Cook: Will 2021 Be Dark Order’s Year?

In the immediate days after the death of a public figure, one is prone to overstating the impact that person had. That isn’t a bad thing. The dead deserve our respect, and people should be allowed to celebrate their fallen favorites however they wish. Should that include some innocent hyperbole, there’s nothing wrong with that in my book. Especially when it involves someone that was overlooked during life.

Many things have been said about Jon Huber & his impact on pro wrestling over the past few days. As time passes, we will be able to properly rate the impact that Huber had on AEW during his seven months with the company. As we have more TNT Champions, we’ll be able to discuss where Mr. Brodie Lee ranks among them. There is one thing we can say for sure about the effect he’s had on AEW.

He was the best thing that could have happened to the Dark Order.

This one’s easy to prove. Check out how they ended 2019.

It was a good idea in theory. AEW obviously had high hopes for Evil Uno, Stu Grayson and their assorted “creepers”. Uno & Grayson had been great opponents for the Young Bucks in the indies, and could be relied on to be solid parts of AEW’s constantly growing tag team division. The gimmick wasn’t really working though. Uno walking around shirtless and using his minions as a human chair struck people as weird more than anything particularly evil. As much as we all love Alex Reynolds & John Silver now, at this point in time they were two random guys that we knew as “enhancement talent”. Not exactly people you would expect as focal points of a beatdown of top babyfaces. Then there was also the matter of those unfortunate “punches” that became quite the meme. Even the people that ride & die with everything AEW produces had a hard time defending this thing.

Things didn’t look good. We’ve seen factions killed off for less. The Dark Order had an ace in the hole, though. Soon after this, Evil Uno and the unnamed spokesperson began talking about the leader of the Dark Order, who they referred to as “The Exalted One”. There were plenty of rumors about who it would be, the most persistent one involving Matt Hardy. Sounded like something that Matt would want to call himself. Turns out, it wasn’t Matt Hardy because too many people thought of it! Brodie Lee’s name popped up as being AEW bound, but not many figured him being the Exalted One.

It was a 180 from what we knew him as prior.

For one thing, he was always a follower in WWE. The guy barely ever talked there. You never saw Luke Harper in suits, nor did you see crazy truck driver “Big Rig” Brodie Lee wearing suits. It was a different idea, and Brodie needed a little time to figure the character out. One thing he could start right away: whipping his group into shape. Teaching them how to increase their potential.

Granted, it wasn’t easy. Silver & Reynolds weren’t the most successful recruitment experts. Uno wasn’t always able to do exactly what Brodie wanted. The group upgraded almost immediately though. 5, 10 & Anna Jay came in as top young prospects and were able to find their place in the group. Colt Cabana kept hanging around to lend his help & expertise. Brodie’s leadership transformed the Dark Order from a group teetering on the verge of non-existence into, for lack of a better term, cult favorites.

The Dark Order is not a cult. No sir.

We saw what happened on Wednesday night. The proper thing to do on that night was to highlight the Dark Order members the way they were. The question is where they go in 2021. For one thing, it looks like they’re headed towards the face side of the entrance way. Gonna be tough to feature these guys as heels anytime soon. That won’t last forever. After all, a man named Evil Uno will always have a dark side.

Who will step up? Uno & Stu could step right into the tag team title scene and nobody would bat an eye. Or maybe Silver & Reynolds. Silver as a single has potential too. Anna’s in a good spot to become a top female star, AEW definitely needs some of those. 5 & 10 are a little young, but I could see them doing some things.

And maybe they convince Hangman Page to join the group. That’d give them a world championship contender. Maybe Dustin Rhodes decides to become Seven? OK, that one’s probably not happening. There are a lot of potential options for success here. I’m optimistic, and will be rooting for them.

Evil Uno is optimistic too.

Evil Uno declares that 2021 will be Dark Order's year.

— EVIL UNO of the DARK ORDER (@EvilUno) January 1, 2021

They’ll do it for Mr. Brodie. They don’t have much of a choice.