The WWE main roster has the 946, The Vision, Judgment Day and The Bloodline among its factions, though there’s a place for older stars.
Those four are not the only factions on the main roster, yet they are perhaps the most prominent on Raw and SmackDown when it comes to storytelling.
While The Bloodline may be led by Roman Reigns, and the LWO by Rey Mysterio, there’s a surprising absence of veteran stars in factions, something that WWE could easily address:
A Millionaire’s Club For WWE
The Millionaire’s Club was a short-lived fixture of WCW programming in 2000, born of Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo vacating all the championships in April of that year and introducing The New Blood, a faction they led (along with Jeff Jarrett) that included a wealth of younger talent.
The Millionaire’s Club would be made up of stars that had “held back” the up-and-comers, with Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan leading the charge in a faction made up of eleven veterans at its introduction.
It probably comes as no surprise that a team made up of the likes of Hogan, Flair, Sting, DDP, Kevin Nash and others was not received as the heels that they were supposed to be, with the faction and The New Blood eventually disbanding in July 2000 (and both Bischoff and Hogan leaving WCW after Vince Russo’s Bash at the Beach promo).
In a recent promo ahead of his Money in the Bank match, LA Knight stated that he was held back by politics and stars like Roman Reigns. Perhaps time will come for Reigns to dissolve The Bloodline, whether by his own decision or because of The 946, and forge a new version of the Millionaire’s Club with fellow veteran WWE stars.
Main Event Mafia
More recently, although still back in 2008, the Main Event Mafia formed in TNA Wrestling, Kurt Angle announced the alliance with Sting, Kevin Nash, and Booker T, adding Scott Steiner shortly thereafter. The faction would grow but would disband in October the following year, with Sting and Angle bringing it back in June 2013.
Again, made up of veteran stars, Main Event Mafia would hold the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, TNA Legends Championship, X Division Championship and TNA World Tag Team Championship during its existence, pretty much dominating the top of the card.
Samoa Joe would be added to both incarnations, with Christian Cage and Traci Brooks in the first run, while Magnus and Rampage Jackson would be added for the second.
That blend of veterans, young stars and breakouts was a solid combination for the faction and something that WWE could emulate, without losing the focus on the core elder statesmen. Indeed, it would probably be the younger stars who would do a lot of the heavy lifting, with some veterans on lighter contracts.
The Corporation
This isn’t to say that WWE hasn’t toyed with the concept of a faction of veteran stars before, with The Corporation being a example back in 1998.
Led by Mr. McMahon and Shane McMahon, the original members of the group would be corporation stooges, with Pat Patterson & Gerald Brisco joined by Big Boss Man, The Rock, Sgt. Slaughter and Ken Shamrock initially, before adding the likes of Shawn Michaels (for a month), Kane, Chyna, Tes, Big Show and others. Triple H would also be a member for a short period towards the end of its time in April 1999, having turned his back on DX.
While the leadership may need a shake up, despite the executive role held by Triple H, the idea of a faction that is there simply to suppress any rebellious WWE stars has an appeal right across Raw, SmackDown and NXT.
“A lot of top performers in top spots”
Addressing any frustrations among WWE stars trying to secure a top spot, Triple H previously stated:
“When anyone says I don’t know why I’m not in that spot, I don’t know, are you more over than Cody? Roman? Punk? Liv? IYO? Those are the people in that spot; get there, make those crowd reactions happen.”
There is something to be said about bringing all those names together in a new era of the Main Event Mafia, holding onto their position by any means necessary, clashing egos and all, while still forging a new path for the top stars to come.
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