Dark Order

[3.0] "Dark order was dead on arrival, it started with a bad debut where the crowd chanted "Who are you". At first, they were supposed to be a serious group, but it quickly became a comedy jobber act. Their peak was when Brodie Lee was their leader, and even then the group was pretty weak. At this point, they're only in AEW as an honor to Brodie's legacy. They've also lost a few members over the years, wouldn't be surprised if all of them are let go one day."

[1.0] "They have essentially been a part of AEW since the beginning & they have always been a reason to make people tune out. Evil Uno alone has sunk so many ratings. He simply belongs nowhere near a wrestling ring. They had a momentary jolt of life when Brodie was part of the group. But once he was gone, the group plunged as far into lameness as possible. They started with the notion that there were all sorts of members. But once AEW couldn't keep up that charade, the few core members that they used were very bad & uninteresting. They are also part of one of AEW's first real stinker of a show closing angle, when they attacked a bunch of people with horribly worked punches. That segment is still mock today."

[2.0] "I've never liked this stable. They were one of the worst acts in AEW when they debuted, and however you feel about what happened since then they've been around far too long as a comedy act. Most of the wrestlers that have been members weren't good either. Reynolds and Silver are okay as a tag team, but the act is beyond stale at this point. Evil Uno sucks, and he really shouldn't be on television. Stu Grayson had potential but that was squandered because he was involved with this stable. Ten was awful, and he was someone the booking team wanted to push for whatever reason, and to do so they got him out of this stable. It goes to show how they feel where Dark Order belongs on the card. I like Colt and Lee, but their impact on what this stable could have been ended up being limited in my view."

[8.0] "Yes, they had an absolutely horrible start. But the night Brodie Lee debuted, they've been great ever since. Evil Uno especially saw improvement. Sadly, they've been stuck on Rampage for quite a while, but they at least have their own series in replacement of Being The Elite that I love."

[7.0] "The Dark Order has had a whole lot of ups and downs throughout their tenure. They started off as just a super weird and bad team with a bunch of nameless, blank minions to beat down people in super sloppy and messy brawls that made them look weaker than anything else. The additions of Silver and Reynolds and Vance and Angels really helped the group, but the great and late Mr. Brodie Lee could've helped this group to the main event scene. Now his very sad passing was definitely bad for the group and their momentum, even if the tribute show made them look like absolute superstars, but AEW didn't do too much with them after. Adam Page being involved and having their family vibes push him to the World Championship was incredible, but nobody else in the actual group was pushed and it really hurt them in the long run. Now, they don't really do much on AEW or ROH. They should really be given more to do as they are all super entertaining and good wrestlers."

[3.0] "Pretty weak. It has been a bad journey for Dark Order, first, they had to get rid of the minions because they sucked so bad. Then, everything was kinda better with Mr. Brodie Lee. But then everything went down the toilet because he left us. Then they tried something with Colt Cabana but nobody cared. Now days every one of them are jobbers and I don't think whey will rise again..."

[5.0] "Meh. Super cringey when they first started, then Brodie Lee showed up and they were cool for a while. Then Brodie Lee died and they became de facto babyfaces and their whole thing became "remember Brodie Lee? isn't it sad how he died so tragically young? please cheer us now". This was fine I guess. Probably the highlight of the stable's history was their relationship with Adam Page. Now they're heels again and down to just three very OK wrestlers who do a good job when AEW needs some warm bodies for a babyface to pin. You could do worse than The Dark Order but you sure as shit can do a lot better too."

[6.0] "One of the biggest examples of wasted potential in AEW. Once they started building towards the Exalted One they had some great presentation and intrigue going on that really popped off with Brodie Lee taking the helm. Momentum was mostly very strong for a while (aside from everyone on the roster constantly refusing to join) up through the Dynamite where they completely dominated the show, ending with Brodie destroying the TNT belt as the entire Nightmare Family lay broken in the ring before them, only to have the rug pulled right out from under them in the coming weeks with the good ol' Codyverse coming through to help him get the title back. Ever since then - with the exception of their work with Hangman - they've felt like a weak, directionless joke of a team despite Silver/Reynolds being such a damn good tag team and Uno proving time and time again that he's a fantastic storyteller. The fact that their story with Hangman and the Elite never went anywhere after that phenomenal Trios Title match is an absolute travesty. The 10 heel turn fell so flat for what should have been an emotional moment considering his ties with -1 of all people, but him joining LFI made absolutely 0 sense considering their place on the card and motivation for doing so. Hopefully they get better booking going forward because the core trio deserve so much more than what they've been given."

[6.0] "I rate this as a really average stable, interesting for the lower midcard and some midcard stuff. The beginning with Mr. Brodie Lee was great, but after his passing the faction were almost always more of the same, but in my opinion they are interesting to have around in the company."

