Stables in professional wrestling have always carried a sense of prestige with them because a group of wrestlers together tend to make for even more intricate storylines rather than just a single guy trying to make a name for himself. Right from when the Four Horsemen dominated proceedings in the late 80s, wrestling factions have been on the rise and we've seen many iconic stables being formed over the years who've dominated their respective wrestling promotions.
These factions of wrestlers have always been extremely entertaining, with the work of many charismatic wrestlers together making for some really amazing storylines and moments. While these stables will always be remembered for their iconic personalities, there could've been certain changes, had the companies moved forward with their original plans. While powerful stables have always looked to add to their group, there are certain wrestlers who were tabbed to join major stables, but were pulled out at the last second because of creative difficulties.
There are actually a few interesting names out there who almost joined some of the major wrestling stables of the past, with some being especially surprising and making us wonder how their careers could've panned had they been added to these stables. So let's have a look at 15 Wrestlers You Had No Idea Almost Joined Major Stables.
15 15. Triple H - nWo
Triple H has been among the top guys in WWE for over two decades now, as he's been a great employee for the WWE and finds himself as one of the more influential people because of his work-rate. While Triple H did some great work as part of DX in the Attitude Era, there was actually talks of him joining the WWE version of the nWo in the early 2000s. Apparently, Triple H would accept nWo's offer on joining them and align with the group to help them garner more heat. But after the infamous incident where Kevin Nash tore his quadruple muscles in an 8-man tag team match on RAW, those plans were nixed and the nWo was scrapped altogether. It definitely would've been interesting to see the Game as part of the New World Order in WWE and his inclusion could've made things pretty interesting.
14 14. Big E - The Shield
Big E has been a really entertaining guy ever since becoming a part of the New Day with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, with him seemingly having the time of his life in WWE right now. Before aligning with New Day, Big E was struggling to gain popularity and was actually considered by creative to be a part of Shield. According to Seth Rollins himself, the WWE had planned Big E to be part of the Shield along with Ambrose and Reigns, with the stable initially planned as a foursome. Also going by a few other rumors, Big E was Vince McMahon's choice to be part of the Shield instead of Roman Reigns. While that didn't pan out, it would've been really weird to see Big E wearing the tactical vest and take Reigns' position and he would've been a different guy in that case.
13 13. Mark Jindrak - Evolution
Mark Jindrak was one of the young WCW wrestlers to have been picked up by WWE once they bought up the company, but WWE was apparently pretty impressed with what Jindrak had to offer after arriving at the company. After spending some-time in developmental, Jindrak was ready to be given his main roster debut in a big way, as he was supposed to be a part of Evolution along with Triple H, Ric Flair, and Randy Orton. Jindrak had the physique of being the enforcer for the group, but according to himself, it was due to his immaturity that he lost his spot to Batista. Jindrak was later given his debut and spent the next few years trying out different things, but one can't help but wonder how big of a star he could've become had he seized his opportunity and become a part of an iconic stable like Evolution.
12 12. Hulk Hogan - Bullet Club
Hulk Hogan is someone who knows about wrestling factions pretty well as he played a big part in creating one the greatest stables of all time in the New World Order, which he ruled over for quite many years. Hogan did some amazing work as part of the nWo and when a similar stable in the Bullet Club gave him a cheeky invitation to join them, Hogan publicly stated that he'd love to join them. There were even legitimate negotiations taken place between the two recently of him getting to join as their newest member, but him wanting too much money and the feeling that he'd leave once Vince McMahon came calling is what nixed the plans. While this came very close to becoming a reality, one can wonder how much the charismatic Hogan would've impacted the Bullet Club, and he would've definitely taken them to an elite status.
11 11. Christopher Daniels - The Brood
Christopher Daniels may be known by the TNA fans for his stellar work in the promotion for many years, where he put on some memorable matches and was part of some very good feuds. But before attaining popularity in TNA, Daniels had actually signed a developmental contract in WWE in 1998 just as his career started. His training was going well and WWE was impressed by him enough to consider giving him a main roster push! Not many know this, but Daniels was actually pitched to be part of The Brood aka the vampire-gimmick stable during the Attitude Era. Their leader Gangrel later revealed in an interview that Daniels was originally booked to be a member. However, Christian took up his spot thanks to help from Edge and one can only imagine how Daniels' career would've changed had he been part of the terrifying Brood.
10 10. Test - DX
Test was definitely one of the better-looking big men during the Attitude Era when he was the muscle-man for Vince McMahon's corporation and won many things with his big, muscular figure. While Test developed well as a wrestler in the WWE, he wasn't exactly that good in his early years but somehow managed to get creative on his side. According to Bruce Prichard, Vince Russo was so high on Test at first that he wanted him to be a part of D-Generation X after debuting! That was something neither of Shawn Michaels or Triple H agreed with and were visibly upset when he compared Test with a younger Kevin Nash. In the end, Russo had to pull the plug on that pitch which was definitely the correct decision as Test wouldn't have suited to the raunchy DX at all and would've been terribly out of place.
9 9. The Godfather - nWo
The Godfather was definitely one of the more entertaining characters in the Attitude Era. He was actually a part of WWE for many years and enacted many gimmicks, but he almost found himself joining the New World Order of WCW during that era. The Godfather spoke in an interview about how he had agreed to join the nWo as Hulk Hogan's enforcer and even the contract was being drawn up for him to sign. But then he got a call from WCW stating that they no longer needed him, as Virgil had agreed to do it for 3rd of the price just to get back to TV. It could've been a very different look for Godfather had he joined WCW and he definitely would've been more influential as Hogan's enforcer in nWo than fooling around in WWE.
