Mt Rushmore of Wrestling – Best Factions

Greetings, all.

Before we start I have a quick request for you guys. If you’d just take a moment to take a look at this facebook page, Find Sam Davis, it’s for a young guy that’s missing, Sam Davis. His mom set up the account, and has been diligent in trying to find him for months now. As a parent, this has to be a fate worse than death. I know the chances of anyone reading this actually having any info is very slim, but you never know. So if you guys would please just take a look, I would really appreciate it. Thank you, you guys are truly good people.

Next week we’re gonna go with a reader submitted idea for the article. Ya’ll have thrown out some solid ones, and if you have any other ideas, lemme know in the comments.

Alright, enough jibber-jabber, let’s get down to the business of getting down…

The Four Horsemen
They were the first, and arguably the best, super group. Of course, there were factions before the Four Horsemen, but not near their level in terms of work-rate, promo, and popularity. They were the coolest heels around, and they constantly delivered. They made their opponents look like a million bucks, and even though the Horsemen often lost the big-matches, it never took any of the luster off their shine. Any time any member of the Horsemen had a feud with someone, it was damn near almost always of epic proportion. Such as Flair vs Dusty, Arn & Tully vs The Road Warriors, Tully vs Magnum, and of course, they’re why we have the War Games, one of the greatest gimmick matches of all time.
They lived the gimmick 24/7, living 10 life-times in the span of a few years. What’s causing all this? The Four Horsemen, baby.
Why They’re On The Mountain: Because they were the first to do it on a massive level, with zero filler, and absolute A list talent.

The New World Order
After the 4 Horsemen, there hadn’t been a massive super group of elite talent in pro-wrestling. That is, until Scott Hall & Kevin Nash jumped ship to WCW, and Hulk Hogan dropped the leg on Macho, giving birth to my favorite faction of all time, the New World Order. Now, this inclusion is just for the nWo of 1996 till the split. More specifically, the nWo until about late 1997, especially the first 6 months of the group. The nWo was unlike anything we’d ever seen. People believed that this was a legit invasion, and WCW presented it perfectly. You never knew where they’d show up, or whose ass they’d beat. Heels, baby-faces, announcers, it didn’t matter, the nWo put the hurt on everyone. Beyond that, it was the little details that also helped make them the coolest thing in wrestling; the theme music, the t-shirts, the hand-signs, the catchphrases, spray-paint, it was just flawless. Unfortunately, the group did get watered down, but not before it became the biggest thing in wrestling, and turned WCW into a national juggernaut that almost killed the WWE. As a wrestling fan for 23 years, I can honestly say that I never had more fun than I did when the nWo was going strong.
Why They’re On The Mountain: Because they brought so many unique aspects to a group, with so many huge stars, that they were able to keep the momentum going for 3 years straight.

D-Generation X
Now, this may, or may not be a controversial statement, but for me, when I think of DX and all the good times associated, I think of the group Hunter led. Yeah, Shawn, Hunter, and Chyna had a good run, but honestly, they just didn’t have that many moments that stuck out to me, and also, I can’t lie, knowing what a massive, MASSIVE prick Shawn was then kinda ruins it for me. That said, once Shawn left, the new DX started out in a huge way with X-Pac returning and cutting a great shoot promo, and then the insanely over New Age Outlaws joining later that night. While the nWo had cooled off considerably, DX was just starting, and had zero issue with pushing the envelope. Almost over-night, DX exploded, and became just as popular as any other faction in history. From imitating the Nation, to attacking WCW, DX brought the goods inside and outside the ring. Triple H was really starting to find his niche as a worker and gimmick, and in the 2000s when DX was full heel, Triple H was tearing down the house every time he stepped in a ring. X-Pac was no slouch either, Road Dogg was insanely charismatic, and Billy Gunn….well, he, uh…he liked ass, so, good enough for me! They were smart to never add any new members, and keep it as the 5 of them. I tell you, DX was so popular that in my 9th grade year book, there were 3 different pictures of kids doing the DX crotch-chop.
Why They’re on The Mountain: They picked up where the nWo left off, and then went further. As they weren’t as restricted as WCW was with censorship, DX could reference as many drugs and sex-acts as they wanted, all while delivering top-notch feuds and matches.

The Bullet Club
I fully admit, I don’t watch NJPW. I only recently, as in the last few months, did research into the Bullet Club and what they were all about. Ever since DX died off, the wrestling world hadn’t seen a massive faction. Sure, we’d had ones such as Evolution, The Main Event Mafia, and the Shield, but none of those groups were on a massive scale. Taking ques from the nWo, such as the Too Sweet hand-sign, the black & white motif, the interference in matches, the turns, the awesome t-shirt, the Bullet Club set off to be a mixture of the nWo and the Four Horsemen, in that they were a slick, down & dirty gang that had ridiculous talent, with it’s members often including the best wrestlers alive at the given time. The Bullet Club became so huge that their shirts were, and still are, best-sellers at Hot Topic, and the pro-wrestling tee’s website. They crossed multiple contents, multiple promotions, and their greatest accomplishment, the All In event, which sold out in less than an hour, and showed the world that you do NOT need a major promotion behind you to be successful. In the future, pro-wrestling will look back and marvel at the accomplishments of the Bullet Club. They honored the past, and forged the future in their own name.
Why They’re On The Mountain: Because they literally revolutionized the business.

Alright, gang, thanks for joining me this week, I’ll see you next time. Now let’s all meet in the comments section for a drink.

Any questions, comments, drunk-ramblings, feel free to send them my way, I always dig hearing from you, the beautiful people.
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