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For the longest time, stables and factions have carried huge significance in professional wrestling. Whether it was a group of heels (bad guys) trying to look out for each other, or some closely knit friends trying to make a name for themselves, wrestling factions can alter careers if done right.
It is often said that for something to work in professional wrestling, it has to be organic. You cannot throw a bunch of people together and expect them to ‘get over’. Much like in life, certain things have a way of working themselves out in professional wrestling.
In the past, we’ve witnessed the emergence of some of the most iconic factions - from the New World Order (nWo) to The Four Horsemen, to D-Generation X. These are the factions that will continue to linger in the minds of professional wrestling fans for a long time.
However, there have been instances when the factions weren’t ideated by promoters or those in the creative team, but by the Superstars themselves. Today, we take a look at five factions that were created by WWE Superstars.
#5 The New Day
Not too long ago, Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were left with no concrete plans or feuds. Big E and Kofi are former Intercontinental Champions, and there was a point when Kofi was seriously being looked at as a title contender.
That was until the infamous ‘stupid’ moment transpired with Randy Orton.
However, things always happen for a reason. With Big E and Xavier Woods, Kofi created history. The New Day became the longest reigning tag team champions in WWE history. And Big E recently opened up about how the three got together.
Big E revealed that the three Superstars ideated the stable, and got Vince McMahon’s approval. While they were initially expected to be stereotypical black gospel characters, they soon made the characters their own, and have since become three of the most beloved characters in the company.
#4 SAnitY
Eric Young, Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe and Nikki Cross are a part of one of the most dominant stables in WWE today- SAnitY. While Sawyer Fulton was initially a part of the stable, he was replaced by Dain after he got injured. Together, SAnitY wrecked havoc in NXT, taking out Superstars and striking fear in the hearts of the NXT talent.
SAnitY, much like Decay in Impact Wrestling, isn’t your conventional wrestling stable. However, the idea for the stable didn’t come about overnight. Triple H reportedly had the idea for creating such a stable for the better part of a decade and toyed around with the idea.
However, Vince McMahon and the creative team weren’t fans of such a stable competing on the main roster. So when Triple H finally got his own pet project (NXT), he put his vision into place, and brought four individuals together to create the faction!
#3 The Shield
The Shield has been one of the most dominant stables in recent memory. Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns together built an empire, and the ‘hounds of justice’ carried out their own version of restitution. The Shield took out some of the biggest names, including the likes of John Cena and The Undertaker, almost at will.
All three men have won world titles in the company after the faction was dissolved. While many believed that the idea for creating such a faction could only be the brainchild of Vince McMahon, one particular Superstar has since taken credit for coming up with the idea himself.
During the long, revealing edition of the ‘Art of Wrestling’ podcast with Colt Cabana and CM Punk, Punk claimed that he was the one that came up with the idea for Shield. Punk said that he wanted to be the centre piece, and have Dean Ambrose and Kassius Ohno with him in the stable.
However, Punk said WWE quickly shot down the idea, as they weren’t high on Ohno, who was subsequently released from the promotion. WWE then put Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns together to form the stable.
#2 Evolution
Back in the early 2000’s, WWE wanted to create a stable that would remind the fans of The Four Horsemen. However, Triple H wanted the faction to be unique - something that embodied his own vision and idea.
At the time, Ric Flair wasn’t doing much either in WWE, and the company put four Superstars together to create a stable that would run roughshod in the promotion. Triple H, Randy Orton, Batista and Ric Flair joined forces to create the Evolution faction.
Flair played the role of a legend/quasi manager - wrestler, Triple H was the champion, while Orton and Batista were groomed as future champions. And according to Triple H, Evolution was something he came up with while keeping The Four Horsemen stable as the blueprint.
During an interview with IGN.com back in 2004, Triple H revealed how the idea for Evolution came about.
“It was my initial concept and I ran it by Vince McMahon and I ran it by Flair. My initial concept was pretty much what we said on TV.” I looked around and we had Ric Flair as a baby face just sitting there and not doing a whole lot, then you had myself, and I felt like Ric could be utilized better as a mentor to a younger guy who was up and coming.”
#1 The Four Horsemen
At number one is arguably the greatest faction to have ever assembled in a wrestling promotion, The Four Horsemen. The legendary stable initially consisted of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson and Tully Blanchard and their manager, JJ Dillon.
For the better part of two decades, The Four Horsemen were seen as the measuring stick in professional wrestling, and together, they won countless titles, which coincided with Ric Flair’s ascension to the top of the wrestling world.
However, according to JJ Dillon, the idea for the group came about as an accident! During an interview with WGD, Dillon revealed the very first instance when the ‘band’ got together, and how it was fate that saw the unravelling of the greatest stable in modern professional wrestling!
“It wasn't really an idea that had been laid out in advance. Baby Doll was there with Tully and there was the deal where I orchestrated the thing and got Tully away from Baby Doll. Dusty came to her aid, and that's how I'm with Tully. Flair was the World Champion, Ole and Arn were the World Tag Team Champions, and Tully was the National Champion, and he was the only one I was managing…One of the weeks, I don't know if it was short on time or what, somebody said, 'You guys have all the belts, all of you go out together. Just tell everybody where you're gonna be this week.”
Dillon then went on to describe the first time the four men stumbled across the term in the ring, which eventually ended up catching Jimmy Crockett’s attention.
“That's what happened. Flair went out with the World Title over his shoulder, Ole and Arn went out with the tag belts, Tully went out with his belt, and I went out because I managed Tully. As the microphone passed around, Arn Anderson took it and said, 'You people at home take a good hard look at your screen, we're all champions. Never have so few wrecked so much havoc on everyone,' and he said, 'you'd have to go back in the history books to the Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse,' and he held up the four fingers. It was just a statement that he threw out there.
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