His wrestling persona incorporates influences frompunk rock and skateboarding culture and is known for a high-risk, unorthodox in-ring style. Outside the ring, Ratsch lives astraight edge lifestyle and has pursued interests in filmmaking, skateboarding, and mountaineering.
Samuel Ratsch was born inSeattle on January 7, 1993.[3] During his youth, he participated intrack and field and played football, inspired in part by one of his grandfathers, who had played in theNational Football League.[4] He also briefly took part inamateur wrestling, mistakenly believing it was the same as professional wrestling.[4] Ratsch attended a film school in Arizona but left to pursue a career in skateboarding.[5]
Allin became a regular performer for EVOLVE, a promotion affiliated with theWorld Wrestling Network (WWN), making his debut atEVOLVE 59 in April 2016. Over the next three years, he frequently appeared for both EVOLVE and WWN-affiliated events until April 2019.[9][10] He also appeared inMajor League Wrestling (MLW) between 2017 and 2018, beginning atMLW One-Shot. He departed MLW in April 2018 due to scheduling conflicts with other promotions.[citation needed]
Later that year, Allin challengedAEW World ChampionChris Jericho on the October 16 episode ofDynamite, but was unsuccessful.[16] In January 2020, he competed in a four-man tournament for a championship opportunity, where he was eliminated byPac in the opening round.[17] He then entered a rivalry withSammy Guevara, culminating in a win atRevolution on February 29.[18][19]
Allin participated in the tournament to crown the inauguralTNT Champion, defeating Guevara in the quarterfinals before losing to Cody in the semifinals on the April 22 episode ofDynamite.[20][21] AtDouble or Nothing on May 23, he took part in the firstCasino ladder match, which was won byBrian Cage.[22] After returning to television in July, he resumed his feud with Cage andRicky Starks, teaming with AEW World ChampionJon Moxley to defeat them in a tag match.[23][24] That led to a title bout against Moxley the following week, which Allin lost.[25] On the September 30 episode ofDynamite, Allin defeated Starks, concluding their feud.[26]
AtFull Gear on November 7, Allin defeated Cody to win the TNT Championship, his first title in AEW.[27] In the following weeks, he became involved in a feud withTeam Taz.Sting made his AEW debut atWinter Is Coming on December 2, confronting Team Taz and establishing an alliance with Allin.[28]
The partnership led to a tag team match atRevolution on March 7, 2021, where Allin and Sting defeated Ricky Starks and Brian Cage in a cinematic-stylestreet fight.[29] During his reign, Allin defended the TNT Championship against multiple challengers.[30][31][32][33] His reign ended after 186 days with a loss toMiro on the May 12 episode ofDynamite.
Allin continued teaming with Sting, with the duo defeatingScorpio Sky andEthan Page atDouble or Nothing on May 30. He later faced Page in AEW’s firstcoffin match atFyter Fest on July 14, coming out victorious.[34] AtAll Out on September 5, Allin was selected asCM Punk’s first opponent in over seven years,[35] losing the match.
Allin began a feud with TNT ChampionSamoa Joe in late 2022. On the January 4, 2023, episode ofDynamite, he defeated Joe in his hometown ofSeattle to win the TNT Championship for a second time.[37] Later that month, Allin and Sting made a special appearance forPro Wrestling Noah atThe Great Muta Final "Bye-Bye", where they teamed withKeiji Muto in his final match under the Great Muta persona, winning in a six-man tag team match.[38] Allin successfully defended the TNT Championship over the following four weeks before losing it back to Joe on the February 1 episode ofDynamite in ano holds barred match.[39]
On the February 7, 2024 episode ofDynamite, Allin and Sting defeated Ricky Starks andBig Bill to win theAEW World Tag Team Championship.[42] They retained the titles againstthe Young Bucks atRevolution on March 3 in what was promoted as Sting’s retirement match.[43] The titles were vacated shortly afterward, ending their reign at 25 days. Following Revolution, Allin was attacked on-screen byBullet Club Gold in a post-match segment. It was later revealed that he had suffered a legitimate broken foot during his match againstJay White atBig Business on March 13, and the angle was used to write him off television. As a result, Allin postponed his planned expedition to climbMount Everest.[44]
Two days later, Allin won the Royal Rampage battle royal, earning a future AEW World Championship opportunity.[48] AtAll In: London on August 25, he unsuccessfully challenged Jack Perry for the TNT Championship in a coffin match.[49] The following month, Jon Moxley challenged him for his earned title shot; the two faced off atGrand Slam, where Moxley defeated Allin.
