Darren McCarty Loves AEW's In-Ring Action, But Thinks Company Is Still Learning

Darren McCarty is a former National Hockey League player, but he's also a big fan of professional wrestling. The four-time Stanley Cup winner recently appeared on "Busted Open Radio" and provided his thoughts on what he likes about AEW's product.

"Because it's different," McCarty said. "Because I can shut my brain off and watch it and sort of build the action." He explained that he's a big fan of longer storylines and is drawn to Impact Wrestling because of that. He also named the Bullet Club and Aces & Eights as two faction-based storylines that he enjoyed. So, regarding AEW, he's enjoying the action and youth aspects, but still has his nit-picks. Despite that, he knows they're still learning.

"You gotta remember it's still young, I think that's what we forget," McCarty added. "WWE's been around [more than] 40 years and AEW's a new company." To recognize where AEW has improved, McCarty cited the pacing of the May 10 episode of "AEW Dynamite." "Last night, the pacing, the spacing, stuff like that. Letting things breathe," he said before describing it as AEW finally looking in the mirror and being self-aware.

McCarty recently appeared on Impact Wrestling as he got involved with the Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer storyline. As a result, the 51-year-old competed in the ring when he teamed with Dreamer and Yuya Uemura to pick up the victory against Ray and The Good Hands.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.