The Dark Order is aprofessional wrestling stable signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW). The stable consists ofEvil Uno,John Silver,Alex Reynolds, andBrodie Lee Jr. The stable previously utilized maskedhenchmen dubbed "creepers" who, when the group was being portrayed asvillains, would join them in beatdowns and other disruptive acts as well as an unnamed spokesman who would be more formally dressed and did not participate in any in-ring activities.[1]
The group debuted with Uno andStu Grayson as its first members in May 2019, duringthe inaugural Double or Nothing pay-per-view. In March 2020,Mr. Brodie Lee made his AEW debut and was revealed as the leader (and "exalted one") of the stable. Several wrestlers were added to the group during this period, and Lee would ultimately win theTNT Championship in August 2020. However, when he died four months later, AEW hosted theBrodie Lee Celebration of Life; this saw the group turn intoheroic characters and name Lee's eight-year-old son their honorary new leader.
On November 20, the first of a series of Dark Order vignettes began airing, and in doing so, introduced the spokesman for the stable,[8] who communicated to Alex Reynolds through a hotel television.[9] Then,John Silver and Alex Reynolds joined the Dark Order.[10] On the January 1, 2020, episode ofDynamite, "The Exalted One" was revealed as the title of the Dark Order's mysterious off-screen leader.[11]
The stable's first feud was with SoCal Uncensored, and saw the Order try to recruitChristopher Daniels following his loss toSammy Guevara.[12] During the following weeks, The Dark Order faced SoCal Uncensored[13][14][15] including a victory atRevolution, where Uno and Grayson defeated Kazarian and Scorpio Sky in a tag team match.[16] On the March 18, 2020, episode ofDynamite,Mr. Brodie Lee made his AEW debut and was revealed as The Exalted One and the leader of The Dark Order, beating up Daniels and Kazarian.[17] Then, Lee would have several squashes against other wrestlers. Also, on the April 22, 2020, episode ofDynamite, Preston Vance joined the stable as 10.[18] On June 5, it was revealed that Alan Angels had been recruited as a new member of the Dark Order under the moniker of 5. He would later debut on the June 9, 2020, episode ofAEW Dark.
In May,Colt Cabana began a losing streak as Brodie Lee tried to recruit him into The Dark Order. On the June 10 episode ofDynamite, after Cabana lost toSammy Guevara, Lee came out to help Cabana to his feet and once again offer him a spot in the Dark Order. Later on in the night, Cabana was seen heading into Lee's office.[19] The following week, Cabana was handed an envelope by Lee that stated they will team together againstJoey Janela and Sonny Kiss. At the same time, Brodie Lee extended a hand toAnna Jay after her loss toAbadon. Cabana and Lee would defeat Janela and Kiss after Cabana got the pin on Janela.[20] Over the next few weeks, Cabana would begin a winning streak teaming with members of the Dark Order as he was slowly recruited into the group over time.[21] Anna Jay would later make her first appearance alongside the Dark Order on the July 29 episode ofDynamite.[22] On the August 22 edition ofDynamite, Brodie Lee defeatedCody for theAEW TNT Championship and later gave him back the shattered pieces of the prototype TNT title.[23] On the following episode ofDynamite, after a victory celebration, the Dark Order extended an invitation toTay Conti to join the group.[24] AtAll Out on September 5, Lee, Cabana, Evil Uno and Grayson were defeated byMatt Cardona,Scorpio Sky,Dustin Rhodes andQ. T. Marshall in aneight-man tag team match.[25] Lee lost the TNT Championship back to Cody on the October 7 episode ofDynamite.[26] The Dark Order would then more heavily pursue the recruitment ofHangman Page, whom they had made advances towards previously.[27]
