5 recent WWE factions that were amazing, and 5 that were terrible
Amazing: Sanity
Comprised of Eric Young, Sawyer Fulton, Alexander Wolfe, Killian Dain and Nikki Cross,
Sanity formed in October 2016 and were considered a big thing in NXT.
With five exceptionally talented stars, including a former TNA World Heavyweight Champion,
the quintet enjoyed a remarkable two and a half years in the gold brand.
Not only did Wolfe and Young capture the NXT Tag Team titles, but the group was also handed
the 2017 Tag Team of the Year award, though things quickly changed the following year.
Being called up to SmackDown via the 2018 Superstar Shakeup, noticeably without Cross,
the four remaining members of Sanity did very little before going their separate ways.
Young was moved over to RAW, and was later released as part of April 2020 releases
Wolfe would land back in NXT, Fulton would eventually leave WWE, and currently competes in Impact.
Arguably the most successful member of the group is Cross, a former WWE Women’s
Tag Team Champion, and though the group has gone their separate ways, nothing can take away the
great matches Sanity had in NXT.
Terrible: The League of Nations
The WWE has always had a thing for anti-American groups, and by 2015, the concept was well and
truly played out.
That didn’t stop the company from going back to the well however, as in late 2015, the League of
Nations was formed: a stable of non-American stars, led by WWE Champion Sheamus.
With Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett and Rusev all being involved, the group had promise,
but were never given a chance to shine as a united faction.
If anything, the quartet was just fodder for Roman Reigns, who was still struggling to get over
over with the fans, and having the Big Dog overcome four very capable opponents,
only added more evidence to fan criticism that he was being treated like Superman.
Even the group’s biggest victories felt like defeats, as although they did defeat the New Day
at WrestleMania 32, they were promptly beaten up post-match by Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels and
and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
After this setback on the grandest stage of them all, the group quietly disbanded, as both Barrett
and Del Rio left the company shortly after
Sheamus is still hanging in WWE and while Rusev is a full time twitcher now and is making a
TON of money there. Thanks to his success there ,Rusev is actually contemplating retiring from professional wrestling !
In 2018 Kalisto would begin a partnership with fellow
luchadors Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado, with the trio dubbing themselves
"Lucha House Party". As part of their gimmick, the luchadors started to carry
brightly colored noise makers and vuvuzela horns with them, using them to celebrate after
a victory. They also carried a brightly colored Piñata donkey with them to the ring,
which they referred to as "Penelope" The group had plenty of
entertainment moments during the past two years, such as their fun
feud with The Revival, which saw plenty of good action from both teams. The team
was a big hit with the crowd inside the arena and on TV Even in defeat, the pair
have come off as a fun group, as the trio may have lost their three on one handicap match
to Lars Sullivan at Super Showdown 2019, but proved to the freak and
the WWE Universe that they are a united group. Unfortunately, The following
night on Raw would see the last of Lucha House Party as they were once again
defeated by Sullivan, this time in a three-on-one handicap elimination match.
Although Lucha House Party was drafted to SmackDown brand as part of the 2019
WWE Draft, WWE decided to disban the group as Kalisto suffered a shoulder injury in
December 2019. The injury kept him off of TV for months! Although Gran
Metalik has been getting some push recently, it was LINCE Dorado suffered the most
as he missed being on the main roster and had to settle for 205 Live
Terrible: PCB
When the WWE formally kicked off their Women’s Revolution in 2015, the trio of PCB was form
comprised of Paige, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair.
On paper, the group was a great addition to the RAW roster, as Paige and Flair had both been
been former NXT Women’s Champions, and Becky one of the
most popular women in the gold brand.
The group certainly started strong, as they would emerge victorious in the faction warfare of the Divas
division, defeating the groupings of Sasha Banks, Naomi and Tamina, as well as The Bellas
and Alicia Fox at Summerslam.
It wasn’t long however until the group went their separate ways, as following Charlotte’s Divas title
victory at Night of Champions, Paige turned on the group, ending the trio.
What made matters even more confusing is that after Paige failed to take the title, Charlotte herself
would turn heel, making the entire PCB alignment seem pointless in the first place.
In hindsight, all three women have proven that they can shine on their own, and whilst the idea of a
three-way feud between three stables seemed like a good idea at first, it wasn’t long until Lynch,
Charlotte and Paige proved to better off on their own, rather than together.
Great: The Shield in 2019
From the moment the Shield split in 2014, fans speculated on when Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose
and Roman Reigns would eventually reunite.
After three years apart where Rollins outshone both his brothers, the group reunited in 2017,
though this didn’t last long as a torn tricep kept Ambrose on the shelf until August the next year.
After splitting once again following Reigns’ luekemia battle and an Ambrose heel turn, the group
were put together for one final time in 2019, when news broke of the Lunatic Fringe’s
impending departure.
What fans got out of the reunion was some great matches by all three men, as well as a reminder
for why fans had fallen in love with the group back in 2012, before each man
was pushed as a singles star.
Last appearing together at The Shield’s final chapter event on April 22nd 2019, fans got one last
chance to see the trio compete together, before Ambrose left to join AEW as Jon Moxley.
Though this reunion was brief, it did give the WWE Universe plenty of great moments, as well as a
fitting send off for one of the most popular Superstars in recent years.
Terrible: Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre
We’ve already mentioned that the Shield’s reunion in 2019 was epic, but when the trio briefly came
together in 2018, the WWE didn’t exactly make things easy.
Despite being one of the most beloved stars on RAW, the decision was made to turn Braun
Strowman heel, aligning the Monster among men with Dolph Ziggler
and Drew McIntyre to go against the Hounds of Justice.
The main issue with this, is that fans still wanted to cheer Strowman, and having one of
thoe most natural babyfaces turn heel to feud with Reigns and his cohorts didn’t exactly help the
Big Dog, who was supposed to be the face in the storyline, get over with the crowd.
The stable only lasted a matter of weeks, before McIntyre and Ziggler thankfully turned on
Strowman, allowing the Monster Among Men to return to his babyface role whilst the pair of
them remained as heels
Not long after this, McIntyre would eventually betray Ziggler, leading to a short singles feud between
the two, and leaving fans scratching their heads as to why this stable existed in the first place.
Great: Rusev Day
The Bulgarian Brute may have struggled as part of the League of Nations, but a few years later,
Rusev was part of one epic stable.
Considered one of the most underused stars in recent years, there was a time where Rusev Day
swept over the WWE Universe, making him a must-see part of SmacKDown’s programming.
Aligned with Aiden English who served as his unofficial manager and trash-talker, Rusev’s wife Lana
also joined the group, which offered some good-hearted fun and humorous segments.
After an impressive run, that even saw the Bulgarian challenge for the WWE Champion in 2018, the
group finally went their separate ways in early 2019, as English turned on the group
group for his own reasons.
Since then, Lana and Rusev have grown increasingly distant on WWE TV, with the Ravishing
Russian marrying Bobby Lashley in late 2019, and though Rusev and Lana remain happily married
in real life, it’s unlikely that we’ll ever see the return of this faction that proved to be one
of the highlight’s of SmackDown during it’s tenure.
Terrible: Randy Orton and the Revival
On paper, Randy Orton and the Revival were a great fit.
Since joining WWE, Dash and Dawson have personified a methodical, traditional style to
wrestling, and teaming with the veteran Viper seemed like a perfect match.
Unfortunately, the group never really got the chance to show what it was capable of, as just as
quickly as the trio came together, the angle was inexplicably dropped.
During their time together, the trio clashed with the New Day, though this feud mostly centred on
Orton’s attempt to take the WWE Championship from Kofi Kingston, and Kofi’s attempt to get
vengeance on the actions of Orton from a decade prior.
Whilst the teaming of Orton and the Revival could have been great, the group was split just as they
were getting started, with Orton returning to a singles role, whilst Dash and Dawson would continue
to challenge for the SmackDown Tag Team titles.
As such, it’s hard to think back fondly of the promising stable that never got close to reaching its full
potential, and fans can blame WWE’s creative team for this faction appearing on this list.
Great: The Wyatt Family
One of the most bizarre factions in recent memory, the Wyatt family debuted on WWE’s main roster
in the summer of 2013, and were instantly a hit.
Though many feuds for Bray Wyatt and his group often ended with the Eater of Worlds on the
losing end, these high-profile feuds against the likes of Daniel Bryan, John Cena
and The Undertaker still led to impressive matches.
As a group, the Wyatts also had plenty of success, capturing the SmackDown Tag Team titles in late
2016 with Randy Orton, and Bray himself would win the WWE Championship mere months later.
Even when the group broke up in 2017, things worked out for the best, as Strowman would go on to
an impressive singles push and natural face turn.
Both Rowan and Harper enjoyed a push as a tag team, before Harper’s departure in 2019, and
Rowan has bounced back nicely from this, becoming a prominent star in his own right on RAW.
As for Wyatt, his reinvention as the Fiend has arguably saved his career, as the new demonic
character has gone on to become one of the WWE’s most popular stars in a very short period of time.
Terrible: The Authority
Heel authority groups in WWE have been around ever since the Corporation in 1999, and in 2014,
the Authority was the newest collection of bad bosses.
And whilst the idea was nothing new, what has caused the Authority to go down as
one of the worst recent stables, is how their presence affected everyone else on the show.
On Monday Night RAW, it was often the Authority who would both open and close the show,
to the chagrin of fans who wanted to see stars like Daniel Bryan, John Cena and CM Punk
during his latter months in the company.
So many angles involving the group fell flat, such as Triple H beating Sting at WrestleMania 31,
and the entire angle with Roman Reigns the following year, that failed to help get the Big Dog over.
The Game’s wife Stephanie also didn’t help things, as she would often berate Superstars on TV,
often with no consequences to her actions.
For any good moments involving the Authority, such as losing to Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 30,
it’s hard to look past all the valuable airtime the group took up that could have benefitted other
Superstars, meaning we have no choice but to see them as a truly terrible stable.