Darby Allin On Jeff Hardy Comparisons, Wanting To Main Event An AEW PPV
AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin recently spoke to Inside the Ropes and addressed his comparisons with WWE Superstar Jeff Hardy, defeating Cody Rhodes for his first major championship belt in the pro wrestling business, and his "tolerance for fear and crazy stuff," among other topics.
Allin said although he was aware of the comparisons with Hardy, he intends to carve out his own legacy rather than following in anyone's footsteps.
"I feel fine about it," said Allin. "You know, I never searched to get compared to Jeff Hardy, like I never care to compare – but if it's there, it's there. But to me, there's always one Darby Allin and one Jeff Hardy."
When asked about a potential showdown against Hardy in the future, Allin admitted he would love to step into the ring with not just Jeff but also Matt Hardy, who is presently a member of the AEW roster.
"Yeah, absolutely. I would love to step in the ring with someone who is as creative and driven as artistically as he is, I feel like he would always be able to go. Even with Matt, I want to step in the ring with him and just create some art."
During his time in AEW, Allin has developed the reputation of performer with a very high tolerance for pain. Allin said that his weekly skateboarding videos, in which he frequently takes nasty bumps, are to further that daredevilish aspect of his character.
"My tolerance for fear and crazy stuff is so high," he said. "So what is base-level, what is safe to me may be extremely dangerous to somebody else. So I just sit and it gives me that extra edge because me being a smaller guy coming into the ring and saying I'm reckless or fearless.....
"I don't just say it with my words. I mean, I show them every week in videos. So that's why those videos mean so much to me. So I can show the world that I can take an ass kicking because if I kick my own ass, what makes you think that I can't take someone else's ass kicking?"
Allin, 27, also declared that one of his future goals is to main event an AEW PPV.
"I want to make the TNT Championship one of the most important things in professional wrestling, period. I want to main event a pay-per-view. That's a big one. So right now the TNT Championship is my biggest concern and then main-eventing a pay-per view."
During the upcoming Winter is Coming edition of AEW Dynamite, Allin and Cody Rhodes will face Team Taz members Ricky Stars and Powerhouse Hobbs.