8 8. Baron Corbin - The Wyatt Family
Baron Corbin has been doing pretty well on the main roster ever since making his debut a few years ago, with the "Lone Wolf" having recently earned the opportunity to compete for the WWE Title at Fast Lane. But Corbin was having troubles finding his gimmick during his early days in the WWE and according to Judas Devlin, a former NXT guy himself, Corbin had tried to become a part of the Wyatt Family when the stable was being formed. Apparently, Corbin did a few promos and tried out to be a Wyatt member, but it didn't pan out in the end. It definitely would've been weird to see Corbin become a part of the Wyatt Family and even imagining him as a follower of Bray Wyatt seems to feel weird right now, so it's for the good that he didn't go ahead with that gimmick.
7 7. Dan Severn - Ministry Of Darkness
Dan Severn was one of the earliest guys from UFC to join the WWE, with "The Beast" having won quite a lot of championships during his MMA career and later in the National Wrestling Alliance. While he might not be remembered by many fans, Severn was popular for being an absolute bad-ass in the ring and destroying his opponents. He also carried multiple title belts(all won from either UFC or NWA) to show off his "gold", but his character was a bit stale because of his lack of charisma. Severn was then asked by WWE creative to be part of The Undertaker's "Ministry Of Darkness", as they wanted him to tattoo "666" on his forehead to symbolize the beast. Severn was livid at this and immediately rejected this, but one could only wonder how more terrifying the Ministry would've been had a "beast" like Severn been part of it.
6 6. Kassius Ohno - The Shield
Kassius Ohno has been a solid mid-carder at NXT ever since making his return to the company, as he's recently put on some great matches and seems to be improving as a wrestler with each passing week. While Ohno might be struggling to get out of his mid-card status right now, things could've been very different for him in his first stint when he almost became a part of the Shield. According to CM Punk(who accredits himself as the one who created the stable), he pitched an idea to put Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Chris Hero(aka Kassius Ohno) as members of the Shield. But creative shot down Ohno and decided to put Roman Reigns instead, thus creating the Shield we know today. It's still quite intriguing to imagine how Ohno could've risen in WWE had he been part of the Shield and not be still hanging around in NXT.
5 5. Chris Benoit - The Million Dollar Corporation
The Million Dollar Corporation was a faction set up by the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase who, after taking an in-ring retirement, decided to "buy out" some wrestlers to compete on his behalf. DiBiase played the role of their manager brilliantly and mostly managed big, intimidating wrestlers. But as it turns out, the WWE wanted to change that perception of the Corporation and almost decided on having Chris Benoit become the newest part of the Million Dollar Corporation in 1995. DiBiase came out with him in many dark matches, but the WWE opted not to sign him back then. While Benoit would become a part of WWE years later, one could only imagine how wicked and unreal it would've been to see him apart of DiBiase's stable, doing dirty deeds for him back then.
4 4. Cliff Compton - Aces & Eights
Cliff Compton might be more popularly known as Domino of the tag team Deuce n Domino who were part of the Smackdown Brand many years ago, even winning the WWE Tag Team Titles at one point. But after disbanding from Deuce, Domino's career went spiralling downwards in WWE. He was released later on and was apparently booked for some interesting stuff. According to Compton himself, he was in line to be a key member in TNA's "Aces & Eights" stable which dominated the promotion for a long time a few years ago. Apparently, everything was finalized, but TNA pulled out a week before he was supposed to debut due to financial crunches. Compton never made it to TNA and went to Ring of Honor instead, but one can wonder how different Aces & Eights would've looked with Compton as a lead member.
3 3. Val Venis - DX
Val Venis might be remembered as one of the raunchiest male characters of the Attitude Era, where he loved to show off his body to the "ladies" amongst the crowd. Venis might've been this sexualized character, but he had the raunchiness which fit the Attitude Era and got him much success in his initial years. Apparently, creative was very high on him at first and Vince Russo even wanted Venis to be introduced as a member of D-Generation X back then. X-Pac spoke about how Russo pushed for Venis being a part of DX, but they didn't think he'd be a fit to their group and Venis was pushed as a singles guy instead. While Val would've been a perfect fit for a menacing group like DX, he enjoyed much more success as a mid-carder and probably won't regret at not joining the already stacked DX.
2 2. Gino Hernandez - The Four Horsemen
Gino Hernandez was one of the more under-rated wrestlers of the National Wrestling Alliance(NWA) or WCCW back in the 80s where wrestling was still starting to gain recognition. One of the factions which attained peak popularity back in the days was the Four Horsemen, which comprised of Ric Flair, The Anderson Brothers, and Tully Blanchard. According to Blanchard, Gino was considered to be an original part of the Horsemen back in the 80s. Tully was also a good friend of Hernandez and wanted him in, but due to the similarity in looks between him and Gino, the idea was nixed. While Hernandez would be a part of WCCW and was part of some prominent feud with the Von Erichs, his career would've sky-rocketed had he been part of the Four Horsemen and Hernandez could've attained the popularity he deserved.
1 1. Chyna - nW0
Chyna was one of the prime reason's for Women's Wrestling getting over during the raunchy Attitude Era, where everyone recognized the women for their looks rather than their in-ring work. Her amazing work for WWE inspired many others to follow in her footsteps, but Chyna's WWE Legacy almost didn't happen due to her being in two minds during one period of her career. In her book, Chyna wrote about how she was approached by the WCW to sign for them and if she were to go there, she would become a part of the nWo. The nWo didn't really have many female members, so it can be seen why they wanted someone like Chyna as their inaugural one. But she was persuaded by Shane McMahon to stay in WWE, where she instead became a part of D-Generation X and the rest, as they say, is history.