Over the last several decades wrestling Factions or Stables if you will have stood out to wrestling fans. Usually for their sheer dominance with whatever promotion they are affiliated with at the time. When we hear the word Stable or Faction we instantly think of such groups as Degeneration X, The Fabulous Freebirds, The Hart Foundation, the 25 or so versions of the NWO, The Heenan Family, Nation of Domination, Generation Next, Corporate Ministry and of course The Four Horseman. Every single one of these "Alliances" haa been the main focus of whatever promotion they were affiliated with at the time. But to me, The most dominant and successful faction in my view of all time is Evolution.
Just for those unfamiliar with Evolution or need a quick refresher, Evolution was the faction that dominated WWE from 2003 to 2005. Evolution formed in early January 2003 consisting of "The Game" Triple H, who was the World Heavyweight Champion at the time, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, "The Animal" Batista and at the time a very young and novice Randy Orton. Over the course of Evolution's dominance on the Raw brand, Triple H become the biggest thing in wrestling with multiple World Title reigns. But what made Evolution so great was that it created the future Superstars of the WWE without us even realizing it. Not many factions can claim that success, Sure here and there you get the occasional outbreak star but usually Factions are thrown together when the figurehead is as over as he will ever be or when Creative has no plans for certain wrestlers [e.g. The randoms in NWO]. A faction is usually got your main event guy, Mid-carder, Tag Team and a Manager. What Evolution did was slowly build Batista and Randy Orton while being overshadowed by Triple H and Ric Flair. So in a way WWE were testing the waters without us as fans comprehending that.
Don't get me wrong, I think we all had the idea that Randy Orton and maybe even Batista were going to be stars down the line but what was so special was that it was executed so perfectly. For example, Take a look at Randy Orton and his first World Heavyweight Championship victory. Just before his match with Chris Benoit at Summerslam 2004, He was feuding with Mick Foley and then with Edge over the Intercontinental Championship (Which was a few weeks before his Summerslam match). A 1st Tier Championship just seemed unrealistic until Orton actually fought Chris Benoit at Summerslam. It was just surreal but if you look back through that year you can see WWE was making Orton's path. He was feuding with The Rock, Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels and Edge. Four of the biggest names in wrestling history. But to us fans, This wasn't distinctive due to Triple H being such a huge focal point of not just Evolution but Raw as a hole. Although it may be more fitting to say it nowadays, Randy Orton just slithered through the cracks and attacked the Main Event.
After being successful at Summerslam, He had what many consider a "Shocking" Championship reign. Many columnists reveal all the flaws in it but I disagree, I mean yeah. It was no Edge or Kurt Angle title reign but it was something different and enjoyable. It showed the flaws and power struggle within Evolution and started the demise of WWE's greatest faction.
Then we have "The Animal" Batista. The man who was admired by legions of fans but was hated nearly as much as John Cena by the Internet wrestling Community. Before I get into a discussion about Batista and Evolution, I just wanna say that first and foremost I appreciate WRESTLING. Meaning my sort of guys are Bryan Danielson, Davey Richards, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and AJ Styles. But in all honesty, Batista did his job. He was a powerhouse in the ring with maybe 10 moves but that was the idea. He was an animal (No pun intended) and over the years I have found alot of the hate just stupid when he gets asses in seats. The same can be said for Fruity Pebbles but that is for another time.
So, As Randy Orton departed from the now eroding Evolution Batista started to step up. Initially Triple H and Ric Flair appreciated it. But around Royal Rumble time it was obvious that change was amongst the WWE. Batista started to step out on his own and win the Royal Rumble match. To me this was the end of Evolution. Everyone says March 2005 and technically it was but it was certain that there would be no Evolution once Batista won the Royal Rumble. I sort of feel like I am just rattling of facts in WWE TV history but the point is ... NO faction had ever built superstars like this. NWO already had their established guys in Hogan, Savage, Luger, Sting, Nash and Hall. NWO never got them further, They were already established. DX apart from Triple H never got anybody into the Main Event no matter how much they dominated the Attitude Era. And lastly, The most decorated faction of all time. The Four Horseman never got anybody into the Main Event. You could argue Benoit but that is cutting it pretty thin. Evolution was able to do it in under two years with two separate individuals.
