Speaking with the hosts on DDP Snake Pit recently, Darby Allin talked about what he went through before becoming one of the core roster members for AEW (via Wrestling Inc). You can listen to the entire episode and read a couple highlights from Allin below.
On where he felt he was headed in 2019: "At the time, I was being groomed to go to NXT. And I saw the writing on the wall, this was back when '205 Live' was a thing, and I was like, 'Hell fucking no I'm not going there to do that.' My money is in wrestling David and Goliath matches."
On how he viewed his career just prior to AEW: "I wrestled in Mexico a few times and then I felt like everything that made me special was lost when I was in Mexico because the art of selling goes out the window. All I could think about is there was no way. I wanted to go to AEW and then I can sink or swim on my own merit. I have the opportunity to get over as myself and then fail as myself."
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-35-darby-allin/id1602250827?i=1000577785204