Darby Allin has been alleged to have raped and sexually assaulted a former partner in an accusation levied at him in 2020. Despite this, the AEW wrestler has not been charged or convicted of any crimes, and has gone from strength to strength in an AEW career that has made him one of the most popular wrestlers in the world.
The daredevil recently wrestled in his first ever pay per view main event, losing to Christian Cage at AEW WrestleDream 2023. He lost that match, but put on a career-making performance before being joined by Adam Copeland (Edge) to close the show.
The former TNT Champion is one of the top stars in AEW, but these accusations could send his career crashing down and see an end to his run in AEW alongside Sting. However, he looks to have battled against these allegations, and has not been affected by them thus far.
Darby Allin had allegations of Rape levied at him
Darby Allin was accused of rape and sexual abuse by former partner Hawlee Cromwell. The independent wrestler claimed that Allin subjected her to “rape” and coercing her to have sex with him, often threatening to leave her if she refused. This was denied by Allin, but that did not stop the allegations from being broadcast across the world.
She originally posted the statement on Twitter at the height of the #SpeakingOut movement in pro wrestling. However, in 2021 she reposted her original accusation with the comments “I’m tired I’m so fucking tired and I don’t care anymore. Darby allin abused me.“
In the statement posted to Twitter, she claimed that Darby Allin “threatened to leave me if I didn’t have sex with him”, and clarified that “threatening someone to have sex with you isn’t consent – it’s Rape”. However, her original statement stated that she wont be “naming any names because I don’t feel comfortable”, but later reposted the accusation naming the former TNT Champion as her abuser.
Darby Allin did not publically address these allegations on social media. He stayed quiet about being accused of sexual abuse, instead keeping quiet and getting on with his life – likely suggested as what to do by his lawyer, or Tony Khan.
The allegations have not stopped his AEW career, however. This is likely due to him letting Tony Khan know about the allegations levied against him, and the AEW President seemed to have enough evidence given to him to believe Darby Allin.
Tony Khan was told about the claims and cleared Allin of all wrongdoing
Despite the allegations, Darby Allin has continued to wrestle weekly in AEW. It was reported by the Everything Elite Patreon that Allin reported the accusation to Tony Khan immediately, which helped keep building the trust between employee and boss.
They also claimed that the showed Khan, the AEW president, messages between himself and Crawford which led to AEW immediately absolving him of guilt and he continued to wrestle on TV. Clearly, Tony Khan and the AEW legal team saw enough in the DM’s to dismiss the allegations against Darby Allin, and the two-time TNT Champion did not miss any time on TV/
Whilst those DM’s have never been released, it gave Tony Khan enough knowledge to believe Allin’s side of the story. We likely will never see what those private messages show, but given the fact that Darby Allin has never gone to court, nor been charged with these offenses, seems to suggest that the allegations were false.
He has always been quick to respond to these allegations, like when Jimmy Havoc was fired for a similar accusation, so the endorsement by Khan could be seen by some as an assumption of innocence on Allin’s part. Neither AEW nor Darby Allin have commented on the accusations, and the matter seems to have been put to one side by both parties.
Allin continues to wrestler for AEW, teaming with WCW legend Sting, although a former WWE star referenced the rape accusations in a Twitter spat just last year.
A WWE Star Referenced Darby Allin’s Allegations In An Argument
NXT star Cora Jade has thrown shade at Darby Allin, referencing his allegations in a back-and-forth Twitter spat that left both wrestlers embarrassed at their part in the beef. The short-lived online feud began when a Twitter user humorously suggested that Jade take on Allin in a “skateboarding match”, alluding to their joint love of skateboarding and it being a big part of both of their characters.
However, Darby Allin took umbrage to the idea, taking great pride in his skateboarding background. He replied to the tweet with an insult to Jade, stating that skating was not for a “fake character for tv” and was a big part of his life.”Skating is a huge part of my life not a fake character for tv lol.” Darby said, before later deleting the Tweet due to the backlash he would eventually receive from WWE fans.
Cora Jade fired back at the accusation of using it simply as a character (although there is nothing wrong with portraying a character who you don’t define yourself by).
The NXT star took the insult in her stride, calling herself a “good person with no abuse allegations”, a direct accusation toward Darby Allin for the allegations of abuse he suffered at the hands of his ex-partner.
“Being a good person with no abuse allegations against me is a huge part of my life and not just a character I play on tv.” Cora Jade Tweeted, before also deleting the post due to the backlash both wrestlers received.
Neither wrestler have spoken about the interaction since then and seem to have distanced themselves from one another.
Despite the allegations, Darby Allin still wrestles weekly on AEW Television.
He is set to wrestle against MJF, Sammy Guevara and Jungle Boy at AEW Double or Nothing 2023, in a huge Four Pillars battle for MJF’s AEW Championship.
I doubt Khan knows what coercion is. The fact Jay Lethal got hired kinda proves that.
And Pricilla Kelly/ GiGi Dolin essentially confirmed it while shaming the victim because she also doesn’t know what coercion is.
Heck, Darby Allin named himself after two people well known for manipulating, abusing and assaulting people. Why wouldn’t he do the same to his girlfriend while he keeps bragging about doing it to homeless people and others.