Summary
Throughout the history of theWWE,factions have been upsetting the odds andmanipulating the landscape to their advantage. Usually populated by heel wrestlers, the likes ofThe Bloodline, The Shield, and The Judgment Dayare part of a lineage that goes all the way back to The Heenan Family in the 80s and D-Generation X in the 90s.
Significance, creativity, iconic moments, accolades, and in-ring work are all factors that should be considered when assessing the success and greatness of a faction. Even if the WWE will populate the vast majority of ‘Best Ever’ wrestling discussions, in this case,the NWO, Bullet Club, The Four Horsemen, and The Elite have all operated outside the world’s most popular wrestling federationto enormous global success.
10The Ministry Of Darkness
The Phenom Gets Demonic
The Ministry Of Darkness is the most evil faction ever to step foot in WWE. Their wrap sheet of despicable acts includeslive Satanic ritual on Monday Night Raw,turning Dennis Knight into Mideon, “The Black Wedding” kidnapping and subsequent failed marriage attempt between Undertaker and Stephanie McMahon, and hoisting many WWE superstars up into the air while tied in the crucifix position on The Undertaker’s cool and occult-friendly new symbol. The group was rounded out by a pre-APA Bradshaw and Faarooq (Ron Simmons), Edge & Christian, Gangrel, Viscera, and Paul Bearer.
Led by the darkest, scariest,most infernal version of The Undertaker, The Ministry Of Darkness felt like one of the greatest story arcs in the entire history of WWE’s greatest character. His “where to, Stephanie?” line when hijacking Ms McMahon’s limousine is a contender for the most horror-friendly moment in WWE history. It is a shame that they fizzled out limply, aligning with Vince McMahon’s Corporation to form the ‘Corporate Ministry’ in a move that felt unnecessary and cut short the promise of an all-time great faction.
9The Nation Of Domination
The Rock Comes of Age By Any Means Necessary
The Nation Of Domination pulled no punches when celebrating their blacknessand were a badass staple at the start of The Attitude Era. Originally led by Ron Simmons' Faarooq character in late 1996, The Nation Of Domination had an aesthetic thatechoed The Black Panthers, with their fists-in-the-air Nation Salute used regularly as their signature pose. Faarooq’s performances were routinely spectacular but his supporting cast lacked his level of spark. That wasuntil the addition of a young Rocky Maivia, who would swiftly change his name to The Rock.
Replacing the injured Ahmed Johnson,The Rock would complement the muscle of Kama Mustafa (The Godfather) and D-Lo Brown with the initial flickers of his trademark charisma, and the first-airing of many of his most popular catchphrases. After capturing the Intercontinental Championship, The Rock would allow his cockiness to run wild, belittling Faarooq in promos and eventually wrestling control of The Nation. Also featuring particularly great stints from Mark Henry and, believe it or not, Owen Hart, The Nation would ultimately end with The Rock’s ego imploding and the group disbanding in November 1998.
An Essential Anti-American Faction
Bret Hart and Jim The Anvil Neidhart may have used The Hart Foundation as their tag-team moniker for much of the late 80s and early 90s butThe Hitman would breathe new life into the name in 1997. Joined by his ex-tag team partner, plus Owen Hart, ‘The Loose Canon’ Brian Pillman, and Davey Boy Smith, this classic America-baiting faction wasan essential step on the WWE’s road to The Attitude Era.
With The Hitman sick of his perceived mistreatment and with fans turning on him for his constant bickering, Bret would finally snap after his WrestleMania 13 victory over Stone Cold Steve Austin in 1997. That year, The Hart Foundation would continue to terrorize The Texas Rattlesnake, and enjoy one of the greatest receptions in Canadian wrestling history as a 5-man tag-team at Canadian Stampede in Calgary. The passing of Brian Pillman and The Montreal Screwjob would cut The Hart Foundation’s run short, butthey accomplished more in months than others did in years.
