Off the heels of AEW Double or Nothing 2019, The Dark Order had everyone talking. From their humble beginnings as a video game-inspired tandem to their current iteration in AEW’s tag team division, the duo of Evil Uno and Stu Grayson had plenty to prove.
It was easy to imagine that they will play a pivotal role in the initial AEW World Tag Team Championship tournament.
How did this team get to where they are now? The team of Uno and Grayson, collectively known as The Dark Order, from their humble beginnings in Canada to their biggest break yet in All Elite Wrestling.
Uno and Grayson made their singles debuts in the mid-2000s before ultimately forming the tag team known as Triforce, based on the hit video game series, “The Legend of Zelda.” They had their first match, as a tag team, in 2006, in Canadian Professional Wrestling International.
In their tandem debut, they defeated Ryan Rush and Zack Storm, known as Sudden Impact. In December, they made their way to International Wrestling Syndicate. At Seasons Beatings, they defeated Shayne Hawke and Jimmy Stone in the opening match.
The Super Smash Brothers – ( Before The Dark Order )
In 2007, Uno and Grayson became known as The Super Smash Brothers, inspired by another video game series by Nintendo. The Super Smash Brothers remained in IWS throughout the year, focusing on the IWS Tag Team Championship.
After failing to win the titles early in the year, they received their greatest opportunity in September at Blood, Sweat & Beers. In the opening match, The Super Smash Brothers defeated Shane Matthews and Jagged of 2.0 to win their first IWS Tag Team Championship. They also made their CHIKARA debut in November, competing with the likes of The Colony and CHIKARA founder Mike Quackenbush.
In January of 2008, The Super Smash Brothers debuted for Combat Zone Wrestling, losing to Greg Excellent and Beef Wellington, known as 2 Girls 1 Cup. In March, they wrestled for CHIKARA’s King of Trios tournament, teaming with El Generico to make it to the second round.
The same month, after numerous successful defenses, they dropped the IWS Tag Team Championship in a four-way elimination match. The Super Smash Brothers would then focus on the CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas Championship in the fall.
In September, they defeated the team of Hallowicked and Delirious for the title in question; they would drop the titles to Amasis and Ophidian the following month. The Super Smash Brothers remained a mainstay in CHIKARA, working with other talents, including Tim Donst and Kevin Steen.
Time in Ring of Honor
After wrestling a few dark matches for Ring of Honor, The Super Smash Brothers made their official debut for the promotion in May of 2009. At Never Say Die, they lost to Rhett Titus and Kenny King. Among the duos they wrestled in ROH included Steen and Generico and The Briscoes.
In July of 2010, The Super Smash Brothers competed in the Dark Tag Wars tournament, losing to The Bravado Brothers, Lance, and Harlem, in the first round. In November, The Super Smash Brothers debuted for EVOLVE.
At EVOLVE 6, they lost to Up In Smoke, Cheech, and Cloudy, in the show’s sole tag team match.
In March of 2011, The Super Smash Brothers started for Beyond Wrestling. They won their first four matches in the promotion, working with such teams as Ryan Slater and Joe Gacy, The Runaways.
Throughout the year of 2011, The Super Smash Brothers wrestled for various promotions and competed for different titles, including the GCW and 2CW Tag Team Championships. In August, they won the vacant A1 Tag Team Championship in a three-way elimination match at One More Day in Paradise.
The following September, they made their debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla at The Perils of Rock N’ Roll Decadence. It was here that they lost to The RockNES Monsters, Johnny Yuma, and Johnny Goodtime.
They ended the year on a high note in December at North Shore Pro Wrestling, where they defeated Michael Style and Marko Estrada for the promotion’s tag team championship in a cage match.
EVOLVE & NSPW
Going into 2012, The Super Smash Brothers continued to perform in EVOLVE and NSPW, just to name a few promotions. At PWG World’s Finest, In March, they won a three-way match that also featured The RockNES Monsters and The Young Bucks. The following month, at EVOLVE 11, they overcame The Gentleman’s Club’s Drew Gulak and Jack Manning.
