Darby Allin is the resident daredevil of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), but the self-belief required to take such dangerous risks didn’t apply to all aspects of his career evenly. It does now.

A leap of faith off a 20-foot ladder comes a lot more naturally to Allin than speaking with conviction on a microphone. Now a self-anointed “promo guy,” Allin finally believes in the full scope of his talents. It’s an exciting development for an artist who walks, skates and freefalls to the beat of his own drum. Allin challenges for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship — the company’s top prize — at Sunday’s “Double or Nothing” event, headlining a card chock-full of legends like Chris Jericho, Christian Cage and Bryan Danielson.

“At one time, when AEW first started, I probably would have thought I wasn’t ready for that,” Allin tells ET Canada. “I thought I didn’t have the confidence within me. But now, dude, I’m laser focused. I know exactly who Darby Allin is and where I’m going. I’m going to the main event of ‘Double or Nothing.’

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“I don’t even think about how all these legendary people are on before me. I know what I’m capable of and what I’m capable of is main evening that pay-per-view.”

The “Double or Nothing” marquee is a celebration of AEW’s “four pillars,” four young professional wrestlers anointed as the company’s future. Two-time TNT champion Allin arguably had the most successful early run of the bunch, which includes reigning world champion MJF, “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry (son of the late Luke Perry) and Sammy Guevara.

“It was set up so well from the very beginning to debut against Cody Rhodes,” Allin recalls. “It was such an amazing debut. But when TV starts, you’re trying to find your ground with a national audience and who you connect to. Do you know what really helped? It was my mindset outside of the ring. That helped the most because there is only so much I can do on an episode of ‘Dynamite’ when you’re given 10 or 15 minutes to win people over. When I started doing stuff outside of the ring, it started giving me confidence. Who I was able to connect to outside of the ring.”

Newfound bonds in Allin’s private life cast light on a dim-lit, unbeaten path to stardom. Allin has always preferred the road less travelled. Connecting with his extreme sports idols was a valuable reminder to Allin to keep doing things his own, eccentric way.

“I’ve been hanging out with guys like Tony Hawk and Travis Pastrana,” Allin says. “They don’t watch wrestling. It’s not their demographic. But they see what I do in the ring and they’re like, ‘Yo, I’m a fan!’ That’s my whole goal, to connect with fans outside of the wrestling circle that haven’t given wrestling a chance. Once I was able to start connecting with people like that, I was like, ‘Dude, I’m onto something here.’ That’s why I love AEW so much because they give me so much inside the ring and outside of the ring too with my crazy shenanigans.”

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The face-painted Allin usually presents a brooding version of himself on AEW programming. If he appears more zen these days, you can thank famed record executive Rick Rubin.

“I went meditating with him a few weeks ago down in Malibu,” Allin says. “That’s a big thing. We talked for hours about meditation and your brain and finding inner peace. That’s a big thing I’m very hyped on. Finding that inner peace within yourself because, with wrestling, I can turn it off. I can find that peace within myself. Hanging out with him was very special.”

“AEW Double or Nothing” takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday, May 28.