The Dark Order

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The Dark Order
The Dark Order old logo
Stable
MembersSee below
Name(s)The Dark Order
Billed fromThe Keep
DebutMay 25, 2019
Years active2019–present

The Dark Order is a professional wrestling stable currently wrestling in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and consisting of Evil Uno, John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and Brodie Lee Jr. The stable also sometimes utilizes masked henchmen dubbed "creepers" who, when the group is being portrayed as villainous, will join them in beatdowns and other disruptive acts.[1]

The group debuted with Uno and Stu Grayson as its first members in May 2019, during the 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 the TNT Championship in August 2020. However, when he died four months later, AEW hosted the Brodie Lee Celebration of Life; this saw the group turn into heroic characters and name Lee's eight-year-old son their honorary new leader.

Background[edit]

See also: Super Smash Brothers and Beaver Boys

Uno and Grayson previously teamed together as the Super Smash Brothers and were known primarily for their work in Chikara and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). Reynolds and Silver previously teamed together as the Beaver Boys, and were known for their work in Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). Both tag teams were one-time PWG World Tag Team Champions.

Uno and Grayson were first shown at the end of a Being The Elite episode, when The Young Bucks teased the signing of the Super Smash Brothers.[2]

Professional wrestling career[edit]

All Elite Wrestling (2019–present)[edit]

Uno and Greyson with unnamed members of the Dark Order in October of 2019

On May 25, 2019, at Double or Nothing, Uno and Grayson were repackaged and made their surprise debut as The Dark Order.[3] After Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent) defeated Angélico and Jack Evans, Uno and Grayson appeared ringside after the lights went out, and attacked everyone alongside their masked henchmen (referred to as "creepers").[4] On July 13, at Fight for the Fallen, they made their AEW in-ring debut in a three-way tag team match defeating Angélico, Evans and Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus), advancing to All Out for an opportunity at a first round bye in the AEW World Tag Team Championship tournament.[5] On August 31, at All Out, they defeated Best Friends to receive a first round buy-in for the AEW World Tag Team Championship tournament.[6] They were unsuccessful in the tournament, losing to eventual winners SoCal Uncensored on the October 23 episode of Dynamite.[7]

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 of Dynamite, "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 recruit Christopher Daniels following his loss to Sammy Guevara.[12] During the following weeks, The Dark Order faced SoCal Uncensored[13][14][15] including a victory at Revolution, where Uno and Grayson defeated Kazarian and Scorpio Sky in a tag team match.[16] On the March 18, 2020 episode of Dynamite, 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 of Dynamite, 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 of AEW 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 of Dynamite, after Cabana lost to Sammy 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 against Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss. At the same time, Brodie Lee extended a hand to Anna Jay after her loss to Abadon. 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 of Dynamite.[22] On the August 22 edition of Dynamite, Brodie Lee defeated Cody for the AEW TNT Championship and later gave him back the shattered pieces of the prototype TNT title.[23] On the following episode of Dynamite, after a victory celebration, the Dark Order extended an invitation to Tay Conti to join the group.[24] At All Out on September 5, Lee, Cabana, Evil Uno and Grayson were defeated by Matt Cardona, Scorpio Sky, Dustin Rhodes and Q. T. Marshall in an eight-man tag team match.[25] Lee lost the TNT Championship back to Cody on the October 7 episode of Dynamite.[26] The Dark Order would then more heavily pursue the recruitment of Hangman 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 to All 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 of AEW 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 of Dynamite, Page would politely rebuff their offer, as he felt that he did not work well in groups.[34] At the Revolution event on March 7, Page defeated Matt Hardy; the Dark Order subsequently came down to the ring to celebrate with him.[35] At Fight for the Fallen, Page teamed with the Dark Order to face Omega, the Young Bucks and The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) in a 10-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 of ROH 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 with Vinny Marseglia.[38]

Independent circuit (2019)[edit]

Following Double or Nothing, Uno and Grayson were booked for some independent shows, usually against AEW contracted wrestlers, before the premiere of AEW Dynamite in October 2019. This began at Pro 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 defeated Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent) 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 an Oriental Wrestling Entertainment (OWE) show in Toronto, they defeated Strong Hearts (El Lindaman and T-Hawk).[40] The next day, they appeared at a Progress Wrestling show in the same city, but were defeated by Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis), in a three-way match, also involving The Butcher and The Blade (Andy Williams and Pepper Parks).[41]

Professional wrestling character[edit]

Stu Grayson described The Dark Order as a Scientology-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, as a part of their act.[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]

Members[edit]

* Founding member(s)
L Leader(s)

Current[edit]

Member Number Portrait Tenure Ref
Evil Uno 1
Evil Uno Oct 2019 (cropped).jpg
 May 25, 2019 - present
Alex Reynolds 3
Alex Reynolds September 2018 (cropped).jpg
 December 18, 2019 - present
John Silver 4
John Silver June 2019 stand (cropped).jpg
 December 18, 2019 - present
Brodie Lee Jr.[note 1] -1 December 22, 2020 - present

Associates[edit]

Member Tenure
"Hangman" Adam Page December 16, 2020 [note 2] - May 28, 2023
Tay Conti August 3, 2020 [note 2] - February 16, 2022

Former[edit]

Member Tenure
Mr. Brodie Lee † L March 18, 2020 - October 7, 2020[note 3]
Alan Angels 5 June 9, 2020[note 4][46] - June 29, 2022[47]
Colt Cabana 8 June 24, 2020[note 5] - March 15, 2022[note 6]
Anna Jay 99 July 7, 2020 - July 20, 2022
Preston Vance 10 April 22, 2020[48] - November 23, 2022[49]
Stu Grayson 2 May 25, 2019 - May 2, 2022[note 7],
October 15, 2022,
March 15, 2023[note 8][50] - June 15, 2023