Bret Hart defeated The Undertaker in the Main Event of SummerSlam, winning his last WWE Championship as leader of The Hart Foundation
7Undisputed Era
The Greatest Faction in the History of NXT Shock The System
It felt as thoughanything was possiblefor those few years that The Undisputed Era was wreaking havoc and dominating NXT. Combiningsome of the greatest wrestlers on the independent circuit, with a visible on-screen friendship and a love for being dastardly, Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, and Bobby Fish were must-see TV in any combination or in singles competition.
Loud and obnoxious and with Rage Against The Machine-styled entrance music to die for, their entrances for NXT TakeOver PLEs felt like events in themselves. With Adam Cole as NXT Champion, O’Reilly and Fish as NXT Tag Team Champions, and Roderick Strong as NXT North American Champion,Undisputed Era held at one point all the male titles of the brand. The Undisputed Era also won the first-ever WWE WarGames match, going on to make their competition in WarGames an annual event in NXT.
All members of Undisputed Era later joined AEW, with Cole, Strong, and O’Reilly still working there as of 2024.
6The Judgment Day
All Rise For One of the Modern Era Great Factions
Formed in the aftermath of WrestleMania 38 by a desperate Edgeduring his feud with AJ Styles, the Canadian, Damien Priest, Rhea Ripley, and Finn Balor would form the first iteration of The Judgment Day. This is the WWE though, and it wouldtake the disciples less than three months before turning on and casting aside their original leader. It wouldthe recruitment of ‘Dirty’ Dominik Mysterio that made The Judgment Day complete, setting them on a course to becoming the dominant faction on Monday Night Raw.
The Judgment Day has worked on every level WWE could’ve hoped for. Rhea is one of the most popular performers in wrestling, Dirty Dom has more heat than The Human Torch, Damien Priest was a believable, badass, World Heavyweight Champion, both Carlito and R-Truth have been a great foil for the group’s more serious tone, JD McDonagh is now an established main roster talent and in Finn Balor, they have their perfect next leader ready and waiting.After SummerSlam 2024, Priest and Ripley were ousted from the group, both on the way to a successful solo career, and with a new iteration of Judgment Day ready to wreak havoc.
5Evolution
The WWE’s Y2K Four Horsemen Ride On
Enjoying his longest period at the top of the WWE food chain, Triple H augmented his dominance by joining forces withpro wrestling royalty Ric Flair and then up-and-coming talents Randy Orton and Dave Bautista, to form Evolution. The clear and present comparisons to Flair’s legendary The Four Horsemen stable are as justified as they are intentional. With their Titantron entrance featuring fast cars, helicopters, expensive suits, and luxurious ladies, the 8-legged winning machine would forge memorable moments during a dark period for WWE in the early-to-mid 2000s.
Everybody in this faction iseither already in or is certain to be in WWE’s Hall Of Fame. It may have been a grind to endure their winning streaks and their penchant for losing plenty of battles but seldom a war, but Randy Orton’s Legend Killer run is an all-time classic and history continues to shine brightly upon the legacy of Evolution.
4The Shield
The Hounds of Justice Feast Upon Everyone
If it’s true that factions in wrestling are meant to springboard the careers of future stars, The Shield is the ultimate proof of that. Three drastically different personalities combined to devastating effect to form The Shield back in 2012. The uncaged erraticity of Dean Ambrose, the instantaneously impressive athleticism of Seth Rollins and the charismatic cool of Roman Reigns arrived with everything drilled to military precision.
Their backstage promo videos would echo Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight with their high-octane, low-budget menace.The Hounds Of Justice’s entrance through the crowd was freshand helped to fuel their covert feel and S.W.A.T. team look. Their attacks felt like a realistic swarm of punches and kicks.Everything about The Shield was perfect.
