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When Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens were sent to Smackdown last year, no one could have predicted the year they would have, or the alliance they would forge to make themselves the biggest heels in the WWE.
Similarly, Jinder Mahal was just a name on RAW, but after being moved to Smackdown, he became the WWE Champion and his alliance with the Singh brothers were a major part of his reign.
With the recent superstar shake-up, it is likely new factions and alliances are going to emerge in the WWE.
WWE has already given us a new alliance in Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, and from the recent episode of Smackdown, it seems, The Iconic Duo and Carmella are going to ally with one another.
But like everything in the WWE, some alliances and factions failed to get over with the WWE Universe.
These factions either could not live up to the hype or, were awfully booked for anyone to care.
Presently functioning alliances or factions are not eligible for this list. So, without adding anything else, here are five forgettable alliances and factions of the past year.
#5 The Shield Reunion
The Shield is considered one of the most dominating stables in WWE history. So, wrestling fans were always theorizing how the WWE was going to reunite the Shield and against whom.
On the October 9th, 2017 episode of RAW, WWE decided to give the fans the much awaited Shield reunion, which soon turned out to be one of the biggest flops of the year.
The fans had always wanted to see the Shield reunite against another dominating faction which could go toe-to-toe with them.
But WWE decided to reunite the Shield against the Miz, The Bar, Kane, and Strowman. No disrespect to the above-mentioned wrestlers; but fans had always hoped to see the Shield against an established faction and in a better angle. Everything leading to the Shield's reunion looked haphazard and oddly booked.
Then Reigns fell ill, WWE had Kurt Angle take his place. Angle tried, but even with the protective vests, it was not the Shield anymore.
Ambrose getting injured put a nail in the coffin to the so-called reunion. And WWE’s plan to increase attendance and merchandise sales only hampered one of their best creations.
#4 Big Show and Enzo Amore
When WWE decided to break up Enzo Amore and Big Cass, it was a good move on their part.
Cass had a great build, and good in-ring skills to match; it was perfect timing for his singles push. As for Amore, everyone was hoping he would be put on 205 Live.
But before Amore went to the Cruiserweight division- and had that atrocious championship reign- WWE thought it was better to pair him with another giant; the Big Show, to help him in his feud with Cass.
Their brief partnership was beyond underwhelming. Big Show was showing his age and Amore's lack of in-ring capability did not help either.
Their feud with Cass was bad; the shark cage-match at SummerSlam sums it all up.
WWE broke off the team by sending Amore to 205 Live, ending the awful alliance. But looking back at it now, maybe it would have been better if WWE kept them together, at least, Amore would not have been the Cruiserweight champion.
#3 Balor Club
Finn Balor, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson killed it when they were part of the Bullet Club in NJPW.
They were the best heels of that time, and their skyrocketing popularity attracted the WWE to bring them to their side.
All three of them had promising starts to their careers in the WWE. Balor became NXT champion and became the first Universal Champion after debuting on the main roster. Gallows and Anderson too became tag team champions.
But WWE’s booking destroyed their credibility after that. Balor was put in worthless feuds and some booking decisions made him look weak. Gallows and Anderson were reduced to a jobber tag team.
So when WWE introduced the Balor Club, everyone was excited; even with the lame booking the fans still loved Balor, and they wanted him to do something substantial.
But after a few weeks, Balor Club seemed to be heading nowhere. There was nothing to enhance them as a stable and the idea fell flat.
Gallows and Anderson have been drafted to Smackdown after the recent superstar shake-up, hopefully, WWE utilises them well there.
Smackdown already lacks tag team depth, so rebuilding them would do good for everyone.
#2 The Zo Train
After beating Neville for the Cruiserweight Championship Amore cut a very scathing promo on the whole cruiserweight division.
The whole cruiserweight division was against him, and he was even subjected to be the recipient of all their finishing moves.
But a few weeks later, half of the cruiserweights have sided with Amore for no apparent reason.
Amore was not even worthy of being the Cruiserweight Champion, and the Cruiserweights who had been insulted by Amore, siding with him only added to the dreadful booking of the division.
The Zo Train comprising of Amore, Gulak, Davari, and Nese did not make any difference to the cruiserweight division, nor did it increase the credibility of the stars.
The lack of compelling faces to go against the Zo Train showed how WWE creative had overlooked the division as a whole.
Amore was fired from the WWE in January, ending his awful championship reign and thankfully the end of the Zo Train as a group.
#1 The Welcoming Committee
In one of the laziest angles of the past year, WWE formed a stable with Natalya, Carmella, Tamina, Lana and Ellsworth to feud with Charlotte who had just arrived on Smackdown after the Superstar shake-up of 2017. The stable was referred to as The Welcoming Committee; one of the worst names for a stable.
The Welcoming Committee started to bully Charlotte only for Naomi and Becky to come to her aid.
Thus, giving rise to the endless six-woman tag matches that would be a constant fixture on Smackdown events throughout 2017.
WWE had done nothing to build up Carmella, Tamina and Lana before forming the Welcoming Committee; so the fans did not care about them.
The faction only served to keep Lynch and Naomi away from the title picture, and also showcased the lack of depth in the Women's roster.
The faction did not do anything of notice, and the feud between the women went nowhere. The never-ending matches became monotonous and the women segments became more of a filler.
Natalya going to RAW during the recent shake-up was a good move for her. She has already been put in a program with Ronda Rousey, so it is already much better than what she did in Smackdown for the past several months.
