The New Day stable of Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods entered the WWE record books on December 12, 2017 when they defended their tag team titles and became the longest reigning tag team champions in WWE history, a record that now stands at 483 days, eclipsing the 28-year old record previously held by Demolition. But last month, The New Day broke another unofficial record in the WWE, as the longest tenured stable in WWE history not driven by a manager. Now just over 1400 days (and counting), the New Day are now the stable that has stayed together the longest in one run, at three years, 10 months, and seven days.
WWE has always had a touch and go stance with stables, unlike other promotions like WCW (nWo, Four Horsemen) or NJPW, who put heavy emphasis on stables and factions, with more emphasis being placed on singles competitors over everything else. But WWE has still had their fair share of factions, with many being immensely popular and lucrative (i.e. D-Generation X). With the New Day now firmly established as WWE’s longest tenured faction, here’s a look at the longest running WWE factions of all time. (NOTE: These stats only refer to a stables initial run, except for the Wyatt Family, who had two legitimate runs together as a stable. In cases like D-Generation X or the Shield, reunion stints after the initial break-up are not included, as they were not full realized reunions or didn’t result in major influence for the faction. Factions that were primarily driven by a manager, such as The Heenan Family or Jimmy Hart‘s original Hart Foundation, are also not included. After the Top 10, the rest of the names are not completely inclusive but are the most popular names to include for reference)
#1. The New Day, 1408+ days
July 21, 2014 to the present (3 years, 10 mo., 6 days)
What seemed like a random assembly of three very different wrestlers, ended up salvaging one veteran’s career and helped launch two others. The New Day have become one of the most popular units in WWE history, absolute merch machines, and 4x WWE Tag Team Champions (twice on Raw, and twice on Smackdown Live). One of which was their historic 483-day as longest reigning tag team champions in WWE history. While the end is probably near for the trio, they’ve remained one of WWE’s hottest properties for the past few years.
#2. The Wyatt Family, 1353 days
November 7, 2012 to September 29, 2014 (1 year, 10 mo., 23 days, 692 days total); July 19, 2015 to May 9, 2017 (1 year, 9 mo., 21 days, 661 days total)
The Wyatt Family began in NXT when Bray Wyatt introduced his two “Family members” Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. They went on a rampage, winning the NXT Tag Team titles, before heading to the main roster, where they ran amok once again. After nearly two years together, Wyatt set Rowan and Harper free, but 10 months later, they were back again, this time with an additional member, in the monster Braun Strowman. The brand draft separated Strowman from the Family, but he was replaced by Randy Orton, and the Family won Smackdown Tag Team titles and Bray became WWE Champion. The Superstar Shakeup last year split up the Family for good (or at least, for now), as Bray and Braun fight separately on Raw, while Harper and Rowan are the Smackdown Tag Team champions as The Bludgeon Brothers. While we aren’t normally counting reunions (as most turn into brief nostalgia trips), the Wyatt’s second run was equally (if not more) compelling than the first and quantifies as a proper return, rather than a quick nostalgic run.
#3. D-Generation X, 1184 days
August 11, 1997 to November 6, 2000 (3 years, 2 mo., 27 days)
While DX has reunited multiple times (most notably as a tag team with just Shawn Michaels and Triple H), the actual run as a proper faction lasted from the Dawn of the Attitude Era and the quarter of Michaels, Triple H, Chyna and “Ravishing” Rick Rude, to the Attitude Era of Triple H, Chyna, X-Pac and The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg & Billy Gunn). Arguably WWE’s most popular faction, they pushed the barriers of bad taste and ran the juvenile section of the Attitude Era.
#4. Evolution, 1107 days
September 22, 2002 to October 3, 2005 (3 years, 11 days)
Following the end of DX and the demise of WCW, Triple H brought on his mentor Ric Flair as his manager, and quickly built a new stable around the two, featuring two emerging stars, Randy Orton and Batista. The four became one of the WWE’s most powerful factions and ended up featuring four multi-time World Champions.
#5. The Authority, 982 days
August 18, 2013 to April 25, 2016 (2 years, 8 mo., 2 days)
The heel management team lead by WWE power couple Triple H and his wife, Stephanie McMahon, they acted as the new faction to keep Seth Rollins protected as WWE Champion following his turn on The Shield. Their Director of Operations Kane frequently wrestled, and their security featured former WWE Superstars Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury. Seth Rollins was the focal point World Champion, and even Trips himself would dust off his trunks and play “The Game” once in a while.
#6. Team Xtreme, 802 days
May 25, 2000 to August 5, 2002 (2 years, 2 mo., 11 days)
The Hardy Boyz went through several managers in the first year or so (Michael “PS” Hayes, Gangrel, and Terri Runnels) but when they were joined by women’s wrestler Lita, all three saw their stars explode in the WWE Universe. While they weren’t shy about entering 6-person tag matches together, Lita was off doing her own thing in singles action as well, as a team member rather than a valet.
#7. MNM, 768 days
April 14, 2004 to May 21, 2006 (2 years, 1 mo., 8 days)
Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury were paired together in WWE’s developmental, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), then Melina was added to make the trio a faction called MNM. Much like Team Extreme, Melina was a wrestling part of the trio, not the team’s valet. MNM became 3x WWE Tag Team Champions, while Johnny Nito became a 2x Intercontinental Champion and Melina won the WWE Women’s Championship.
