One of AEW's longest running storylines has been the guiding hand behind Dark Order. On "AEW Dynamite," While many fans thought The Exalted One would be revealed to be Matt Hardy, it was instead Brodie Lee -- formerly known as Luke Harper in WWE. That doesn't mean Hardy failed to debut on Dynamite, as the former WWE and IMPACT superstar made an appearance to close the show.
Evil Uno and Stu Grayson of Dark Order were out to deliver on their promise of revealing The Exalted One on Dynamite when interrupted by Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian of SCU. Daniels and Kazarian insisted there was no Exalted One, only Uno and Grayson. They were then interrupted by a video package revealing Lee as the man behind Dark Order. Lee then appeared in the ring and led his group in a beatdown of SCU.
OH. MY. GOODNESS. #JOINDARKORDER #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/cBefGM8jMy
— The Exalted One on TNT (@AEWonTNT) March 19, 2020
Lee was one of the men many thought could be Dark Order's Exalted One, though recent social media posts and actions from Matt Hardy had many feeling he would be the man revealed to be in power for AEW's resident cult faction. Lee had been a force on the independent scene before signing with WWE and finding success as part of the Wyatt Family until his career stagnated and he left WWE for greener pastures. He now has the chance to lead a prominent group in the AEW ring.
Dark Order's Evil Uno has used Twitter in the lead to the reveal to list a number of people who are not The Exalted One, including some legitimate options -- such as Christopher Daniels -- and some absurd, including Macaulay Culkin. Other names tied to potentially being The Exalted One included Hardy, Raven and Lance Archer.
Later in the show, following a match to determine which team would have the advantage in the Blood & Guts match at the upcoming pay-per-view, Hardy did debut. With The Elite team of Adam Page, Matt Jackson and Cody -- accompanied by Kenny Omega -- having lost to Chris Jericho's Inner Circle, Jericho pointed out The Elite would be "outnumbered" at Blood & Guts. At that point, Matt Hardy's drone "Vanguard-1" flew into the ring.
Jackson pointed out Jericho was wrong, and they would not be outnumbered because he called in a favor before the camera cut to Hardy, high in the empty arena. The show went off the air as Hardy gestured with his trademark "delete" arm motion.
The debut of a pair of former WWE superstars, one a cult follower turned cult leader and the other an enigmatic character who is now supporting a group he had little to do with previously, were the highlight of yet another empty arena show in a wrestling world suddenly filled with such events. But they also represent big movements in main storylines for AEW as they continue to chart choppy waters in an uncertain world.
