Factions are among the most interesting aspects in wrestling when done right. Every diehard wrestling fan loves a compelling group of talented wrestlers working together for a mutual interest. WCW created arguably the two most successful factions in wrestling history with the New World Order and the Four Horsemen. WWE did not have the similar success and their track record featured polarizing results. There have been a few huge hits for WWE like D-Generation X, Evolution and The Shield. However, there are plenty more examples of factions that failed to hit the mark.
Bad factions are one thing but WWE have created ideas for groups that have been so pointless that fans don’t even remember them existing. The worst thing a wrestling concept can see is a lack of interest with no one caring enough to take in the memory. We'll take a look at the long history of WWE and the stables that just did not have the backing or talent to get over. These factions range from disasters to mediocrity to squandered potential. Test your memory and see just how much you recall about the following groups. These are fifteen WWE stables you completely forgot about through the years.
15 15. The J.O.B. Squad
One of the more inside factions in WWE turned out to be a less memorable one. Many of the WWE’s enhancement talents aka jobbers were aptly named The J.O.B. Squad with the acronym standing for Just Over Broke. Al Snow, Bob Holly, The Blue Meanie, 2 Cold Scorpio and Gillberg made up the ragtag group of wrestlers uniting in the humorous faction.
Gillberg winning the Light Heavyweight Championship was the high point of the faction. The forgettable wrestlers worked together for a few months playing into the fact that they were upset with the lack of success on WWE television. It was such a lower tier storyline on the program that fans barely remember anything involving the group. There will likely never be a J.O.B. Squad reunion in WWE for good reason.
14 14. Kai En Tai
The recent success of Shinsuke Nakamura could give us the first main event level Japanese star in WWE history. Many talented wrestlers from Japan to try their luck in WWE have struggled to find success due to silly gimmicks. The faction of Kai En Tai perfectly sums this up. Taka Michinoku and Funaki are remembered for their tag team days as Kai En Tai but the original name was used for a faction with Shiryu, Dick Togo and Men's Teioh.
The comedic Japanese wrestlers would typically get beaten senseless by the other wrestlers on the roster. Kai En Tai’s top moment came when they attacked Val Venis in an attempt to chop off his genitals with a samurai sword. The Attitude Era was weird! The less memorable three wrestlers would leave WWE ending the faction and allowing Michinoku and Funaki to use the name for a tag team.
13 13. The Corre
Nexus could have been an all-time great faction before fizzling out due to poor booking. The days of Nexus at least left a memorable legacy for their better days. A low point would come towards the end of Nexus. Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater all made the move from Raw to SmackDown and formed a new group known as The Corre.
Ezekiel Jackson joined the group for one of the most awkward groups in wrestling history. The spelling of “Corre” along with their weird t-shirts and lack of purpose give them a horrible run. WWE ended the group after a short period of time. Their only WrestleMania match featured a group of random faces teaming together to destroy The Corre in a matter of a couple of minutes.
12 12. The Oddities
As mentioned earlier, the Attitude Era provided many ridiculous ideas that you luckily might have forgotten about. One of the bizarre ideas featured a group of the weird wrestlers on the roster making up The Oddities. It was originally meant to be a heel group of monsters being manipulated by heel mouthpiece The Jackyl. WWE switched plans and ditched Jackyl to make them a fan favorite act.
The Insane Clown Posse rapped to the ring as fans cheered along for Luna Vachon, Golga, Kurrgan, Giant Silva and George Steel. They were a lower tier act that had a short run of popularity before getting phased out. It's very hard for a faction with such a low ceiling to get over. The Oddities are forgotten unless you’re a diehard fan of the era.
11 11. Vince's Devils
A rare all-woman faction in WWE naturally was put together for Vince McMahon to flirt with them. The heel trio of Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle and Victoria were made an official faction under the name of Vince’s Devils. All three ladies would appear in backstage segments flirting with McMahon and doing his bidding. It was meant to be a play off of the Charlie’s Angel name but with a heel vibe.
McMahon always looked for excuses to place the female wrestlers he found attractive in segments with him. This was no different aside from the fact that there was no real purpose to it. Vince’s Devils never led to a noteworthy storyline or payoff. It instead remains one of the more forgettable factions in WWE history that was there for McMahon’s ego.
10 10. Full Blooded Italians
The Full Blooded Italians wrestling faction is remembered for its hot run in ECW. Very few people think of the short lived WWE version of the group. Little Guido signed with WWE as Nunzio and WWE attempted to recreate the FBI faction with new members. Nunzio joined Chuck Palumbo and Johnny the Bull for the new cast of the Full Blooded Italians.
WWE actually gave them a good push by having them get the better of Undertaker for weeks to establish their credibility. Fans however just didn’t care about the group and it led to failure. Undertaker eventually got his revenge and the FBI worked as a lower tier team before it was ended altogether. Luckily for the legacy of Nunzio/Little Guido, this is not the Full Blooded Italians faction people associate him with.
9 9. Los Boricuas
WWE went hard with the factions in 1997, in the time period directly before the Attitude Era started. There were numerous factions all feuding with each other. The Nation of Domination and D-Generation X were the only ones to find strong success. One of the disappointing factions of the time to struggle was Los Boricuas.
Savio Vega was the only established member of the group with fellow Puerto Rican wrestlers Miguel Perez, Jesus Castillo and Jose Estrada Jr. joining him. The faction could not find an identity as they only played up their Puerto Rican roots with no other dynamic. WWE clearly just wanted extra factions and didn’t care about the long term success. Los Boricuas ended within a few months and unfortunately would spell the end of Savio’s WWE career.