Now to this day, Randy Orton is still the main guy on WWE TV apart from Cena and CM Punk. Batista was the main guy just over a year ago before leaving WWE. What WWE did was put the Past, Present & Future (Hence the name 'Evolution') into one stable. Focusing on the present but behind the curtain focusing on the future. That is why Evolution is the greatest Faction in the history of wrestling. Championships are won and loss, Kayfabe wise 16 World titles and 10 tag team Championship reigns looks incredible but real success is getting over, Being in the main event and being the focus of a wrestling program and Evolution created that for Randy Orton and Batista.
So in closing, there is an argument that there are superior Factions to Evolution. But when you put Championship reigns and duration of factions aside, You cannot top Evolution.What Evolution did was never done before and to this day has still yet to repeat itself. Without Evolution would Randy Orton and Batista have been successful? ... Probably. But as successful without Evolution? ... I doubt it. So to end with a statement:
Evolution IS the greatest Faction in Wrestling History
After being successful at Summerslam, He had what many consider a "Shocking" Championship reign. Many columnists reveal all the flaws in it but I disagree, I mean yeah. It was no Edge or Kurt Angle title reign but it was something different and enjoyable. It showed the flaws and power struggle within Evolution and started the demise of WWE's greatest faction.
Then we have "The Animal" Batista. The man who was admired by legions of fans but was hated nearly as much as John Cena by the Internet wrestling Community. Before I get into a discussion about Batista and Evolution, I just wanna say that first and foremost I appreciate WRESTLING. Meaning my sort of guys are Bryan Danielson, Davey Richards, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and AJ Styles. But in all honesty, Batista did his job. He was a powerhouse in the ring with maybe 10 moves but that was the idea. He was an animal (No pun intended) and over the years I have found alot of the hate just stupid when he gets asses in seats. The same can be said for Fruity Pebbles but that is for another time.
So, As Randy Orton departed from the now eroding Evolution Batista started to step up. Initially Triple H and Ric Flair appreciated it. But around Royal Rumble time it was obvious that change was amongst the WWE. Batista started to step out on his own and win the Royal Rumble match. To me this was the end of Evolution. Everyone says March 2005 and technically it was but it was certain that there would be no Evolution once Batista won the Royal Rumble. I sort of feel like I am just rattling of facts in WWE TV history but the point is ... NO faction had ever built superstars like this. NWO already had their established guys in Hogan, Savage, Luger, Sting, Nash and Hall. NWO never got them further, They were already established. DX apart from Triple H never got anybody into the Main Event no matter how much they dominated the Attitude Era. And lastly, The most decorated faction of all time. The Four Horseman never got anybody into the Main Event. You could argue Benoit but that is cutting it pretty thin. Evolution was able to do it in under two years with two separate individuals.
Now to this day, Randy Orton is still the main guy on WWE TV apart from Cena and CM Punk. Batista was the main guy just over a year ago before leaving WWE. What WWE did was put the Past, Present & Future (Hence the name 'Evolution') into one stable. Focusing on the present but behind the curtain focusing on the future. That is why Evolution is the greatest Faction in the history of wrestling. Championships are won and loss, Kayfabe wise 16 World titles and 10 tag team Championship reigns looks incredible but real success is getting over, Being in the main event and being the focus of a wrestling program and Evolution created that for Randy Orton and Batista.
So in closing, there is an argument that there are superior Factions to Evolution. But when you put Championship reigns and duration of factions aside, You cannot top Evolution.What Evolution did was never done before and to this day has still yet to repeat itself. Without Evolution would Randy Orton and Batista have been successful? ... Probably. But as successful without Evolution? ... I doubt it. So to end with a statement:
Evolution IS the greatest Faction in Wrestling History
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