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Heading into All In, one of the low-key most interesting storylines fans wanted to see was how things would shake out between Darby Allin and the TNT Champion, Jack Perry.
Why? Gosh, how much time do you have?
After drawing arguably the biggest headlines of his career last year at All In for getting into a serious backstage brawl with CM Punk that saw the latter get fired with cause for threatening the life of his then-boss, Tony Khan, Perry had all eyes across the professional wrestling world firmly on him, with the potential to rise to the moment or sink under the pressure of the moment.
Perry's decision to really capitalize on the moment? Real glass, baby.
After brawling a bit with Allin in and around the ring ahead of the penultimate match of the show, Perry went under the ring to secure a bag and introduced an absolute ton of broken glass into the ring to the tune of one single very loud chant from the crowd, “F**k CM Punk!”
Now, for Perry, this was a very big moment, as he couldn't hide the smile from his face, and he continued to dismantle Allin, leading to the current TNT Champion taping the former champ's hands together, hogtying his legs and ultimately locking him up in a white coffin to secure the win as the crowd cheered him on.
Nicknamed “The Scapegoat” for how he was treated during Punker's blow-up last year, Perry kept his head down, figured out how he wanted to return to the promotion, and has ultimately forged his own path – and his new TNT Championship belt – as one of the biggest stars in AEW as a result. At the end of the day, All In effectively served as his coronation, proving that Perry has truly stepped out of Punk's shadow.
JACK PERRY WITH REAL GLASS
and Wembley breaks out into "OH CRY ME A RIVER" chants #AEWAllIn pic.twitter.com/SjSqCXdJDN
— AIR (@AIRGold_) August 25, 2024
Darby Allin might have had his eye off of Jack Perry at All In
While Perry and Allin talked a whole bunch of crap heading into AEW All In, the former might have actually had his eyes off the prize heading into the show, as he was already talking to The Dallas Morning News about his plans for All In 2025 at the Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
“That's the very first thing [I did] after the press conference, I was just walking around, looking around like, what can I fall off of? To me, going all these buildings, like, there's such an aura and vibe to these stadiums. Every time I'm walking in, I'm like what can I do that will leave a lasting impression? I put myself in the shoes of being like a fourth grade kid, you know what I mean? Like, if I saw something, what will I remember for my entire life? Because, with this wrestling stuff, it's pretty wild how much of an impact you can have on people's lives. I don't take it for granted. It's pretty crazy, you know, just how you can inspire somebody and change the whole trajectory of their life,” Allin told The Dallas Morning News.
“I feel like, with me, I've been so against [listening to other people] from an early age. My dad's like, you need a job. I was like, no way. If I could help unlock whatever it is in a young kid's mind to be like, I can do this, you know what I mean? If my story helps them unlock that, and then it changes the whole trajectory of their life. All it takes is one person. So if I'm that one person to help someone change their life, like, let's do it. Oddly enough, if it all starts with leaving some crazy memory, like jumping off a scaffold. Having that moment where, like, ‘I was in fourth grade, and I saw Darby Allin jump off this, and it stuck with me the rest of my life.' You don't forget things like that. To me, it was guys like Jeff Hardy, you know, or Mick Foley. You don't forget that. So if I need to sacrifice myself at Globe Life Field, OK.”
After turning in some of the wildest spots in professional wrestling history over his run in AEW so far, Allin was fairly tame in his Wembley effort, choosing to “just” Gorilla Glue thumb-tacks to his face and bring out his skateboard for some fun against Perry. While that wasn't enough to secure the TNT Championship, Allin did have one final rabbit up his hat to leave the UK in one piece in the return of Sting, who took out the Young Bucks and Jack Perry to the tune of Metallica's “Seek and Destroy.” All in all, that's a win in and of itself, even if Allin doesn't have a new belt to add to his resume.
