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Age Of The Stables
May 16, 2006 by Jerrell Simmons

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Within professional wrestling a stable is a group of wrestlers who have a friendship which can either be real or just a part of the storyline. Stables are groups of three to usually around six or seven members which all are under specific name or "stable unit". These stables in professional wrestling have diminished over the years. The most recent and successful stable would be that of Evolution which consisted of HHH, Batista, Randy Orton and Ric Flair. Over the years the WWE as well as the WCW have had several stables which have had a part in where professional wrestling is at today.

When you think about the great stables of the past you think of those of Degeneration X, The Nation of Domination, Four Horsemen, The Corporation, Ministry of Darkness, The Hart Foundation or even the nWo and Wolfpac. These stables have not only helped pave the way to where professional wrestling is today they also attracted a wide range of fans who would continue watching the specific promotion for years to come.

Recently we all have probably noticed some hype and maybe promotion of a new D-Generation X on the WWE. If DX was completely reunited it would consist of Shawn Michaels, HHH, X-Pac, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and Chyna. HBK has gone through this whole feud with HHH and also a "changed man" storyline so I don't know how this would fit in. Then the other three men are currently signed up with contracts to other wrestling shows which take them out of the picture. So who knows what will happen maybe DX will start with a whole new stable of new members.

Stables are dead in the WWE, and it is necessary for them to be brought back. During the days of the stable wrestling was at its highest point it was like the WWE Superbowl when DX would go up against the Nation. When Wolfpac had formed and they were up against the nWo it was always a night to sit down and tune in to see if it was going to be "One more for the good guy". Now those matches are nothing but memories of the past. It was good to see stables like the Corporation on the top of the food chain and watch Stone Cold try to rip them apart. It was nice to watch DX turn the WWE upside down with flashing in the crowd and the famous crotch chop. During the age of the stable you would go to school and just run around hearing kids saying "Suck It!" or "Just To Sweeeet" it was classic and it kept everyone interested.

As long as the WWE is separated by two different brands I don't think we will ever see a great stable again or even a great stable feud that is until or if the brands ever join up once again. Vince really needs to realize that stables were a great part of the WWE and all these whacky storylines with people fighting god are pretty lame. If he wants the WWE to stay on the top he might have to take a page out of the history books and bring back the age of the stables. It's a must to have at least one stable in a promotion and until Vince manages to do this I have two words for him...

by Jerrell Simmons ..

Roman "N s a i N" Mundo wrote:
Nice column, I have to agree with you, stables were the best, but we all remember the nWo fiasco (which in my opinion led to the downfall of WCW). We all got tired of week after week the same ol' nWo doing the same ol' shhhhh with their 1,000 members (haha). Don't get me wrong I loved the nWo the first two maybe three years. After that they lost me to the best stable ever DX

Everybody either loved the stables or loved to hate them. It's no surprise to me why the WWE strayed away from the stables, for one reason and one reason alone, REUNIONS one of the greatest money generators of all time (not only in wrestling).

Take a look at the nWo reunion in 2002, the four Hourseman various reunions and reformations, the Rockers one night reunion, ECW one night stand, and the list can go on and on. It's great for keeping it fresh and exciting; DX coming back is going to be one of the greatest moments in WWE history. So now you ask, well what about the JBL's cabinet, the Un-Americans, and/or The Brood reunion" Then I would answer you like this "hahahahahaha are you serious" reunions only work if they were great to begin with. So prepare yourself to love a stable, then maybe hate it, then wish it was over, and then finally wanting it to come back.

