10 Failed AEW Experiments
5. Brodie Lee As Mr McMahon
One of the earliest moments of true AEW greatness and boldness was the debut of Brodie Lee. It forged a path forward for many overlooked stars of the company’s competition. Even with the rumours swirling when Lee came forward as The Dark Order’s true leader, The Exalted One, wrestling Twitter shattered into a million pieces.
Every second that Brodie was on screen in AEW, and allowed to do whatever he wanted, he was captivating. However, many believe that there was a slight misstep along the way with his character.
Brodie came out of the gate by filming backstage vignettes where he played the incredibly strict and uptight mastermind of the Dark Order stable. Some loved it and some had no idea what was going on, which was quite understandable if you didn’t have a handle on the backstage talk about WWE’s chairman Vince McMahon. Jabs at Vince’s hatred of sneezes and calling yawning “weak” were clear digs at Brodie’s former employer, and the “Mr Brodie Lee” character always ate first.
Reactions were at the very least mixed, ranging from calling it hilarious to pointless, cheap humour.
Either way, Brodie’s character transformed into what it needed to be and he went on to claim the TNT Championship, leaving a mark on All Elite Wrestling forever.