No man is ever truly good. No man is ever truly evil.
How Adam Would Book... Aleister Black: The Dark Father
SUBSCRIBE TO partsFUNknown: https://bit.ly/2J2Hl6q
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/partsfunknown
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/partsfunknown/
Buy wrestling merchandise here: https://www.wrestleshop.com/
Read more Feature content here on WrestleTalk.com: https://wrestletalk.com/features/
How Adam Would Book... Aleister Black: The Dark Father
SUBSCRIBE TO partsFUNknown: https://bit.ly/2J2Hl6q
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/partsfunknown
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/partsfunknown/
Buy wrestling merchandise here: https://www.wrestleshop.com/
Read more Feature content here on WrestleTalk.com: https://wrestletalk.com/features/
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Hey Rich, so you're editing the Alistair Black Dark Fathers storyline so I had an idea for the
00:05opening. No no no it won't take much work so uh you know the thing Alistair Black does when he
00:10rises from the ground in the mist? I just want you to do that but with me but in the studio.
00:19Now I can't film it. Well Sullivan's not here to lift me up. I don't want to as well
00:28so you can just do that in post. Well I mean why not? That's what an editor does isn't it Rich?
00:38Okay you're just being very... I mean I you know I'm I put all this together. I'm I'm a genius.
00:47You know how long it takes me to write these? It takes me an afternoon Rich all right? A whole
00:55afternoon. What are you going to do with that afternoon? Oh I'm gonna hang out with my kid.
01:00Grow up all right? Do it. Do it or Ollie will hear about it all right? Thank you.
01:08Thanks babes. I love you. Thanks. Yeah I'm sure it's gonna look great. Yeah.
01:16You prick.
01:18No man is ever truly evil apart from sock puppet Sullivan. He sits on the devil's right hand.
01:23Alistair Black was and still is a lot like Bray Wyatt in a lot of respects. Not because they're
01:28both spooky wrestlers doing spooky moves and saying spooky things in a closet. It's deeper
01:38than that. The once Tommy End, former Alistair and current Malachi Black is a narratively
01:50ambitious character. One that takes the fact that wrestling is one long show with one unbroken
01:57continuity and tries to do something psychologically interesting with that much law. While some
02:03wrestlers shrug off character or gimmick changes as a change of heart or I saw the light or you
02:11people betrayed me. Wrestlers like Wyatt and Black have tried to weave all those twists into stories
02:20of shattered minds and demons in the dark. Like the Misadventures of Bray this kind of approach
02:26to character work does come with pitfalls. It's pretty underwhelming after all when a cult-like
02:31character makes a dark pact with a fallen angel and then loses in a fatal four-way tag match at
02:38Wrestlemania. I don't know just just for example. Black's better protected against this kind of
02:43damage to his aura mostly because his martial arts style and in-ring poise are so accomplished. The
02:49threatening character work and violent move set they gel a little bit more than I think they do
02:54with Bray. However the biggest similarity between the two characters is achingly clear. Both Bray
03:00Wyatt and Aleister Black were trying to tell complex stories that seemed to fall outside of
03:06their control leading to departures from WWE at shocking moments. And of course this horrible
03:14nagging feeling that something really interesting had been squandered. And boy oh boy Aleister Black's
03:21last year in WWE was mental. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. At Wrestlemania 36 Aleister
03:28Black wrestled worst ever version of Bobby Lashley for literally no reason. Like actually for no
03:35not not that's not hyperbole. There was no reason. They just announced it a few days before the show.
03:40There was actually a WWE.com exclusive promo where they asked Aleister Black hey Al why is this
03:46Wrestlemania match happening? And he replied there seems to be no rhyme or reason for Aleister Black
03:54and Bobby Lashley to collide. The world teaches us that sometimes there is no reason or rhyme
03:59for conflict. But if we push beyond the surface of Mr Lashley we see a powerful individual someone
04:07who I've witnessed and seen decimate people in mere seconds as have I. So in the natural order
04:15of things would it not make sense for us to find out who decimates who the quickest? That's the
04:22promo and that's why they had a seven minute match at Wrestlemania. That's a storyteller right
04:28there with no story doing his best. And that's a lot of Aleister Black in WWE. A heavily thematic
04:35character that isn't featured consistently enough to let that theme build to anything overarching
04:42beyond the occasional spooky promo that after a while all start to sound the same. Does that
04:50remind you of anybody?
