If you were perplexed during AEW’s Double or Nothing when an unnamed and unexplained group laid waste to a ring full of wrestlers including the tag team of Best Friends, Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta, finishing hi the stunt by making a human pyramid, you were not alone.
It was a bizarre moment during the otherwise highly entertaining night ushering in AEW to the world of professional wrestling. We now know that the leaders of the mob were Evil Uno and Stu Grayson, the tag team calling themselves The Dark Order.
Prior to signing with AEW, The Dark Order wrestled under the tag team name of the Super Smash Brothers through various independent wrestling promotions across Canada as well as the United States. Nicolas Dansereau began wrestling at the young age of 14, eventually settling on the name Player Uno. He based his persona on the wildly popular Nintendo video game Super Smash Bros.
His fascination with all things video game related was evidenced by his unique in ring attire which was modeled after a Nintendo (NES) controller. Dansereau partnered with Marc Dionne, who was wrestling under the moniker of Stupefied to form the tag team tandem of the Super Smash Brothers. Dionne would eventually change his name to Player Dos, a name more fitting of the Super Smash Brothers gimmick.
The Smash Brothers have an impressive history of tag team championships across a number of promotions. Their ability to compete and win against a variety of competitors and their unique style was obviously attractive to the powers that be from AEW. The Super Smash Brothers have twice hoisted the Royal Canadian Tag Team Championship belts above their heads, most recently in August of 2017 where they avenged a title loss to the team of The Fraternity consisting of Channing Decker and Trent Gibson.
Additional hardware collected by Dansereau and Dionne include the Pro Wrestling Guerilla (PWG) World Tag Team Championship which they held for 232 days. They were twice crowned as North Shore Pro Wrestling (NSPW) Tag Team champions which they held for a combined 568 days, International Wrestling Syndicate (IWS) Tag Team champions, Chikara Tag Team champions, A1 Tag Team champions twice, and 2CW Tag Team champions.
In May of 2018 The Young Bucks returned to perform at Ring of Honor’s War of the Worlds Tour to face the Super Smash Brothers. This event was noteworthy as The Young Bucks handpicked their opponents for this match. This shows the level of respect the Super Smash Brothers have earned throughout their career in professional wrestling.
This event marked the return of the Super Smash Brothers to Ring of Honor after a nearly eight year absence. This was not the first time The Young Bucks and Super Smash Brothers had faced off inside the ring. Both tag teams were very familiar with each other based on their epic battles in PWG. The Young Bucks defeated the Super Smash Brothers in a high energy affair which was a fan favorite of the War of the Worlds event.
So what is it about this tag team that has made them so popular with fans while allowing them to gain the respect of wrestling insiders and fellow performers? It starts with their in ring ability. Both performers have received rave reviews from fans regarding their technical skill and showmanship. Often described as high flyers combined with impressive power which makes them formidable against multiple tag team styles. Their tandem piledriver combined with various splash moves creates excitement and non stop action for the fans.
Their rise through the independent circuit to AEW was powered by hard work, dedication, and a commitment to always improve their craft. The hard work and perseverance has finally paid off as they look to make their mark in the most relevant, fan-centric wrestling promotion in the world.
Fans can expect the same high flying, non-stop in ring action they have come to expect from the Super Smash Brothers. The Dark Order’s gimmick will be just that, darker, than what fans have come to expect from this dynamic duo. The fact that AEW created and disseminated a video warning the rest of the tag team division that the Dark Order “have their sights set on AEW’s tag team division” should be proof enough that they are going to be receiving a big push. The Dark Order are primed to fill the roles of tag team heels in AEW and continue their feud with The Young Bucks, while creating new rivalries within the rest of the division.
In recent times the tag team division in the world of professional wrestling has taken a back seat to the single’s division. It appears AEW is attempting to bring the tag team division back to prominence with teams such as The Young Bucks, Dustin and Cody Rhodes, Lucha Brothers, So Cal Uncensored (SCU), and Best Friends. Handled correctly the tag team division can be one of the most exciting and compelling divisions in professional wrestling, unfortunately in much of the industry this division is often an afterthought.
The tag team division offer fans a unique opportunity to witness differing styles between four wrestlers during the same match. Tag team matches are often fast paced, high flying, energetic matches which capture the attention and imagination of fans in a way that other matches can’t. When appropriate creative resources are dedicated to the division it can strengthen the overall brand of the promotion. The collection of tag team talent AEW has assembled shows a commitment to this division and offers fan hope for a compelling and entertaining tag team division, something that has been missing from the landscape of professional wrestling for quite some time
AEW has a full schedule events lined up in the near future and a major television deal beginning in the fall. Fyter Fest, Fight For The Fallen, and All Out are scheduled for later this summer. There will be multiple opportunities for the Dark Order to establish themselves as legitimate title contenders within the tag team division of AEW. So far very few specific tag team matches have been announced for the upcoming summer shows. I anticipate that the Dark Order will feature prominently in these events and encourage you to keep an eye out for upcoming announcements regarding matches featuring the Dark Order.
AEW recently revealed their plans to have a tag team tournament, beginning this fall to crown the first ever AEW tag team champions. Tony Khan, speaking about the tag team division, on Steve Austin’s podcast stated “we’re going to establish a great tag team division. When we launch our weekly television show in the fall, we’re going to be doing a tag team tournament that’s going to have some of the greatest tag team matches ever on TV.”
AEW has made it very clear that they are going to make the tag team division a major focus of the brand. Make no mistake that the Dark Order has arrived in AEW and they will not be satisfied until they have been crowned AEW tag team champions.
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