#8. Nation of Domination, 741 days
November 11, 1996 to November 28, 1998 (2 years, 11 days)
One of the few factions to emerge from the New Generation Era and succeed in the Attitude Era, the Nation of Domination helped kick off the AE when Farooq fired his stablemates (the biker Crush and Savio Vega), enlisted a returning Rocky Maivia (who became the villainous Rock), Ahmed Johnson, and Mark Henry to join D’Lo Brown and Kama Mustafa (who became The Godfather), and starting gang warfare against Crush and Vega’s new stables, DOA and Los Boricuas. Farooq was eventually ousted and The Rock took over, bringing in “The BlackHart” Owen Hart. The Rock finally got bigger than the stable and it was disbanded, but it helped create some memorable characters from the AE.
#9. The Cabinet, 660 days
August 5, 2004 to May 26, 2006 (1 year, 9 mo., 22 days)
During the mid-2000s, John “Bradshaw” Layfield – JBL – was the WWE’s biggest villain, capturing the WWE Championship for 280 days. During and after that reign, he surrounded himself with his “Cabinet” of hands, featuring Orlando Jordan, The Basham Brothers, and women’s wrestlers Jillian Hall and Amy Weber.
#10. 3MB, 629 days
September 21, 2012 to June 12, 2014 (1 year, 8 mo., 22 days)
So they didn’t really have much success in their near two year run, but they sure showed a lot of spunk in sticking together through a lot of losses. The faction was only ended when Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre were both released in June of 2014. Since then, Heath Slater has won the Smackdown Tag Team titles with Rhyno, but Jinder has returned and won the WWE Championship, and Drew McIntyre has returned, won the NXT Championship, and his now becoming a soldier on Raw.
#11. Legacy, 604 days
September 1, 2008 to April 27, 2010 (1 year, 7 mo., 27 days)
The stable of multi-generational wrestlers was defined by the trio of leader Randy Orton (son of “Cowboy” Bob ‘Ace’ Orton Jr., grandson of Bob Orton Sr.), Ted DiBiase Jr. (son of “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, grandson of “Iron” Mike DiBiase) and Cody Rhodes (son of Dusty Rhodes), but early on they also featured Manu (son of Wild Samoan Afa) and Sim Snuka (son of “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka). During their reign, the trio saw Orton hold three WWE Championships, while Cody was Intercontinental Champion and DiBiase and Cody were 2x WWE Tag Team Champions.
#12. SAnitY, 594+ days
October 12, 2016 to present (1 year, 7 mo, 15 days)
NXT’s resident anarchists recently got the call up to Smackdown Live (albeit without their female member, Nikki Cross), but the stable has been together just over a year and half now since they debuted in NXT. Fulton Sawyer was replaced by Killian Dain after an injury, but the faction only grew hotter.
#13. The Radicalz, 519 days
January 31, 2000 to July 3, 2001 (1 year, 5 mo., 3 days)
The four WCW free agents who infiltrated WWF live events and became big signings – Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn – all remained together as a faction for nearly their first year and half in the WWE. All four saw success together, with Benoit a 2x Intercontinental Champion, Eddie a 2x European Champion and Intercontinental Champion, Dean Malenko a 2x Light Heavyweight Champion and Saturn a 3x Hardcore Champion and European Champion. Benoit was ejected first, after becoming a fan favourite during his feud with Kurt Angle, and then Eddie left as Latino Heat was beginning to peak. The faction finally ended when Dean Malenko retired in July of 2001.
#14. The Shield, 460 days
November 28, 2012 to March 3, 2014 (1 year, 3 mo., 3 days)
For 460 days, The Shield were one of the most exciting things about the WWE. Three renegade mercenaries who would attack anyone, anywhere, they were the talk of internet and casual fans alike. In March of 2014, Seth Rollins turned on the other two and joined The Authority, and the others went onto their own singles success. The big reunion fell apart quickly last year when Reigns went down with mumps, and then Ambrose’s injury after, and now they’re more casual buddies again than the full force like they were.
Team BAD, 368 days
May 4, 2015 to May 5, 2016 (1 year, 2 days)
While the other women’s factions at the “Divas Revolution” beginning in-fought and split, Team BAD had a surprising run of solidarity just over a year. It introduced the WWE Universe to both Sasha Banks and a more well rounded Naomi, which helped both transition to the women’s main event when the stable finally ended.
Other Notable Stables
King Booker’s Court, 315 days, May 26, 2006 to April 6, 2007 (10 months, 11 days)
Right To Censor, 312 days, July 17, 2000 to May 24, 2001 (10 months, 8 days)
The Ministry of Darkness/Corporate Ministry, 288 days, October 19, 1998 to August 2, 1999 (9 mo., 15 days)
Straight Edge Society, 281 days, November 27, 2009 to September 3, 2010 (9 mo, 8 days)
The Brood, 259 days, October 26, 1998 to July 11, 1999 (8 mo, 16 days)
The Hart Foundation, 230 days, March 31, 1997 to November 9, 1997 7 mo., 16 days)
The Nexus, 203 days, June 7, 2010 to December 27, 2010 (6 mo., 20 days)