04:54Bray Wyatt. In July 2020 Rollins was going on a bit of a kick of bursting people's eyes with
05:00the ring steps and his acolyte Murphy did some amateur optometry on Aleister Black
05:05sidelining him for a month before Black returned with a sort of medieval version of an eye patch
05:13and turned heel on Kevin Owens before tweeting let us begin. Then nothing happened Kevin Owens
05:20just needed a program apparently and Black slotted into that got finally beaten by Owens on Raw in
05:25October was drafted to Smackdown for a new start and checks notes disappeared for six months.
05:32However after Wrestlemania 37 the first Tales from the Dark Father segment aired on Smackdown
05:38April 23rd 2021 to be exact. These were absolutely brilliant by the way nothing not everything was
05:44bad beautifully animated dark parables of a child presumed to be young Aleister molded reared
05:51controlled by this elusive dark father who showed Black the true nature of the world.
05:57They are really good they're well directed well performed it's good stuff. A month later Black
06:03returned to TV attacking Big E helping Apollo Crews retain the IC title okay that's the feud
06:09then and two weeks later Aleister Black was released. I what what the literal like Bray
06:18Wyatt he was sidelined for months after a storyline disfigurement turned up around Wrestlemania 37
06:24a plan seemed to be in place and then he vanished forever only to appear on AW 30 days later because
06:29WWE bollocksed up his his no compete clause he's telling his NXT no complete clause and that's it's
06:35just so much stupid it's such a short amount of time. Regardless how you feel Black's AEW run
06:41has gone so far with his new children Brodie King Julia Hart and a man still inexplicably called
06:46Buddy the Dark Father is one of the most bizarre storyline cancellations in a very long time and
06:53leaves us wondering how else it might have gone well let me have a go
07:03if you enjoy my fantasy bookings and want more more always more why not join our patreon today
07:09at patreon.com forward slash wrestle talk if you join right now you'll find next month's booking
07:15video already there it's how adam would book Big E WWE champion watch it right now at patreon.com
07:22forward slash wrestle talk i think it's good i think it's well good and that so let's start this
07:27with the big question who is the dark father is it the devil is it some part of Aleister Black's
07:35psyche is it just some spooky dude and the answer is yes so full disclosure i actually have a little
07:43bit of a head start on this booking thanks in no small part to Laurie's Aleister Black explain
07:49video now that video is on parts of unknown and i think you should watch it because it's comfortably
07:54one of the best video series we've ever made i think it's delightful and those aren't just my
08:00thoughts on talk is Jericho Malachi Black revealed that he'd seen Laurie's video and thought it was
08:04great even mentioning that Laurie had managed to suss out or get very close to sussing out
08:09who the dark father actually was so that's 10 poirot points for Laurie Blake apparently the
08:15dark father is based off this bullheaded son of a bitch Moloch sometimes called Molech
08:23Molech which is very close to Malachi he's a god basically a deity from the worship by the
08:30canaanites who's like massively into child sacrifice like that's his gimmick yeah super
08:37you know how i'm into board games it's like that for Moloch but his version of having too many board
08:43games in a big collax in his house is getting his followers to sacrifice like a bunch of kids
08:48it is harder to get a hobby youtube channel about that monetized in John Milton's paradise
08:52lost yes this is going to be one of those fantasy bookings he mentions the big ball view canon
08:57first Moloch horrid king besmeared with blood of human sacrifice and parents tears though for the
09:05noise of drums and timbrels loud their children's cries unheard that passed through fire to his grim
09:13idol cool i'm having that that's brilliant that forms the basis of where i'm going with this
09:19Alistair Black storyline Black is haunted by this figure tormented by a devil of his own mind
09:27a voice that can only be quieted by one thing the child must pass through the fire and we begin after
09:35Wrestlemania 37 and look a bunch of stuff needs to change for this booking to go off a few people
09:40who got released need to be not that and chief amongst them you know Alistair Black but let's
09:47just go with it vignettes air that mention the dark father a similar style but a few content
09:53differences lots of candles like in real life and every time the vignettes begin with Black
09:58dressed in an impeccable black suit holding his hand over a flame if only says Black
10:06if only it was this easy Black tells stories of a child with a dark passenger a voice in his head
10:13a fire burning on his back a fire that won't go out a fire that he's come to realize must never
10:22go out for a very long time that voice the dark father spoke to the child whispered to the child
10:29told the child the truth of this world that no one else would the rules we've built around
