He has been a cornerstone of the wrestling company since its founding in 2019, known for taking incredible risks on and off the mat. In over half a decade, he will face the biggest match of his career on May 24 at AEW Double or Nothing in New York.
Sitting down with amNewYork on Friday afternoon, Allin admitted that despite everything he had been through, the match against Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) could be his defining moment.
“It’s my first title defense on a pay-per-view, and to be in the main event in essentially a sold-out show, the second biggest US gate that we’ve had, to be in that spot, it’s a big deal. I’m ready to go,” Allin said.
Allin won the most prestigious championship in AEW on April 15 by defeating MJF, a massive shock for fans. He shared that he was urged to make a speech following the victory, but he was too physically and emotionally drained. And while he said being champion is extremely important to him, he doesn’t want to be seen as someone who needs the championship to succeed.
“I was completely numb to everything. I had nothing left in me, and I think it was just from the emotional ride of oh, this actually happened, and finally happened. So, you’re so spent physically and mentally, I had no words left. I literally said, ‘Everybody stay there in your seats,’ because Collision started, because we did a double-taping show that night, and I wasn’t gonna go out there and have a long rah-rah speech, or anything like that. I was like, just stay there and support the rest of us,” Allin said. “I’m grateful for it, but I don’t want to be that guy who needs it to survive. I just… I’m grateful for it, but I just don’t want it to drive me.”
In addition to commanding the wrestling ring, Allin is also known for his escapades outside the ropes. Famously, he took a break from competing to climb Mount Everest. Aside from extreme risk-taking, his other passion is filmmaking — something he wants to also take on.
“Dark comedies, crazy stuff. Like, just crazy-fun movies like that I grew up loving. I went to film school, I dropped out for wrestling, so yeah, I just would like to go back to that,” Allin said. “I love documentaries, but I don’t feel like I’d want to make a documentary. I just like crazy, dark comedies that are just super off the wall. But my biggest thing is I love documentaries more than anything.”
Since 2019, AEW has swiftly changed the wrestling landscape, becoming the first viable alternative to wrestling juggernaut WWE in nearly two decades. While the company has had its ups and downs, fans feel it has managed to stay the course and stay true to itself, unlike WWE, which has recently been criticized for its storytelling and a surge in ticket prices since the TKO takeover. Allin feels AEW is so different and special because the performers are allowed to be themselves.
“A lot of it’s pure, from the heart. You take a band, I’ve seen a lot of bands that have played in small venues, that energy is so raw and real, but then that same band gets like picked up by the music industry, and then 100 different people are telling that band how to be that band, and then you see them in a big arena, and that energy is lost,” Allin said.
“To me, we get to keep that raw energy at 81,000-seat Wembley [Stadium in London], we keep that. It’s so pure because nobody is telling us what to do. They’re giving us advice on how to be the best version of ourselves, but no one’s saying head to toe, we’re gonna change everything about you,” Allin said.
“How are the fans supposed to believe in you when you can’t believe in what you’re doing? So, to me, that’s why everybody has that healthy chip on their shoulder. AEW was like I’m given the ball, everybody’s like go out there and do what you want to do in your matches, anything you want to do, you have that freedom. So no one’s stifling your growth,” Allin said, leaning forward and grinning at the thought of his creative freedom.
Even with that freedom, Allin confessed that his rock-and-roll, death-defying style can occasionally prove a little too much for management.
“I feel the biggest thing that they’re like, ‘Oh my god, that was maybe too much,’ was the glass spot in Sting’s last match, but you know, even then that was Sting’s last match, it wasn’t a random risk that was like, oh yeah, let’s get it,” Allin said.
Years from now, Allin told amNewYork how he wants to be remembered by fans.
“Just a guy that was willing to do anything to make his life mean something, that’s all you know. There’s no wall that was too big to climb over,” he said.