[4.0] "Lingering on, painfully without direction or any real intrigue. Had a peak under Brodie Lee but now they are down to three members. Evil Uno is the only great character worker and speaker in yhe group and could be credible in a proper tag team. Silver is too goofy to be any kind of heel or even a good tweener."

[4.0] "Outside of their 2020 run under Brodie, the Dark Order has been a pretty meh faction. The individual members are talented but I just don't find them all that interesting as a group. Under Brodie's tutelage the group did start to gain some legitimacy and make up for their awful first few months but since his death they've gotten more and more irrelevant."

[2.0] "Save for a brief run with Brodie Lee that brought a little bit of interest and credibility, this stable has been a complete joke since its inception; ridiculous gimmick and shoddy workers, coupled with booking that gives me no reason to take this group seriously."

[5.0] "The saddest part about the Dark Order is that it started off quite badly (only two regular members, and random local workers as the unnamed 'creepers'), but then improved with the addition of new members and the appearance of 'The Exalted One' Brodie Lee. Sadly his debut coincided exactly with the COVID-19 pandemic starting, which meant the two original members (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) couldn't appear for months, as they were restricted to their home nation of Canada. Then the ultimate blow happened with the untimely passing of Lee himself. After that, they were kept going more as a tribute to Lee than anything else, and slowly members left the company or dropped out of the faction. Looking at their entire run to date, it's hard to say they've been anything more than adequate-to-satisfactory. That may sound harsh, but I think even the members themselves would agree. It wasn't due to lack of talent, ability, desire or commitment from any of the members, instead it was the result of lots of cruel circumstances. I think in retrospect the stable will probably be remembered fondly, but an honest assessment is that it has been a missed opportunity through no one's fault. Perhaps if Brodie Lee Jr. does make it as a pro, and starts a new incarnation then The Dark Order will have a well deserved better 2nd chapter."

[3.0] "At this point, the Dark Order is basically the Brodie Lee Memorial Jobber Squad. Or, rather, has been reduced the tag-team of Silver & Reynolds and Evil Uno. (Stu Grayson is technically still in the stable, but not on AEW's roster.) The stable really has no direction or reason for existence, and due to their weird relationship with Hangman Adam Page, the Dark Order often feel like background characters in their own story. Their attempts at the trios titles, for instance, have been more about Hangman's relationship with the Elite than the Dark Order itself. The post Brodie Lee Dark Order really has no direction. Unlike the BCC, the Dark Order really doesn't do anything, it is just a bunch of guys who hang around just because."

[3.0] "Put this faction out of its misery, it's just cringe at this point. Yes, they had a moment to shine with Brody Lee, but stop dragging his memory like a cross, it's gross. The remaining members are a direction-less comedy troupe now, and saddling Hangman with carrying them along has killed his momentum as a top guy. Sure, some of the dudes still around have some redeemable features, but what are their goals? Anna peaced out for the JAS right after the group reaffirmed that they weren't going anywhere!"

[7.0] "This faction really would have been nothing without Brodie Lee, as they started off as an unusual faction with no clear direction but finally succeeded with the leadership of Brodie Lee, and despite his unfortunate passing have still managed to fit in with AEW as being Hangman's support group, and as cringe as that sounds they appear to fit that role particularly well."

[7.0] "When I first saw them in AEW had no idea what they would become, normally I would say a large expansion in a short amount of time is bad for a stable and when it went from a tag team with minions to an actual stable I was skeptical on it working out. Mr. Brodie turned all that around. Everything just felt right about it and the momentum has continued for a while. Unfortunately as members leave and more talent come into the promotion they seem to be losing importance. Hoping this turns arounds because there is talent still in the group. RIP Brodie Lee!"

[3.0] "Before Brodie Lee's death (Rest in Peace), they were a very good and interesting stable, but after Brodie Lee's death, they crashed without a parachute. Bullshit comedy stuff, unfortunately, doesn't interest me. They've become a useless community wasting time on AEW Dark. Shame on Brodie Lee, wish they could find a leader for the group."

[6.0] "Yeesh put this stable out of its misery. They just lost their best worker in Stu, now all that's left is the fantastic team of Reynolds & Silver that AEW still refuses to give an actual push, 10 who for some reason still has a mask but has potential without it. Then you have the jokes of Angels, Cabana, Jay, and Uno that bring the rest of Dark Order down. Split off Reynolds & Silver into a tag team you can push and unmask 10 and make him the face version of Will Hobbs. The latter 4 I mentioned don't deserve to be in AEW period. I don't get how they can sign people like them and not indie guys like Corey Hollis."