Part-time[edit]

Member Tenure Ref(s)
"Creepers" [note 9] August 1, 2019 - August 27, 2020[note 10]
Unnamed Spokesman November 20, 2019 - June 3, 2020[note 10]
8[note 11] April 1, 2020[note 10] [51]
9[note 12] April 1, 2020
August 5, 2020[note 10]

Timeline[edit]

Sub-groups[edit]

Affiliate Members Tenure Type
Silver and Reynolds Alex Reynolds
John Silver		 2019–present Tag team

Former[edit]

Affiliate Members Tenure Type
Uno and Grayson Evil Uno
Stu Grayson		 2019–2022,
2023		 Tag team
TayJay Anna Jay
Tay Conti 		2020–2022 Tag team

Championships and accomplishments[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Mr. Brodie Lee's elder son was made a member before Lee died.
  2. ^ a b This date indicates their first time teaming with another member of The Dark Order.
  3. ^ Lee died in December 2020. This appearance, as leader of the stable, was his last on AEW.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Colt Cabana never officially left the stable. This date reflects his last appearance alongside other members of the Dark Order.
  7. ^ 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 14th 2022 episode of Rampage.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ While working as heels, an army of unnamed masked thugs are used in beatdowns and are frequently referred to by the commentators as "Creepers".
  10. ^ a b c d This member never officially left the stable. The date represents their final appearance as a member.
  11. ^ In December 2021, "8" was revealed to have been portrayed by Alan Angels, otherwise known as "5."
  12. ^ In an interview on Talk 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.

References[edit]

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  2. ^ Staff, AEW (April 15, 2019). ""Spellbound" - Being The Elite Ep. 147". YouTube.com. Being The Elite. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
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  5. ^ Witner, Arya (July 13, 2019). "AEW Fight for the Fallen live results: Young Bucks vs. Rhodes brothers". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
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  8. ^ Keller, Wade (November 20, 2019). "11/20 AEW DYNAMITE TV REPORT: Keller's report on Moxley vs. Darby Allin, Jericho big announcement, Nick Jackson vs. Fenix, Private Party vs. Santana & Ortiz". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
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  18. ^ Gallagher, Marilee (2020-04-23). "Preston Vance Has Joined the Dark Order". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
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  25. ^ Powell, Jason (September 5, 2020). "AEW All Out results: Powell's live review of Jon Moxley vs. MJF for the AEW Championship, Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs. FTR for the AEW Tag Titles, Hikaru Shida vs. Thunder Rosa for the AEW Women's Title, Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy in a Mimosa Mayhem match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  26. ^ Powell, Jason (October 7, 2020). "10/7 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of 30 years of Chris Jericho celebration, Brodie Lee vs. Cody in a dog collar match for the TNT Championship, Brian Cage vs. Will Hobbs, Chris Jericho and Jake Hager vs. Luther and Serpentico, Serena Deeb vs. Big Swole". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  27. ^ AEW Staff (November 25, 2020). "AEW Dynamite Results for November 25, 2020". All Elite Wrestling. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  28. ^ Staff, ESPN (December 26, 2020). "The wrestling world mourns the loss of Brodie Lee". ESPN. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  29. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (December 29, 2020). "Tony Schiavone Reveals AEW Signed Eight-Year-Old Brodie Lee Jr. To A Contract". Fightful. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
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  31. ^ Tessier, Colin (January 17, 2021). "Anna Jay On How The Dark Order Has Changed: 'We're Probably Nice Guys Now'". Mandatory. Retrieved January 17, 2021. I think now we're even more like a family on-screen and off-screen. So I feel like we kind of have to go in that direction…. We're probably nice guys now…
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  33. ^ Wilkins, Rob (January 20, 2021). "AEW Dynamite 01/20/21 Results: Inner Circle 3-Way Tag Match, appearance from Sting, Omega, and more". Fightful. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  34. ^ Boutwell, Josh (January 20, 2021). "AEW Dynamite Results – 1/20/21 (Sting, Jon Moxley, Inner Circle 3-way)". WrestleView. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  35. ^ Powell, Jason (March 7, 2021). "AEW Revolution results: Powell's live review of Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley in an Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match for the AEW Championship, Young Bucks vs. Chris Jericho and MJF for the AEW Tag Titles, surprise debut, Face of the Revolution ladder match for a TNT Title shot". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
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  43. ^ Lambert, Jeremy. "Sinbad Joins The Dark Order On Being The Elite, Brodie Lee Bans Twitch In Shot At WWE | Fightful News". www.fightful.com. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  44. ^ "Home". Joindarkorder.
  45. ^ García Trigo, Gonzalo (18 June 2021). "Evil Uno y Stu Grayson hablan sobre el incidente de los puñetazos falsos en AEW Dynamite". Solowrestling.mundodeportivo.com. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
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  47. ^ NASON, JOSH (28 June 2022). "Dark Order's Alan '5' Angels likely done with AEW as contract expires". F4wonline.com. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
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  51. ^ Khan, Tony. "Welcome back to AEW, @stu_dos! After a great match last night on #AEWDynamite in his return, he's more motivated than ever, and now it's official: Stu Grayson is All Elite, again". Twitter.com. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  52. ^ Staff, AEW (August 13, 2020). "AEW TNT Championship". Allelitewrestling.com. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
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  54. ^ a b c d e "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2021". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved October 7, 2021.

External links[edit]

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