10:35ourselves are a cage and when a creature finally sees the cage that it's in realizes its own
10:42captivity it can drive you mad the vignettes build and build like this god i love writing spooky
10:50ominous bollocks the voice in the child's head got louder over the years pills wouldn't shut it
10:57out alcohol wouldn't shut it out love violence for a time causing pain suffering i made the voice
11:09quieter but soon that child found it couldn't inflict enough pain couldn't hurt hard enough
11:16the child ran away for months it begged and pleaded with the voice what did the dark father
11:22want in the final vignette alistair black says finally the dark father told the child what it
11:28wanted what it needed the child must pass through the fire the child he gave an offering alistair
11:40turns to reveal that the entire back of the impeccable black suit is horribly burned but
11:47the voice didn't stop says alistair black this was not the child that the dark father wanted but
11:52for my courage for my sacrifice the dark father finally gave me a name so we begin with and
12:02honestly i promise i'm not obsessed with the man but we begin with bow dallas so he's on raw still
12:10he hasn't been released wrestling a match when out comes alistair black appearing in person for the
12:16first time he's wearing his suit half perfect half burned he steps into the ring looks bow dallas in
12:25the face and he almost looks sad sorry for what is going to happen next he hits bow dallas with black
12:32mass as bow lies in the middle of the ring alistair reaches under that ring for a gas canister
12:38walks back into the ring soaks bow with gasoline he takes out a lighter with a bull skull etched
12:45onto the side lights it but before he can officials run down and drag bow away maybe not a bull skull
12:54actually because that will that would look like he's stolen the rocks lighter didn't think didn't
13:01think about that the next week on raw bow's real life father mike rotunda the man formerly known as
13:06irs is backstage and is beside himself with rage he wants to know how his son could almost get
13:12burned alive on ww programming you know a dad would alistair black cuts a promo in the ring
13:19and offers mike rotunda answers when you become a father a part of you is lost part of your life
13:28isn't for you anymore your happiness your wants that part of you now belongs to your child
13:36except it isn't really a loss is it mike it's an offering well i've lost a part of myself as well
13:44you see i have an offering to make as well the dark father wants your child to pass through the fire
13:54and he will mind he will will you stop me for your child can you stop me
14:02horrid king besmeared with blood and parents tears and he hits mike rotunda with black mass
14:11bang dead bow dallas runs to the ring enraged alistair black versus bow dallas is set
14:18at hell in a cell and no holds barred match lots of talk of hell hell fire cleansing power of the
14:25flames devils yeah it's branding the match spills to the entranceway alistair black pulls up part
14:32of the stage floor pours gas into the hole that's formed lights it creates a pit of fire shot very
14:39carefully obviously smoke and mirrors etc but despite officials coming out to beg off alistair
14:44black he hits black mass and bow dallas falls into the flaming pit that's the end of the match
14:51because it would be wouldn't it as people rush to the scene with fire extinguishers as bow is
14:56hastily covered in fire blankets before he's carted away on a stretcher alistair black sits
15:02cross-legged on the stage and can be heard at last saying peace and that's bow written off wwe tv
15:13pretty much for good until he returns his uncle howdy in my bray wyatt fantasy booking you know
15:18the blompie cinematic universe the bcu it's all connected in following weeks cctv footage is shown
15:25of alistair black in a padded cell talking to doctors about why he did what he did is he going
15:31to do it again alistair repeats over and over again i'm better now the dark father has left me
15:39alone i'm better now i've regained the missing piece i'm better now after a while alistair black
15:46is allowed to return to wwe program he's happier he's calm serene giving it total white meat baby
15:52face happy to be here vibes even occasionally smiles it's very disconcerting to see a goth do
15:57that it's like seeing laurie smile it's not it's not natural take it away everyone is terrified
16:07to wrestle alistair black just in case you know but he shakes hands before matches enjoy occasionally
16:13explodes with knees kicks and a vicious black mass to the face but who doesn't alistair black
16:19is just a wrestler again he's better now until a month or two later when after a match
16:25black's face changes he looks around slightly almost like he's
16:34hearing something this continues for a little bit as alistair black wrestles it's clear that he's
16:41hearing the voice of the dark father again he the dark father wants someone a camera follows
16:46alistair black as he clutches his head walking around backstage screaming who is it who is it
16:52oh i understand father the name as we'll very soon come to find out is dominic mysterio
