Found this in my word document just now. Not sure at what point in 2007 it was posted
Back by popular demand (or, well, Brandon asked for one), it’s the wrestling themed power rankings. This will but the last wrestling themed one I do, as I’m out of ideas, so on this one I will be doing stables/factions/whatever you want to call them
1- Braves-----The Dangerous Alliance. Brandon has seemingly come out of nowhere to lead the league in wins by a wide margin. The Dangerous Alliance was formed in 1991 on WCW Saturday Night after a Clash of the Champions special. The stable consisted on Paul Heyman as the manager and mouthpiece, Rick Rude, Arn Anderson, Steve Austin, Bobby Eaton, Larry Zbyszko and Madusa. The stable dominated WCW for 6 months and feuded with Sting and others. The angle was ended with the greatest War Games match of all time in 1992. This was basically the NWO angle, except not drawn out years too long.
2- Yankees-----The Four Horsemen. The standard bearer for excellence in pro wrestling are the Horsemen. They are the greatest stable of all time and the original cool heels. The Horsemen dominated the NWA and WCW for about a decade. The centerpieces were always Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, but the group had many members, like Tully Blanchard, Lex Luger, Sid, and many more. JB has been the dominant franchise in the IBC since the demise of Josh, and with a fully loaded roster of young studs, it doesn’t look like that will be changing. What Ric Flair said about the Horsemen can easily be said about JB, “Whether you like it, or you don’t, learn to love it, cause it’s the best thing going.”
3- Red Sox-----The NWO. The Horsemen were the dominant force in WCW until the New World Order came along in 1996. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash declared war on WCW and started attacking anyone in sight, and doing things never before seen in wrestling, like powerbombing Eric Bischoff off the stage and throwing Rey Misterio head first into a production truck. With the addition of Hulk Hogan, the NWO was complete and dominated WCW storylines and main events until 2000, when fans had long tired of it. Bren is placed as the perfect foil to JB; both have the same number of championships and look to fight it out the rest of the year. As Scott Hall proclaimed on his debut on Nitro, “You want a war, you got a war!”
4- Cardinals----The Hart Foundation. The Hart Foundation formed following the aftermath of Wrestlemania 13, when Bret Hart beat Steve Austin in a submission match but the crowd turned on Hart and started cheering for Austin. Hart then turned on the fans, recruiting brother Owen and brothers-in-law Jim Neidhart and Davey Boy Smith along with Brian Pillman, who was trained by Bret’s father and was Austin’s former tag team partner, as a pro-Canadian stable that was hated in the US but loved in Canada and Europe, making it a truly unique experience to watch on television and the roles of faces and heels changed depending on the location of the event. The stable met an early end, as Pillman died in October of 97 and Bret left for WCW in November, as did Neidhart and Smith. While their run at the top was short, it was memorable and helped cement Steve Austin as a main eventer. The Cardinals, like the Hart Foundation, are a mixture of true talent and overachievers. Every member of the stable started their careers as tag team wrestlers and only later broke out as singles stars to be noticed. The Cardinals have no true superstars, just a collection of solid performers who show up and get the job done.
5- Blue Jays-----The Dungeon of Doom. The Dungeon of Doom was born in 1995. Its purpose was to destroy Hulk Hogan. The Dungeon was a hodgepodge of guys with weird gimmicks (The Yeti), career midcarders (The Barbarian) and one young man that would get a huge push (The Giant), all led by Kevin Sullivan. The Dungeon never destroyed Hulkamania, and when the NWO came into being, the Dungeon was obsolete. Pat’s team is a hodgepodge of good projections, solid but not spectacular players and some true studs. Whether or not he can overcome Bren and JB remains to be seen.
6- Athletics----The Jersey Triad. Consisting of Diamond Dallas Page, Chris Kanyon and Bam Bam Bigelow, all New Jersey natives, the Triad came into being in 1999. They didn’t have a real notable feud and they never really stuck out and go anyone’s attention. Their main accomplishment was 1 tag team title run by DPP and Kanyon. The A’s are much the same, when you look at the team, nothing may jump out at you. However, they do when and have been at the top of the AL West all year. It remains to be seen if they can stay at the top, but if they do, they could be a tough out in the playoffs.
7- Dodgers----The Fabulous Freebirds. The original badass heels. Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy and Buddy Jack Roberts formed one of the most cohesive units in wrestling history, with each man providing a vital part of the team. Hayes was the chickenshit heel that riled up the crowd, Gordy was the tough as nails brawler and Roberts was the technical wizard. They had a legendary feud with the Von Erichs in WCCW that put them on par with the WWF and NWA, then moved on to WCW in the late 80s. The also established the Freebird Rule, meaning any 2 members of the team could defend the tag team titles when they held them. Shawn’s team is loaded with talent, and while he might not be the talker Michael Hayes was, he is set up to have a run like the Freebirds, where he could be dominant for years and years.
8- Mariners-----The Million Dollar Corporation. Ted DiBiase’s gang of henchmen never reached the levels of success some thought they would and wound up hurting the careers of some members. While the stable feuded with the top stars of the company, they never posed a serious threat. Ropers’ team has good parts, and can be a contender and make the playoffs, but once in, like the Corporation, it may not have the success it’s looking for. Hey, as long as he don’t bring out a fake Albert Pujols when he plays JB, like when DiBiase had a fake Undertaker, then we’ll be good.
9- Orioles----Camp Cornette. In 1996, Jim Cornette led one of the most promising, and ultimately misused heel stables in recent times, consisting of Vader, Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith. While Vader did challenge Shawn Michaels for the title and fail to win it at Summerslam, Owen and Davey Boy were relegated to the tag team ranks. The power of Vader and Smith along with the technical ability and awesomeness of Owen should’ve led to this faction dominating the company, but it did not. Dan has a solid team full of good to great players, but is stuck in the toughest division in the league (copyright NL Central 2002-2006). Maybe he can break out in the 2nd half, but he may be stuck playing second fiddle like Vader, Owen and Bulldog.
10- Reds-----The Flock. When Raven debuted in WCW, he didn’t wrestle for months, instead sat at ringside surrounded by his lackies. Raven could deliver promos that were better than some of the matches that were being put on and had character depth unseen before or since. Raven and the Flock were never given a real chance to move up the card, always overshadowed by the NWO and held down by Hulk Hogan not wanting to give up the spotlight. Raven could have been a huge star that could’ve carried WCW into the 2000s but instead ending up getting fed up and going back to ECW. Since the beginning of the IBC, Nate has had the potential to be a dominant force. Circumstances beyond his control, like injuries, have held him back. He looks to be making a run now that will spell trouble for the rest of the NL. It remains to be seen if he will rise to the challenge, or be squashed like the Flock.
11- Twins----The Blue World Order. ECW’s version of the NWO, Stevie Richards “Big Stevie Cool”, “Hollywood” Nova and “Da Blue Guy” the Blue Meanie came to the ring and announced they were taking over. The crowd ate this up as did all the wrestlers in the back. While the group never achieved great success, the high point being Richards competing in a 3 way match for a shot at the title at the first ECW PPV, they are still remembered and loved by fans everywhere. As a whole though, they accomplished very little. Andrew has proven that last year wasn’t a fluke and is once again leading the AL Central. If he holds one, he’ll once again have a tough road in the playoffs but will be better primed this year to compete. The BWO was wrestling’s version of the little engine that could. The Twins could prove to be the IBC version.
12- Phillies----The Alliance. Ah, the most poorly executed money making angle in wrestling history, something that could’ve lasted years that was instead used up in a matter of months. With the purchase of ECW and WCW, the WWE had a virtual monopoly on North American wrestling. The Alliance were former ECW and WCW wrestlers teaming up to take down the WWE. The problem was, it was all midcard guys that nobody bought as a real threat, and instead the angle centered around the McMahon children and of course, ended up bombing because nobody gave a shit when they realized it was going to be another McMahon ego trip. The only bright spot that came out of the Alliance was Kanyon’s “Invasion MVP” shirt. Nick’s team is in the hunt, and while he does have credible talent, it remains to be seen if he is a believable contender for the World Series. If he is, then his season will turn out a lot better than the Invasion angle.
13- Padres---Team RECK. In 2000, Rhino, Edge, Christian and Kurt Angle joined forces. The stable is mainly remembered for its comedic heel promos but the team achieved a lot of success. The group formed shortly after Angle won the King of the Ring in 2000. The group was very popular as comedy heels all the while maintaining a seriousness to their characters. The group self destructed when all four men reached the semifinals of the King of the Ring in 2001 and had to face each other. Every member of the group has gone on to hold the heavyweight championship in the WWE or TNA, Rhino was also the last ECW champ. The stable also holds the distinction of having the most combined titles of any stable in history, with 55. The Padres are a young team full of talent that is poised to break out like Edge, Christian, Rhino and Angle did after the demise of the stable. With so much top shelf pitching, this team will be a force for a long time.
