Wrestling’s Greatest Factions of All Time

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4. Evolution

Members: Triple H, Ric Flair, Randy Orton and Batista

Years Active: 2003-2005, 2014

The past, the present and the future were brought together in our next faction.

In 2003, Triple H was the top guy on the Raw brand. In late 2002, he brought Ric Flair by his side to be both his manager and mentor while he was the World Heavyweight Champion. Flair would interfere and doing anything he could to make sure Triple H won his championship matches. To help his cause to stay champion, Triple H recruited Randy Orton and Batista, who The Game and Flair dubbed the future of WWE.

Using Ric Flair’s gimmick of wearing expensive suits and his playboy lifestyle and Triple H’s heel demeanor and ruthlessness you had the deadly combination of a strong faction. The group would lay dominance on Raw for two years. During this time the group feuded with top Raw stars such as Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Kane and Goldberg.

Triple H was able to win the World Heavyweight Championship on 4 occasions, with his first reign lasting nearly 10 months from December of 2002 to late September 2003. Orton infamously became The Legend Killer, defeating legends such as Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels and Sgt. Slaughter to name a few. Batista became a wrecking machine taking down stars such as Kane, Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit. Flair showed that he was not just a wrestling legend but also a brilliant manager. Flair helped Batista, Orton and Triple H dominate Raw.

The group’s most memorable night came at Armageddon 2003, when Evolution won every title that was exclusive to the Raw brand. Flair and Batista won a tag team gauntlet to win the World Tag Team Championship, Orton defeated Rob Van Dam to win the Intercontinental Championship and Triple H won the World Heavyweight Championship defeating Goldberg and Kane in a Triple Threat match.

However, in the summer of 2004, a rift in Evolution began. After defeating Chris Benoit in the main event of SummerSlam 2004, Randy became the new World Heavyweight Champion. Triple H jealous of this kicked Orton out of Evolution with Triple H, Batista and Flair viciously beating up Orton in the ring.

Not soon after, Batista pursued championship gold, which caused Triple H to feud with him. The two would meet in the main event of WrestleMania 21, with Batista winning his first World Heavyweight Championship, defeating his former mentor, Triple H.

After a near decade apart Evolution returned as a trio (minus Flair) to help Triple H in his battle against the new dominant faction in the WWE, The Shield. However, after two pay-per-view loses to The Shield, Evolution split up once again. Evolution will always be remembered as the faction that dominated Raw for two years. The group helped establish two future stars in Randy Orton and Batista.  And the group helped solidify Triple H as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Evolution truly the group that drew the line in the sand.

Next: Two Words For Ya