There’s nothing worse in pro wrestling than an underwhelming faction. There are many reasons that a faction can fail, and each faction’s failures depend on the goal of the faction. If the idea was to get a certain wrestler over and that wrestler doesn’t get over, what else is there for the faction to do? If the idea is for the faction to pose a credible threat to a dominant babyface or heel, but not a single audience member believes that the groups poses a threat, then that faction has also failed. Sometimes, very rarely, but sometimes a group can come along and do everything that the company asks them to do and they still fail to have a successful run for some reason. Some factions in wrestling seemed doomed to fail from the start, or they were never given a fair shake from the company that they were a part of. This isn’t unique to the WWE, either, as bad faction have popped up in every wrestling promotion imaginable.

However, the worst factions in wrestling weren’t necessarily strictly failures. There was just something about each one of the factions on this list that made them unbearable. Some of the groups on this list were, in fact, successful. All of these groups, though, had something about them that made them a bad idea. Whether it be bad booking, over reliance on older talent, or just a lack of talent in the faction, many of these factions on this list are considered among the worst in wrestling’s past.

25 TNA: The Helms Dynasty

via youtube.com

The Helms Dynasty was a faction in TNA consisting of Gregory Helms, Andrew Everett, and Trevor Lee.

What makes The Helms Dynasty one of the worst factions in wrestling is the fact it was clearly designed with sole the motivation to get Gregory Helms over.

However, while The Helms Dynasty lasted for over a year, from April 2016 to June 2017, only one member of The Helms Dynasty would capture gold, and it wasn’t Gregory Helms, but Trevor Lee, who would win the X Division Championship on two separate occasions.

24 WCW: The West Texas Rednecks

via youtube.com

Part of what made The West Texas Rednecks so horrible is the fact that they couldn’t be taken seriously. This is really a shame, as two of the members would go on to be WWE Hall of Famers. Barry Windham, son of Blackjack Mulligan, was one of the members of the group, but the front man was Mr. Perfect himself, Curt Hennig. Barry and Kendall Windham would win the WCW Tag Team Championships once, but the group could never be taken seriously before or after that. They even released not one but two songs as a country music band.

23 WWE: The Hart Dynasty

via ewrestling.com

To fans of the original Hart Foundation, The Hart Dynasty was, at best, a disappointment, and, at worst, a disrespectful mockery. After all, Bret Hart was not on good terms with the WWE upon the formation of the Hart Dynasty and, while he was not the be-all and end-all of the Hart Foundation, he was probably the most well-known member. The Hart Dynasty consisted of Natalya, Tyson Kidd, and D.H. Smith.

The connection to the original Harts exists, as Natalya and Smith are direct descendants, and Kidd trained under a Hart, but they never achieved the same success as the Hart Foundation.

22 WCW: The First Family

via tumblr.com

The First Family is, without a doubt, one of the strangest entries for this list.

Coming together after the dissolution of the Dungeon of Doom, it consisted mostly of upper mid card talent, like Lex Luger and The Giant.

The First Family went through many incarnations in the wrestling world, first forming in the 70s in the Continental Wrestling Association, then forming again in the WWF in 1985 in perhaps its most well-known incarnation. The final incarnation of the First Family in the WCW never did anything substantial during the entirety of their formation.

21 WWE: The Corre

via fanpop.com

The Corre was the worst possible thing for everyone involved. When Wade Barrett was kicked out of The Nexus and was under new leadership in the form of CM Punk, Barrett moved to SmackDown, with the final two remaining members of the original Nexus, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater, not far behind him. Ezekiel Jackson was added to the lineup shortly thereafter, and The Corre actually had a mildly successful run. However, by WrestleMania XXVII, they were nothing more than glorified jobbers. They were never able to successfully get Wade Barrett over, or any of the members.

20 TNA: Main Event Mafia

via youtube.com

The Main Event Mafia is probably the most successful faction on this list. The first incarnation of the group consisted of the likes of Kurt Angle, Sting, and Christian, and that was their gimmick: they were a group of older wrestlers banding together to take out the younger guys and get respect.

However, there were two problems with the Main Event Mafia. First, Samoa Joe joined them, and he should have been a part of the resistance.

Secondly, the Main Event Mafia did take out the younger guys. They should have been a vehicle to get the younger guys over.

19 WCW: The Three Faces of Fear

via youtube.com

The Three Faces of Fear, consisting of Kevin Sullivan, Avalanche, and The Butcher, barely lasted 2 months, forming in October 1994 and disbanding in January of 1995. They were formed to take on Hulk Hogan, and Brutus Beefcake and Earthquake were both established talents at the time. However, they never stood a chance against Hogan. Hogan would beat all three of them at different points, taking The Butcher on at Starrcade 1994 for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. After this match, the group quickly dissolved as each member went their own way.

18 WWE: The Spirit Squad

via wwe.com

The Spirit Squad were, in storyline, the biggest threat to DX, acting as henchmen for the McMahons during their feud with the last incarnation of DX.

They seemed doomed to fail from the start, as they were a group of male cheerleaders, so it was hard to take them seriously.

As we all know now, the only successful member of the group was Dolph Ziggler, who went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship, but the Spirit Squad were a disaster from the beginning.

17 WCW Faction: The Magnificent Seven

via wrestlingnews.com

The Magnificent Seven could have been a huge force in the WCW and been a game changer for the company. However, by the time they formed in 2001, it was too little, too late. The Magnificent Seven formed only two months before the final episode of Nitro, and disbanded once Vince McMahon purchased WCW. The group had potential, with Ric Flair as the leader, WCW Champion Scott Steiner, and WCW United States Champion Rick Steiner as just three members of this elite team. However, due to WCW’s purchase, they never lived up to their potential.

