As noted, last night’s AEW Dynamite episode on TNT saw Brodie Lee (Luke Harper) debut as The Exalted One, the leader of The Dark Order.
Lee was always planned to be the leader of The Dark Order once AEW confirmed he would be free and signing with the promotion, according to PWInsider. AEW played off the teases that the leader would be Matt Hardy as a way to help mask Lee’s debut. Lee’s debut would’ve received a louder pop in his hometown of Rochester, NY, but AEW was forced to move the show to Jacksonville due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking of Matt’s debut at the end of the show, he will be replacing Nick Jackson in the Blood & Guts match between The Elite and The Inner Circle. Jackson has had some time off as he and his wife are expecting their third child. As seen in the tweet below, Matt’s wife Reby Hardy confirmed that she was the one playing the piano last night.
Regarding the Blood & Guts match, PWInsider reports that the match will likely be pushed back from next week, March 25. The Inner Circle won the advantage in that match by winning last night’s six-man main event against The Elite. There’s no word yet on exactly why the match is being pushed back, but next week’s show is currently scheduled to feature Wardlow vs. Luchasaurus in a Lumberjack Match, plus Best Friends vs. Lucha Bros in a Parking Lot Street Fight. As noted, next week’s episode was moved from the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and will likely take place in Jacksonville, FL at Daily’s Place as they did with this week’s show.
Stay tuned for updates on Lee, Hardy and next week’s Dynamite episode. Below are videos from last night’s episode, including the debuts of Lee and Hardy, Cody Rhodes’ opening speech, and the segment with Lance Archer and Jake “The Snake” Roberts: