AEW star Darby Allin returns to his roots for world title shot in Everett
Apr 15, 2026, 10:27 AM
Darby Allin graduated from Tahoma High School, a 116-pound skateboarding kid from Washington who loved professional wrestling but figured men his size didn’t belong in the ring. On Wednesday night, he will challenge Maxwell Jacob Friedman for the AEW World Championship inside the Angel of the Winds Arena.
“Grew up in Washington and literally started training in Everett,” Allin told “Seattle’s Morning News.” “My wrestling school was in Everett. The event tonight — Everett, Washington. Full circle. And you know what? I’m fighting for the world championship.”
Everett bout brings wrestler full circle to training grounds
Allin, 33, earned the title opportunity Sunday at AEW Dynasty by defeating Andrade El Ídolo. AEW CEO Tony Khan confirmed the Everett bout in a post-show media scrum, giving Allin the chance to compete for the company’s top prize minutes from the Buddy Wayne Academy, where his career began.
The homecoming carries deep personal meaning. Allin described the emotions of returning to the Pacific Northwest with friends and family in the crowd.
“Everything. It’s everything to come back here,” he said. “Every time I look around, there’s just so much history, and it just puts into perspective how far you’ve come and everything that went into this. I put everything into this.”
Allin’s path to the main event was anything but conventional. After high school, he tried to play it safe, but the pull of professional wrestling proved too strong for a young man who grew up idolizing Mick Foley and Sting.
“I grew up loving pro wrestling, but you see the guys in the 90s — it was all big, super jacked,” Allin said. “I graduated from high school at 116 pounds. I was like, ‘There’s no way.’ So I tried to play it safe, but I was just so empty inside. I was like, ‘I’m willing to risk anything.'”
The risks were real. Allin said he experienced multiple hospital stays while chasing his dream. Last May, he became the first professional wrestler to summit Mount Everest, training for the expedition while maintaining a full-time wrestling schedule.
“It was really, really hard,” Allin said of the climb. “If anybody knows anything about wrestling, there’s no off-season, so I had to train in the middle of wrestling full-time. That is extremely brutal on your body.”
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Wrestler recalls pivotal moment at Buddy Wayne Academy
None of the hardship, he said, made him consider changing who he was. He recalled the moment he first walked into the Buddy Wayne Academy.
“I took a deep breath before I walked in, and I said, ‘I’m either going to make it as Darby, or I’m going to fail as Darby, but I’m not changing a single thing,'” Allin said. “I can say I’m fighting for the world championship as myself. I haven’t changed a single thing.”
As for Friedman, the reigning champion who retained his title over Kenny Omega at Dynasty, Allin was characteristically blunt when asked if his opponent intimidated him.
“No, he’s not scary,” Allin said. “What I lose in size I make up for in just pure determination to prove people wrong.”
AEW Dynamite is live on Wednesday, April 15, at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett.
You can catch it on TBS or stream it on HBO Max.
Tickets are still available at AEW or Ticketmaster.
Manda Factor is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. Follow Manda on X and email her here.