In the days prior to Brodie Lee's death on December 26, 2020,[28] his older son,Brodie Jr., nicknamed "Negative 1", was signed toAll Elite Wrestling and became a member of his father's faction at the age of 8, with AEW stating that he can start to perform for the company when he becomes an adult if he so wishes.[29] The December 30 episode ofAEW Dynamite, known as the "Brodie Lee Celebration of Life", featured Dark Order members winning every match.[30] Following this, Dark Order transitioned into babyfaces as they continued their storyline involving Hangman Page where Silver and Reynolds teamed with Page on several occasions while also still trying to recruit him into the group.[31][32][33] However, on the January 20, 2021, episode ofDynamite, Page would politely rebuff their offer, as he felt that he did not work well in groups.[34] At theRevolution event on March 7, Page defeatedMatt Hardy; the Dark Order subsequently came down to the ring to celebrate with him.[35] AtFight for the Fallen, Page teamed with the Dark Order to face Omega, the Young Bucks andThe Good Brothers (Doc Gallows andKarl Anderson) in a10-man tag team elimination match, where if Page and the Dark Order won, they would receive matches for the world and tag team championships, respectively.[36] Page and the Dark Order were defeated, with Page being the last man eliminated on his team.[37]
On the June 15, 2023, episode ofROH TV, where The Dark Order had been appearing most frequently in 2023, John Silver confirmed that Stu Grayson had left the group and joined a rival faction, The Righteous withVinny Marseglia.[38]
Following Double or Nothing, Uno and Grayson were booked for some independent shows, usually against AEW contracted wrestlers, before the premiere ofAEW Dynamite in October 2019. This began atPro Wrestling Guerilla's Sixteen, on July 26, marking their first appearance in the company since 2013, when they were known as the Super Smash Brothers. They defeatedBest Friends (Chuck Taylor andTrent) by disqualification, when Trent hit a low blow in retaliation for the Dark Order doing the same when the referee was down.[39] On August 7, at anOriental Wrestling Entertainment (OWE) show inToronto, they defeated Strong Hearts (El Lindaman andT-Hawk).[40] The next day, they appeared at aProgress Wrestling show in the same city, but were defeated byAussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis), in a three-way match, also involvingThe Butcher and The Blade (Andy Williams andPepper Parks).[41]
Stu Grayson described The Dark Order as aScientology-like cult.[42] As part of the gimmick, the stable has tried to recruit people from outside of professional wrestling.[43] The stable also has a website, joindarkorder.com.[44] During the early days of the stable, Dark Order received a bad reception after a "cold debut" and a "disastrous main-event angle that saw one of The Dark Order's "minions" go viral for throwing blatantly fake punches."[42] Evil Uno and Stu Grayson agreed that the incident hurt their image until Brodie Lee was revealed as the leader of the faction.[45]
^Mr. Brodie Lee's elder son was made a member before Lee died.
^Lee died in December 2020. This appearance, as leader of the stable, was his last on AEW.
^In December 2021, it was revealed that "8," who debuted on April 1, 2020, was portrayed by Angels; June 9 represents his first appearance as "5"/himself.
^Cabana never explicitly announced his membership into the group and was recruited slowly over time. This date indicates his first time teaming with another member of The Dark Order.
^Colt Cabana never officially left the stable. This date reflects his last appearance alongside other members of the Dark Order.
^Stu Grayson never officially left the stable. This date reflects the day it was announced his contract had expired with AEW. He would later make a one night appearance on the October 14, 2022, episode of Rampage.
^After making another appearance on the March 15, 2023, episode of Dynamite, it was announced that Stu Grayson would be returning to AEW full time.
^While working as heels, an army of unnamed masked thugs are used in beatdowns and are frequently referred to by the commentators as "Creepers".
^abcdThis member never officially left the stable. The date represents their final appearance as a member.
^In December 2021, "8" was revealed to have been portrayed by Alan Angels, otherwise known as "5."
^In an interview onTalk is Jericho released on September 9, 2022, Alan Angels confirmed that "9" was portrayed by Preston Vance on April 1, 2020. In July 2021, "9" was revealed to have been portrayed by Brandon Cutler for his second appearance on August 5, 2020.
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