Over the years, wrestling factions have become some of the most exciting elements of any wrestling show. Whether it be legendary groups such as the Four Horsemen, D-Generation X or the nWo or more modern teams like SAnitY, New Day, and The Shield, factions are ever present.

Not every group works, with some factions failing to connect with fans, but when a group does get over it can lead to some of the most exciting storytelling imaginable, but that doesn't mean that every member of the group can stand on its own.

When factions are together, the group is able to hide its individual weaknesses and focus on their strengths, allowing everyone to look good, which is why factions can stand out amongst the rest of the roster.

However, nearly all of the time, factions are going to break up and when that happens those involved in the group must prove themselves on their own as singles wrestlers, but that doesn't always happen.

Often, wrestlers who worked well in a faction fail to work on their own, and end up flopping as singles wrestlers and within this article, we will look at 20 wrestlers who struggled as singles stars after being in a faction.

20 Mason Ryan (The New Nexus)

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When Mason Ryan burst onto the scene in the New Nexus, led by CM Punk there was clearly high expectations for him due to his incredible size and power, with Ryan working as the muscle of the group.

While the faction itself wasn't a major hit, with the Nexus angle barely managing to stay relevant once the original group had disbanded it did manage to provide a platform for talents like Ryan to showcase their skills, all while being protected because Punk was booked strongly.

However, once the New Nexus came to an end and Punk moved back to being a top singles star Mason Ryan quickly began to struggle to stay on television.

He might have had a great look, but in the ring, he only had very basics skills and on the microphone, his personality was lacking and he ended up seeing his WWE career come to an end.

19 Ted DiBiase Jr. (Legacy)

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His father might have been the Million Dollar Man, a WWE Hall Of Famer who was one of the very best heels of all time, but that doesn't always mean success will follow and for Ted DiBiase Jr, that was the case.

After being introduced as a major star alongside Cody Rhodes under the leadership of Randy Orton with the Legacy faction, the heel group dominated WWE and became one of the top factions of its time.

However, once the stable split up and all three men went their separate ways, it would be DiBiase Jr who struggled the most, failing to stand alone on his own as he slowly slipped down the card, eventually quitting the business altogether.

18 Gangrel (The Brood)

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Alongside Edge and Christian as The Brood, Gangrel managed to stand out with a fantastic gimmick that helped put one of the worlds greatest tag teams on the map. From the unique entrance to the bloodbaths, the faction was incredible.

All three men were brilliant together and oozed a unique chemistry but once Edge and Christian went off to hit five-second poses and win titles aplenty, Gangrel failed to make a major name for himself as a singles star.

It was clear that whilst Gangrel was given a fun gimmick, he wasn't quite as skilled in the ring as Edge and Christian were, which meant that when they weren't a group it was Gangrel who flopped, eventually being released.

17 Perry Saturn (The Radicalz)

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When The Radicalz debuted, the four wrestlers were jam-packed full of talent and charisma and it was clear that in the ring, very few people were able to match them, but it was only Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero that managed to become major global stars.

Those two took off and sky-rocketed to the top, becoming World Champions and legends of the business but for Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn, the same success and opportunities were not awarded.

Malenko had a solid career in the mid-card and for the most part, so did Saturn.

But the fact that he is most remembered for a mop should tell you that he sadly flopped as a singles wrestler.

16 The Blue Meanie (bWo)

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In terms of the greatest factions in wrestling history, the Blue World Order might not be remembered as the greatest, but the group certainly were effective in terms of comedy and are well remembered among fans.

For the Blue Meanie, he has become a popular name among wrestling fans who will often be popular at conventions for fans to meet, but that is always due to his background in the bWo.

However, on his own as a singles wrestler, you would struggle to tell a major moment about his career other than his blows with JBL which caused a lot of controversies, but even that was during his bWo run, proving that he was a talent who struggled on his own.

15 Luke Gallows (Straight Edge Society)

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When people think about Luke Gallows the main focus tends to be either on his current role in WWE, his time in Japan as a member of the Bullet Club or during his initial WWE career, as Festus.

