Darby would be back in time for this year's Owen Hart Tournament, with him then tentatively planned to compete at Double or Nothing.

Of course, the men's Owen is now down to the final two, with Will Ospreay facing 'Hangman' Adam Page at Double or Nothing. As for Double or Nothing itself, that PPV takes place next weekend, which obviously rules out any Darby Allin involvement.

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In terms of when Darby could be back in action, Fightful adds how it usually takes somewhere between six to ten weeks to climb Mount Everest. Allin's climb began on April 10, meaning he and his group recently entered the sixth week of their attempt to conquer the world's highest mountain.

Where in-ring action is concerned, Darby's most recent match came on the Christmas Day edition of AEW Dynamite, with the 32-year-old going to a time-limit draw with Ricochet in the Continental Classic. That same week's Rampage then saw Allin attacked by the Death Riders as a way to write him off TV.

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AEW Dynamite Darby Allin
AEW

Darby Allin's Mount Everest Climb

For those unaware, Darby Allin had initially planned to climb Mount Everest in 2024. Unfortunately for the AEW Original, those plans were put on hold after he broke his foot in a match against Jay White last March.

Still, while that injury caused Darby to spend a spell on the sidelines, it didn't derail his intent to scale Everest, with the hugely popular AEW star simply pushing those plans back to 2025. And not just that, but Allin has already set a world record as part of this quest, performing a skateboard kickflip at the height of 20,958 feet, because of course Darby Allin took his skateboard with him up Mount Everest.

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It goes without saying, climbing Mount Everest is a monumental task. As well as the time it takes to scale Everest, there's also the time it takes to train for such an intense fear, with climbers having to battle weather conditions, altitude sickness, and be on the lookout for potential landslides. In fact, so dangerous is Everest, an online search shows that approximately 350 people have died while attempting to climb the mountain - including two people already this year - with over 200 dead bodies still stuck on Everest due to it being outright impossible to remove them.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.