Darby Allin and Steven Borden pondered the past year and how their paths crossed ahead of AEW All Out on Saturday, September 26.
The pair are slated to face Kevin Knight and Kyle Fletcher as the wrestling promotion takes its pay-per-view to NOW Arena, an 11,000-capacity venue located in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.
Borden, son of wrestling legend Sting, made his debut for AEW on September 9 and has quickly shot up the ranks alongside Allin, who he had trained with before gracing the promotion.
With big shoes to fill from his father, the 34-year-old newcomer acknowledges the weight of his last name. However, he does not undermine the work he has put in to get to where he is.
“I completely understand the second generation [narrative],” Borden told Forbes. “It’s no secret. Would I be having this call with you right now if my last name wasn’t Borden? No.”
Before committing to wrestling, Borden had picked out the path towards the NFL. He also worked with several fitness businesses, but set them aside to pursue his gridiron dreams and his current profession.
“I spent my entire life trying to play in the NFL,” he shared. “I made it through Division I, playing in the SEC, a couple of years getting cut from NFL teams – that was a brutal journey.”
“It was a lot of sacrifice to make it in football. And what I tell people is that wrestling has been harder than football ever was. I’m training with somebody like Darby who doesn’t take it easy on me and getting feedback from somebody like my dad.”
Now in his eighth year with AEW, Allin commended his new tag team partner’s dedication to the craft. He also revealed that he took Borden aside to emphasize the importance of committing to the craft.
A veteran of professional wrestling, Allin currently holds the AEW TNT title. On top of his individual success, his pairing with Borden is a source of growth for the 33-year-old.
“The biggest thing is when I asked him, ‘You want to do wrestling? Why do you want to do wrestling? What’s the intention behind it?’ This is everyone’s life,” Allin shared. “I was questioning if he was even serious about it. And then when he had that crossroads, because he was the CEO of a company that he was involved with, and they were really on the upswing.
“I said, ‘You can’t do both. You got to pick either wrestling or this.’ And then he picked wrestling. He quit this career that he had at 34 years old. He’s got a wife and kid. That’s no joke there.”
“That’s the biggest thing I learned from him; nothing is over until you’re underground,” he added.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JULY 10: Kevin Knight of AEW looks on during an AEW performance following the game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Friday, July 10, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Andrew Ritter/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
MLB Photos via Getty Images
While the partnership is just now visible to the public eye, Allin and Borden have been working behind the scenes for much longer. Borden revealed that upon deciding to pursue wrestling, he picked up the phone and dialed his tag team partner.
“After talking to my dad, Darby’s the first person that I called,” Borden shared. “I hopped on a plane to Atlanta and got in the ring with him. He’s been at the shows this year where I’ve done dark matches, where he gave me feedback before and after.
“Just to be able to come full circle now and work together – people look at us as a new tag team, but we actually know each other better than people would see at first glance. Darby’s somebody willing to die to get a victory, but they should not undermine our chemistry.”
Allin sees a familiar foe in Knight as the two have been embarking on a feud since May, after the former left his rivalry with MJF in the rearview.
With the match set against Knight and Fletcher, Allin reiterated how the efforts will be evenly split between them as they look to get the victory in Chicago.
“They’re amazing talent,” Allin said of their opponents. “We’re never overlooking them, ever. I know what Kevin’s all about, but I wanna see what makes Kyle Fletcher tick.”
“The biggest thing that’s working against them is they’re overlooking Steve,” He added. “They’re thinking, ‘This is his third match in AEW; don’t ever overlook anybody. I’m living proof: everybody’s overlooked me my entire career, and now I’m the TNT Champion.”
“I know exactly what they’re capable of and tomorrow, they’re gonna find out what we’re capable of.”
Headlined by the AEW World Championship match between champion Will Ospreay and Jon Moxley, All Out will air from Chicago on Saturday at 8:00 P.M. ET on HBO Max, Prime Video, Sling and DAZN.
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