However, one part of his career that often gets overlooked is how he transitioned out of being Festus during CM Punk's Straightedge Society, where he acted as the muscle for Punk's preaching group.

While he certainly played a key role for the faction and began to show the qualities that the world now know he has, once the faction was over, Gallows didn't manage to stay alone, eventually finding himself having to join another faction in the Bullet Club to restart his career.

14 Mideon (The Ministry Of Darkness)

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One of the most exciting parts of The Undertaker's run was his incredibly eerie and interesting faction, The Ministry Of Darkness which had several members including The Brood, Viscera, and Mideon.

Out of all of the group, Mideon seemingly had the ability to go on and make a difference on his own with a gimmick that was creepy enough to make a mark in the industry.

However, instead of standing out as a top singles wrestler who could have been a major player, at least in the mid-card, his career came to an end without much of a fuss and he went on to become a chef.

13 Garett Bischoff (Aces & Eights)

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It isn't just WWE who have run major faction storylines during recent years, with TNA certainly creating several major factions with the Aces & Eights being one of the biggest in the history of the company.

At times, the faction was one of the most exciting in the entire industry at the time, with Bully Ray really proving himself as one of the top stars in the world at the time. However, like many factions, the group suffered from having too many members.

One of the biggest issues was featuring talents who were not good enough to be at that level and Garett Bischoff was certainly one of those. Whilst he managed to work in the faction, when it came to being on his own it was clear he was nowhere near good enough.

12 Curt Hawkins (La Familia)

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Nowadays, Curt Hawkins is known for having the longest losing streak in WWE history and whilst that might be a talking point that gets him booked on shows, it isn't exactly the sign of a successful singles wrestler either.

It's a shame to see the way things have gone for Hawkins.

It's clear that on his own, WWE simply doesn't see him as a star having previously released him before placing him into his current gimmick during his second run with the company.

However, with La Familia, Hawkins was a solid hand who showed real potential alongside Zack Ryder pretending to be Edge. However, it would be Ryder who went on to gain success on his own, leaving Hawkins behind.

11 Kenny Dykstra (The Spirit Squad)

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To be fair, the Spirit Squad faction wasn't a group that was going to bring success to any of its members in that role. However, one member from the group, did in fact go on to have success as a singles star. You might know him as Dolph Ziggler, who was known as Nicky. The man WWE had been expecting to be the eventual standout star from the group was Kenny Dykstra, but following the group being written off television, Kenny eventually returned to the main roster and didn't thrive the way WWE hoped. He never quite found a real gimmick and he ended up being released in 2008.

10 Lance Storm (Team Canada)

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With Team Canada in WCW, then his similar faction in WWE, the company created a heat magnet that was guaranteed to get a major reaction out of every crowd it was put in front of and the fact that Lance Storm was one of the very best in-ring workers of his time seemed like the company was onto something.

Despite having great technical wrestling skills, Storm seriously lacked any form of personality and that much was crystal clear every time he would attempt to get on the microphone and talk.

It didn't take long for WWE to see the issue and understood that while he was a solid hand to have around for competitive wrestling matches, he was never going to make it to the very top like his ability could have done.

9 Stevie Richards (Right To Censor)

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Whilst we have already mentioned the Blue Meanie, we are not discussing the Blue World Order when it comes to Stevie Richards, although that is further proof that he only managed to stand out when he was part of a group.

For his entry, we are focusing on the faction, Right To Censor, which he was one of the main members of, originally being the leader of the group despite the fact that Ivory would go on to outshine him.

Right To Censor managed to gain an incredible amount of heat, and Richards proved he was more than confident on the microphone.

The only issue was when he didn't have that gimmick to rely on, he was very bland and that led him to flop when he was alone.

8 Doug Williams (Fortune)

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Now, this entry is specific to his run with TNA, as in general, Doug Williams is seen as one of the greatest British wrestlers in the history of the sport and is someone who has helped create the incredible British scene that is taking place right now.

However, when it came to his time in TNA, things didn't exactly go to planned for Williams who wasn't given the major spot that his talent and hard work deserved over in America, despite being given a spot in the top faction, Fortune.

