Don’t let the runaway success of The Shield back in 2012 fool you -- very few factions in pro wrestling are fully-formed and consistent. For the most part, wrestling factions evolve in terms of presentation and membership, with some configurations crystalizing in fans’ minds. Take, for example, D-Generation X, where the post-Shawn Michaels version is probably best remembered.

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As a result, there are lots of well-known wrestling stables with members that were only in the group for a heartbeat -- if they even made it to television at all. Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of those short-lived stars who couldn’t cut it in groups.

8 Rick Rude - D-Generation X

WCW Rick Rude Posing In The Ring

DX is best remembered as a bunch of crude dudes who pointed at their crotches a lot while Chyna stood with her arms crossed, looking tough. The initial version of the group was Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Chyna, and for some reason Rick Rude. Rude was only in the group for a month before jumping ship to WCW, but stood out like a sore thumb, as he was older than the rest and dressed in suits. In other words, he didn’t seem like a degenerate at all.

7 Mercedes Martinez - Retribution

Mercedes Martinez

Retribution spent nearly two months as a faceless mob hacking video feeds, smashing Performance Center windows, and hollering before it was clear what wrestlers were going to make up the stable. Even when it was clear which NXT stars were going to don goofy masks and bear goofier monikers, even that wasn’t set in stone.

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The original lineup of Retribution as they appeared on the 9/21/20 edition of Raw included Mercedes Martinez under the name of “Retaliation,” but it wasn’t long before she stopped showing up with the group and was reportedly set to return to NXT.

6 Frankie Kazarian - Bullet Club

Frankie Kazarian

For a few years in the mid-2010s, Bullet Club was the hottest thing for Western fans of New Japan Pro Wrestling, so much that it hit nWo levels as far as letting in pretty much anybody. Jeff Jarrett, Rey Bucanero, and Adam Cole have all had brief runs with the BC, but the most forgotten stint with the group has to be that of Frankie Kazarian. Kaz only stayed with the Bullet Club for a month, after which he turned on the group, as it was an elaborate trick to help his tag team partner Christopher Daniels win the Ring of Honor World Title.

5 Bret Hart - nWo 2000

Bret Hart

Speaking of nWo, throughout the late 1990s, WCW went through so many splits, reunions, and variations of the New World Order that the whole concept got terribly stale by the time the band got back together as nWo 2000 in December of 1999. Boasting Jeff Jarrett and The Harris Brothers as members, nWo 2000 is decidedly one of the weaker iterations of the once-popular faction, but surprisingly, co-founder Bret Hart’s stint with the group is shockingly brief. That’s because the formation of the group preceded his match against Goldberg at Starrcade ‘99, where he sustained a career-ending injury.

4 Black Tiger V - CHAOS

NJPW: Black Tiger 5 (Tatsuhito Takaiwa), Tomohiro Ishii, and Jado of CHAOS

Over the years, New Japan Pro Wrestling has had seven performers -- usually but not always gaijin -- don the mask of Black Tiger to oppose their iconic star Tiger Mask. The gimmick has been worked by such notables as Eddie Guerrero and Rocky Romero, but the fifth iteration, portrayed by Tatsuhito Takaiwa, ended up becoming a member of the NJPW stable CHAOS for about two months in 2009. Black Tiger’s stint with the group ended after he lost a mask vs. mask match against Tiger Mask.

3 Curt Hennig - Four Horsemen

Curt Hennig

The legendary Four Horsemen stable hasn’t always had a strong membership, considering misfires like Paul Roma and Jeff Jarrett, but one of the least embarrassing wrestlers to experience a brief run with the group has got to be the former Mr. Perfect, Curt Hennig.

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Curt Hennig joined the Horsemen in August of 1997, but a month later during the WarGames at Fall Brawl, Hennig betrayed the Horsemen, joining the nWo in the process.

2 Tito Ortiz - Aces & Eights

Tito Ortiz

From 2012 to 2013, TNA ran a storyline where an invading biker gang called Aces & Eights was taking the company by storm. The group would come to be composed of The Dudley Boyz, Mr. Anderson, D’Lo Brown, and other ex-WWE talents, but they would also curiously add former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz to their ranks. Unfortunately, Ortiz’s run with the group would last mere weeks, as his Bellator responsibilities would take precedence to whatever was happening on a wrestling show.

1 Kamala - The Dungeon of Doom

Kamala in WWE

The late monster heel Kamala is best remembered for his runs with Mid-South Wrestling and WWF, so it may surprise fans to find out that the Ugandan Giant had a brief run with WCW in 1995. During this stint, Kamala joined up with Kevin Sullivan’s Dungeon of Doom stable, created solely to oppose top babyface Hulk Hogan. This run would culminate with a Hulkamaniacs vs. Dungeon of Doom WarGames match at Fall Brawl where Hogan’s team would pick up the win.

NEXT: Hulk Hogan: 10 Admittedly Corny Things That Only He Can Pull Off