All Elite Wrestling brings superstars Sting and Darby Allin to Savannah's Enmarket Arena

Wrestling legends and legends in the making will clash in the ring when All Elite Wrestling (AEW) returns to Savannah for a live televised episode of its flagship TBS series Dynamite, as well as a taping of Friday night’s Rampage.

AEW has an exciting roster of stars, many of whom are likely to appear at Enmarket Arena on Wednesday night, including Jon Moxley, Adam Cole, Orange Cassidy, Bryan Danielson, Saraya, and many more.

There are several big narratives happening in AEW that could develop at Dynamite and Rampage. The current AEW World Champion, Samoa Joe, is throwing down the challenge for anyone who wants to try to take the belt from him, and Swerve Strickland is gunning for the title.

Former Hall of Fame tag team partners Christian Cage and Adam Copeland have been having beef with each other and that drama could play out, as well.

“Christian Cage is the TNT Champion, and he has become one of the most vile and terrible people I’ve ever worked with,” said AEW Commentator and Senior Producer Tony Schiavone. “Of course, he’s had two matches with his former partner and Christian has been able to escape both times.”

Long-time sports announcer finds home in AEW

AEW launched in 2019 and has grown to become the first real competition for WWE in over 20 years. Last August, AEW reached a milestone when it held a pay-per-event at Wembley Stadium in London for the first time.

“That was the biggest moment of my career and I’ve had some pretty big moments,” said Schiavone. “I go back to Madison Square Garden as one of the biggest moments, but nothing tops putting 81,000 people in a stadium.”

“I think it speaks a lot to our company, the impact that we’ve made in, not only wrestling, but the entertainment world, that we can do that.”

Schiavone has been involved with wrestling on and off since 1983, first as an announcer for Jim Crockett Promotions, then for WWE from 1989 to 1990, and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1990 to 2001.

When WCW was absorbed by WWE, Schiavone tried various other jobs including announcing games for the Atlanta Braves AAA minor league team, working for Georgia Bulldogs Radio Network, and even trying his hand as a barista at Starbucks.

After 18 years away from the pro wrestling business, Schiavone was invited to work for AEW, and it has been a perfect fit for the broadcasting veteran.

"I’m having the time of my life,” said Schiavone. “These five years have been the best years of my career on many levels, as far as enjoying the people I work with, enjoying the work we do, feeling a part of something.”

Even as an announcer, Schiavone has taken his share of physical knocks during matches. In 1987, while announcing from the ring, Schiavone got cornered into the turnbuckle by the Road Warriors’ entrance.

“Hawk walked right over me like I wasn’t there and one of his spikes hit me on the chin,” recalled Schiavone. “I had blood pouring down my face while I did the ring announcement, which I was very proud of.”

At an event at the Savannah Civic Center in the 1990s, Schiavone was injured while announcing from a ringside table.

“Mick Foley, who back then was wrestling as Cactus Jack, flipped over the top ropes of the ring and landed on my arm and sprained my shoulder, and I was in a sling for six weeks,” said Schiavone. “I remind him of this every time I talk to him.”

Schiavone has been around pro wrestling long enough to see the sport evolve into a more extreme spectacle. Wrestlers now incorporate barbed wire, chairs, metal stairs, ladders, bags of thumb tacks, and other dangerous props into their matches.

“You gotta be pretty damn tough to be a wrestler,” said Schiavone. “Even more so now because there are so many crazy things that are done. I was a fan of wrestling in the 70s and it was a completely different sport. You have to be tougher now than ever before.

Darby Allin: 'I am willing to do things no one else is willing to do'

That toughness is exemplified by one of AEW’s biggest stars—Darby Allin.

Allin is a 2-time AEW TNT Champion who came into wrestling from skateboarding, a sport that prepared him for taking lots of falls.

“Falling on concrete is as hard as it gets, and I grew up my whole life falling on concrete skateboarding,” said Allin. “The first time I entered wrestling school and I learned how to fall on the mat, the wrestling coach was expecting me to get up and go, ‘Ow, that hurt,’ but I got up, I was perfectly fine and like, ‘Let’s go!’ My pain tolerance was at an all-time high.”

Allin is a fan of punk rock and took his stage name from The Germ’s Darby Crash and transgressive performer G.G. Allin. Allin’s signature skull face paint covers half his face to convey that he has been “half-dead” ever since he survived a car crash as a child that killed his uncle.

What Allin lacks in bulk, he makes up for with speed and daredevil antics. Allin's penchant for dangerous stunts (including jumping from high bridges and waterfalls and flipping tricycles off huge ramps) has translated into some of the wildest moments in AEW matches. One famous match saw Allin doing a forward flip from the top of a ladder standing in the ring onto his opponent Jeff Hardy who was lying on a pile of chairs on the floor below. It’s a tough feat to beat, but Allin is just looking for the right moment to top it.

“A lot of the time things come to me the day of,” said Allin. “When I was on top of that ladder earlier in the day looking down, I was like, ‘I’m for sure going to the hospital tonight.’ I actually didn’t feel a thing from that. I walked away perfectly fine.”

Allin’s next high-flying moment may come when he finishes his longtime tag team partnership with the legendary Hall of Famer Sting. Sting is preparing to fight his final match in March, but before his retirement he plans to go out with a bang. Sting and Allin will surely be at Savannah’s AEW Dynamite event as they continue the journey to Sting’s swansong match against the Young Bucks.

“He’s the best, most humble guy ever,” Allin said of working with Sting for the last several years. “He has no ego whatsoever inside the ring or outside the ring. I would not have wanted to be paired up with anyone different because he teaches me, more than anything, that staying humble is most important in this journey in wrestling.”

Wrestling icon Ric Flair, The Nature Boy himself, has been by Sting’s side on this journey, as well, and Allin couldn’t have dreamed of teaming up with two bigger stars.

“The best thing about both of those guys is they still want to put the work in and put on the best show,” said Allin. “They have a better work ethic than a lot of the young guys. You can’t complain or argue that they shouldn’t be there because when it’s time, they really put on a show and work hard.”

Besides wrestling and skateboarding, Allin’s next extreme challenge is to climb Mount Everest this summer. Outside of that, he wants to remind fans why he should be the face of AEW.

“I’m willing to do things no one else is willing to do,” said Allin. “I’m willing to go places no one is willing to go. I really believe I’m the spokesperson for this company.”

If You Go >>

What: AEW Dynamite/Rampage

When: 7:30 p.m., Jan. 24

Where: Enmarket Arena, 620 Stiles Ave.

Cost: $20-$120

Info: enmarketarena.com

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: All Elite Wrestling brings superstars to Savannah's Enmarket Arena