AtWrestleDream on October 12, Allin defeatedBrody King. He later attempted to assist Bryan Danielson during an attack by theBlackpool Combat Club, only to be ambushed byWheeler Yuta.[50] In November, he was announced as a participant in the2024 Continental Classic tournament, finishing with seven points and missing playoff qualification.[51] On the December 27 episode ofRampage, he was attacked by theDeath Riders (formerly the Blackpool Combat Club) and thrown down a stairwell in anangle designed to again remove him from television as he resumed Everest training.[52]
The Darby Allin persona draws heavily from Ratsch's personal background and interests. The name itself is a tribute topunk rock figuresDarby Crash andGG Allin.[4] His face paint, typically a half-skull design, is meant to symbolize his feeling of being "half-dead" after he survived a car accident in his youth that killed his uncle.[58]
Allin incorporates his skateboarding background into his in-ring character. He rides a skateboard during his entrance and occasionally uses it as a prop or weapon in matches. Known for his unorthodox, high-risk style, he frequently performs dives and other extreme maneuvers that contribute to his daredevil image. Initially hesitant to combine skateboarding with wrestling as he feared that both fandoms would perceive it as inauthentic, he eventually embraced the crossover after encouragement fromChris Jericho, who advised him to lean into what made him unique.[59][60]
One of Allin's signature wrestling moves is the "Coffin Drop", a high-risk manoeuvre in which he falls backwards from the top rope or another elevated surface onto his opponent, without looking, in a motion resembling a trust fall.[61][62] After Sting became his on-screen mentor in AEW, Allin adopted theScorpion Deathdrop andScorpion Deathlock as other signature moves.[63]
Ratsch made various pre-wrestling appearances in media tied to his skateboarding and early performance work. He was featured in several clips aired on the MTV showRidiculousness, though one video was reportedly rejected by the network for being too extreme to broadcast.[4]
In 2014, Ratsch appeared in an episode of the reality seriesSex Sent Me to the ER, which features people recounting their embarrassing sex stories; Ratsch told the story of how he once had sex with a woman in the woods before accidentally rolling onto a bee's nest.[64] In 2020, after becoming successful as a wrestler, he stated that the story was fictional and that he had accepted the role for financial reasons.[64]
In 2021, Ratsch appeared as himself inRhodes to the Top, a reality television series focused on then-AEW executivesCody andBrandi Rhodes.
As Darby Allin, Ratsch made his video game debut inAEW Fight Forever (2023).
Ratsch resides inAtlanta.[65] He lives astraight edge lifestyle.[66] This was influenced by a traumatic incident he experienced at the age of five, in which he survived a car crash caused by his drunk-driving uncle, who died in the accident.[58] He is a close friend and former tag team partner of wrestling veteranSting, and began training Sting's son for a potential wrestling career in 2024.[67]
Ratsch was married to fellow wrestlerPriscilla Kelly from 2018 until their divorce in 2020.[68][69] Kelly later stated that they remained on good terms.[70]
Ratsch developed an interest in mountaineering and announced his plans to climbMount Everest in 2024, spending much of late 2023 and early 2024 training for the expedition. However, shortly before his scheduled departure, he suffered a broken foot during a match withJay White and was forced to postpone the climb until 2025.[44] He began his ascent on April 8, 2025, and set the world record for the highest elevationkickflip at 20,958 feet while climbing Mount Everest on May 5.[71] On May 18, he reached the summit of Everest,[72] where he filmed a short video as the Darby Allin character that was used during his return atAll In two months later.[73]
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