8 8. Disciples of Apocalypse
Another faction from 1997 that was unable to leave a legacy in WWE was Disciples of Apocalypse. The biker gang featured credible WWE star Crush leading the faction with Brian Lee and the Harris Brothers. All four men came off rather terrifying with their large sizes, intense wrestling styles and the intimidating looks. It should have worked out better but there was no vision for them.
The four wrestlers rode their bikes to the rings wearing their biker jackets and wanted to fight with the other factions in WWE. Similar to Los Boricuas, Disciples of Apocalypse would no longer exist after a few months of irrelevance. Crush went to WCW and the others were let go. Considering all four men had noteworthy careers in the wrestling industry, the DOA not having a lasting legacy is a major letdown.
7 7. Truth Commission
The Truth Commission faction played characters based off the separatist group from South Africa. The Jackyl served as the leader of the faction preaching to the soldiers. With names like Recon, Sniper, Tank and Kurrgan the Interrogator, WWE clearly tried to sell them as imposing figures. The problem is no one bought them as anything more than just a lower tier act.
WWE tried to give them a showcase for a couple of months but nothing worked. The Jackyl and Kurrgan were the only ones to truly stand out. None of them would ever get a noteworthy push in WWE again after the Truth Commission fell apart. You can find them on WWE Network when watching older content but you would most likely start skipping their segments after an episode or two.
6 6. Blue World Order
Stevie Richards, The Blue Meanie and Nova provided hilarious entertainment the Blue World Order in ECW parodying WCW’s New World Order stable. Richards portrayed Kevin Nash, Meanie was Scott Hall and Nova did his best Hollywood Hogan all for hilarious results in the ECW Arena. It made an impact as one of the most entertaining acts in the wrestling industry at the time.
WWE shockingly brought them to the company almost a decade later in 2005. Richards and Nova were already hired. WWE hired Meanie to avoid a lawsuit after JBL assaulted him in the ring. The Blue World Order just didn’t fit in the WWE, especially ten years after its relevance. Fans did not care in the slightest and WWE wrote them off very shortly after. To put things into perspective, you could have gone on a vacation and returned with no idea that the BWO ever joined the company.
5 5. Right to Censor
Another forgettable Stevie Richards faction took place during the peak of the Attitude Era. WWE went all the way with edgy content regarding sex, graphic violence and foul language. The Parents Television Council led a group to protest WWE for the content not being fit to be on television. Richards led the Right to Censor as a way to mimic the company’s critics.
Some of the WWE’s adult orientated characters like Val Venis and The Godfather joined the group with the implication being they were swayed into the cult-like atmosphere. The Right of Censor actually received great heel reactions with some of the loudest boos on the card. However, it failed to make a lasting impact and was easily forgotten after it ended. Richards did outstanding character work but sadly couldn’t find success out of it.
4 4. The Mexicools
Super Crazy, Psicosis and Juventud Guerrera were all incredibly talented wrestlers that deserved an opportunity in WWE. They would all unfortunately get signed to be a part of one of the worst factions in company. The three talented luchadors were forced to play horrible stereotypes riding lawnmowers to the ring and it upset many people in the Latino community.
Guerrera, Psicosis and Super Crazy still did a solid job in the ring but the act itself led to failure instantly. The Mexicools died within a few months with Juventud and Psicosis getting released. Super Crazy stuck around in a smaller role for a few years. All three could have been a part of a successful faction but instead were ruined with the horrible Mexicools gimmick. Luckily for them, very few fans remember it today and it didn’t hurt their legacies.
3 3. P.M.S.
Sticking with the tacky side of WWE creative, one of Vince Russo’s worst creations during the Attitude Era was the faction of P.M.S. Terri Runnels, Ryan Shamrock and Jacqueline made up the all-female faction that did nothing but torment the men of the WWE roster. The acronym stood for Pretty Mean Sister but clearly made a low class reference that just made everyone look silly in the process.
Runnels, Shamrock and Jacqueline all played the evil women trying to spurn the men on the roster. Russo didn’t have the greatest skill for adding depth to characters. There was nothing to the act and it went away after some time with nothing really getting accomplished. Runnels specifically claimed she hated the storyline and it was her least favorite time in WWE. No one remembers the faction so she can sleep easy.
2 2. X-Factor
X-Pac had a great run towards the end of the 90s in D-Generation X. Following his departure from WCW, X-Pac joined the new version of DX and it completely changed his career for the best. The end of DX spelled disaster for all of the members aside from Triple H. X-Pac found this out when WWE gave him his own new faction aptly named X-Factor after his finisher.
Justin Credible signed with WWE from ECW to join the group and Albert was added as the third man because WWE had nothing else for him at the time. X-Factor received a solid push but the pairing made no sense together. They lasted half a year without having any true standout moments. All three would have trouble getting television time after the group ended in obscurity.
1 1. The Cabinet
JBL winning the WWE Championship in 2004 was up there with the recent Jinder Mahal win for most shocking title change in WWE history. After years of lower mid-card work, JBL was given a massive push as the top heel on the SmackDown brand. One of the biggest signs of faith in JBL featured him leading his own faction named The Cabinet.
Orlando Jordan and the Basham Brothers joined JBL to form the stable. WWE actually had Jordan win the United States Championship from John Cena and the Bashams would also become the Tag Team Champions. A stable that holds all the gold usually means they're a huge hit. The Cabinet however was a huge disappointment and ended shortly after JBL’s reign. A big push ending so abruptly and leaving no impact on the fans is an absolute shame.