5 WWE Superstars who would be a good fit in Seth Rollins' new faction

When Seth Rollins re-introduced his new cohorts, the AOP, to the audience in Des Moines, IA, on the Raw after TLC, he described them as the "first to stand on the right side of history." Which is not only a cool way to introduce a couple of dudes, but also something very telling. Does this mean there will be more to stand on the right side of history?

Is Seth, as the movies like to say, putting a crew together.

Now, ignoring the fact that a faction of this sort could be interpreted as a "rip-off" of Chris Jericho's "Inner Circle" faction in AEW (because it's not like that's never been done before), a group led by a disgruntled Rollins has a lot of potential.

But, who else would be a part of it? Well... you read the headline, so you can probably guess where we're going with this.

I'm not saying that all five of these individuals should join Rollins and the AOP in their crusade to... well... not sure what they're trying to do, but... anyway, I'm just saying that any of these five individuals would be a good fit. Or, at least, an entertaining one.

But, first, an "honorable mention" of sorts.

Honorable mention: Drake Maverick

Am I serious? Of course not. This would be dumb. No, actually, it would be super dumb.

Or, it could be genius.

We've all seen the hilarious side of the performer once known as Rockstar Spud. Just look at his work in iMPACT. Or as part of the 24/7 Championship scene. Or his work as manager of the AOP... OK, actually, so...

My point is, not only does Maverick have history with the Authors of Pain, but this could be a chance for Maverick to show a more serious side to his personality. Even a sinister one.

Could it have been Maverick who was the mastermind behind the entire plan to get Rollins to join forces with his team? After all, who would suspect a little goofball who wets his pants at the first sign of danger to actually be a tactical genius.

And if you're not expecting Drake to be one, how about someone a little more believable? Like...

#5 Paul Ellering

WWE Hall of Famer, and manager of the legendary Road Warriors, was the perfect fit to manage the Authors of Pain in NXT. To fans old enough to remember him, he had a cold presence that most managers of his era simply didn't have. To the new kids who didn't recognize him, well... they soon found out quickly enough just how great Paul is at his job.

When the AOP made the jump to the main roster, Paul came with them - but it didn't last long. Despite leading them to NXT gold, the team cut ties with him following their defeat of Heath Slater and Rhyno on an episode of Raw in April 2018. It was also the team's debut on the show, meaning that there wasn't a plan to have "Precious" Paul as part of the team going forward at all.

I don't know what the situation was between Ellering and the WWE - if Paul only agreed to help the team until a main roster call-up, or if that's what WWE wanted. But, assuming Ellering and WWE are still on good terms, and assuming he's up to it, having the alliance between Seth Rollins and his former charges be his brainchild would be a great twist.

#4 Nikki Cross

It's time for this woman to show WWE why she's not to be messed with

Yes, she's on SmackDown. Yes, she's already done the faction thing with SAnitY. Yes, she's still, technically, in a team with Alexa Bliss. But, this is wrestling and this is WWE, so who gives a haggis? Nikki Cross would be perfect in this new faction.

As part of SAnitY in NXT, Cross wasn't just the only woman in the group - she was the mad dog enforcer of the team. Imagine Arn Anderson, but with rabies. Actually, that's a little disturbing, don't do that. Cross, though, was a force of nature, not caring who got in her way, as long as it wasn't one of her faction mates. She was gleefully out of her mind.

Her time on the main roster hasn't exactly been the same. She's had plenty of success, mind you. She's had a run with the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with Bliss, and she's had a number of matches for the SmackDown Women's Championship. So, she's done fairly OK for herself on the Blue Brand. But, she hasn't been... well, she hasn't been Nikki Cross.

It would be amazing to see Rollins siccing her on his enemies - male and female alike - knowing that an unhinged Cross could put terror in the heart of anybody if they saw her rushing towards them. It would also get her on television as part of a major angle, and that's always a plus. Plus, imagine if, for some reason, Rollins would have to send Cross after his fiancee, Becky Lynch.

#3 EC3

I can't imagine the former Derrick Bateman/former Impact Wrestling Champion Eric Carter III, now known in WWE - if he's known at all - as EC3, expected his career to turn out as it has when he re-signed with the company last year.

He had a very entertaining run in NXT at the very beginning, and when that run was somewhat cut short with a call up to the main roster (which sounds a lot like he got injured, doesn't it?), we all had high hopes.

However, despite a win over Dean Ambrose (who was already on the outs with the company at the time) on Raw, EC3 has, so far, not been used in any meaningful capacity since then. He's been seen chasing after whoever the then-current 24/7 Champion is at the time, but that's about it.

I couldn't begin to tell you why EC3 hasn't been used on WWE TV and I'm not in any position to guess. But, if WWE wants to put someone new in this faction, EC3 is a great fit.

Picture this: Kevin Owens manages to get Seth Rollins away from AOP, and starts to gain his revenge. Rollins fights back but, perhaps he had a match earlier in the night and is just exhausted. Just as Owens is about to land a Stunner on Seth, EC3 bursts out of the background and attacks Owens.

Following that, EC3 mentions in a promo that he's tired of being overlooked in a company that doesn't appreciate him and he's joining up with a team that can help him get the respect he deserves.

I'd tune in to see more of that.

#2 Buddy Murphy

It's possible that Buddy Murphy has had the best 2019 of anyone else in WWE. From Cruiserweight Champion to a high-profile program involving Roman Reigns to a Match of the Year candidate against Aleister Black at TLC, Buddy Murphy has more than proven that he is worthy of being a top tier talent in WWE.

So, you can imagine how he feels about how he's, well, not.

In a perfect, just world, Buddy would be wrestling AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at, well, if not WrestleMania, then at least... I don't know... Night of Champions.

I need to back that up a bit. Murphy has was it takes in the ring, for sure, But... yeah... I'm not sure I understand what his character is supposed to be, either. Other than "dude who is kind of a jerk and... that's about it."

So, let's have Seth Rollins come to him and promise him riches and fame, if he only just joins his team and backs him up. Let's have him join and, true to his word, Rollins gets him matches for the Intercontinental and/or United States Championships. All the while, we learn more about what Buddy - or at least his character - is really like.

Buddy Murphy is the kind of talent that can be in a group like this and make the whole "group leader is jealous of teammate's rising popularity" angle work. In fact, when it came to making this list, it was a super close pick between him and...

#1 Andrade

Seth Rollins isn't the only one on Raw who has developed a bit of a sadistic attitude over the past couple of weeks. On this past Monday's episode, former NXT champion Andrade show he has had enough of Humberto Carrillo's nonsense by Hammerlock DDTing the nonsense out of him - right onto some concrete.

Interestingly, this brought out United States Champion Rey Mysterio - the Andrade/Carrillo confrontation was the end of a gauntlet match to determine the newest contender to Mysterio's title. Rey ended up alone in the ring - at least, he was alone until Seth Rollins and the AOP showed up.

Andrade is clearly looking for a way to invigorate his career in WWE. While he hasn't exactly been buried as of late, this stop/start booking he's been given has killed any momentum he's built up. A new mean streak and an alliance with a hot new faction could be just the thing to keep his gears in that "start" position.

I clearly don't know how gears work.

This would also give Zelina Vega - who has been a revelation as a manager since first teaming up with Andrade back in his "Cien" days in NXT - a few extra clients to work with. For fans of a certain age (i.e. old geezers like me), think a Madusa and Dangerous Alliance type of... er... alliance.

What about you cool kids? Who do you think, if anybody, should join up with the Seth Rollins Mean Guys Club? Hit up the comments section down below and sound off.

Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE