You could be forgiven, if you are a WWE fan, for feeling as if it was 1999 all over again.
Because at WWE’s most recent pay-per view event, WWE SummerSlam, Triple H and Randy Orton seemed to form a union that served almost as an amalgamation of two previous entities (Evolution and The McMahon-Helmsley Faction/Regime; or Fact-gime as they were later dubbed by Edge & Christian) in turning on new top WWE babyface, Daniel Bryan, and in doing so sent us all down a memory lane filled with times when stables of bad guys lay waste to our heroes mercilessly.
The stable is a time-honoured tradition in pro-wrestling, and one that is massively effective in drawing both money and general interest when executed properly. The Rocky movies taught us that nothing gets us behind a guy more than him having his back to the wall, so lining up a group of heavies to provide some insurmountable odds always plays on our need to root for the underdog. In WWE’s as-yet-unnamed power trip, Daniel Bryan faces the might of the company (COO, Triple H and his wife Stephanie – who for the past four weeks have commanded beatings of him at will), the marketability of their hand-picked champion (Randy Orton) and the muscle to enforce any of their ill deeds (The Shield, newly remodeled as a three-pronged, modern day Big Bossman). And it’s made for compelling viewing leading into Sunday’s WWE Championship Match between Orton and Bryan at Night of Champions.
So with that bringing great memories of stables past to the fore, at the WWE Parties Ireland Facebook page, we encouraged people to vote on their favourite WWE stables, or fact-gimes, of all-time (note: we’re only counting WWE stables, so the likes of the Horsemen or original nWo don’t count). Unfortunately, there were too many to include in our Top 5 list, so let’s quickly run through some…
Honourable Mentions:
THE NATION OF DOMINATION (Playing up black power stereotypes for maximum heat, like many relics of The Attitude Era, The Nation probably wouldn’t be PC enough for WWE in 2013, but their part in elevating The Rock from the much-loathed, blue chipper Rocky Maivia to main event star alone ranks them just outside the top 5)
THE RADICALZ (The last great jump in the late 90’s war between WCW and then-WWF saw Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko join forces, ultimately leading to the heart-warming finish of WWE’s 20th anniversary of WrestleMania, as Eddie and Benoit hugged it out while confounding critics’ expectations and both wearing WWE gold. Would probably have ranked higher if their leading member hadn’t turned out to be a real-life murderer)
THE BROOD (Who didn’t love Gangrel, Edge & Christian’s dramatic entrance through fire? Unfortunately, you often had to tune into WWE Superstars to see it as The Brood were never really more than periphery characters at their peak. But the entrance and their part in establishing one of WWE’s most memorable tag-teams in history more than earns them a spot)
MEAN STREET POSSE (Hailing from the ‘Mean streets of Greenwich, Conneticut’, the cardigan-clad, tongue-in-cheek buddies of WWE’s golden boy, Shane McMahon, often provided comic relief more than anything else. But Pete Gas, Rodney and Joey Abs are still held in high-regard by WWE fans to this day. Perhaps most remembered for their multiple, unlikely reigns at Hardcore Champion during the Hardcore Battle Royal and WrestleMania 16 – a match which saw Pete Gas bloodied like a stuffed pig)
THE SHIELD (Turned up a lot in our Top 5 votes, surprising for a group who have only been on WWE screens for less than a year. But the reigning US and Tag-Team Champions do what they do very well and, if their potential rings true in later years, then this pick will look visionary)
THE NEXUS (Sometimes one great moment proves enough to etch you into the memories of WWE fans forever, and the debut of the bandits from WWE’s first series of NXT, and their resulting beatdown of John Cena, was one of the most genuinely shocking WWE moments of the 21st century. Though the resulting feud would prove to be somewhat of a damp squib, the stable’s short reign gave rise to the likes of Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, Ryback and Bray Wyatt, among others, so they also tick the box for effectiveness)
STRAIGHT EDGE SOCIETY (CM Punk’s straight-edge, cult group hit a ceiling at a particularly frustrating time in Punk’s WWE tenure, getting off to a hot start – and causing near riots at WWE house shows – before languishing for much of their existence in the WWE SmackDown mid-card. That doesn’t speak of the quality of their work, as they stole the show on many an occasion, but you feel this was more of a missed opportunity on WWE’s part than anything else)
RIGHT TO CENSOR (Another uber-effective cult, The Right To Censor almost single-handedly propped up the WWE mid-card during their run in 2000. Led by mouthpiece, Stevie Richards, and his annoyingly, husky-voiced condemnations of puppies and pie, the stable denied fans much loved staples by repackaging pimp character, The Godfather into straight-necked Goodfather, and saw porn star Val Venis renounce his old ways in favour of a suit-and-tie. Their ‘car alarm on a loop’ theme song, in particular, is homage to wrestling turning the trolling up to 11 and running wild)
TOP 5 WWE FACT-GIMES OF ALL-TIME
5. EVOLUTION
Put best by WWE Parties’ fan, Mark K. Doyle: ”If you consider the purpose of a stable to be getting its members over, Evolution has a 100% success rate.” Evolution were WWE’s version of Ronseal: they did exactly what they said on the tin. Representing past greats was the wily heel manager, Ric Flair, while Triple H helmed up the present as World Champion, leaving Randy Orton as the handpicked future of the company and Batista as ‘enforcer’. This being WWE, of course, things didn’t exactly play out as planned, though, and it wasn’t long before the group was imploding as Orton and Batista found themselves gunning for Triple H’s belt. The group’s legacy will ultimately, likely, see all four inducted into the Hall of Fame and is so strong that history is repeating itself to this day, with Triple H and Orton promoted to past and present respectively in an equally well-received fashion.
