I was very surprised when Darby Allin, who defeated Andrade at the Dynasty pay-per-view to become the number one contender, beat Maxwell Jacob Friedman on this week’s episode of Dynamite to capture the AEW world championship. In truth, I thought the set up for the contest was simply to give the randomly titled episode of Dynamite a championship bout, which is fine, but I definitely didn’t think it would have any impact on the landscape of the organization.
As with most things that Tony Khan books, it will probably be either feast or famine, depending on your perspective.
One of the valid criticisms of the promotion since its inception is the notion that “if you try to get everyone over, nobody gets over.” Way too often, there would be top guys that would work 50/50 matches with preliminary talent, with the premise that it helps put a spotlight on others that could work their way up the card, which is true, but there’s an art to doing that. Letting a young baby face get a rally to show off some impressive moves, or courage as a character before they get chopped down is understandable, but there’s no reason, for example, that someone like Blake Christian had a top star like Will Ospreay in any jeopardy when they had Ospreay’s first match back on television when he returned from injury. That’s not a knock on Blake Christian the athlete, we’re talking about the perception of his character as a secondary figure on the show. There’s no reason that he would get anything close to a near far on someone the level of Ospreay. Again, there’s a fine line between allowing the under card to be spotlighted for their strengths and a competitive match that actually hinders the perception of the bigger star. More importantly, when an under card talent is allowed to look competitive with a bigger star, there should be a plan or follow up to make it mean something in the grand scheme of things, but when is the last time we saw Blake Christian on television after that match with Ospreay?
The main event scene has been very similar to that but in a slightly more nuanced manner because of the level of talent involved.
Jon Moxley’s title run as a heel with the death riders stable was more or less universally panned for the rambling promos, verbose presentation, and matches that were mostly the same. However, at the very least, the extended title reign set up for a baby face to get more over when they dethroned him. Adam Page, as devalued as he was between the heel and baby face switches over the years, as well as the whiny promos, was the one to finally defeat Moxley for the belt. If nothing else, Page got a boost by proxy because the audience wouldn’t have to sit through the death riders drek anymore. Hangman had the title for a few months before Maxwell Jacob Friedman returned to television two weeks before the Worlds End pay-per-view and cut one of the better promos of his entire AEW career. With two weeks of build up, MJF won the four way match to win the title at the end of 2025. Now, less than four months later, Darby Allin wins the belt with virtually no build up. You could make the argument that Page’s title reign was cut short by MJF’s return, or that this switch to Darby put the breaks on what should’ve been a renewed title run for MJF, but the bottom line is, was Adam Page more over after his title reign? Is MJF is a bigger position for the company than he was three months ago? If not, you have to question how productive the main event scene has been during the past eight months?
On the surface, the main event musical chairs suggests either Tony can’t decide on a firm direction for who should be the top star in the company, or there isn’t a long-term plan so he’s flying by the seat of his pants on a weekly basis.
Something that All Elite Wrestling has lacked for the majority of its existence at this point, and it’s a direct result of the inconsistency across the board, who is the true representative of the brand? Just in the modern era, the WWE had John Cena, Roman Reigns, and now Cody. Sure, All Elite only has a seven-year sample size compared to a 25-year range for the WWE,but it’s a concept that can be seen through more or less any successful group in the history of the business. In the early-90s, as directionless as WCW was with a revolving door of figureheads and horrendous production value, despite being owned by a television network, even through the dimly-lit arena and mostly drek on the rest of the card, there was no doubt that Sting was the franchise player. More than anyone else, AJ Styles was the MVP of TNA, if you wanted to point to one guy that represented what the promotion was trying to sell to the audience, Styles was it. In a more drastic example, Steve Austin was WWF Attitude. By all accounts Tony Khan is a great guy, which is legitimately wonderful because he cares about his roster and the business needs more people like him in that regard, but when was the last time someone truly evolved to a bigger level in AEW? We’ve seen the debuts where the spotlight is on a talent for a moment before they disappear into the witness protection program. The same applies to the main event scene, there must be a consistent effort to promote someone toward the position as the representative of the brand that AEW is trying to sell its audience. This is where booking goes beyond just how many stars Dave Meltzer gives the latest pay-per-view main event.
Speaking of The Wrestling Observer newsletter, as I’ve written on several occasions before, besides the fact that the star system shouldn’t have nearly as much cache unless it comes with a cash prize, All Elite Wrestling should market its product to a wider demographic. The entire point of being on national television is to try to draw revenue on a national basis. Otherwise, it would be a lot cheaper to run independent shows. There’s nothing wrong with pushing the envelope, the business doesn’t need TL Hopper and Duke “The Dumpster” gimmicks again (no disrespect to Tony Anthony), but there’s a reason ECW folded. There’s also a reason that death matches on the American independent scene draw hundreds, not thousands of fans. That’s not meant as a knock on a promotion like Game Changer Wrestling either, but rather to point out there’s a reason that certain styles have a niche, not a national audience.
On the surface, Darby has a very marketable look, a character that the audience can connect with, and he can go in the ring. But, his style, depending on where he goes from here, might actually limit how over he can become as the champion. Based on the background that we know, but something that isn’t promoted on television enough is that Darby had a rough upbringing and survived a car accident when he was younger that took the life of his uncle. His hometown is announced as Seattle so the title win in Everett was close enough to a hometown victory.
Between the face paint and the background, Darby Allin could be the “never say die” baby face instead of the careless crash test dummy.
It’s pro wrestling 101, but it still applies, baby faces have admirable traits, and that’s why the fans can connect with them. Honor, skill, and courage are easy concepts for the public to understand. Darby Allin endured poverty, but he didn’t quit. He’s an underdog, but he doesn’t quit. He’s known for taking punishment, but he doesn’t quit. It’s not a direct comparison since it’s two different levels, but there’s a reason why Austin in the sharpshooter set him up for the biggest run in the history of the business. Make no mistake about it, this title reign can reignite Darby in a much more progressive direction than we’ve seen previously, but the persona will have to get the spotlight, not the bumps. His character will have to be the priority for this title run to make a difference. Obviously, the risk/reward ratio is backwards, and Darby can’t draw money if he’s on the injured list, but more specifically, the spots where he gets thrown through glass or set on fire is counterproductive to drawing the biggest audience possible. There’s simply a portion of the fans that won’t watch something like that and will be soured on the product.
It goes without saying that it remains to be seen how this unfolds, and given the title runs of Page and MJF prior to this, I’m not optimistic. If I had to guess, I’d say that Darby is being used as a placeholder until the build to Wembley Stadium later this year. That being said, Darby has the potential to be a money-drawing champion for the company, specifically if management properly markets the face paint and the persona. The potential pitfall is, where does Allin go from here? I understand the shock win, but when a character stars at the top of the ranks, the only place to go is back down the ladder so the next few weeks, particularly ahead of the build for the Double or Nothing pay-per-view, could be key to determine if he will be a successful champion for the company.
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Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
