In the course of wrestling history, there's been a number of groups that have left their mark on the industry. And while the collective works of those in a stable have entertained millions, the intent has almost always been the same: to get the leader over. Which often translate to a lot of dirty work for those serving as a sidekick.

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But over the years there have been many henchmen in the world of wrestling to rise up from lackey to leader. After putting in years of grunt work for someone else, the knowledge these superstars gained helped them to become the Shredder to their own Foot Clan.

10 Randy Orton

When Triple H decided to cosplay as Ric Flair in the early 2000's, he did so in almost every way possible. This included coming up with his version of the Four Horsemen. And thus Evolution was born, and it served as the big break for an up-and-coming Randy Orton.

After getting booted from Evolution, Orton continued on his own for the next several years before becoming the leader of his own faction, The Legacy. The concept was unique as Orton, a third-generation wrestler, only surrounded himself with other multi-generation wrestlers, most notably Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr.

9 Sean Waltman

After his days in WWE as the 1-2-3 Kid came to a close in 1996, Sean Waltman went south to join his friends, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, in the New World Order. Because he was the sixth man to join the nWo, he was given the name Syxx. In 1998, Waltman returned to WWE and helped out another old friend in Triple H in rebuilding D-Generation X.

Now known as X-Pac, Waltman helped DX reach new heights through 2000. In 2001, Waltman finally took the reins of his own stable which he called X-Factor. Flanked by Justin Credible and Albert, the group lacked the it factor and had fizzled out by the fall.

8 Stevie Richards

Right To Censor

Stevie Richards had carved out a nice little gimmick for himself as Raven's flunky. For two years in Extreme Championship Wrestling, Richards followed Raven around until branching out as the leader of the Blue World Order, a parody of the nWo. But Richards soon returned as Raven's underling when the two went to World Championship Wrestling in 1997.

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After coming to WWE in 1999, Richards found himself floundering before reinventing himself in 2000 as the leader of an ultra-conservative faction known as the Right To Censor. With Richards at the helm, the RTC captured the Tag Team Championship and the Women's title.

7 Crush

Ax and Smash, Demolition, were one of WWE's hottest tag teams coming into the 90's. But when Ax got sidelined, Crush joined the team to make Demolition a trio. Years later, Crush joined the Nation of Domination, a collection of wrestlers led by Faarooq and stylized after the Nation of Islam.

After failing to help Faarooq win the WWE Title, Crush was fired from the Nation. In response, Crush returned with his own outlaw clique called the Disciples of Apocalypse. With his renegade army of biker misfits, Crush went to war with the Nation before leaving the DOA and WWE in 1997.

6 Savio Vega

Los Boricuas

Before the Nation of Domination became an all black power team, the NOD consisted of a mix of characters. Among them was the once popular, but now disgruntled, Savio Vega. Like Crush, he stood ready to strike at Faarooq's command.

But similar to his cohort, Vega found himself out of a gig when Faarooq decided to clean house. And also like Crush, Vega returned with his own crew, except this one solely comprised of Puerto Rican superstars. Dubbed Los Boricuas, they outlasted both the Nation and DOA, but accomplished nothing in the way of championships in WWE.

5 Tetsuya Naito

After winning the 2013 G1 Climax tournament, Tetsuya Naito was set to challenge Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Title at Wrestle Kingdom 8. But after fans lost interest in Naito, his match with Okada at New Japan Pro Wrestling's biggest event of the year was voted out of its main event spot.

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This sent Naito into a tailspin until he took an excursion to Mexico in 2015, where he joined a band of rule breakers known as Los Ingobernables. After returning to New Japan, an ultra cool Naito opened up a Japanese branch version of the Mexican stable, calling it Los Ingobernables de Japon.

4 Seth Rollins

When The Shield hit the scene in 2012, the trio of Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins all seemed to be equal partners, though Rollins was known as The Architect. When Rollins left The Shield to become the centerpiece of Triple H's Authority, he firmly established himself as The Game's right hand man.

But today, Rollins has become a cult-like leader. Calling himself The Monday Night Messiah, Rollins leads an odd collection of superstars whose purpose is to help make Rollins' utopian vision for Raw a reality.

3 JBL

The Undertaker and his Ministry of Darkness helped breathed new life into John Bradshaw Layfield and his partner Faarooq, The Acolytes. Under the tutelage of the Deadman, Bradshaw and Faarooq captured tag team gold on two occasions before branching out on their own.

When Bradshaw pursued a singles career years later, he soon became WWE Champion. Shortly after becoming champion, the man now known as JBL brought on Orlando Jordan and The Basham Brothers, calling his regime The Cabinet. Under JBL, Jordan became U.S. Champion while the Bashams picked up the Smackdown Tag Team titles.

2 Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt first appeared on WWE television as Husky Harris back when NXT was some weird talent show for upcoming superstars. He later joined the group Nexus when they were in a rebuilding phase. But with a lame name and an undefined gimmick, Wyatt was written off of television.

After a few years in WWE's developmental system, Wyatt transformed himself into the backwoods cult leader of The Wyatt Family, bringing Luke Harper and Erick Rowan into the fold before adding a young Braun Strowman years later.

1 Brodie Lee

Of all the lessons the former Luke Harper may have learned during his time in The Wyatt Family, reinvention may be one of them. After toiling away for years under the unimpressed eye of Vince McMahon, Lee left WWE in search of greener pastures.

In March, he arrived in All Elite Wrestling as The Exalted One, the leader of The Dark Order whose identity had been a mystery for several months. With a new look and a change of scenery, Lee now has a chance to lead his own revolution while showing his former employer what he missed out on.

NEXT: AEW: 10 Legends The Company Should Avoid Booking