16 WWE: The Wyatt Family

via wwe.com

When The Wyatt Family were first introduced, Bray Wyatt was one of the hottest wrestlers in the WWE. His seemingly nonsensical promos were unique at the time, and the group could have been a real force to be reckoned with, if booked properly. It even seemed like they might be booked right, as the Wyatts’ first major feud was with Daniel Bryan and CM Punk, two of the most popular wrestlers of the time. From there, leader Bray Wyatt would feud with John Cena. However, by their dissolution when Harper and Rowan were set free, the group never achieved gold.

15 TNA: The Tribunal

via youtube.com

Going under the name new names in Impact, the group were initially a duo of NXT wrestlers who went by the name The Legionnaires.

When they moved to Impact, they were both repackaged with new names and as part of an alliance with Al Snow, with all three members going by The Tribunal.

However, The Tribunal would never win any major feud, losing feuds to Grado and Shera and The Broken Hardys. The alliance disbanded in November, only 8 months after coming to TNA, never making any significant achievements.

14 WCW: The No Limit Soldiers

via wikipedia.org

The No Limit Soldiers of WCW have an interesting story. The group was led by rapper Master P, who signed a contract with WCW in 1999. The idea was the Master P would give WCW hip hop exposure and Master P’s cousin Swoll would get wrestling training. The No Limit Soldiers had some talented wrestlers, notably Konnan and Rey Mysterio Jr., but the group only lasted four months, forming in June and disbanding by September of 1999.

Konnan and Mysterio moved on to The Animals while the other members appeared only sporadically on television.

13 WWE: ECW Originals

via wwe.com

The ECW Originals were a strange idea from the start. The only connection these men had with each other was that they were a part of the original run of ECW. However, some of these guys were rivals during the company’s original run, and had no real reason to come together under any sort of unifying team mentality.

Some of the members of the ECW Originals were even established WWE stars by this point, like The Dudleys and RVD. The ECW Originals were a mismatched hodgepodge of extreme wrestlers that were never supposed to fit together.

12 WCW: The Misfits In Action

via imageevent.com

The Misfits in Action are probably the weirdest faction on this list. Military gimmicks are nothing new in the world or pro wrestling, but the Misfits in Action probably went a little too far. They were kayfabe fired by Eric Bischoff and returned under new, ridiculous names.

Booker T was now G.I. Bro, a gimmick that Booker himself regrets to this day, and Chavo Guerrero was Lt. Loco.

Luckily, the Misfits in Action did not last long, as they disbanded in 2001, but it is a shame what they did with some great talent.

11 WWE: The Union

via wwe.com

The “Union of People You Oughta Respect, Son” or, more simply, “The Union”, was a random mashup of mid card former Corporation members that had nothing to do once The Corporation merged with the Ministry of Darkness. The Union consisted of Big Show, Test, Ken Shamrock, and, the leader, Mankind. They left the Corporation because they felt that they were being treated unfairly. The group disbanded after Mankind was written off of television to undergo knee surgery on May 31st, less than one month after the group’s formation.

10 WCW: Raven's Flock

via tumblr.com

Raven’s Flock was the WCW incarnation of Raven’s Nest from ECW, forming in August of 1997, not long after Raven’s debut for the company. The group consisted of mid card level performers, like Perry Saturn, Stevie Richards, and Billy Kidman, and lost most of their matches during their short run in the WWE.

The group did not last long, as they disbanded in September of 1997, one month after formation, once Saturn won the members’ freedom from Raven at Fall Brawl.

9 WWE: League of Nations

via wwe.com

The League of Nations was formed to be an opposing threat to Roman Reigns during Reigns’s initial run at the top of the card.

The group consisted of foreign wrestlers: Ireland's Sheamus, Mexico's Alberto Del Rio, Bulgaria's Rusev, and England's King Barrett, all using an anti-US gimmick.

The feud with Reigns did not sit well with many members of the League, with del Rio even asking for his release from the company due to his unhappiness with the creative direction of his character. It is rare for a faction to be so bad that it actually makes wrestlers leave.

8 TNA: The Rising

via pwpop.com

The Rising was a short-lived faction in TNA, consisting of Drew Galloway, Eli Drake, and Tanga Loa, then known as Micah. After going on a tear through competitors like Kenny King and MVP, Galloway announced the formation of The Rising in April of 2017. The Rising continued to beat down on wrestlers like King and Low-Ki for the following months.However, the group would not last long, as they would lose a four-on-three handicap match to The Beat Down Clan in July of 2017, forcing The Rising to disband.

7 WCW: Latino World Order

via wwe.com

The Latino World Order was formed as a sort of mockery of the nWo. The group formed in October 5th, 1998, with Eddie Guerrero taking the lead in the stable. The LWO consisted of almost every luchador wrestler on the WCW roster, like Psychosis, La Parka, and Juventud Guerrero. However, a car accident in January of 1999 involving Eddie Guerrero would put an early end to the LWO, and, sadly, the world will never know the true potential that the group had.

6 WWE: The Nexus

via wikimedia.org

When they debuted, The Nexus were the biggest thing to happen in the WWE in years. All of the season 1 NXT rookies showed up during RAW and tore the place apart.

The group seemed like a vehicle to get Wade Barrett over, but, in actuality, it proved to be a showcase for every member of The Nexus.

Justin Gabriel and David Otunga were notable stand-outs in the group. However, all of their momentum was halted quickly when John Cena would be the sole survivor in The Nexus vs WWE match at SummerSlam 2010.