The main issue was that Williams was the fall guy for Fortune, often being the man who took the losses in order to keep others in the group looking strong, which meant when it came to being a singles wrestler, people didn't take him seriously.

7 Orlando Jordan (The Cabinet)

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At one point it seemed like Orlando Jordan might do well for himself in WWE, getting to feud with the likes of Chris Benoit and prove what he was capable of, but the issue was he would always find himself on the losing end of those major matches.

Jordan was a key member of JBL's Cabinet faction which saw Bradshaw create a group of people who basically helped him defend his World Championship at all costs, becoming one of SmackDown's top heels in the process.

Within the faction, Jordan was effectively JBL's right-hand man and did show potential, but his career in WWE never amounted to much and despite a run with TNA, his career ended up being fairly forgettable.

6 D-Lo Brown (The Nation Of Domination)

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D-Lo Brown had plenty of in-ring quality and therefore it wasn't a surprise to see him be a key member of the Nation Of Domination faction which allowed The Rock to breakthrough and become a major singles star.

However, while The Rock and even Mark Henry managed to become big stars, Brown never managed to quite connect with the WWE Universe in order to establish himself as a major deal on his own.

While he had a decent run in the mid-card for a while, Brown was never able to get a long enough period of time to stand out on his own and prove what he was fully capable of before his time came to an end.

5 Ezekiel Jackson (The Corre)

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Everyone knows that Vince McMahon loves a wrestler of Ezekiel Jackson's size, having the exact look that the WWE Chairman has pushed throughout his entire career and Jackson did get the same for a brief moment.

After being brought to WWE and put into the incredibly forgetful Corre faction, the group which was created in the fallout of the Nexus, it was clear that WWE had hoped he would be a big star, pushing him strongly within the faction.

Jackson was an ECW and Intercontinental Champion but despite those accolades, nobody really connected with him or his character and eventually just being a big guy wasn't enough for him.

4 Bray Wyatt (The Wyatt Family)

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When the Wyatt Family first appeared the group took the WWE Universe by storm, gripping fans with their eerie personalities and cryptic promos it seemed like the group were set for major things in the company.

The Wyatt Family did become one of the top factions of its time, having incredible feuds with The Usos and The Shield, however, when the group finally broke off none of the members really thrived on their own (except Braun Strowman, who was only in the family's second run).

However, the biggest flop was certainly Bray Wyatt who, after being the faction leader was expected to go on and achieve big things. Even though Wyatt has been a WWE Champion and a two time Tag Team Champion, you can't help but feel he should have done so much more with his career.

3 Wade Barrett (The Nexus)

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Speaking of faction leaders amounting to nothing, Wade Barrett was once rumored to be an opponent for The Undertaker at WrestleMania, yet never managed to live up to the hype and the potential that his career had.

After debuting as the leader of the Nexus, the group stunned the WWE Universe and had all the momentum in the world until the infamous SummerSlam match that saw the group quickly fall down the card.

Despite The Nexus not quite living up to its own hype, it seemed like Barrett was still going to achieve big things.

However, after starting his career in the main event title picture, he quickly slipped to being nothing more than another member of the roster.

2 Billy Gunn (DX)

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When you look at DX as a faction, every single wrestler had an incredible career and while Triple H and Shawn Michaels were the clear standout stars, it's fair to say that X-Pac and the New Age Outlaws all had a great run as well.

However, while the New Age Outlaws are one of the greatest tag teams of all time, as a singles wrestler, things never exactly went to plan for Billy Gunn who was somebody who WWE had much higher hopes for.

Despite being given a few small pushes, such as winning the King Of The Ring tournament, Gunn is very much remembered for being part of a tag team, either with Road Dogg or with Chuck Palumbo.

1 Test (The Corporation)

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Test had all the abilities to be a major player in WWE, not just in the mid-card but at the main event level with the in-ring ability, charisma, the look and personality but despite all that, he never reached the level he could have done.

Test was pushed into many major moments, being paired with Stephanie McMahon as well as being a major player in The Corporation faction which was one of the biggest groups during the Attitude Era.

Despite getting his opportunity with the group, he never managed to become the major player in WWE that he should have been, with personal issues causing his career with the company to end prematurely.