Early Life

Samuel Ratsch was born on January 7, 1993, in Seattle, Washington. Growing up, he competed in track and field, football, and amateur wrestling. After high school, Ratsch attended film school in Arizona but later dropped out. Ratsch then pursued a career in skateboarding.

Ratsch lives a straight-edge lifestyle as a result of childhood trauma; when he was five years old, Ratsch was in the passenger seat while his uncle was driving under the influence of alcohol. His uncle lost control of the car and died in the consequent crash.

Independent Wrestling Career

In late 2014, Ratsch made his professional wrestling debut for Blue Collar Wrestling in Portland, Oregon. His initial ring name was Darby Graves, though he changed it to Darby Allin shortly after his debut.

Darby went on to wrestle across the country in various indie promotions such as MLW and Evolve. He also wrestled in Mexico for AAA and in the United Kingdom for Progress Wrestling.

Darby made a name for himself through his gutsiness and ability to endure pain. This durability and grit soon caught the eye of the Elite, who brought him on board their newly launched wrestling promotion.

All Elite Wrestling

On April 12, 2019, Darby signed with All Elite Wrestling. He made his debut for the company on June 29 at Fyter Fest, where he fought Cody Rhodes to a time-limit draw. Darby immediately impressed the AEW fan base and became one of the company’s most popular babyfaces. Something that helped Darby stand out was the incorporation of his skateboard into his matches; Darby rode his skateboard down the entrance ramp and often used it as a weapon in the ring.

Over time, fans dubbed Darby, Sammy Guevara, MJF, and Jungle Boy as AEW’s “Four Pillars” on account of their potential to carry the company well into the future.

On November 7, 2020, Darby defeated Cody Rhodes to become the TNT Champion. Cody and Darby had great respect for each other and remained allies in a feud with the new, heelish faction, Team Taz. It was also during this feud that Darby first crossed paths with an important mentor of his.

Alliance With Sting

At Winter is Coming 2020, Sting made his AEW debut by coming to the aid of Cody and Darby. From then on, he became Darby’s mentor and tag team partner. At Revolution 2021, Sting and Darby defeated Ricky Starks and Brian Cage in a cinematic match.

Sting and Darby made an impressive tag team together and fought on numerous occasions against opponents like the Men of the Year, the Inner Circle, and the Hardy Family Office.

On the May 12 2021 episode of Dynamite, Darby lost the TNT Championship to the monstrous Miro. His reign came to a close at 186 days, giving Darby the record for the longest TNT Championship reign.

Darby would recapture the TNT Championship on January 4, 2023, by defeating Samoa Joe in his hometown of Seattle. However, not even a month later, Darby lost the belt back to Samoa Joe.