That same month, they competed in PWG’s DDT4, defeating The Young Bucks, Future Shock, and Husky Black Guys to win the tournament. This led them to PWG Death to All But Metal in May, where they defeated The Young Bucks for the PWG World Tag Team Championship.
The Super Smash Brothers would claim the 2CW Tag Team Championship the following month. By the end of the month, they competed in Dragon Gate USA, where they debuted in November.
The Super Smash Brothers started 2013 on a rocky note, as they dropped the PWG World Tag Team Championship to Michael Elgin and Brian Cage in January. They would go on to drop the NSPW Tag Team Championship in a four-way elimination match in February.
In April, they would start to turn things around as they overcame The Young Bucks at EVOLVE 19. 2013 also marked the year when The Super Smash Brothers debuted for Smash Wrestling.
After countless bouts in Capital City Championship Combat, based out of Ontario, they challenged for the C4 Tag Team Championship in January of 2014; they were unsuccessful. They would also unsuccessfully challenge NSPW Tag Team Champions 3.0 in March.
In October, The Super Smash Brothers competed in a gauntlet match for NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship at NSPW’s 6th Anniversary event.
The Dark Order – Immortal Kombat III
In May of 2015, The Super Smash Brothers won gold once more, claiming the A1 Tag Team Championship at Immortal Kombat III. Their work with Smash Wrestling continued as well, as they worked with such teams as Checkmate and The Flying Francis. The Super Smash Brothers would drop the A1 Tag Team Championship in a gauntlet match, in May, to Lionel Knight and Justin Sane.
In October, The Super Smash Brothers debuted for Westside Xtreme Wrestling in the World Tag Team Tournament. In February of 2016, they competed in Smash Wrestling’s F8ful Eight tournament, making it to the finals, ultimately won by Pepper Parks and Mike Rollins.
By November, at the A1 Final Act 7, they unsuccessfully challenged Rickey Shane Page and Gregory Iron for the A1 Tag Team Championship.
The Super Smash Brothers would compete in the 2017 F8ful Eight Tournament in March, once again making it to the finals. They would also defend the Royal Canadian Tag Team Championship, which they won in November the year prior.
During the last half of 2017, they exchanged title victories and losses with The Fraternity’s Trent Gibson and Channing Decker.
In February of 2018, The Super Smash Brothers finally won the F8ful Eight, besting such units as oVe and La Tabarnak de Team. The following month, they challenged Parks and Rollins for the Smash Tag Team Championship but emerged unsuccessful.
In May, however, they bested Clean Up Society for their second NSPW Tag Team Championship, which they dropped to The Untouchables in October.
In November, however, they competed in the ROH/NJPW Global Wars program, challenging SoCal Uncensored’s Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky for the ROH World Tag Team Championship.
The Dark Order – Evil Uno & Stu Grayson Are All Elite
In 2019, the duo of Evil Uno and Stu Grayson surprised many in All Elite Wrestling; at Double or Nothing, in May, they made an unannounced appearance, attacking Best Friends and the team of Angelico and Jack Evans following their hard-fought match.
Accompanied by a group of masked minions, not to mention sporting a sinister attitude, Uno and Grayson would be collectively known as The Dark Order. They had their first AEW match at Fight for the Fallen, in July, where they defeated A Boy and His Dinosaur and the team of Angelico and Evans.
With this victory, The Dark Order received an opportunity for a first-round bye in the upcoming AEW World Tag Team Championship tournament. It was also announced that, at All Out, The Dark Order would challenge Best Friends for said first-round bye. All Out is set to take place on the 31st.
The Dark Order has not only made an impact in AEW but in other promotions as well. Roughly two weeks after Fight for the Fallen, The Dark Order returned to PWG, defeating Best Friends at PWG Sixteen.
It’s clear that these teams have a budding rivalry that will come to a head at All Out. Throughout their international wrestling endeavors, The Dark Order has not only gained experience but a menacing confidence as well. It will be this very demeanor that takes The Dark Order to new heights in AEW.
