Stables: A Lost Art Form?

[Monkey_Mania]

I say this, because back in the day, a stable was used primarily for two reasons.

Reason #1. To get the wrestlers in the stable over as being legit.

Reason #2. To get the wrestlers feuding with said stable over as well.

Now, in today's professional wrestling world, the stable is only used for one reason, and one reason only. Usually to aid the leader. It all started with the nWo. Yes the stable that everyone loves so much, started the down trend of one of the greatest attractions in wrestling. In the last ten years there has been stables. RTC, Evolution, La Familia, WWENWO, D-X, and many more.

In recent memory, I can only think of one of these stables actually doing something worth while. That stable is the Main Event Mafia. Yes, the same Main Event Mafia that everyone seemed to hate. They actually did their jobs. They not only got themselves over, but they got the TNA Frontline over as well. I now see A.J. Styles as a credible champion because of it.

The Four Horsemen are the greatest stable of all time, and for good reason. Each incarnation of the group did exactly what it was supposed to do, create new stars on both end of the spectrum.

Now, I await everyones fan boy opinion on the nWo and them bashing me to hell and back. I dare you to try and prove any of my statements wrong though. What are your thoughts?

 

[Thriller Ant]

The second statement is a very forgotten aspect of judging a stable. Legacy is a perfect example of this. I really think that DiBiase and Rhodes were elevated by working with Orton. But who else have they helped? It did nothing for DX, it did nothing for MVHenry, it did nothing for anyone besides those two. Due to that, it would be impossible to say Legacy was a success. You are completely right when you say the MEM was the only modern stable to be a success under these guidelines. Nice thread, Monkey.

 

[Theo Mays]

Agree on each point. I was never a big fan of the NWO. They held the young talent back and focus on putting them above everyone else. I'm gonna shy away from WCW stuff, as I didn't watch my WCW back in the day.

The WWE however was my program. I remember the stables they had. Nation of Domination, The Original DX's, the Hart Foundation, the Corporation, the Ministry, the Corporate Ministry, the Brood, the Union, etc...

Most of those stables did just what you pointed out. They get themselves over and got others over. The NOD gave us Mark Henry, D'Lo Brown, and of course, The Rock. They also helped Ahmed Johnson during his midcard run. Plus they feuded with DX and they gave us one of the legendary tag teams in the New Age Outlaws. DX and the NOD put each other over and helped each member look legit. The Brood got Edge and Christian over, plus it got the Hardy Boyz over. While Gangrel didn't do too much, his association propelled both teams into their eventual superstardom.

Moving on to nowadays. We have Legacy. They made Cody and Ted seem like legit players, but they didn't do much for anyone they feuded with. DX was already over, MVP and Henry was short lived, and Cryme Tyme has done squat. And now Cody and Ted haven't really looked as good as they did when it formed. Orton got mad over and their association was huge. Now they just don't have that feel. Orton however is giving the rub to Kofi (or did, who knows what the E will do with Kofi now). That helped Kofi seem like a budding star. Other than that, they didn't really do the 2 key points

Then their is the MEM. And while they weren't well liked, they got the job done. They put Joe over, they put Rhino over, AJ, MCMG, Team 3D, etc... Yeah they defeated them, but they made them look damn strong in the process. And when they ran their course, they disbanded.

I think a strong stable could do some could for the wrestling business. I have no ideas on who to roll with and what superstars to lead it, but it definitely would be something fresh and exciting if it is booked correctly.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I expressed my thoughts on a subject similar to this in another thread, but I'll be happy to do it here again, and by the way, good thread. Stables have defiantly become a lost art form in pro wrestling. Stables now a days either don't reach the potential they should have or they just seem like one giant clusterfuck. I will agree with you that The Mafia did it's job in getting the Frontline over. It made AJ and Joe(before he turned heel and joined the Mafia) look like TNA's FUTURE.

Now on to the other stables in TNA that seemed to be going some where. I'll start with World Elite. When this stable started, it had such promise, but over time, it's turned into a clusterfuck. Once Eric Young become the Global Champion, everything started to go down hill from there. Then, they added Homicide a while back, which was a horrible choice. There are way too many people in that stable. Another stable is The Beautiful People.Now I know this might be primarily due to Angelina's absence, but then to replace her with Lacey Von Erich....VERY poor choice by TNA After watching the last IMPACT, the strip poker segments with TBP were just painful to watch. Sure it was nice to see Velvet, Madison, and Lacey stripping, there really wasn't anything else to it but that.

Now on to the WWE. I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but Evolution was the last great stable in the WWE. They were loaded with star power, main eventers, and they had that elite feel to them. Ever since Evolution, there really hasn't been a stable that's produced main eventers like they did or had that "elite" feel. Zach Ryder was in La Familia, so I won't be so quick to judge him, maybe he just needs more time. Then there's Legacy. This stable looked like it might be going somewhere before and after Wrestlemania, but has gotten a lot worse since then. The major problem with this stable is, Orton is made out to be way too superior to Rhodes and Dibase.

