8 Wrestlers Who Could Be Revealed As Leader Of The Dark Order

1. Hangman Page

Brodie Lee Dark Order
AEW

Pros:

Hangman Page has plummeted in standing from AEW World Championship contender to a man who both feels like he isn't worthy of the Elite, and was made to not feel worthy of the Elite at Bash At The Beach. He is precisely the sort of act the Dark Order are preying on: low on confidence, rejected, in a state of professional crisis.

Cons:

This is where things get iffy, and the potentially fatal folly of the Dark Order reveals itself. In concept, the idea is inspired and congruous to AEW's wins-and-losses-matter framework. There is a gravity and consequence to losing that the Dark Order prey upon to bolster their ranks. In presentation, the act comes off minor league, and the sight of Hangman Page in a purple mask just seems awful. His apathetic drunken persona is a far funnier, meme-generating take on his mindset.

Revealing Page as the Exalted One would feel like Stan Hansen turning into Mideon before our very eyes, and what's worse, we'd have to buy the idea that Page was scheming with Evil Uno and Grayson all along - presumably before he even lost said, career-defining title match.

Probability: 40%

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!