Ranking the 5 best factions in wrestling history

There are few things in professional wrestling quite as exciting or as impactful as an electrifying faction. It is truly a sight to behold when a group of pro wrestlers come together and catch fire, with the flames spreading across the sport’s landscape in the form of T-Shirts, merchandise, and main events for the individuals comprising the collective.

Although the golden era of factions seems like a thing of the past to many fans, there are plenty of great ones in modern wrestling, especially in AEW, Stardom, and NJPW. But even WWE have had their fair share of impactful factions in recent years, with the New Day standing out as the longest-running and most successful.

Let’s try to rank the five best factions in wrestling history, focusing on each faction’s overall impact and quality. Because I can only select five, there will obviously be some snubs. Triple H will likely have a sledgehammer with my name written on it, since I have left off two of his great factions. But, alas, we cannot all win Miz Participation Awards.

5. Bullet Club have shown the heights of popularity modern wrestling can reach outside of WWE

It may seem like the Bullet Club are ranked too low, but remember that their story has yet to be fully written. They are still going strong and have even written a new chapter in their history by playing a role in kicking down the “Forbidden Door”.

The Bullet Club’s popularity and influence are easy to see. At one point, “BC” shirts were so popular that you could find people at malls or in your small city’s “downtown” donning these shirts. And whenever I would see a “Bullet Club” shirt, I would do a double-take, because I never thought, in, say, 2017, that I would see non-WWE wrestling merchandise so frequently.

In terms of quality, the likes of A.J. Styles, Kenny Omega, and Finn Balor are certainly among the elite wrestlers. As leaders of the NJPW faction, Omega and Styles put on world title matches for the ages. So they brought credibility to a faction that went beyond shirts sold or, uh, wrestling promotions created.

But before this faction’s rise into the mainstream, its finest character work was done during its critical start and formation of identity with the REAL Rock’N’Rolla, Prince Devitt, cutting some of the rawest promos of the 2010s. For all the shirts sold and IWGP Heavyweight Championship matches fought, Devitt’s individual quality that rooted the faction is the true spirit of the faction.