I don't think we'll ever see another stable like The Horsemen or the NWO(the early WCW version). Those were great stables, and they don't come along very often. Besides, when will we ever see leaders like Flair and Hogan again?

 

[Kanye South]

Stables usually appear to only benefit the member usually because the other members are complete and utter shit. Evolution mostly benefitted Triple H because Ric Flair was old and didn't have much left to go, Batista was just a muscular botch machine, and Randy Orton was occasionally showed promise but really had nothing of substance. Like a bad porn. In the original nWo (Hogan, Nash, Hall), Hogan was the only one worth anything. Kevin Nash was nothing more than a big man and Scott Nash was decent but nothing compared to Hogan. But, since the Monday Night Wars are returning, and according to some of our more intelligent posters here at Wrestlezone, everything that's happening now is paralleling fifteen years ago. So just as Cena is magically Hogan, Styles is magically Michaels, and Hornswoggle is magically Goldberg (okay no one says that, I concluded that from Horny's unstoppable path of domination), there will magically be a new stable that includes a member with great mic skills, ring skills, and a female member with a suspiciously large bulge in her pants.

Seriously though, we don't have many good stables nowadays because not many people have the talent to do it.

 

[Dagger Dias]

You actually make a valid point. Nearly all of the stables from the past decade or so, even Evolution, only seemed to serve to help the leader out. I agree about the Main Event Mafia doing its job by helping get the younger guys over in the process. I'm one of the few who REALLY enjoyed the Main Event Mafia. I thought that they were the best stable since Evolution, maybe even better, because they were dominant but in the end it helped guys like Styles become more over after the feud than they were to begin with.

Stables should be about getting the ENTIRE group more over, AND their opponents as well. Get the right combination of main eventers together and have them feud with the right group of future main eventers, and you've got gold right there. It's a little disappointing that they rarely do it that way anymore. We don't need to see groups of random nobodies helping an already established main eventer keep his world title. The other guys deserve their shot at getting over too.

I wouldn't say that stables are a completely lost thing of the past, but I definitely agree that they have gone downhill since after the nWo because it is no longer about getting multiple groups of guys over rather than just the one or two leaders like it is now. I'd rather they go back to how it used to be because then we would have a more credible group of main eventers in the future.

 

[StevieJ]

Without the NWO, Sting would have retired along time ago. Diamond Dallas Page would have been forgotten and Godberg would have won the title from Giant/Big Show or someone. NWO were the titans to bring down and I saw many WCW names get themslves over.

Harlem Heat
Goldberg
DDP
Chris Benoit
Giant/Big Show (even though he eventually joined them)
Rey Mysterio - After Rey lost his mask against Kevin Nash, Rey shot further upwards
Many more

 

[King Patrick Star]

The Four Horsemen, the New World Order, D-Generation X, Evolution, and the Main Event Mafia. These 5 Stables, to me, are the greatest Professional Sports Wrestling Entertainment Teams of all time. They all put Stars over, either with them or against them.

The Four Horsemen. They put every member over and the list of accomplishments set the bar for all the Stables that came after them. They feuded with everybody, from the top of the card to the opening match and everyone else in-between. The longevity of the group is a testament to how great Ric, Arn and the “other two” really were.

The New World Order. If the Horsemen are the “Greatest Stable ever”, then the New World Order was the “Greatest Brand ever”. Yes they over did it, but that’s what the New World Order was about. It wasn’t about a Team of Superstars winning Titles and being the “Best” in the company. It was about taking over WCW and being the best in the World…and for a while, they were. They had their World Champ, they had their US Champ, they had their Tag Team Champion, among many others. The one thing they had that no other Stable in history, POWER!! Easy E’s role was a perfect fit. Taking the roster and splitting it into two. Brilliant!! (Hence how Raw and Smackdown is today). They didn’t put Stars in the group and Stars out the group over. They put WCW over. Think about it.

D-Generation X. What can I say about DX that hasn’t already been said?? While the NWO were taking over, DX was holding their own. They, too, won Title after Title after Title, and put Superstars over left and right. It may not have always seemed like it, but look at all the Titles they won and look at all the Superstars they lost the Titles to.

Evolution. Past, Present, and Future. The true definition of a Stable. Ric Flair – 22 time World Champion (Ric says 21, WWE says 16, I say 22). Triple H – 13 time World Champion. Randy Orton – 6 time World Champion. Batista – 5 time World Champion. They were pretty much the Main Event Mafia before they became Main Eventers.

The Main Event Mafia. Being the “smaller” company, TNA had to work with what they had and what they had was the “Greatest Collection of Champions ever assembled!!” Yes they first four Stables I mentioned had future Main Event talent within the ranks along with a World Championship Leader, but the M. E. Mob (It’s all about ME, the Main Event) were all World Champions and each of them could have led the Stable, (the irony is the youngest guy on the Team was the leader for the most part). My only gripe, the ending.