4. THE HART FOUNDATION
Though the original Hart Foundation were little more than a mid-card, workhorse tag-team (comprised of Bret Hart & Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart, managed by Jimmy Hart – no relation) who never really dominated WWE television until their later reunion in 1997, you only need to look at all that came of this core stable to see their massive, enduring impact on pro-wrestling. Without The Hart Foundation, we probably don’t have Bret Hart and the British Bulldog tearing down the house in Wembley at SummerSlam 1992; we don’t have Bret and Owen Hart’s feud in 1994, as The Hart Foundation solidified the family’s importance in pro-wrestling’s landscape; Pillman doesn’t have a gun; we don’t have the memorable reunion in 1997 – a hug in the ring that was Bret Hart’s dig at real life, arch-rival Shawn Michaels’ controversial curtain call incident of a year beforehand; we possibly don’t have Stone Cold Steve Austin becoming the biggest star in WWE history after his unforgettable feud with Bret Hart; we don’t have Bret Hart’s most-memorable character run as a heel in 1997, that ultimately led to the Montreal Screwjob, that ultimately led to the Attitude Era and everything we’ve come to know about pro-wrestling today.
Whether you were around at time, whether you were a fan at the time or not (and Bret Hart is one of the most divisive WWE legends of all-time), there’s a very good chance that without The Hart Foundation, you’re not a wrestling fan today and not reading this article. So yeah, they were good.
3. THE HEENAN FAMILY
Another one of WWE Night of Champions’ upcoming main events on Sunday pits CM Punk against the team of former manager and ‘best friend’ Paul Heyman and Heyman’s new ‘guy’, Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel. The story of Punk and Heyman, encompassing Punk’s longest WWE Title reign in a decade and the resulting fallout feud with Brock Lesnar (that led to our leading candidate for Match of the Year at SummerSlam recently), would not have been possible, however, without WWE Hall of Famer, Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan. Because it was Heenan who took the manager’s role to a whole new level with his ‘family’ in the 1980’s, managing a good chunk of the heel talent up-and-down the roster and, thus, serving as a precursor to Heyman’s ‘guys’.
In truth, Heenan’s family had been around since the late 60’s in the former AWA promotion, there introducing the idea of stables holding multiple title belts at the same time (a tactic we still see employed by the likes of The Shield today).
However it was under Vince McMahon’s watch in the 80’s where the family hit their stride, serving as a constant thorn in the side of otherwise-dominant WWF Champion, Hulk Hogan throughout his reign, and never leaving him short of a credible opponent as pro-wrestling hit new heights of popularity. Perhaps Heenan’s biggest moment of infamy came as he accompanied Andre The Giant to the ring for his WrestleMania III title clash with Hulk Hogan. ‘The Unstoppable Force versus The Immovable Object’ was the biggest pro-wrestling box office draw ever at the time, attracting an alleged 93,000 live fans and millions watching around the globe. It set a new standard in big-time main events for the sport.
Many would argue, though, that Heenan’s finest hour came as panic-stricken announcer in 1992, as he cheered on new client Ric Flair in his (ultimately successful) attempt to win the Royal Rumble match and be crowned WWF Champion.
Regardless of where you may rank Heenan’s accomplishments, though, his efforts as the weasel voice of WWF television, ability to give prestige to otherwise meaningless matches across the card simply by being at ringside, and resulting capacity to draw huge main events when required make him one of the MVP’s in bringing pro-wrestling to where it is today. Because there were many members of The Family in the 20+ years of its existence, but there was only one Bobby Heenan.
2. THE CORPORATION/CORPORATE MINISTRY
We’ve thus far examined how stables have proved crucial in forming a backdrop to wrestling’s panorama as it grew and grew, but at no other stage did the industry grow more than in The Attitude Era, beginning in late 1997 and really coming into its own following Mike Tyson’s cameo as special guest enforcer of the main event of WrestleMania 14 in 1998.
While Tyson’s presence was no doubt helpful in raising the image of the WWF, celebrity stints only serve to put eyes on the product. You then need people who can keep fans’ watching. Those two men came in the form of Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Vince McMahon had been precariously exposed as WWF owner, and not mild-mannered announcer, when he infamously ‘screwed’ Bret Hart upon the latter’s departure from the company in 1997. Never one to handle things with soft strokes, Vince took this opportunity to play up to his newfound reputation as a ruthless, possible sociopath and became the new villainous face of the company. On the other end of the card, Stone Cold Steve Austin was gaining infamy as a modern day antihero, drinking beer in the face of authority and giving anyone who stood in his way the bird and a kick, wham, stunner for good measure.