Their legendary 6-man battles with The Wyatt Family, Evolution, and the team of Undertaker, Kane, and Daniel Bryan, are mind-blowing for both lifelong fans and new viewers alike.All three men being WWE Champion on the same night at Money In The Bank in 2016is a true one-off achievement and their relevance continues to this day, withthe Main Event of WrestleMania 40 including The Shield’s music and reference to Seth Rollins iconic chair shots that broke the groupup back in 2013.
“We were nobodies. We came in with attitudes, and we pretty much said, ‘We’re coming in, @#$% you, and we’re taking this @#$% over.” - Jon Moxley, formerly Dean Ambrose.
3D-Generation X
If You’re Not Down With Them, They’ve Got Two Words for Ya
A group thattranscended wrestling to permeate the fabric of pop culture in the 1990s, it is impossible to imagine what the wrestling landscape would have looked like without Shawn Michaels and Triple H’s D-Generation X. Their juvenile antics were the stuff of legend, asthey recruited Mike Tyson, mimicked The Nation Of Domination (and, later, Vince and Shane McMahon),took a tank and “invaded” WCW Nitroand made the “Suck It” gesture a global phenomenon.
What’s perhaps most impressive about D-X is thatthey managed to be universally popular in three different guises. The original boundary-pushing collective of Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Chyna, and Rick Rude, the more dominant Triple H-led faction with The New Age Outlaws, X-Pac, and Tori, or the more acquired latter-day run that the duo of Shawn Michaels and Triple H set out on all connected with fans on a massive level and provided classic moments for the ages, in and out of the ring.
2The New Day
Don’t You Dare Be Sour
Beginning with a much-maligned preacher gimmick, The New Day overcame this initial setback to becomeone of the most well-loved teams to ever form in WWE. Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Big E formed a bond that was so warm and endearing that you could feel their love for one another through the screen. Through the most miserable era of Vince McMahon’s creative tenure for both fans and performers,The New Day brought some of the only joyous moments of the last decade.
The New Day also helped propel the careers of two of the fewBlack WWE World Champions. The momentum fuelingKofiMania and his WWE Championship victoryover Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35 meant Kofi Kingston finally getting his dues for spending over a decade as one of wrestling’s most underappreciated talents. The roar that greetedBig E cashing in on Bobby Lashley to win the WWE Championshipon a September 2021 Monday Night Raw at the TD Garden in Boston was felt in living rooms around the world. It felt significant at a time when it felt like no title changes felt like they made a difference.
The loud-mouthed charisma, gyrating hips, and trombone-playing antics ofXavier Woods played an enormous part in their success in the first place, and his creativity has fueled the group ever since. With Big E essentially retired due to injury, the New Day is surely past its prime, but fans will never forget the incredible battles with The Usos or the smile they brought to everyone’s faces.
1The Bloodline
The All-Star Samoan Family Ushered In the Paul Levesque Era
When history is written,no faction in WWE history can lay a glove on the body of work currently being accumulated by The Bloodline. The quality ofThe Tribal Chief Roman Reigns, The Usos, The Wiseman Paul Heyman, The Rock, and Solo Sikoa’s Greatest Hits to date include some of the most captivating footage ever broadcast on WWE television. For 3 years and counting,The Bloodline has headlined every WrestleMania since they formed in 2021,resurrected Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s wrestling career, and hadRoman Reigns become the most dominant champion of the modern eraover the course of his legendary 1,316 days as WWE Champion.
It’s hard not to look at The Bloodline as the foundation for the incredible commercial and critical success that the WWE is currently experiencing. They may have gotten their start under Vince McMahon, but The Bloodline’s brand of long-term storytelling has Triple H written all over it. With a new iteration of the faction being introduced after WrestleMania 40, and the explosive return of Roman Reigns to claim back the Tribal Chief title from Solo, it’s clear that The Bloodline story will continue to dominate WWE programming for a long time.
Whether the criteria be the standard of work happening in the ring, revenue accumulated, iconic moments, longevity, audience reaction, or the quality of the storytelling,Roman Reigns and the Anoa’i family sit at The Head of the Table of best WWE Factions.