[4.0] "As wrestlers they're fine, with a few of them even being pretty good work-horses who can give some pretty exciting and energetic performances, but as characters they're pretty dorky. They started with Grayson and Uno genuinely trying to put themselves over as serious "dark and evil" heels who were slowly forming a larger cult, which was laughably goofy and not at all compelling. Then things picked up a bit when Brodie Lee came in to finally give the team some desperately needed star power, but it still just felt like Brodie was clearly a large number of levels above them, with the wider Dark Order just along for the ride as decorations and not actually getting elevated or developed from that attachment in any way. Now Dark Order are just goofy comedy dorks, which lets me know that I no longer need to take them at all seriously as threats whenever they're in the ring. They briefly found some use as they attached themselves to Page, creating a quirky dynamic of some would-be dark cultists turned jokers teaming up with an anxious alcoholic cowboy, but then they never played any major role in Page's ascension to becoming world champ and they were then quickly cut out of his storylines, with that partnership essentially having zero effect on either Page or the Dark Order themselves. They now have no direction outside of jobbing every week on Dynamite and Rampage, or beating even bigger jobbers on Dark and Elevation, which makes it difficult to get at all invested in them. Their multi-man tag matches can still be pretty fun when the right guys (most notably Silver) get to be the ones in centre stage, but they've definitely worn out their use and are barely even over with fans anymore due to how inconsequential their booking has become. Definitely time for a break-up or at the very least a major re-shuffling to try freshen them up somewhat."

[6.0] "The Dark Order is full of wrestlers that are individually interesting, but none of whom are able to carry a faction on their own. Not a one of them are bad, per se-- they just need somebody to give them legitimacy. That used to be Mr. Brodie Lee. Then it was Hangman Page. The problem is that when they lose that frontman-- through events beyond anybody's control-- then the faction doesn't have much to carry it. I think there's enough talent here to do a lot with, but they constantly lack a certain element of star power."

[8.0] "They are great and have so much potential but they just don't seem like a threat, not to mention they are long overdue for another championship, whether it is singles or tag team."

[2.0] "Dark Order, the group that turned from a strong, heat-drawing group to a goofy 3rd standard comedy play. Then came the Exalted One and made this group 100% better. But now that he isn't really there anymore, this group is one of the most irascible things in the pro wrestling industry. Probably the most horrible thing on AEW TV. I love AEW but dark order without Brodie lee seems like a diver without a proper diving suit. Before the pandemic, they were doing fine. However, post-pandemic and post-Exalted One, they have no proper build, no seriousness, no sense of threat, and absolutely no sense of booking. I adore Silver, Alex, Super Smash Bros. for their quality wrestling not their comedy skits on BTE. And clearly, we don't get enough of their quality matches rather than we see them acting goofy and meek on TV. In my opinion, their existence should be called off for now until Brodie Lee grows up as a mature wrestler."

[8.0] "One of the most recognizable faction lately. When they will have once again the spotlight on Dynamite, we will roll."

[4.0] "Since they turned to comedy, they are boring and not a threat. Silver keeps being the MVP. Anna Jay looks good and has gotten better. The rest are meh."

[1.0] "I don't watch BTE cause I don't hate myself that much, but on tv these guys are just bad, they add nothing to the table if not more bad comedy which the show certainly doesn't need, they're supposedly jobbers but they're everywhere and now they're bringing down with them even Hangman so I know they're gonna ruin him for me."

[7.0] "I 've always liked the idea of an evil brainwashing cult for a stable, I really like the Dark Order presentation (that short "recruitment" video they made is an absolute blast), I even like the idea of putting them on Dark to squash folks. Don't know how high they can get in the pecking order but so far they have been pretty entertaining."

[10.0] "Probably the best clan in AEW. Of course, at first I didn't really take them seriously, but as soon as Brodie Lee came along, it became serious. They're dominant, dangerous, and that's all we wanted. And I'm waiting for the moment when Colt Cabana will be heel and become a full member of the Dark Order."

[9.0] "Great stable, even better Chili's spokespeople. Once Mr. Brodie Lee destroys fools and deals with that kid John Silver, I have a hankering for some baby back ribs with barbecue sauce. Evil Uno and Stu Grayson have been a great team for many years, Alan Angels continually impresses, they've found a purpose for Anna Jay and Tay Conti, and somehow Lee is the Hank Scorpio to Colt Cabana's Homer Simpson. Well layered after an iffy start."

[8.0] "I was initially skeptical, but the Dark Order has certainly grown on me. They started off rather cheesy, but once they finally found some character, they became interesting. I have always had a guilty pleasure for creepy gimmicks like this, and this is no exception. An 8."

[6.0] "I have no real strong opinions on them. A very interesting gimmick that i'm not repulsed by or praise as genius like some others. I think as a stable though it is very good too test new guys or indy guys out as 'creepers' / numbered creepers."

[8.0] "They have good wrestling matches with the other talent, and they have the potential to post a threat to the aew roster. -PS typed before the exalted one."