It Was This Close: What Did AEW Have In Mind For The Dark Order Before A Surprise Signing?

He would have made sense. Factions are a tricky thing to pull off in wrestling. There are a few ways to set one up though and either one has a lot of merit. First up, you can have the leader state their purpose and then form the army. The other option is the opposite, with the army being formed and then the leader being announced. The latter is the case in a big storyline at the moment, but now some changes may have to be made.

One of the major stories in Dynamite at the moment is the Dark Order, which has been around since the show came on the air. The team is built around the idea of a cult and a few wrestlers have joined the team in recent weeks. During that same time period, a leader, known as the Exalted One, has been mentioned. The leader’s identity is the big question, and now we know who it won’t be.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the original plans called for Marty Scurll to be revealed as the Exalted One of the Dark Order. However, earlier this month, Scurll re-signed with Ring of Honor instead of signing with AEW. There is now no word on who will be the new Exalted One or when the identity of the new leader will be revealed. The Exalted One was directly addressed on Dynamite, with a member of the Dark Order speaking to him, though he was never shown on camera.

The Dark Order does seem appealing. Check out one of their fairly creepy ads:

Opinion: Scurll would have been appropriate for the leader, though I’m not sure who the leader is going to be now. There is a chance that Matt Hardy could be brought over to AEW to become the Exalted One, though that does not exactly have the same impact. AEW could go in a lot of different directions with this move and I hope that they go with something that feels as big as it can get.

Who do you want to be the leader? Who will the leader be? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews.

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