17:05let's get him first his dad's fought for custody of him in a ladder match now another wrestler
17:11wants to set him on fire he's been to prison just i don't know try finance dom it's this dangerous
17:17line of work for you and this is the form that the alistair black storyline takes you have to
17:21completely write bow dallas off so that the threat is real that when alistair black is given a voice
17:29he will stop at nothing until he offers that person to the dark father he will stop at nothing
17:37to put that person through the flames black starts to hound dominic stalking him
17:44trying to set him on fire to stop the voices in his brain and alistair black won't stop he is
17:50quite literally a man possessed which obviously puts him in the firing line of ray mysterio there's
17:56a nice little bit of mirroring here because alistair black back in 2020 was helping ray
18:01against seth and murphy which is what got his eye injured and made him piss off for a few months
18:08discovered the dark father basically maybe that's why the voice in black's head is pointing him
18:14towards the person who'd caused ray the most suffering i don't know it's like poetry i guess
18:20it rhymes people try to stop alistair black they talk to him his doctors try to turn him back from
18:25this dark purpose he simply responds would you explain to a rabid dog the reasons he should not
18:33be rabid this leads to summer slam ray mysterio versus alistair black ray begs for dominic not
18:40to be at ringside but dominic refuses to stay home all of these themes of duty selflessness
18:47versus selfishness what a parent gives up for their child and what a child might give up for
18:53their father in the match black victimizes ray mysterio exploits dom's presence at ringside
18:59using him as a distraction to blindside and punish mysterio he catches mysterio with a black mass but
19:06refuses to cover him he waits for ray to stand up again and he hits him with another he waits
19:11and then another he waits another dominic begs black to stop but he won't finally dom can't
19:19stand anymore and he offers himself so apparently there's a gel you can put on skin in order to set
19:26the skid on fire and they use that in stunt work essentially let's do that so dom places his hand
19:32in a bucket of it and he offers his hand out to appease black and he sets his hand on fire black
19:41finally finds some form of peace covers ray mysterio one two three ends the match dom has
19:49his hand extinguished rushes to his father's aid lots of emts and amongst that alistair black once
19:55again is calm and this can continue for alistair black he finds these long periods of peace where
20:01there's no voices in his head each time there's a longer and longer gap convincing him that he's
20:07finally better now before another target is given to him so you don't have to have the dark father
20:14storyline constantly on the boil which can book you into a corner because you know how do you have
20:19alistair black lose if this is the thing that he needs but very occasionally it flares up and
20:25alistair black briefly becomes the scariest person on the roster relentless until he does what he
20:30has to do until he passes the child through the fire it's almost a legend killer gimmick as well
20:37of sorts target only second or third generation stars that these old wrestling dads rush in to
20:43save their kids and get brutalized in the process parents tears like target and uso and rikishi can
20:50eat a black mass and turn the heat up on the feud randy orton can be targeted poor poor cowboy bob
20:56i70 though mate i don't know but you know randy orton vs alistair black i can dig it and i know
21:02i've drawn a lot of comparisons between the two men in this video but for me the dream finale to
21:06a storyline like this is alistair black versus bray wyatt two men who've literally been through
21:14hellfire and out the other side two men each with a dark passenger with a demon that compels them to
21:20do terrible things when it manifests itself it's also a natural end point because the dark father
21:26narrative began with bow dallas bray's real life brother so my pitch is this a firefly funhouse
21:34match but with the dark father included a fire dark fun dad match that sounded horrible though
21:43but this is when we finally see some of the physical representation of the dark father a
21:48creature with a bull skull's head the flesh burned off to the bone it's even a way of writing off
21:56both the dark father and the fiend it's all us getting proper anime this but alistair black and
22:03bray can fight in this funhouse and then slowly but surely their inner demons manifest until the
22:10fiend is locked in battle with the dark father and they end up destroying themselves in a fiery blaze
22:16leaving alistair black and bray wyatt behind maybe both men they realize maybe now we are finally
22:25better better for now and that's my pitch for alistair black and the dark father storyline
22:33what do you think did you hate it i hope not what else would you like to see me book
22:39make sure you join our patron if you want to get an advanced showing of next month's
22:43and we'll see you next time jam that jam sorry i'll do it a bit more gravitas like alistair black
22:50jam that jam