Upon Austin’s WWF Title win in 1998, aided by Tyson, McMahon played the irate boss faced with the possibility that the multi-million dollar company he had built from the ground up was now being fronted by a beer-swilling redneck. It was the ultimate battle between the working man and the suit in a corporate-weary American landscape. The Corporation were his group of shills and henchman he enlisted in his attempt to keep Austin in line. In business terms, we now know that every good guy needs an even better villain to beat to solidify his hero status. Austin had to overcome the CEO (Vince), The Stooges (Pat Patterson & Gerald Briscoe), the Commissioner (Sergeant Slaughter) and the Enforcer (Big Bossman) among others on his path to holding and retrieving WWF gold in 1998.
Mimicking the real life will of the fans’ to punch their bosses in the face, what was the one way WWE could realistically enhance this Corporate brand to further mirror the frustrations fans felt in day-to-day life? That’s right, by adding DEVIL WORSHIPPERS to the mix!
Wait…what?
Well, that’s what they went with anyway. And, somehow, it worked. The Corporation eventually amalgamated with The Ministry of Darkness (led by the legendary Undertaker) in a corporate union that must have involved really, really weird board meetings. The Corporate Ministry and Stone Cold Steve Austin embarked on an unforgettable feud that involved Vince stacking the odds against the Texas Rattlesnake, only for Austin to drive beer trucks through those odds and spray the contents all over evil Vince’s hopes and dreams. All the while, both of them cashed the largest cheques pro-wrestling had ever seen.
1. D-GENERATION X
“Are you ready?”
The immortal opening lyrics to our number one fact-gime of all-time thrust WWE fans into the very heart of the mayhem that was The Attitude Era, as D-Generation X side-by-side with Stone Cold Steve Austin served to feed the man a dose of humble pie to an audience that were sick of being told what to do.
Originally led by possibly the greatest WWE star of all-time, ‘The Heartbreak Kid’ Shawn Michaels, and flanked by Triple H and his girlfriend Chyna, the group took many forms in several different eras and remained unique from similarly enduring factions like The Hart Foundation and Heenan Family in that they always remained at the top of the card, such was DX’s popularity.
Even as the original Shawn Michaels/Triple H duo (who, by the way, were paired with Tyson as foes to Steve Austin in the aforementioned WrestleMania 14 feud) found themselves on the way out upon Shawn’s first retirement – due to a back injury – in 1998, the group immediately reinvented itself, adding X-Pac and the team of “The Road Dogg Jesse James, The Bad Ass Billy Gunn…The New Age Outlaws!” propelling themselves to new heights under Triple H’s leadership.
To this day - nearly 20 years after their inception - at the WWE Parties we run in Dublin you will still find a constant stream of DX merchandise on show as they remain one of the most fondly remembered relics of fans’ childhoods. Fans still yell “Suck it!”, sing along to Road Dogg’s “Oh you didn’t know…” entrance and even recall all of the words to Billy Gunn’s “I’m an Ass Man” theme song that he championed during his ill-advised singles run in 1999.
Not only that, but the group has had sustained reunions on several occasions since its heyday (in 2000 reforming as part of The McMahon-Helmsley Era; in 2006, as Triple H and Shawn Michaels rolled back the years to face Vince McMahon; and in 2009 to enhance then-emerging teams such as Legacy and Chris Jericho & Big Show), all of which have proven popular and not just sad and nostalgia-driven as other similar reunion attempts can appear.
But what makes DX the best-remembered stables of all-times is that, if the likes of The Heenan Family, Hart Foundation and Corporation wrote the rules on WWE stables, D-Generation X re-wrote them. We grew to know and begrudgingly love stables as useful devices to give heel wrestlers a collective purpose in elevating new top-level talent (and they still serve that purpose today with the current incarnation railing against Daniel Bryan), but DX – staying true to their mantra – didn’t tick those boxes. They weren’t just a stable, they were a brand. They could galvanise fans behind their own cause or act as heels in galvanising them behind someone else’s. They survived multiple fallouts and reincarnations, only growing stronger in doing so. They not only elevated stars to main event level, they created Hall of Fame candidates.
And if you’re not down with that, I’ve got two words for ya…
WWE Night of Champions – Rick’s Quick Picks
WWE Champion, Randy Orton over Daniel Bryan
CM Punk over Curtis Axel & Paul Heyman
Rob Van Dam over World Champion, Alberto Del Rio
Divas Champion, AJ Lee over Natalya, Brie Bella & Naomi
(Pre-Show) Prime Time Players win tag-team turmoil match
WWE Tag-Team Champions, The Shield over Prime Time Players
Rick Nash is a former professional wrestler and the founder of WWE Parties Ireland. He is also a DJ and terrible sports gambler, so feel free to share some tips with him on Twitter.
