Darby Allin is an absolute wildman. The resident daredevil for All Elite Wrestling, or AEW, has lived a storied life inside and outside of the ring. He has shared saunas with Rick Rubin, impressed Tony Hawk by grinding down a ladder on his skateboard (a whole new take on “ladder matches''), had his face painted by Raymond Pettibon and currently shares a tag team partnership with the legendary wrestler Sting.
Tonight, January 20, AEW makes its return to St. Louis, broadcasting live on TNT from Chaifetz Arena, and Allin is here for it. In between training to climb Mt. Everest, Swanton bombing Jeff Hardy, receiving a proclamation from the St. Louis Board of Aldermen and doing a flip live on KSDK, he found time to meet up for an interview at the ruins of Sk8 Liborius, a place the wrestler holds dear. Allin wanted to pay homage to the 135-year-old cathedral-turned-skatepark and assist with fundraising after it succumbed to a fire in 2023.
I saw you recently competed against legendary wrestler Jeff Hardy.
Man, it was crazy. The week before I almost broke my neck. I really wasn’t sure how that match with Jeff was going to go.
How did you almost break your neck?
Getting tossed across the ring by Powerhouse Hobbs. My neck hit the bottom rope, and I literally thought I snapped my neck, but I’m like a cockroach! I just won’t die! Just put me in a ring with someone else who won't die like Jeff Hardy – that guy has been going crazy since the late ‘90s. He definitely inspired a generation of psychopaths like myself. So, getting in there was definitely something very special. It was wild.
I can’t even imagine. Speaking of inspiring generations of psychopaths, your name: Darby Allin. I know it’s inspired by punk singers Darby Crash of The Germs and GG Allin. It’s clear that punk music and skateboarding are huge influences for you, and that presence can be felt in the ring. This doesn’t seem like just a costume you’re throwing on, it's very genuine. How did this all come together?
Growing up and being inspired by my surroundings in skate culture and punk rock, I really wanted to bring that into the wrestling world. I feel like it’s something that hasn’t really been brought into wrestling, and that's my whole goal. I want to bring all my outside passions into the ring, and it's worked out really well. AEW just tells me, “Do your thing dude. Whatever you want to do, do it!” It has really meant a lot, and it’s all very important to me. It’s cool man. They just let me do whatever the fuck I want! [laughs]
Any punk bands you’re listening to right now?
I don’t really listen to too much newer stuff, but man, I love Crass. Bands like that. I try my best to go to as many shows as possible. I think the last show I went to was FEAR. I’m not the type of guy who likes to watch the show from the back either, I like to be right in the pit. It’s so funny, because I'll go to shows and music festivals and go wild in the pit. People will be like “What the fuck? That’s Darby Allin!”.
That must be a thrill, especially growing up in that culture.
Yeah! That's the thing. I think certain people in entertainment get to a point in their life where they think they’re above the pit, chuckled Darby. Fuck that! Throw me in.
If there was a punk band you’d love to square off with in the ring, who would it be? Live or dead.
Oh man, people always say GG Allin would be a great wrestler, but I don’t know if I would want to fight him.
He would probably throw some serious shit. Literally.
Definitely. I would say Henry Rollins. That would be a challenge. He is so mentally intense. It’s fucking awesome.
What was your first time at Sk8 Liborius? How did that come to be?
I was actually in St. Louis for a match, and I was just looking up local skateparks. I had seen videos of Sk8 Liborius before, but I didn't realize it was here. I just thought, “Holy shit! That’s the skate church! I have to get down there.” So, I came down and was able to get to the steeple. I saw the whole view of the city, it was awesome. I’ve actually skated there three other times. Every time I would come through St. Louis, I would make it a point to come to Sk8 Liborius and skate. There’s nowhere else like it. When I saw that it burned down, I couldn’t believe it. I was there just two weeks before. It blew me away when I saw footage of the damage.
It’s awesome you’re helping with relief efforts. What type of fundraising have you been able to do?
We made a video to help with the Sk8 Liborius GoFundMe. Autographing some photos to raise money. Anything to help build it back up. I know how important spaces like these are for the community. It’s places like Sk8 Liborius that make major impacts on a kid's life. Just being around that positivity is incredibly life changing. Being around positive and supportive spaces in skating, punk rock and wrestling truly made me who I am, and I would never change it.
I think there have been some major changes in wrestling too since I was a kid. I loved wrestling growing up, but there was a stereotype about the demographic of people who paid attention to wrestling — it was considered very low class and low-brow entertainment. I think current wrestling is in an exciting era where it has become accessible to just about everybody, yet it still sticks to its roots.
AEW really lets anyone be anyone. They let Darby be Darby. It’s so important. When the fans see us, they see that we are authentic and genuine. We wrestle from the heart and can’t be told what to do. We can express our artform truthfully to our fans. I’m also not the type of guy to be told what to do [laughs]. I was homeless for years before, and I’d rather be homeless again than ever compromise who I am as a performer.
Speaking on that: I know you and the legendary wrestler Sting are tag team partners, and plan to be until his final match this year. Have you got him on a skateboard yet?
No.
Do you plan to?
No. [laughs]
I’m guessing Sting is not much of a skater?
Sting said, “I used to longboard back in the day,” but man there’s a lot with skateboarding that could go wrong. If he fell off and broke his arm or something it would be bad news. Let's just get Sting through his retirement. People are always telling me, “Hey, you gotta get Sting to stop jumping off of balconies! You’re a bad influence,” but come on. You can’t call it peer pressure when the man is 35 years older than me. Plus, he’s the bad influence!
Darby, I can’t thank you enough for coming out and supporting the St. Louis community. We’ll have to get you back when Sk8 Liborius is rebuilt. What can St. Louisans expect at AEW Collision on the 20th?
Someone is definitely going to the hospital.
AEW takes place January 20th at the Chaifetz Arena, and can be viewed live on TNT at 8 p.m. If you would like to support Sk8 Liborius in their rebuilding efforts, visit their GoFundMe.
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