TurnerCGray wrote:
this is a point of imphasis i been tryna get across to a lottapeople...wrestling is at it's highest peak when a stable comes accross in the way it way it was ment...as in d-x was sposed to be wild-n-crazy...the nation was sposed to b hated and they were huge success...i jus thank its too many egos and everybody wants to shine but they should really play there roles...anyways the article was great but u left out one of my all-time favorite stables in the dangerous alliance(another paul e. production!) i mean stunnin steve austin, arn anderson, larry zybsko, bobby eaton, madusa, and rick rude...also the dungeon of doom, ministry, take it way back to the very first stable in the heenan family

Chichi Cardiel wrote:
Stable's i think were what helped the WWE become what it's become...i mean... D-X was incredibly huge,and Evolution was probably my favorite how they had sense of greatness...Batista was a classic bigman,Power, and problem solver..Ric Flair had the expierence,strategy, they had Randy Orton dubbed as the next "the Rock" he had incredible talent(although now he is an asshole from what ive heard and read). and who can forget...Triple H the driving force between Evolution..."the game" himself...so i agree with you in that WWE needs a stable back and QUICK! thats why i think they want to bring in DX back...i think DX should have the Evolution Mentality with HBK and Triple H as the masterminds....great article

Chris Nicola wrote:
I believe that Evolution was the last great stable in the WWE. They were very powerful, ruthless, and were hell bent on winning the titles. They're definetly the most recent incarnation on the 4 Horsemen. WWE could definetly use a stable powerful like Evolution again. Another great stable in the past was the Million Dollar Corporation. They were more of mid carders than main eventers, but they were very powerful. Those were the better days of wrestling.

Justin Richardson wrote:
I just wanted to add one more to your list. In the southeast, there was a man named Robert Fuller. He was a great all around performer. Known as the Tennessee Stud, he was the leader of the Stud's Stable. Among his cohorts were Jimmy Golden and Cactus Jack. Fuller later went to WWF where he performed as Jeff Jarrett's manager using the moniker "Tennessee Lee." He also performed in WCW as "Colonel Rob Parker," and Jimmy Golden worked there as...well the name escapes me at the moment and I am too lazy to look it up right now. They, as the Stud's Stable in the late eighties were in all the big angles in the CCW" I'm unsure if that is the correct organization, it's been a while and I was young at the time.
I apologize for being so long winded, just got carried away in all the nostalgia.
Maybe the Freebirds could have been considered a stable in the later WCW years when there were way too many Freebirds. Or not....

Matt Carson wrote:
As great as most of the Stables listed in this article were, they remain in the past and should stay there. I think WWE is too worried about getting people to "remember when..." to realize that their product has done nothing new or in my mind good, for the better part of two years. Moving foreward should be the goal of any promotion not recycling gimmicks and popular stables. Plus time and time again the current WWE creative team has shown no real capability of returning, or even adding new chapters to the legacy of old stables. Like the nWo, the biggest stable in Pro Wrestling at it's prime. Brilliantly brought in to WWE to "lethally inject" Vince's creation..... only to be big names that jobbed on big cards, and besides hitting some people with semi-trucks didn't really do any damage or win ANY big matches. As far as D-X reuniting, it will probably happen. Not because there are any great matches or feuds planned, but because people will remember how cool D-X used to be, and without even thinking about it, assume that they still must be.

Michael Minchington wrote:
Thanks for the column.I agree that in their prime, DX and the nWo were great stables who provided a lot of entertaining moments, until of course their respective companies tried to beat the horse to death with too many members,failed angles, etc.And apart from Evolution recently there hasn't been a stable of note.(do the Spirit Squad count" I hope not...) One thing I think the WWE should focus more on is Interpromotional matches/feuds.I remember when JBL and Triple H went nose to (big)nose back at Wrestlemania 21, and was eager to see if there could be some sort of feud develop there (I think this could have worked well, remember what Paul Heyman said to JBL at the ECW One Night Stand").Perhaps a Title Vs. Title, Smackdown Vs. Raw event"What do other people think"

Dirk Mason wrote:
Nice article. I just want to comment on a few things in your article, Evolution existed with the two brands. Also the four horsemen is the greatest stable of all time. It is also fact that DX is coming back, anyone could see it. One thing that has got me is who are the other members going to be, I actually think that it may just be HBK and HHH, not really a stable but nonetheless it will still be DX. And I think that the Spirit Squad is a stable, its an awful one but it still is a stable.

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