Best WWE Stables Of The Ruthless Aggression Era, Ranked

The Ruthless Aggression Era felt like the ideal time for many great talents to continue growing as wrestlers. WWE wanted more from talent once the landscape shifted towards a brand split requiring two separate and unique rosters. Raw and SmackDown both needed enough wrestlers to fill two hours of weekly television.

Factions became an important part of the industry in the 2000s. WWE relied more on the solo talent of Steve Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley, and others getting singles pushes in the Attitude Era. Quite a few relevant names benefited from being in groups afterwards. The following factions stand out strongest as the best factions of the Ruthless Aggression Era.

9 New World Order Had A Final Chapter In WWE

Created Strong Interest Before Variables Ended Their Run

• Returned In Major Storyline Working With Steve Austin & The Rock
• Fans Wanting Hogan As Babyface Caused Hot Run To End
• More Problems Limited Future During Changes To Group

The New World Order arrived in WWE in 2002 and had about half a year for their final version as a group. Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall all signed together and were introduced in major feuds involving Steve Austin and The Rock.

WWE fans loved the nWo inclusion for about a month until forcing the company’s hand to turn Hogan face. Hall was fired, and various other members joined Nash, but they were losing momentum. Nash getting injured was the final straw to end the relevant act.

8 The Cabinet Cemented JBL’s Dominant Reign

Helped His Final Chapter Of Holding Power As WWE Champion

• Added To JBL’s Hated Main Event Heel Character Act
• JBL Needed This Group To Stay Fresh At The End Of His Title Reign
• John Cena Winning Feud Caused Group To Disband

JBL held the WWE Championship for almost a full year before dropping it to John Cena in 2005. However, there was a lot of controversy surrounding WWE taking a first-time main eventer and booking him as a dominant champion.

One of the reasons for JBL stealing wins to keep the title reign going was his faction cheating to help him. The Cabinet featured Orlando Jordan, the Basham Brothers, and Amy Weber following his lead. JBL was able to extend his reign a few more months with The Cabinet to reach his finish line, putting over Cena.

7 The ECW Originals Kept The Brand’s Spirit Alive In WWE

Rare Act That Honored ECW’s Legacy Under Vince McMahon’s Watch

• ECW Originals Vs New Breed Feud Carried ECW Brand
• Big WrestleMania 23 Win Was The High Point Of The ECW Originals In WWE
• ECW Brand Became Less Attatched To The History Of ECW

WWE decided to bring back ECW as a third brand after the success of the One Night Stand 2005 PPV and Rise & Fall of ECW DVD release. Paul Heyman ran the show at the start, but it became clear that the program was going to be a third WWE brand of Vince McMahon’s pet projects.

The ECW originals typically struggled to get pushed until one act after Heyman’s release stuck. The New Blood featured younger wrestlers trying to take over, so the ECW Originals banded together. Tommy Dreamer, Sabu, Rob Van Dam and The Sandman even had a great moment winning their big match at WrestleMania 23.

6 King Booker’s Court Became Top SmackDown Group

WWE Revamped Booker’s Entire Character For A World Title Push

• Booker’s King Of Ring Win Inspired This Gimmick Change
• Booker’s Last World Championship Reign Came From This Push
• Helped Give Finlay & William Regal More Important Roles

Booker T winning the King of the Ring tournament led to his entire presentation changing as King Booker. WWE pushed Booker into a world title position for the first time since the Invasion with Sharmell joining him as his valet.

King Booker’s Court formed with Booker, Sharmell, William Regal, and Fit Finlay all helping him win. Booker had noteworthy feuds against Rey Mysterio, Batista and Bobby Lashley with his faction playing a huge role.

5 D-Generation X Reunited In 2006

Reunited DX For First Time In Over Six Years When It Happened

• The Timing Was Right For Their Reunion
• Triple H & Shawn Michaels Both Teased It At WrestleMania 22
• DX Dominated Raw’s Tag Team Division In 2006

WWE stayed away from reuniting D-Generation X between 2000 and 2006 due to Triple H’s heel persona working too well. There was finally a story ready in 2006 when both Triple H and Shawn Michaels teased doing crotch chops at WrestleMania 22.

Both wrestlers having tension with Vince McMahon made the fans want the reunion badly by the time it happened. Michaels and Triple H had a babyface main event tag run representing DX for the rest of the Ruthless Aggression Era, in between their singles matches.

4 The Un-Americans Received Massive Heel Heat

Members Were Reportedly Uncomfortable With Heat

• Insulting United States Fans Received More Heat Due To Time
• Backstage Minds Felt Wrestlers Weren’t Embracing The Crowd Hate
• Worked Against Legendary Faces Like Undertaker, Hulk Hogan & Edge In The Summer

WWE made the Un-Americans feel like the most detestable faction of the Ruthless Aggression Era during their short run together. The post-9/11 landscape of the United States saw fans more patriotic to make the act more controversial.

Lance Storm, Christian, Test and William Regal were the main members threatening to burn an American flag and other wild moments. The group worked against stars like The Undertaker, Edge and Hulk Hogan, but Bruce Prichard claimed the Un-Americans ended due to the wrestlers not wanting to commit to real-life heel heat.

3 La Familia Used Vickie Guerrero’s Power To Keep Edge On Top

Became Top Heel Group On SmackDown For Most Of The Run

• Edge Received Top Heel Push On SmackDown Dating Vickie Guerrero
• La Familia Was Formed To Help Edge Cheat Against Top Babyfaces
• Triple H Caused Group Tension Upon Ruining Edge & Vickie’s Relationship

The relationship between Edge and Vickie Guerrero worked perfectly for both characters. Edge had another path to the top using Vickie’s SmackDown General Manager role to his advantage, and it created stories for Vickie to hold greater relevance.

WWE placed Edge in feuds against top babyfaces Batista, Triple H, Jeff Hardy and The Undertaker. La Familia formed with Chavo Guerrero, Bam Neely, Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins doing Edge’s bidding to protect his World Heavyweight Championship.

2 Team Angle Deserved A Much Longer Run

Kurt Angle Helped New Tag Team Instantly Get Over

• The Group Began When Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin Made Their WWE Main Roster Debut
• Kurt Angle Leading His New Proteges Added To Heel Character
• Group Ended After A Few Months Due To Kurt’s Neck Injury

WWE introduced Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas as Paul Heyman’s “gifts” to Kurt Angle. The concept was that Haas and Benjamin had similar amateur wrestling backgrounds to Angle before WWE and wanted to learn from him.

Team Angle was formed for the top heel trio to make Angle’s WWE Championship reign more important. All three wrestlers had great chemistry, but the act ended when Angle broke his neck in early 2001. WWE opted to turn Angle face rather than have him return as a heel to continue the group.

1 Evolution Represented Class & Greatness

Helped Four Legends During Different Points In Their Respective Careers

• Genius Concept To Have Past, Present & Future Of Wrestling Together
• Triple H Working With Ric Flair Was Important For Them Both
• Batista & Randy Orton Became Main Event Superstars

The magic of Evolution was that it had four iconic performers all working together as one. Triple H was the top heel and consistent World Champion during Evolution’s run with Ric Flair, Batista, and Randy Orton by his side.

A concept representing the past, present, and future of wrestling worked to perfection. Triple H continued his dominance, and Flair had one more relevant run after some struggles in his WWE return. Orton and Batista both became World Champions by the end of their time in Evolution.