Are stables outdated as a concept in wrestling?

[714562]

A few months ago, Lance Storm published a piece on his website which suggested that the "evil authority figure" was outdated in wrestling. I think there's an equally strong argument that stables are also somewhat outdated. Naturally, wrestling is only a "work" of a real fighting promotion. But it's pretty obvious that no other combat athletes can associate with each other in the way that wrestlers can. I don't think we need to argue that point. I think it's also equally obvious that a stable which gets too much power would, logically be smacked down by authority figures almost immediately. Or at the very least, the rest of the locker room would freeze them out.

I understand that stables can be an entertaining fiction, but if we had less stables out there, I think it would be way more meaningful when stables actually did get together And when a stable forms, one of the central plot points could be "are they a stable at all?" Because if they were, that would immediately put them on the radar of the company executives.

Anyway, what do you think? Are stables outdated?

 

[R=G]

Nope...booking and creative is just lazy. And that's it. When they wanted the Shield to get over, they made them unstoppable for over half a year. Even had Rock and Taker sell for them...they don't do that anymore.

 

[Kidd Dibiase]

nope

bullet club
bdc
the shield
hell even the doll house

if done right like anything in wrestling it works

 

[714562]

Nope...booking and creative is just lazy. And that's it. When they wanted the Shield to get over, they made them unstoppable for over half a year. Even had Rock and Taker sell for them...they don't do that anymore.

Well that's just it, though. If creative wanted to avoid being lazy, why not write up something for each of those 3 guys individually? Why do we have to keep sticking people together in stables that are all essentially clones of each other?

 

[R=G]

Who are clones of each other and what staple was that?

 

[Kidd Dibiase]

Well that's just it, though. If creative wanted to avoid being lazy, why not write up something for each of those 3 guys individually? Why do we have to keep sticking people together in stables that are all essentially clones of each other?

its harder to write for 3 different people, in a stable the goal is common for all the guys in the stable.

whats crazy is creative doesn't even have to come up with any ideas, most of the wrestlers have them but they just keep getting rejected by managment

 

[714562]

nope

bullet club
bdc
the shield
hell even the doll house

if done right like anything in wrestling it works

Bullet Club is an nWo tribute act filled with individually excellent wrestlers. Not sure why BDC is on this list. I don't think the body of work is there yet. The Shield was aesthetically unique, but again, individually excellent wrestlers who could just as easily have gotten over in their own right. Doll House is a different beast b/c women's wrestling is long overdue for some more legitimacy, so yeah, a regular boss-bytch stable with a female twist does wonders.

I understand that a stable can get people over. But it's such a default mechanism that most stables are basically the same.

Who are clones of each other and what staple was that?

Well, all of them. Like, ever. I feel like I could probably come up with a typology of 5ish stable categories that all wrestling stables fit into. You probably could too.

 

[Silkk]

Hell No

 

[R=G]

Bullet Club is an nWo tribute act filled with individually excellent wrestlers. Not sure why BDC is on this list. I don't think the body of work is there yet. The Shield was aesthetically unique, but again, individually excellent wrestlers who could just as easily have gotten over in their own right. Doll House is a different beast b/c women's wrestling is long overdue for some more legitimacy, so yeah, a regular boss-bytch stable with a female twist does wonders.

I understand that a stable can get people over. But it's such a default mechanism that most stable are basically the same.



Well, all of them. Like, ever. I feel like I could probably come up with a typology of 5ish stable categories that all wrestling stables fit into. You probably could too.

Well the Nation wasn't a clone staple....Henry, D Lo, and Godfather were goons. Owen wasn't treated like the Rock's little bytch...and the original storyline of the Rock never really taking Farooq seriously was cast from almost the beginning.

 

[714562]

Well the Nation wasn't a clone staple....Henry, D Lo, and Godfather were goons. Owen was treated like the Rock's little bytch...and the original storyline of the Rock never really taking Farooq seriously was cast from almost the beginning.

I think that's more a reflection of there not being a black power stable in wrestling, ever. Otherwise, basically the same setup. You had the top dog, you had the ace, and you had the goons. I'm sure the "usurper" angle with the Rock wasn't unique, though they did it well.

And the most unique part of the Nation -- the all-black militant heel aspect -- has since been cloned repeatedly.

 

[HollywoodP]

No. Stables are still relevant. Its good to have em around when you got 6 man tags on every show, whether it be WWE, NJPW, Lucha Underground, or ROH (can't really speak to the others). New Day is one of my favorite things in the WWE now that they've let them cook. What evidence do we have that stables are outdated?

 

[R=G]

It wasn't all black by the time Rock took over...it was about running shyt with him as the ultra charismatic leader. And you got a different hierarchy in that breakdown compared to what you said the previous post about them being "clones".

 

[Scottie Drippin]

The Shield and Daniel Bryan are outright the two best things to happen in the WWE in the last few years, and their 3v3 tags stole the show on several PPVs during their run, and since they've disbanded, only Brock showing up a few times a year has equalled the excitement they were bringing to shows.

 

[Killer Instinct]

 

[Rack4K]

The heel authority figure concept is old because its a contrived plot. The idea of a boss openly conspiring against a popular employee of his is contrived, so you can only do it so much before the basic premise grows stale.

Factions are a natural part of us as a species. They exist everywhere; at school, work, politics, etc...even message boards.

Its impossible to make a heel boss fresh in 2015 but a fresh stable is almost laughably easy. Its just that certain companies in this industry thrive on being creatively safe and hence boring.