Why WWE Needs Stables Again

Stables used to be the bread and butter that kept feuds going, tag teams relevant, and easily elevated the leader to the precipice of the company’s card. Most wrestling fans participating in internet discussions have fond memories of the nWo, Degeneration X, Nation of Domination, The Four Horsemen, 4 Pillars of Heaven and of course The Hart Foundation. Even though a few managed to get themselves over as a solo act, the majority of high level fame was tied into faction members. The Attitude era was predicated on this concept, and I think we could use a little of it now.
Let’s first look at WWE’s biggest competition in New Japan, and the fact that 75% of their roster is in a faction of some sort. This is a convenient way to hook up greener mid card talent with veterans and main event wrestlers while giving them a chance to work on their persona. Bullet Club is one of the shirts you see in the crowd at every event for every company; this doesn’t mean the fans are die hard NJPW fans. Hell, most people that wear Bullet Club shirts couldn’t even name every member in the faction. Yet, this is a very recent example of just being affiliated with or against the Bullet Club will garner you some degree of recognition.
More recently in WWE, we saw The Authority help to mold a freshly heel Seth Rollins; turning him into the ultimate corporate heel champion. There was also the rise of the Wyatt Family, which proved that a dark mystical heel faction was still doable in WWE. Currently, we have the Miztourage which simply by associating with The Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel have been pulled out of obscurity.
If the Miztourage can manage to beat Ambrose and Rollins in the current angle, this could be a good opportunity to try and build up a few stables. With fans complaining about 205 Live being a waste of television space and mid card talent getting no time on respective programs, we could solve all of this with some factions. If WWE wants more wrestlers to get over with fans, they need to give them more opportunity to show us who they are.

So yes, WWE still has the occasional stable, but they never seem to commit. There’s usually one stable at a time, and very rarely do we ever see large scale storylines which help to get everyone involved over. The last one was probably The Shield vs Evolution…but that wasn’t so much a faction war, as quick angle to put together some nostalgia to try and get over the new stars. Do I expect old school WCW and WWF booking? Of course not, that’s ridiculous. But, there’s such a concept keeping to an idea that you’ve had repeated success with. Expand New Day, make Uso Penitentiary impressive and keep the Miztourage going strong. Give us concepts to enjoy, instead of ramming one wrestler down our throat with played out angles.
