AEW: The Nightmare Family versus The Factory is pure genius

AEW has made a name for itself in short order by giving unfamiliar but seasoned talent as well as relative rookies a national stage to perform on.

A big way the fledgling company has accomplished this is by building a seemingly endless array of factions. The Elite. The Nightmare Family. Dark Order. The Hardy Family Office. The Inner Circle. The Pinnacle. Team Taz. And that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

But the game changed in AEW when QT Marshall turned heel and created a new faction called The Factory. The storyline feud between The Nightmare Family and The Factory is absolutely brilliant because it is about to launch some young wrestlers into superstardom.

The Nightmare Family rides into AEW

When AEW opened its doors, it had two or three factions in place almost immediately. Naturally, there was The Elite which consisted of Kenny Omega, Adam Page, The Young Bucks, and Cody Rhodes. That only made sense as they were at the foundations of the company.

In short order, Chris Jericho formed his new faction, The Inner Circle. His team was made up of Sammy Guevara, Jake Hager, and one of the greatest tag teams on the planet, Santana, and Ortiz. The fact that they haven’t held the AEW Tag Titles yet vexes a lot of fans.

Then there was The Nightmare Family. In the early days, it was pretty much just the three Rhodes, Cody, Brandi, and Dustin, and their associates QT Marshall and Arn Anderson. Brandi briefly had her own group called The Nightmare Collective but the less that gets mentioned the better.

The family quickly grew, adding Gunn Club, Lee Johnson, Nick Comoroto, and Aaron Solow. But it started to feel like anyone who wasn’t a member of another faction was part of The Nightmare Family. This changed quickly when QT made his big move.

The Family explodes

On March 31, 2021, QT Marshall turned heel on The Nightmare Family, taking Aaron Solow, Nick Comoroto, and Nightmare Factory trainee Anthony Ogogo with him. While there had been some build-up to this in the previous weeks, it was still a bit of a surprise.

Early in the genesis of The Nightmare Family, MJF was a member. But everyone watching was waiting for him to turn on Cody, which he inevitably did. MJF eventually did the same thing to Chris Jericho and The Inner Circle, as well. But fans expect that from someone like MJF.

QT turning on Dustin and family was a much bigger deal. During his entire AEW run to that point, he had been a stalwart member of The Nightmare Family and a reliable face. He even had a relatively successful tag team alongside Dustin Rhodes called The Natural Nightmares.

That’s what makes a good heel turn work, though. He was the last wrestler fans expected to do something like that and he played it the whole thing perfectly. But the real genius is the spotlight this is putting on some of the younger talent involved.

The young guns break out

At this point in their careers, Billy Gunn, Cody, and Dustin don’t exactly need major pushes. They are top stars in the business. And Billy Gunn in particular has never looked better. The man looks like he was sculpted out of marble.

But this whole angle has pushed some incredible young talent into the spotlight. This is the biggest storyline that Nick Comoroto, Lee Johnson, Aaron Solow, Anthony Ogogo, and both of the Gunn brothers have been part of in AEW. Period. This gives them a huge chance to shine.

It also has the potential to put QT Marshall in the title hunt for the TNT Championship. If it all goes well, this could even be a launching point to get Marshall into the AEW World Championship scene. He’s not going to take the belt off Kenny Omega, but he could become a credible threat.

At the core of AEW is the push for new and different talent, and that is exactly what the feud between The Nightmare Family and The Factory is already doing. The end result of this whole storyline will be a new batch of champions and big names in the world of pro wrestling.