It’s a bird … it’s a Crow … it’s Darby Allin! It’s always enjoyable to see young wrestling superstars find ways to pay homage to those that came before them and blazed a path, and few did it like the Stinger (Sting, as most know him), who retired recently from AEW and the profession as a whole.
Allin was Sting’s most recent protege during the AEW run, and when the WCW, TNA and WWE Hall of Famer made sure Darby was his partner in crime in his final wrestling match — an honor bestowed upon only two; and the other was the incomparable Ric Flair.
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At Dynamite 250, as difficult as it might’ve been to steal a show that contained a 60-minute title brawl between Will Ospreay and MJF, Darby Allin arguably did when he took a page out of Sting’s book during the match between AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland and AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada.
Allin descended from the rafters like The Crow himself.
Channeling his mentor here and it’s giving so much yes. #AEWDymamite pic.twitter.com/URBJxUDQz8
— And New! Wrestling (@andnewwrestling) July 18, 2024
For the unenlightened, here’s a clip from yesteryear when Sting delivered one of the most iconic entrances in the history of wrestling.
— THE M.V.PS LOUNGE (@THEMVPSLOUNGE) July 18, 2024
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The act was even in the same vein as Sting’s, in that Allin was appearing to level the playing field against a faction (in this realm, Team All Elite) much like Sting did in his WCW days when he was the antihero who terrorized the all-powerful and seemingly unstoppable NWO.
It’s clear Darby Allin broke out his notebook and absorbed everything possible from Sting, and it’s continuing to help him ascend, pun intended, in the AEW and, now, in the hearts of any and everyone who has ever gotten chills cheering for and watching Sting cook in his prime.
It’s giving respect and young excellence.