14- Indians----The NWA. Formed in 1998 by Jim Cornette, he claimed his stable was going to bring tradition back to the WWE. It consisted of Jeff Jarrett as the centerpiece, former NWA champ Barry Windham, the Rock N Roll Express, Dan Severn and The New Midnight Express. Despite having a bunch of talented performers, the NWA was lost in the shuffle of the Attitude Era. Craig is 4 back of Andrew at the break and has some talented performers as well; some young like Jarrett was at the time, some way past their prime, like Windham and the RNR Express were, but could pester Andrew the rest of the season. Or they could easily get lost in the shuffle as they have no shot at the Wild Card.
15- Rockies---The Varsity Club. In 1988, Kevin Sullivan recruited former collegiate amateur wrestlers Rick Steiner and Mike Rotunda (IRS) to be his running buddies. They would brag about their athletic superiority to other wrestlers and wear their lettermen jackets to the ring. The club had some success, with Rotunda winning the World TV title at one point and Steiner holding the Florida heavyweight title. The Rockies have a lot of talent too and are hanging around in the West, but to achieve greater success, like all members of the Varsity Club eventually did, it will take some retooling and hard work.
16- Cubs----The Old Age Outlaws. This was a short lived stable in WCW after people stopped watching, led by Terry Funk but also included Arn Anderson, Larry Zbyszko and Dusty Rhodes. It was mainly to make fun of the popular New Age Outlaws tag team in the WWF. While it was sort of popular, the shelf life was very short and they disbanded pretty quickly. The reason I picked this for Gabe is because every year, his team gets older in his “who needs prospects I wanna contend” mindset that won him a title last year. Soon or later, trading a quarter for two dimes is gonna leave you with empty pockets though and pretty soon Gabe might be begging for change if he don’t make some moves.
17- Pirates----Ministry of Darkness. The Undertaker’s dark and awesome satanic gimmick was a highlight of the Attitude era. The ministry were his followers who did all of his dirty work. The Pirates have some true talent in McCann and others, but the rest of Ryan’s roster is a bunch of guys that have little effect, much like the Ministry, when you got past Taker, there wasn’t much there. Ryan’s hanging around, but needs to step it up if he wants to stay in the race.
18- Marlins----The Christian Coalition. The closest thing TNA has ever had to a dominating, Four Horsemen like stable has been this group. While it originally included Scott Steiner, now it consists only of Christian, AJ Styles and Tomko. Much like with the Horsemen, Styles and Tomko’s job was to make sure Christian kept the belt. Though he lost it in the King of the Mountain match, he has yet to be pinned or submit in TNA. The Coalition also laid down one of the best beatdowns of the decade on Abyss back in April. Ken’s wizardry of the sim is legendary and helped him run away with the NLC the past couple years. A move to Florida has turned out to not be all that was expected as his voodoo doesn’t work as well at the edge of the Bermuda Triangle. The team still has loads of talent and will once again be at the top of the heap, it’s only a matter of time, just like the Christian Coalition.
19- Royals-----The Stud Stable. No, not my constant pimping of Edwin Jackson, Gavin Floyd, Cole Hamels and Josh Barfield a few years ago. The Stud Stable was headed by Colonel Robert Parker and employed mainly brawlers like Blacktop Bully and Dick Slater, as well as true talents like Arn Anderson, Meng and Steve Austin. Arn eventually reunited with Ric Flair and Austin was fired over the phone, so the Stud Stable never reached its full potential. I’m still a firm believer that with Parker as his mouthpiece, Meng could’ve been a monster heel main eventer along the lines of Vader or Umaga today. Z’s team is also a tale on unrealized potential, as this is the second year in a row he’s been pegged to be the ALC leader and he’s below .500 at the AS break.
20- Mets-----NWO Hollywood. Ah, the NWO B-team as it is known today. The focus of Hollywood was on Hogan, while the other members were nothing special at all, consisting of guys like Stevie Ray and Brian Clarke. While, because they still had the NWO name, they were pushed, they were never serious threats to anyone. Jim’s team is the same way, it will hang around, but it will not be a threat anytime soon.
21- Astros-----The Legion of Doom. When wrestling still operated under the territory system, the Legion of Doom were a heel stable in the Southern territories consisting of four men that would go on to great success. They didn’t operate as a unit but were bound together by a common manager, as many stables were in those days. The Legion was made up of King Kong Bundy, who would headline Wrestlemania 2 against Hogan, Jake Roberts and the Road Warriors. At this point in time they were just getting their feet wet. The Warriors would go on to be the greatest tag team of all time and Roberts as one of the best pure evil heels of all time, cutting some of the most intense, dark interviews you’ll ever see. JP’s crew hasn’t yet reached their potential and his youth movement has actually stuck, something a lot of people figured would last weeks or maybe months at most. It remains to be seen what kind of ceiling they have, but like the Legion’s potential, the Astros is also tremendous.
