Known for his fearless and often death-defying stunts in AEW, Darby Allin once pitched an idea that even AEW CEO Tony Khan deemed too extreme to approve. During a recent appearance on the “Way of the Blade” podcast, Khan recounted a bizarre pitch from Allin during the early, sparsely crewed days of the pandemic. The AEW President revealed that Allin, during a program with Sammy Guevara in April 2020, suggested a segment where he would be struck by a car.
Ultimately, Khan had to veto the dangerous proposition, citing both safety concerns and the critical need for Allin’s presence on weekly television due to the limited roster at the time.
Khan explained his reasoning, stating, “Darby in the pandemic, early in the pandemic when we had a very light crew. The April 2020 shows that we filmed in QT [Marshall] and Cody [Rhodes’] gym in Georgia, they had just under 30% of the roster there. Darby wanted to get hit by a car in his program with Sammy [Guevara]. I said, ‘That’s not something we can do right now because we really need you. Not only can I afford for you to not get hurt, I can’t even write you off for a week to sell. You need to wrestle on the show every week, so I can’t do that. We don’t have anybody else and you’re a major part of what we’re doing week to week.’ I think that would have not made sense when you have a handful of people there and there are very few of the name wrestlers and he wants to get hit by a car. Not only can we afford for him to not be injured, we really can’t afford for him to be off TV for a week.”
Khan’s explanation highlights the delicate balance between creative freedom and the practical realities of producing a weekly wrestling show, especially during a period of limited personnel. Currently, Darby Allin is undertaking a challenging climb of Mt. Everest, with his return date to AEW television remaining uncertain.
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