The Aces & Eights faction became one of the most important acts in Impact Wrestling history, for better or worse. Bully Ray, D-Von, Mike Knox, Luke Gallows and many others made up the group of bikers looking to take over Impact Wrestling. The storyline ran for over a year, with talents like A.J. Styles, Jeff Hardy, Hulk Hogan and others trying to stop their hostile takeover attempts.
The hope was that the mysterious element of Aces & Eights would lead to viewers tuning in to find out what happened next. Impact didn’t benefit much from the group, but fans certainly do have a memory of just how strange things became. Here's a run-down of interesting facts and trivia about Impact Wrestling’s Aces & Eights.
10 They Were Inspired by Sons of Anarchy
The Sons of Anarchy television series found huge success on cable and inspired the idea behind Aces & Eights. Eric Bischoff admitted on his 83 Weeks podcast that he thought it would be a cool idea to have a faction of bikers looking to take over the company after watching Sons of Anarchy.
Unfortunately, the vibe of the group never had that appeal to it, though fans did enjoy the mystery element of trying to figure out who was involved in the group and which wrestler was running it. Bischoff may have found more success with the concept if Impact could have added the cool factor found in Sons of Anarchy.
9 They went a long time before revealing any members
One forgotten aspect of the Aces & Eights faction was just how long they went without revealing any members. A large of group of attackers would join together to take down the wrestlers of Impact while wearing masks to hide their identities.
It took months before members like Mike Knox and Luke Gallows were revealed as part of the group. D-Von was the first relevant name to be unmasked. The long wait increased the expectations of fans, which just led to disappointment on seeing who the members were after all that time.
8 Brooke Adams was the "first lady"
Brooke Adams joined Aces & Eights late into the faction’s run, as Bully Ray’s love interest. The former romantic storyline with Brooke Hogan would see Bully turn heel by being revealed as the leader of Aces & Eights. One of the dastardly moves following the reveal was to date another Brooke on the Impact roster.
Adams would fit in quite well with the group, as the heel act suited her. It went relatively unknown that Impact had come up with the official title of "First Lady" of the Aces & Eights for her. The group was already reaching the end, though, preventing Brooke from having a longer run in the faction.
7 Taz played a heel commentator solely due to the group
Taz had a solid run in Impact Wrestling as a commentator, but the Aces & Eights provided one of the few storylines he took part in. The heel turn of Taz would see him orchestrate an attack during the canceled wedding of Bully Ray and Brooke Hogan.
There were other moments where he’d offer a different point of view, defending heels, but the Aces & Eights run gave him a final run playing heel, often making excuses for the group on commentary.
6 Member D'Lo Brown left the company for real when kicked out
Veteran wrestler D’Lo Brown joined the Aces & Eights as one of the better-known wrestlers in the group. Brown was working backstage as an agent for the company and agreed to return to the ring in the faction.
A loss to Kurt Angle would see Brown punished by the group, with a demotion from member to prospect. Brown would eventually stop appearing on television as he legitimately left the company. The decision to ditch the producer role ended his time in Aces & Eights. Brown has since returned to Impact in a producer role under the new management.
5 Mr. Anderson was the one member to leave the group by choice
Mr. Anderson had quite a few turns from the heel to face role (and vice versa) throughout the years. Joining Aces & Eights gave them a former TNA Champion to add some credibility to the group. Sadly, Anderson never fitted into the group and eventually turned on them.
The face turn made Anderson the one member to leave the group by his own choice, rather than being kicked out or demoted. Anderson actually ended up being the wrestler who ended Aces & Eights, after defeating Bully Ray to officially disband the group.
4 The disappointing Tito Ortiz debut was supposed to make group relevant
Aces & Eights never picked up the steam Impact hoped they would when the angle started. Once the mystery element ended, the promotion struggled to make fans care about the wrestlers in the group. Former UFC star Tito Ortiz joined Impact to zero reaction, after months of hyping him as a big surprise.
Ortiz joined Aces & Eights a few weeks into his Impact run, with the hopes of making them relevant again. The addition of the MMA name added nothing to the group, though, as fans continued to show little interest. Ortiz left Impact shortly after without having had much success.
3 Ivelisse was a member for one night only
One of the forgotten members of the Aces & Eights faction was women’s wrestling star Ivelisse. Most fans will remember Ivelisse for her time in Lucha Underground as one of the faces of the company. Impact brought her in for a few appearances, often on the One Night Only shows.
Aces & Eights needed another wrestler to represent them on the show, which led to Ivelisse joining the group for one night only (literally). Team USA defeated Team Aces & Eights in the finals of the World Cup, even though Ivelisse scored a victory over Mickie James on the show.
2 Wes Brisco was supposed to be the breakout star
Aces & Eights hoped to become a popular faction while also creating new stars. Impact had high hopes for Wes Brisco when he signed with the company, following his departure from WWE developmental.
Brisco turned heel on Kurt Angle to join the Aces & Eights and start a singles feud with the legend. Impact even booked Brisco to defeat Angle in a cage match, with the expectation that such a win would make him a bigger star. Fans just never reacted to Brisco, preventing him from breaking out.
1 They gave Bully Ray his first major success as a singles star
The most memorable thing to come from Aces & Eights was Bully Ray's first real run of top-level success as a singles performer. Bully was revealed as the leader of the group after getting the biggest face names --like Hulk Hogan, Sting and Jeff Hardy-- to trust him.
This turn would see Bully win the TNA Championship for his first major world title as a singles performer. Aces & Eights may not have fulfilled their potential, but they allowed Bully to get the best out of his career without D-Von tagging with him.