Every wrestler to join a faction hopes the group will improve their careers for the better in the long run. Randy Orton and Batista became top stars after their time in Evolution. Joining D-Generation X was the missing piece for Triple H to move up from a mid-carder into the main event scene. Unfortunately, not every wrestler will have the same success.
Quite a few talented wrestlers were supposed to have strong runs after leaving a faction. The scenarios here showed how things went poorly with disappointing results. Each story has a different reason for the talent not fulfilling their overall potential. Find out just what caused them to miss the mark as we look at the most promising wrestlers who flopped after leaving their factions.
10 D'Lo Brown (Nation of Domination)
WWE already knew The Rock would be a top star when the Nation of Domination started to peak, but there was hope for the other talents involved. The Godfather and Mark Henry each did enough to get inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame.
D’Lo Brown was arguably the best in-ring performer of them all, but he couldn’t find an ideal role after the Nation ended. The time teaming with Chaz in Lo Down saw him losing any momentum and he was released within a few years.
9 Orlando Jordan (The Cabinet)
The potential of Orlando Jordan made him a prospect WWE wanted to give a push to. JBL added Jordan to his faction as The Cabinet. JBL’s lengthy WWE Championship saw him becoming the most hated heel on Smackdown.
Jordan becoming JBL’s sidekick helped him defeat John Cena for the United States Championship. The Cabinet never had much momentum and Jordan suffered for it when it ended. WWE didn’t have much use for Jordan on television once separating from JBL.
8 Desmond Wolfe (Fortune)
TNA signing Ric Flair saw them wanting to come up with a new version of the Four Horsemen. Desmond Wolfe aka Nigel McGuinness was a rising star and had a short run in the original version of Flair’s heel group called Fortune.
Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff’s tenure saw Wolfe getting less and less of a push until he was removed from the group. Fortune saw AJ Styles, Frankie Kazarian, Bobby Roode and James Storm become the big four. Wolfe started teaming with Magnus before his time in TNA ended with much long-term success.
7 Ken Doane (Spirit Squad)
Dolph Ziggler became the biggest star of the Spirit Squad, but he wasn’t the wrestler WWE had the highest hopes for. Ken Doane was considered on par with CM Punk as the top developmental prospects for WWE before getting called up.
The Spirit Squad found success as a heel act of male cheerleaders winning the Tag Team Championship and even main eventing a PPV vs D-Generation X. Doane was the only one to remain on the main roster after the Spirit Squad ended, but he flopped badly in the new role.
6 Dean Malenko (Four Horsemen)
WCW’s final version of the Four Horsemen saw Dean Malenko joining the returning Ric Flair along with Chris Benoit and Steve “Mongo” McMichael. Malenko was one of the top in-ring performers who was just lacking the personality to get to the next level.
Everyone hoped that being part of a legendary group would make up for any of his weaknesses. WCW’s booking of the Horsemen saw them struggling to get over as a top act. Malenko struggled even more when the group was at the end since he couldn’t find the ideal role for him on the roster.
5 Wade Barrett (Nexus)
The start of Nexus made Wade Barrett look like the next big main event star for WWE. Barrett won the first season of NXT and led the group who brutally attacked top stars and personnel to start their hostile takeover.
Nexus lost a lot of momentum at the end of the run after losing quite a few times to John Cena. Barrett received the biggest push of them all in the following months, but WWE never trusted him in the main event picture.
4 Petey Williams (Team Canada)
TNA’s version of Team Canada found success them for them in the early years when trying to create an identity. Petey Williams was the standout star of the group with a dominant X-Division Championship reign and his must-see finisher of the Canadian Destroyer.
The end of the run saw Williams struggling to find the same success in TNA. Petey’s best role outside of the faction was playing Scott Steiner’s sidekick for a few months. Bobby Roode and Eric Young ended up having the better TNA careers after Team Canada ended.
3 Bam Bam Bigelow (Million Dollar Corporation)
Ted DiBiase leading the Million Dollar Corporation helped give him a new role after suffering a career-ending injury. Bam Bam Bigelow was the standout member to many fans and had the biggest success main eventing WrestleMania 10 against NFL legend Lawrence Taylor.
The aftermath saw DiBiase eventually kicking Bigelow out of the Million Dollar Corporation to start a face run. Bam Bam had matches with his former stablemates for a few months, but fans never got into him enough for a bigger push.
2 Ken Shamrock (The Corporation)
WWE placed Ken Shamrock in The Corporation as a heel since they felt there were too many faces being pushed at the time. Shamrock did get over as a face, but the new character allowed him to use his legitimate fighting background to protect Vince McMahon and company.
The Corporation only saw Vince, Shane, Triple H and The Rock really benefiting from it since only the top stars received promo time or major feuds. Shamrock lost all his momentum and parted ways with WWE shortly after the faction ended.
1 Luke Harper (The Wyatt Family)
The Wyatt Family became a huge success story with the original trio of Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan having superb chemistry. WWE ending the group had fans hoping that Harper would receive a bigger push for his outstanding matches and unique charisma.
Both Harper and Rowan were given mid-card pushes without much character direction. Harper did win the Intercontinental Championship, but he fell back lower down the card shortly after. WWE would only use Harper in a relevant role whenever the Wyatt Family reunited.