Darby Allin calls 2026 the best year of his career, largely because he captured the AEW World Championship for the first time without having to change who he is inside or outside the ring.
Speaking with Rob Wolkenbrod of Forbes, Allin said that reaching the top of AEW on his own terms meant more to him than simply holding the company’s top title. He used the term “industry plant” to push back against the idea of being guided to success without authenticity.
“I realized that I climbed to the top of AEW without having to compromise myself, and that meant everything to me. Because to me, what’s the point of becoming a world champion if you’re just an industry plant and what you’re doing is not from the soul and isn’t pure?
Like, hey, we’re going to tell you what to do every step along the way, and then we’re going to put something on you. Well, what’s the point of that? So the fact that I was able to do that in AEW without compromising anything was everything to me. So yeah, that night was incredible.”
Allin won the AEW World Championship on April 15 on the “Spring BreakThru” episode of Dynamite, defeating MJF. His reign lasted 39 days before coming to an end on May 24 at Double or Nothing, where MJF regained the title in a Title vs. Hair Match.
Despite the short run, Allin racked up seven successful title defenses and has said recently that he has no regrets about the aggressive pace he kept throughout his reign.
Allin is now back in pursuit of gold. On August 30, he’ll challenge Kevin Knight for the TNT Championship in a Falls Count Anywhere Match at All In: London inside Wembley Stadium.