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On last week's episode of AEW Dynamite, Darby Allin cut a promo against The Young Bucks ahead of their huge AEW World Tag Team Championship match at Revolution 2024. The controversial promo was recently addressed by WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff.
Last week on Wednesday Night Dynamite, Darby Allin hit the ring to direct a few words at The Young Bucks, who had previously beaten down Allin and Sting. The 31-year-old's promo received praise for its passion, but fans were shocked when Darby referenced current WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes.
Darby referred to the early stages of AEW as "All Friends Wrestling" and alluded to Rhodes being the only EVP with the foresight to take a chance on him. On the latest edition of his 83 Weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff gave Allin credit for his passion but slammed the content of the promo as "indierrific."
"I thought it was typical AEW," Bischoff said. "It's indierrific. [If you] look at that promo in terms of the structure and delivery of the promo, it was great. It was passionate. It was coherent. It had a strong central message and theme. Unfortunately, the strong central message and theme was indierrific as hell — typical AEW appealing to the Dave Meltzer audiences of the world. It's just stupid." [h/t Wrestling Inc]
Tommy Dreamer thinks Darby Allin should have mentioned Tony Khan instead of Cody Rhodes
Darby Allin isn't typically thought of as the strongest talker among AEW's Four Pillars. However, many fans praised his promo on the latest episode of Dynamite.
Wrestling legend Tommy Dreamer also liked it but thought that Allin made a mistake in getting AEW fans to chant Cody Rhodes's name. On a recent edition of Busted Open Radio, Dreamer suggested that Darby should have named Tony Khan as the visionary instead of The American Nightmare:
"Sometimes, it's okay in the world of pro wrestling to change your real story but if you think about it, he could've changed it with one name: Tony. All he had to do was, 'Thank God, I had a boss who believed in me.' And the fans would've chanted Tony instead of Cody," he said.
Dreamer further clarified that while the promo wasn't a failure, Darby could have maximized its impact:
"I wouldn't say he failed; I would say he didn't maximize. Darby is an emotional person, he — again — telling the truth, and there's different ways to go about it. The fans love Darby," he said.
Darby Allin and Sting are set to face The Young Bucks at AEW Revolution on March 3 in a Tornado Tag Team match. The bout will be Sting's final outing before his retirement, and the AEW World Tag Team Championship is on the line.
What did you think of Darby's promo? Should he have referenced Cody Rhodes? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below!