22- Rangers----3 Count. Why am I giving the Rangers a boy band gimmicked stable? I look at the roster and see young guys in prominent positions when they’re not ready to be there yet. 3 Count was put in positions they shouldn’t have been in, like the WCW Hardcore division. One day, perhaps the Rangers will have the success that Sugar Shane Helms did when he started using the Hurricane gimmick, but it will be a long time before that success is reached.
23- Giants---- NWO 2000. The last WCW version of the New World Order consisted of Jeff Jarrett, Bret Hart, Scott Steiner and Kevin Nash. By this time, everyone was sick and tired of the angle and nobody cared anymore. It was a bunch of old guys (excluding Jarrett who was 29 or 30) hogging the spotlight and not knowing when to let other guys shine. Nils has dominated the NL West since he moved there in 2003. This is his first year not being in the spotlight. As a formerly dominant team, Nils is having to learn what it is like to not be in the spotlight this year.
24- Tigers----The Impact Players. When Justin Credible left the WWF after the Aldo Montoya gimmick, he adopted a grungier, cockier attitude and with his trainer, Lance Storm and valet Dawn Marie, dominated ECW. They held the tag team titles on two occasions and Credible held the ECW title once. Brett P’s team has had to take its lumps, like Aldo Montoya, but now is poised to break out next year and be an Impact Player in the IBC.
25- D'Backs---Demolition. I know, some of you are saying Demolition was a tag team, but at the end of their run, Ax, Smash and Crush formed a viable heel stable. Demolition was the dominant tag team in the WWF in the late 80s. By the time their stable was formed, it did not have much legs left, especially with the Road Warriors coming in. Jag doesn’t have the legs to compete this year, but given time, could have a run like Demolition had in the late 80s. Only time will tell.
26- Brewers----Team Canada (TNA version). Team Canada was a spin-off of the WCW faction of the same name. It began as a unit competing in the World X Cup in 2004, kind of a World Cup style tournament of cruiserweight wrestlers representing their home country. Team Canada lost the 04 Cup to Team Mexico. They lost the tiebreaker match in 06 to Team USA and soon after were forced to disband. Throughout their run in TNA, Team Canada mainly served as goons for people like Jeff Jarrett and rarely won matches without interference from their manager. Since disbanding, nobody has broken out as a star, though Bobby Roode has a shot at becoming a main event level player in another couple years. Jake’s team is curtain jerking the NL Central right now. There’s not shot of a breakout anytime soon and patience will be key, along with bringing in some real talent. Remains to be seen if the Brew Crew have the future of Bobby Roode, a potential champ, Petey Williams, someone who is always in the middle of things but never a threat, or A1, who was never used and then fired because he sucked.
27- Angels----The Mean Street Posse. Shane McMahon’s rich friends from Greenwich, CT were often seen after Shane-O-Mac debuted in the WWF. While they did bring sweater vests back into style, they didn’t do much else. Well, DT’s not gonna be doing a lot either. Sorry Dave, makes some deals and you’ll get a higher ranking but right now ya just suck. I would make a joke about your girlfriend sucking as well to fill space but I won’t.
28- White Sox----The DOA. Hey, lets make a biker stable led by Crush, I’m sure everyone will love that. The DOA was a terrible idea filled with terrible wrestlers that the crowd didn’t care about. When Crush was a part of the original Nation of Domination, some people cared, but this offshoot, nobody cared about or paid attention to. Nobody is paying attention to the ChiSox these days, as the AL Central crown and 100 win season of 2002 seems like a decade or more ago. Degan better get working fast, or like Crush and Brian Lee, he’ll be stuck jobbing to everyone with a pulse.
29- Nationals-----The Truth Commission. War criminals from South Africa in 1996, a gimmick that was at least 8 years past relevance when it debuted. The Truth Commission met little success. Kurgan had a push as a monster heel but the fans never cared and soon the stable faded into obscurity, mainly remembered by fans in USWA where the stable first formed and had some success. The Nationals are a team that has a lot of talent that has had success in the past but is not performing well this year. Some moves need to be made ASAP in order to right the ship or else they will remain in obscurity too.
30- Devil Rays----The J.O.B. Squad. Pin me, pay me was their motto, as the JOB squad was an assortment of wrestlers that lost the majority of their matches and were, in wrestling lingo, jobbers. While Al Snow and Bob Holly went on to gain some popularity, the JOB Squad never amounted to anything. The Rays are the JOB Squad of the AL East and that won’t be changing.
