Top five pivotal moments in the Wednesday Night War in the last 12 months

2) The Dark Order standing tall on AEW Dynamite was a low point of the Wednesday Night War

The Dark Order and The Young Bucks on AEW Dynamite

On the same night as Ripley’s coronation, AEW suffered a shocking letdown in the Wednesday Night War. An episode of AEW Dynamite ended with the Dark Order ambushing the Young Bucks. This assault felt cartoonish and goofy compared to the raw emotion of Ripley's victory. It remains one of the worst endings in AEW's tenure on TNT.

The crowd responded to the segment with groans of frustration, and this reaction spoke volumes. Evil Uno and Stu Grayson simply weren’t being taken seriously as the leaders of a featured faction. Plus, the fans' expectations for the Young Bucks were much higher. Though Matt and Nick Jackson were two of the company's top stars, they were stuck in disappointing feuds.

On this December night, the contrast between the shows was glaring. So it's not surprising that the black-and-gold brand decisively won the ratings battle. But in the weeks that followed, AEW managed to get back on track. Sometimes, it takes a crushing defeat to bounce back even stronger. That's exactly what happened here.

The Dark Order attacked Hangman Adam Page after the match and FTR was the first to come help him followed by Kenny Omega.We get closer and closer to Omega and Page splitting up. Will The Dark Order be the ones to get the job done?#aew #aewdynamite pic.twitter.com/DWc9rLVgSB

— Authors of Wrestling (@authofwrestling) July 23, 2020

AEW rebounded, and the company started regularly winning the ratings battle in the Wednesday Night War. The Dark Order became a fruitful stable, and the members of The Elite followed various paths to success.