The 6 AEW heroes of the Pandemic Era

Brodie Lee's emergence was responsible for many memorable moments during AEW's Pandemic Era.
Brodie Lee's emergence was responsible for many memorable moments during AEW's Pandemic Era.

#2 Former TNT Champion - AEW's Darby Allin

The pandemic era gave AEW a chance to really hone in on the future stars of the company. No performer has stepped up more during this period than Darby Allin. Prior to the pandemic, Darby showcased glimpses of his enigmatic personality and daredevil in-ring style. His performances against Cody Rhodes and Chris Jericho were the first that came to mind.

However, Darby Allin really showed what he had to offer over the course of the past 16 months. His series of matches against Jon Moxley pushed the AEW World Champion to the brink and teased Allin's status as a main event star. Eventually, his brushes with the gold came to fruition when he finally defeated Cody Rhodes for the first time at Full Gear 2020 to win the TNT Championship.

Corey Graves deleted his Tweet! More details HERE.

His feud with Team Taz displayed that the 28-year-old had no fear regardless of the numbers against him. Although Team Taz had Brian Cage, Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs at their disposal, Darby Allin would soon find an ally.

At AEW Dynamite's Winter Is Coming episode, Sting debuted for All Elite Wrestling and aligned himself with Allin shortly thereafter.

Seeing a little bit of himself in the young man, Sting made Darby's emergence onto the scene seem more significant and elevated Allin in the eyes of the casual viewer.

Darby Allin then proceeded on a stellar run of TNT Championship Matches that could rival any champion before him. Whether it be against Brian Cage, John Silver or Number 10 of the Dark Order, Allin preserved and retained the gold against anyone who challenged him.

His TNT Championship bout against Jungle Boy was one of the best AEW Dynamite matches of the year. The two young stars showed why many view them as the future of the industry in a spellbinding contest.

Darby's eventual loss of the championship to Miro was also an exceptional effort that showcased Allin's never-say-die attitude.

No one during the pandemic era has been in more main event matches on AEW Dynamite than Darby Allin. In the span of 16 months of the pandemic, he has gone from the future to the now.

It is only a matter of time before Darby is going to be an AEW World Champion. When that happens, fans will look back on his stretch during the pandemic as when his climb to the top really started.

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Edited by Arjun Kumar
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