The First 10 Stables In WWE History, Explained

Stables in wrestling are a time honored, tried and true tradition. The idea is use a stable to help elevate one or two stars up a level on the card, if not all of the guys involved. The anatomy of a stable has certainly changed over the years as far as WWE is concerned. During the eighties, stables and factions were centered around managers and their clientele.

But as the Expansion Era gave way to the New Generation and Attitude Eras, etc. managers were phased out, leading stables to be more like groups, gangs, or factions - generally coming together as far as storyline purposes are concerned, for one goal; ruling the roost in some form or fashion.

10 The Heenan Family

From the very first WrestleMania up until the seventh, The Heenan Family always had a huge match or two taking place at The Showcase Of The Immortals. Led by its namesake, Bobby The Brain Heenan, the family sought to make so many members as possible into champions over the years. The Show Of Shows was just the tip of the iceberg for that goal - Heenan led contenders like King Kong Bundy and the legendary Andre The Giant into battle against perennial WWE Champion Hulk Hogan. He also led Mr. Perfect and Ravishing Rick Rude to Intercontinental Championship glory and The Brain Busters and The Colossal Connection to the World Tag Team Championship.

9 The Hart Foundation

Similar to the Heenan Family, Jimmy Hart was able to lead The Hart Foundation to the Tag Team Titles, as well as The Honky Tonk Man to the Intercontinental Championship. But The Mouth Of The South had one of the greatest tag teams of all time aligned with him - Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart, who even today is still heralded for their unique combination of speed, power, and technical prowess.

Jimmy also never met a painted jacket he didn’t like - he would always come to the ring matching his charges - which included the likes of The Honky Tonk Man, Greg The Hammer Valentine, and Dangerous Danny Davis.

8 The Million Dollar Corporation

With his in-ring career over, The Million Dollar Man turned towards forming his very own Corporation. It started huge, with an attempt at having his own Undertaker. Once his "Underfaker" got buried, he built a team with the ultimate goal of taking the real Deadman out - King Kong Bundy, Kama, and IRS to name a few. But DiBiase’s Corporation had loftier ambitions when the likes of Bam Bam Bigelow, Tatanka, and Sid Vicious. Along with Bam Bam headlining WrestleMania 11, the biggest coup for the Corporation was when DiBiase scored a hot young prospect named The Ringmaster.

7 Camp Cornette

Jim Cornette is the kind of manager that would have never been content with just one client, even if he was part of World Champion Yokozuna’s team. He would form his own stable, Camp Cornette, with some of the best heels that The New Generation had to offer - including Yoko. The Camp also had Vader, Owen Hart, and The British Bulldog. All champions or contenders at one point or another. The group also was heavily featured throughout 1995/1996 in all sorts of top angles and main events.

6 Nation Of Domination

While the more memorable version of The Nation Of Domination would feature the likes of Mark Henry and The Rock, the original version actually had D’Lo Brown as an unnamed supporter of Faarooq (ie. Cannon Fodder Jones).

The group also had Crush and Savio Vega, along with rap duo PG-13, as a group of guys who felt underutilized in WWE. This version actually did exactly what factions were meant to do - splintered Crush and Savio off to try to become bigger stars.

5 Los Boricuas

Savio Vega broke away to form a Latin flavored group, Los Boricuas. He formed the faction after being kicked out of the Nation, along with founding members, Miguel Perez, Jose Estrada Jr. and Jesus Castillo. They unfortunately didn’t make as a big an impact as the other two groups they were involved with, but they also have the distinction of teaming up elsewhere throughout the world as well.

4 The Disciples Of Apocalypse

Crush was also excommunicated from the early incarnation of The Nation. He had returned with The Harris Twins (Skull and 8-Ball), and Brian Lee (Chainz) as the Disciples Of Apocalypse, a Sons Of Anarchy-esque motorcycle club. But once Crush had quit the WWE in protest of the events of Montreal, the group stayed together for a few more months before Chainz left as well and Paul Ellering, long time leader of the Legion Of Doom, had left them in favor of the remaining members of DOA.

3 D-Generation X

Throughout early 1997, Shawn Michaels was a headache and a hassle to deal with. He allegedly kept asking to be let go, so he could be with his friends. But a different alternative presented itself - the formation of DX, alongside another friend, Triple H. Much like the nWo, D-Generation X was the kind of faction that changed everything. Shawn Michaels wasn’t lying when he said The Kliq runs this place - look who is actually running the place.

2 The Corporation

As more and more babyfaces got themselves some "Attitude", Vince McMahon was forced to reveal himself as the owner of the company and ask for some decorum. Specifically formed to try and stop the spread of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Vince McMahon culled his stooges together, along with The Big Bossman to form The Corporation.

Ken Shamrock would join their ranks and, of course, they’d pull the ultimate swerve at Survivor Series 1998, when The Rock "sold out" in order to win the WWE Championship over Mankind in the final of the Deadly Games Tournament, joining The Corporation in the process.

1 The Ministry Of Darkness

As plenty of superstars got more realistic with their characters in The Attitude Era, The Undertaker went the other way. The Deadman began to believe that he really was a dark and evil undead wrestler named The Undertaker. He began embracing the purity of evil and set upon a path to take control of WWE. Along with Paul Bearer, he assembled a team of Acolytes, Vampires, and brainwashed disciples collectively known as the Ministry of Darkness.