14 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite (20 Nov)

6. A New Direction

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AEW

If AEW somehow save the struggling Dark Order act it'll go down as one of the year's most impressive creative turnarounds, and it may begin with last night's awesome propaganda vignette.

Beginning with a downtrodden soul getting barged into and dropped his glasses at a subway station, it unfolded via a video from a faux-inspirational self-improvement guy with strong cult leader vibes, asking you if you were tired of being overlooked, of feeling alone. It was a full-on indoctrination effort from this cornball, whose expression and vocal tone flipped from welcoming to serious several times throughout.

Interspersed with flashes of Evil Uno masks, Bray Wyatt-style, it portrayed the Dark Order as a twisted group praying on the insecurities of marginalised people down on their luck. It was extremely well produced and executed. Of course, a truer test of its effectiveness will come when Uno and (Stu?) Grayson return to the ring, though a few weeks building this storyline away from the squared circle could work wonders.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.