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Samuel Ratsch (born January 7, 1993), better known by the ring name Darby Allin, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is a former two-time AEW TNT Champion and a former AEW World Tag Team Champion, having held the latter title with Sting during the final match of Sting’s career.
Ratsch began his professional wrestling career in 2014, competing for various independent promotions including EVOLVE, Progress Wrestling, Major League Wrestling, and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide before signing with AEW in 2019. Since then, he has become one of the promotion’s most featured performers, appearing in major matches at events such as All Out, Full Gear, AEW Revolution, and All In.
His wrestling persona incorporates influences from punk rock and skateboarding culture and is known for a high-risk, unorthodox in-ring style. Outside the ring, Ratsch lives a straight edge lifestyle and has pursued interests in filmmaking, skateboarding, and mountaineering.
Allin became a regular performer for EVOLVE, a promotion affiliated with the World Wrestling Network (WWN), making his debut at EVOLVE 59 in April 2016. Over the next three years, he frequently appeared for both EVOLVE and WWN-affiliated events until April 2019.
In addition to his work with EVOLVE, Allin also appeared in Major League Wrestling (MLW) between 2017 and 2018, beginning at MLW One-Shot. One of his most notable moments occurred at Never Say Never 2017, where he executed a Coffin Drop from a balcony while strapped to a chair. He departed MLW in April 2018 due to scheduling conflicts with other promotions.
Allin made a one-off appearance for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide on June 3, 2018, at Verano de Escándalo, competing in a six-way match.
He also toured with the UK-based Progress Wrestling in 2018 and 2019 during the promotion's events in the United States and its annual Super Strong Style 16 tournament.
Later that year, Allin challenged AEW World Champion Chris Jericho on the October 16 episode of AEW Dynamite, but was unsuccessful. In January 2020, he competed in a four-man tournament for a championship opportunity, where he was eliminated by Pac in the opening round. He then entered a rivalry with Sammy Guevara, culminating in a win at Revolution on February 29.
Allin participated in the tournament to crown the inaugural TNT Champion, defeating Guevara in the quarterfinals before losing to Cody in the semifinals on the April 22 episode of Dynamite. At Double or Nothing on May 23, he took part in the first Ladder match, which was won by Brian Cage. After returning to television in July, he resumed his feud with Cage and Ricky Starks, teaming with AEW World Champion Jon Moxley to defeat them in a tag match. That led to a title bout against Moxley the following week, which Allin lost. On the September 30 episode of Dynamite, Allin defeated Starks, concluding their feud.
The partnership led to a tag team match at Revolution on March 7, 2021, where Allin and Sting defeated Ricky Starks and Brian Cage in a cinematic-style street fight. During his reign, Allin defended the TNT Championship against multiple challengers. His reign ended after 186 days with a loss to Miro on the May 12 episode of Dynamite.
Allin continued teaming with Sting, with the duo defeating Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page at Double or Nothing on May 30. He later faced Page in AEW’s first coffin match at Fyter Fest on July 14, coming out victorious. At All Out on September 5, Allin was selected as CM Punk’s first opponent in over seven years, losing the match.
Allin remained active in tag and multi-man matches, including a tornado tag team match win alongside Sting and Sammy Guevara at Revolution on March 6, 2022. On the May 12 episode of Dynamite, he was eliminated by Jeff Hardy in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament after a widely discussed ladder spot.
Allin began a feud with TNT Champion Samoa Joe in late 2022. On the January 4, 2023, episode of Dynamite, he defeated Joe in his hometown of Seattle to win the TNT Championship for a second time. Later that month, Allin and Sting made a special appearance for Pro Wrestling Noah at The Great Muta Final "Bye-Bye", where they teamed with Keiji Muto in his final match under the Great Muta persona, winning in a six-man tag team match. Allin successfully defended the TNT Championship over the following four weeks before losing it back to Joe on the February 1 episode of Dynamite in a no holds barred match.
At Double or Nothing on May 28, Allin competed in a four-way match for the AEW World Championship against MJF, Sammy Guevara, and Jack Perry, which MJF won. He reunited with Sting at on August 27, defeating Swerve Strickland and Christian Cage in a coffin match at Wembley Stadium.
On the February 7, 2024 episode of Dynamite, Allin and Sting defeated Ricky Starks and Big Bill to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship. They retained the titles against the Young Bucks at Revolution on March 3 in what was promoted as Sting’s retirement match. The titles were vacated shortly afterward, ending their reign at 25 days. Following Revolution, Allin was attacked on-screen by Bullet Club Gold in a post-match segment. It was later revealed that he had suffered a legitimate broken foot during his match against Jay White at Big Business on March 13, and the angle was used to write him off television. As a result, Allin postponed his planned expedition to climb Mount Everest.
Two days later, Allin won the Royal Rampage battle royal, earning a future AEW World Championship opportunity. At on August 25, he unsuccessfully challenged Jack Perry for the TNT Championship in a coffin match. The following month, Jon Moxley challenged him for his earned title shot; the two faced off at Grand Slam, where Moxley defeated Allin.
At WrestleDream on October 12, Allin defeated Brody King. He later attempted to assist Bryan Danielson during an attack by the Death Riders, only to be ambushed by Wheeler Yuta. In November, he was announced as a participant in the 2024 Continental Classic tournament, finishing with seven points and missing playoff qualification. On the December 27 episode of AEW Rampage, he was attacked by the Death Riders (formerly the Blackpool Combat Club) and thrown down a stairwell in an angle designed to again remove him from television as he resumed Everest training.
On July 12 at , Allin and Bryan Danielson, returned during the main event, where they fended off the Death Riders from interfering in the world title match between Moxley and Adam Page. On August 24 at Forbidden Door, Allin teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi, the Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi), and Will Ospreay to defeat the Death Riders, The Young Bucks, and Gabe Kidd in a lights out steel cage match. At All Out on September 20, Allin was defeated by Moxley in a Coffin match after interference from the returning Pac.
Allin incorporates his background in skateboarding 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, Allin frequently performs dives, crashes, and other visually extreme maneuvers that contribute to a daredevil image. Initially hesitant to combine skateboarding with wrestling (Allin feared that both the wrestling and skateboarding fandoms would perceive it as inauthentic), he eventually embraced the crossover after encouragement from Chris Jericho, who advised him to lean into what made him unique.
He resides in Atlanta, and is known to have a close friendship with Sting (Steve Borden). In 2024, Ratsch began training Borden’s son, Stephen, for a potential wrestling career.
Outside of wrestling, Ratsch developed an interest in mountaineering. He announced plans to climb Mount Everest in 2024, and spent 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 with Jay White, which forced him to postpone the climb until the 2025 climbing season. He began his ascent on April 8, 2025. On May 5, he set the world record for the highest elevation kickflip at 20,958 feet while climbing Mount Everest. On May 18, Ratsch successfully reached the summit of Everest; atop the mountain, Ratsch also filmed a short video in-character that was used for his return at All In two months later.
Ratsch was previously married to professional wrestler Gigi Dolin. The couple announced their separation in August 2020, and Kelly later confirmed that they had divorced but remained on good terms.
In 2014, he appeared in an episode of Sex Sent Me to the ER, part of the show’s first season. Ratsch later admitted in interviews that the story portrayed in the episode was fictional, and that he accepted the role primarily for financial reasons.
In 2021, he appeared as himself in Rhodes to the Top, a reality television series focused on AEW executives Cody Rhodes and Brandi Rhodes.
Ratsch is also a featured character as Darby Allin in the video game AEW Fight Forever.
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