10 Defences Of Horrible Wrestling Moments
9. The Original Dark Order Idea
Right.
Presentation-wise, the Dark Order of 2019 was atrocious. Laughable. You could have put prime Stan Hansen, Terry Gordy, Harley Race, Mark Henry and Bam Bam Bigelow under those 'creepers' masks, and you'd still be unable to take them seriously.
The execution of the idea was poor, too; until December 18, when AEW took it much too far by having them batter (or rather miss by miles) Dustin Rhodes, Cody and Kenny Omega, the Dark Order didn't even rely on those shindie rejects for "strength in numbers". Evil Uno and Stu Grayson lost frequently in TV matches. SCU and Private Party defeated them in the early months of Dynamite.
The idea itself wasn't actually that bad. Before it went so badly that a full retcon was necessary, the Dark Order act was meant to make holistic use of the rankings system. The idea was for the Order to prey upon the losers, shaken by defeats that were framed to matter, and buttress their ranks. They added the Beaver Boys and, on Being The Elite, teased recruiting Brandon Cutler and Michael Nakazawa. The losses suffered would A) get the winners more over and B) shape the character arcs of those left devastated by losing.
Wins and losses mattering was always AEW's selling point: apply much in the way of generosity, and the Dark Order stable wasn't the worst idea - in theory - until Mr. Brodie Lee saved it.