AEW Booms/Duds: Britt Baker doesn’t give a you know what

https://twitter.com/AEWonTNT/status/1248056554672156672

Boom: a return to form for The Exalted One

The last two weeks, I have written how the video packages for “The Exalted One” Brodie Lee seemed disjointed from the portrayal of Dark Order’s leader leading up to the reveal. Particularly with last week’s video, he seemed to be more a hyperbolic yet petty parody of Vince McMahon.

Well, let’s call last night a refreshing regression to the mean.

Yes, there were still shots at McMahon, but refreshingly, they were subtle and not overt like the previous weeks. “Mr. Brodie” is still impeccably dressed, but now, he’s enforcing a dress code on the Creepers of Dark Order, even giving telling the one who was in a dress shirt and gold tie he had an “opportunity” for him.

What that opportunity is we don’t know yet, but it left me wondering and intrigued.

Also, unlike the previous videos where he enforced his wishes through intimidation, fear, and physicality, Lee instead used positive reinforcement by rewarding the well-dressed Creeper.

Not only do the subtle shots at McMahon over his attire and management/leadership styles help this week, but the subtlety also makes it more relatable to fans. Why?

Most of us know people and/or bosses who have the same sort of ethos: how you present yourself is as important as how you conduct business. As Lee said, “Do you gentlemen understand perception is reality?”

When he says people think the Creepers look like “one of them,” what does he mean? Does he mean a professional wrestler, a WWE wrestler, an “indie” (with all the negative connotations) wrestler, or just what their name implies in Creepers? That’s another question I have after this video.

Further, it adds layers to Lee’s character. Rather than the petulant man-child from previous weeks, we instead have a commanding, methodical, yet caring leader (though that term can be twisted). He didn’t tear down the other two who were dressed like they were going to workout like he did the the sneezing and yawning ones. After all, he said his mission is to make every single life he touches “extraordinary.” This is a much more believable and mission-driven statement and character trait than the man he portrayed for two weeks who thinks yawning and sneezing are signs of weakness.

Now we know Dark Order isn’t just about looking creepy, but about recruiting people who think Mr. Brodie can make their lives extraordinary. This return to form for Lee (and Dark Order by extension) leaves me much more excited for what is to come from “The Exalted One” and his followers.