10 Greatest Ever Formations Of Wrestling Factions
The Four Horsemen, the nWo, Team ECW and those other memorable faction formations!
With AEW these days breathing fresh life into the concept of a pro wrestling stable, it seems like the perfect time to look back on some of the great factions and groups of the past.
The wrestling business is one laced with brilliant (and not so brilliant) groups of grapplers coming together for reasons of mutual benefit. Of course, those groups often inevitably implode, but the changing dynamics of those wrestlers in the mix is part of what makes a faction so great from a fan perspective.
If handled correctly, a stable can help to elevate talent, to create new stars, and to deliver white-hot new rivalries with an added layer of personal beef to them. And when it comes to handling a group correctly, one other key ingredient is getting that faction started with a bang.
Even if a faction turns out to be a dud or its run is a relatively short, uneventful one, setting the table with an explosive formation leaves fans with at least a lasting memory. If that explosive formation is followed up with a run of dominance or nuanced storytelling, even better!
With that in mind, then, here are ten of the very best faction formations in wrestling history.
10. The Shield
Some factions have a slow build to their formation. Others see individuals come together as part of a babyface or (usually) heel turn. Then there's those groups that just come out of nowhere, tear sh*t up and make an instant statement that immediately positions them as a big deal.
When it comes to factions who took the latter approach, the Shield's arrival in WWE was a brilliant example of how to bring in a group and instantly make them a massive threat.
In hindsight, it's easy to look back and think that three true main event, multiple-time World Champions were always going to make an instant impact. Of course, the debut of the Shield took place before any of this trio were main eventers, were World Champions, and were even on the WWE main roster.
To WWE's credit, they took 'developmental talents' and made them into stars in one night.
That one night was the 2012 Survivor Series, where Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns came from the crowd to help CM Punk retain his WWE Championship against John Cena and Ryback. It wasn't just that they helped Punk keep his prize, though - it was how they did it that made the Shield truly stand out.
In one night, with just a few minutes of screen time, Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns made themselves the talk of the wrestling business.