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AEW has been the home to many formidable stables throughout the promotion's near-five-year run. Groups like The Elite and House of Black continue to make their presence felt regularly. At the same time, now-defunct factions like The Inner Circle and The Pinnacle left a mark on the company that many fans remember fondly.
However, a wide host of groups simply did not work out or have otherwise been forgotten. This list serves as a trip down memory lane as we look at five AEW factions you totally forgot existed.
Special mentions: Mogul Affiliates and Varsity Blondes
On paper, the Mogul Affiliates should have served as a vehicle to launch Swerve Strickland into the stratosphere of professional wrestling. Flanked by two terrifying big men in Parker Boudreaux and Trench, Swerve was allowed to show off more of his mic skills and, in many ways, lay the groundwork for his now extremely popular persona.
However, this was the extent of the faction's good aspects. Fans simply failed to get invested in the group, partially due to the never-ending feud between Strickland and Keith Lee. The fact that Boudreaux and Trench were pretty much unknowns also did not help matters.
On the other hand, the Varsity Blondes suffered due to some very weak booking. Griff Garrison, Brian Pillman Jr., and Julia Hart all showed flashes of potential during their time as pseudo-college cheerleaders, but without any meaningful storylines and wins coming few and far between, fans simply lost interest in the young stars.
#5. SCU was the inaugural AEW Tag Team Champions
This is a painful one to include on this list, as those in the know will have fond memories of SoCal Uncensored. But for the most part, the once-united trio of Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels, and Scorpio Sky has faded into the deeper parts of fans' mental notes.
The fact that Kazarian and Sky were the first-ever AEW Tag Team Champions is mostly forgotten, and the trio failed to do anything meaningful after losing the belts to Kenny Omega and Hangman Page. While SCU played an important role in the early days of Tony Khan's promotion, their impact is no longer felt by today's audience.
#4. The Baddies
Jade Cargill was positioned as a major star in AEW, and viewers instantly gravitated towards her. The promotion aimed to capitalize on this by aligning her with other talents who needed a boost, but the results were less than stellar.
Kiera Hogan, Leila Grey, and Red Velvet received a little bit of the spotlight through their association with Cargill, but ultimately, they were presented as excess accessories to the then-TBS Champion as opposed to a group that posed any sort of threat.
The Baddies experiment eventually faded into the depths of AEW lore, and not many fans were too upset to see this happen.
#3. The Firm
The Firm's initial debut at All Out 2022 as a unit was impactful. The group of underused talents helped MJF secure an opportunity for the AEW World Championship. Friedman then almost immediately distanced himself from the group of "hired hands," which left many people wondering about the faction's direction.
Stokely Hathaway attempted to bridge this gap by relaying each member's intentions to win championship gold. However, the group failed to capture a single title. This would pretty much mark the end of the road for the faction, which has since been long forgotten.
#2. The Nightmare Collective
Delving into the weirder parts of AEW's history now, The Nightmare Collective, comprising Brandi Rhodes, Awesome Kong, Mel, and Luther, is probably best left for the historians to recount instead of the everyday fan.
From the get-go, the group felt out of place in an AEW that presented a more sport-based approach to pro wrestling. Out of the blue, here was a company EVP's wife adapting a spooky persona and collecting stars' hair.
The entire concept did not go over well with the crowd, and fans were mercifully freed from this faction before too long.
#1. Undisputed Elite
A supergroup of NXT's best-ever faction and AEW's best-ever tag team was a dream come to life for many fans. The Undisputed Era/Young Bucks mix should have worked on paper and steered the promotion in a new direction. And to an extent, it did. Fans desperately wanted to see some of their favorite stars succeed alongside one another and take over the company.
Unfortunately, a mix of injuries and other issues marked the far-too-soon downfall of the stable. Given more time together, the Undisputed Elite could have been a pivotal stable for Tony Khan's promotion. Instead, fans are left with the thoughts of what could have been.
