When a wrestling promoter has a hot faction going, they’ll do anything to keep it going until all the money has been bled dry from the angle. The desperate attempt to keep a faction going has led to some of the worst casting decisions in wrestling history.
While factions like the New World Order, D-Generation X and the Four Horsemen propelled the careers of some of wrestling’s greatest stars, they’ve also been dragged down by some of the worst stars to ever lace up their boots.
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Not every wrestler can fit into any group or gimmick. Former D-Generation X star, X Pac, recently sat down with SI.com‘s Justin Barrasso to discuss his legendary faction and noted how the group shot down Vince Russo’s idea of adding another Attitude Era star to DX.
“Russo wanted to put Val Venis in DX, but we said no,” said Waltman. “We stuck to our guns because he wasn’t right for DX. So, for Bullet Club, if New Japan or Ring of Honor wants Bullet Club to do something they don’t want to do, Bullet Club needs to remember this is their creation and their baby. Stick to your guns. If you feel like someone is not right, then don’t let it be done.”
If Venis had been added to DX, he’d surely make the list of worst members of the greatest factions, but thankfully, X Pac and Triple H thought better of it.
As for The Four Horsemen and other legendary groups, they made some questionable moves that have led to the five worst members of great wrestling factions.
Scroll down to see the entire list.
Larry Zybysko in The Dangerous Alliance
The Dangerous Alliance was a brief but bad ass faction that wreaked havoc on the WCWย in 1991 after Paul E. Dangerously (a young Paul Heyman) led a group of heels after he was ‘fired’ from being an announcer. The group consisted of Arnย Anderson, Steve Austin, Rick Rude, Bobby Eaton and Larry Zbyszko. Looking at the picture above, you may assume the weak link of Heyman’sย Dangerous Alliance faction was the blonde-mulletedย Bobby Eaton, but you would be wrong.
Eaton was actually a great worker enjoying the best run of his career. Stunning Steve Austin was on the rise and Rick Rude was freaking Rick Rude, which leaves the weak link as WWEย Hall of Famer, Larry Zbysko.ย
While Zbyskoย is one of the true legends in wrestling, by this time in his career his better and more dangerous days were behind him. Despite all his talents, the 40 year old Zbyskoย always seemed out of place in the Dangerous Alliance and the group would have probably been much better off with a younger, more dangerous looking star.ย
TIE – Manu/Sim Snuka in The Legacy
The Legacy should have been the greatest faction in pro wrestling, and it was a pretty good one for a while. Withย the son of Dusty Rhodes, Ted Dibiase, Bob Orton and The British Bulldog all coming up at the same time,ย putting them together was a no brainer. Unfortunately, Smith was never added the group and Dibiaseย never lived up to the astronomical pressures of becoming his father and disbanded after a 2 year off and on run.ย
During that time, however, there was a brief time when Manuย (son of Afa) and Simย Snukaย (son of Superfly) were maneuvering to get into the group. As you can see in the photo above, both men looked surprised to be anywhere near an actual televisedย WWE storyline.ย
After a few tryouts (which were both storyline and real) it was clear the guys were not quite ready for TV and they were ousted from the group.ย
Horace Hogan in the NWO
This one was tough, because despite the NWO’sย amazing run, there were a ton of crappy members. Many people would point to Virgil as the worst member of the NWO, but as Vincent, the former WWEย manservant did exactly what he was supposed to in the WCW’sย faction. He got in the way and he got beat up when the big guys were too cowardly to fight the heroes of the time.ย
No, the worst member of the NWOย belongs to Horace Hogan. Had Hulk Hogan’s real life nephew not shared the same last name, there’s no chance he makes it into this group or the WCWย in the first place. While having a lesser than nephew makes for a good storyline in some instances the fact that Horace freaking Hogan played into the outcome of the Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan’s WrestleManiaย 6 rematch is a complete joke.ย
Miraculously, Horrace would also become one of the worst members of the WCWย faction, The New Blood, whenย he turned his back on Hogan when Eric Bischoff offered him Torrieย Wilson for his services. ย
(PG 13) J.C. Ice and Wolfie D in the Nation of Domination
When you think Nation of Domination you likely think of Faarooq, The Rock, D-Low Brown and Kamaย Mustafa. Maybe you even think of Mark Henry or Owen Hart, who later joined the group. The group’s incarnation, however, had a much different look to it. It still featured Ron Simmons as Faarooq, but he was surrounded by a whole cast of awful characters.ย
The worst among them were PG 13, a southernย wrestling tag team composed of two skinny guysย with the Vanilla Ice “white guys who want to be black” gimmick that James Ellsworth is running with these days. Wolfieย D and JC Ice didn’t last too long and eventually landed in ECWย for a spell.ย
For comedic relief, these guys were a good fit in the predominantly black faction, but considering their other Hall of Fame members, they are the worst.ย
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Paul Roma in the Four Horsemen
Many wrestling historians will often debate who was the worst member of the greatest faction in wrestling history. The Four Horsemen have had a ton of members, some legendary and some not so much. Here are all the members, in order of their association with the group.
Ric Flair (1985โ1999) (leader)ย Arn Anderson (1985โ1988, 1989โ1999)ย Ole Anderson (1985โ1987, 1989-1990, 1993)ย Tully Blanchard (1985โ1988)ย J.J. Dillon (1985โ1989)ย Lex Luger (1987)ย Barry Windham (1988โ1989, 1990โ1991)ย Sting (1989โ1990)ย Sid Vicious (1990โ1991)ย Paul Roma (1993)ย Brian Pillman (1995โ1996)ย Chris Benoit (1995โ1997, 1998โ1999)ย Steve “Mongo” McMichael (1996โ1997, 1998-1999)ย Jeff Jarrett (1997)ย Curt Hennig (1997)ย Dean Malenko (1998โ1999)
Honestly, it’s a toss up between former NFLย star, Steve “Mongo” McMichaelย and Paul Roma. Looking at both men, you’d think McMichaelย would be the obvious one who didn’t fit, but perennial mid-carderย Paul Roma was most out of place during his time with the Horsemen.ย
When the Horsemen reformed in 1993, Roma had the look of the Horsemen but none of the other requirements needed to hang with Ricย Flair, Ole and Arnย Anderson.ย