The Great Debate: Powerful Heel Stables

Check out why I think powerful heel stables should be brought back to the WWE in our next article in the GREAT DEBATE series:


In the 80s, four men ran roughshod over the NWA.  They did what they wanted, when they wanted and ended up becoming the most dominant force in professional wrestling.  That group is now known as the Four Horsemen.  They established a trend that would provide the business with some of the most memorable unions and unbelievable storylines the sport has ever seen.  In the 1990s, we had DX and the NWO.  In the 2000s there was Evolution.  In 2010 the Nexus formed and shocked the world.  However since then, there hasn't been any group that seized the WWE by it's throat.  The young rookies became involved in feuds with the WWE's top superstars and were the most talked about commodity in the WWE at the time.  However, as far as title success goes, they didn't really accomplish much.  One could make the argument that heel stables are no longer as effective at making new stars as they used to be.  I strongly disagree and have decided to offer up a 3 step guide on how a newly formed stable should properly be done:

Step 1: There MUST be a leader with Star Power

In my opinion, the main reason the Nexus did not see as much success as their predecessors is due to the fact that their leader was not an established main event talent.  Most superstars in a stable stand to gain from getting a rub off of their leader while the leader uses his group's muscle to stay in the title hunt.  The best person for this kind of role right now is CM Punk.  With Punk's recent actions, it seems he may be in line for a heel turn.  As a heel, Punk is easily the most captivating performer in the WWE right now.  I know some while scoff at the idea given the fact that Punk's previous two stables (the Straight Edge Society and The New Nexus) both failed, but Punk was not the level of superstar he is now.  He was an upper mid-carder struggling to find his niche and establish himself with the WWE audience.  With Punk's current credibility as WWE Champion for over 250 days, a stable could provide quite useful at extending that reign much further. 

Step 2: The rest of the group should only involve superstars with main event Potential

This could be tricky, but it's not as difficult as it seems.  I think if you look at the original Nexus, only Wade Barrett seemed to have "future world champion" written all over him.  Surrounding him with a group of "future endeavors", would only slow him down and no one stands to gain from a situation like that.  The ideal goal for me would be to include someone like Dean Ambrose.  He'd be the perfect "Number two" behind Punk and he has loads of charisma and potential in spades.  Next, I would include someone like Alex Riley, who proved to be an impressive lackey when paired up with The Miz.  Riley gets huge crowd reactions, but has no real direction as of late.  Getting the rub from Punk, could provide a necessary spark and a good way to re-familiarize him with the WWE Universe.  Add in someone like Johnny Curtis, who at 6'4", 244lbs, could provide the group with some much needed muscle, and you've got yourself quite the power trip. 

Step 3: The group must be the most dominant force in the WWE

True dominance in this business comes in the form of title success.  Punk having held the WWE title for nearly a year, has already established a championship pedigree that each member could look up to and aspire to follow.  Ambrose would be the perfect IC Champion, while Riley and Curtis make an interesting choice for the tag belts.  When Evolution achieved a similar feat back in 2003, it was unprecedented in the WWE.  Now imagine if each champion held on to their respective titles for nearly a year as well, using dirty tactics and strength in numbers to do so.  The people would near riot to see them get their comeuppance and big money could be made as a result. 



Now this is just a basic outline, but I feel as if the WWE tends to complicate things and could benefit from keeping things simple.  I truly feel that a powerful heel stable is the missing element of the current landscape of the WWE and they could only benefit from putting one such as the group I listed above together.  But what are your thoughts?  Do you feel the WWE needs a top heel stable right now?  If so, who would you like to see included?  Let the debate begin!