Darby Allin will step inside the ring to face Jeff Hardy for the very first time tonight on AEW Dynamite.
Ahead of his big match against Jeff Hardy, Darby Allin sat down with Joseph Staszewski of the New York Post to discuss a wide variety of subjects. When asked about what his relationship is like with Hardy so far, Allin says a lot of their connections come outside of wrestling, like jumping off big things and riding dirt bikes.
“It’s one that has a lot to do with outside of wrestling. It’s the way I see him live his life outside of the ring, the stunts and the craziness that kind of draws me to him,” Darby Allin admitted. “I don’t get that from a lot of wrestlers. I don’t think I get that from any wrestlers. Nobody excited me outside the ring. To have that feeling with somebody, I’m like damn. So the first time I talked to him, we’re like, “Hey, you like to jump off of big s—t. I like to jump off of big s—t. You like dirt bikes. I like dirt bikes.” It was really like an organic relationship. It was super fun. For us to have that one tag match, me, Sting, Matt and Jeff down in Texas, that was also a lot of fun. It just feels very normal.
People thought this was a dream match and, yes, it’s a dream match for me, but man this came really quick. I was expecting it a little bit down the road to be honest. This came really quick, but now’s better than never. Wednesday, I don’t know what to expect. It’s gonna be an interesting one.”
When asked if Jeff Hardy was someone that he looked up to growing up, Allin confirmed that he did and that his daredevil style drew him in.
“Yeah. From an artistic standpoint it’s been really cool because growing up and once I started getting older and in like junior high and high school, you can’t relate to a lot of people in wrestling, especially for someone like me,” Darby Allin said. “I was just skateboarding the whole time. I couldn’t relate to a big guy on steroids. It wasn’t gonna happen. But I could see a guy like Jeff that’s like a daredevil. It really drew me in because I was doing daredevil stunts on my skateboard. So I was like, man this is really interesting.
I remember watching some of his stuff when I was like 6 years old and I would climb on top of this piano at my old house in Seattle and try to do a Swanton (Bomb) off of the piano onto the concrete floor. That was my first introduction to trying to emulate Jeff Hardy.”
When asked about how it would feel to stand across the ring against Jeff Hardy tonight, Allin admitted that it all comes down to the finish.
“At the end of the day it all comes down to the finish,” Darby Allin admitted. “It’s gonna be that much sweeter when I hit him with the Coffin Drop. I’m gonna take it all in. I want to take it all in. I want to experience the feelings like I did in Chicago against (CM) Punk. I want to like stop and smell the roses. It’s very hard when you’re trying not to get kicked in the face, but I’m gonna take it all in on Long Island.”
READ MORE: Jeff Hardy vs. Darby Allin, FTW Title Match, Contract Signing And More Set For 5/11 AEW Dynamite
What do you make of Darby Allin’s comments? Are you excited for his match against Jeff Hardy tonight on AEW Dynamite? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
