Evolution is widely regarded as one of the best stables in WWE history. Triple H and Ric Flair joined forces at Unforgiven 2002 after Flair hit Rob Van Dam with a sledgehammer and allowed “The Game” to retain his World Heavyweight Championship.
Later that year, Batista would make his way over to Raw from Smackdown and would catch the eye of “The Nature Boy”, who would begin accompanying Batista to the ring for his matches. Then in January of 2003, Orton joined Trips, Flair, and “The Animal” in a beatdown of Scott Steiner, joining their stable in the process.
Two weeks later, the group got their name, “Evolution”, after a Triple H-promo about how the four men were examples of pro wrestling’s evolution process. Orton eventually became the youngest Superstar ever to win a World title in the WWE at Summerslam in 2004, which led to Triple H and Evolution turning on “The Viper”.
The remaining three members stayed a faction until The Royal Rumble in 2005, where Batista won the Rumble and would be scheduled to take on Triple H at Wrestlemania. Trips tried to talk Batista into fighting for the World title on SmackDown, but Batista refused and power bombed Trips through a table, quitting Evolution.
Recently, there have been rumours swirling about Triple H starting a new stable on Raw, possibly even re-living his Evolution glory days with a four-man faction. This time Triple H would presumably take over the role that Flair held in Evolution, wrestling every now-and-again but mainly managing his guys and manipulating things behind the scenes.
For the past few weeks, it’s been obvious that Triple H is planning something big.
Samoa Joe made his debut on behalf of his former NXT boss, taking out Seth Rollins who had been calling out Triple H for weeks. Then two weeks ago, before Kevin Owens turned on his now former best friend Chris Jericho, HHH was seen talking to KO, presumably about turning on Jericho and joining him.
Since Owens is currently the WWE Universal Champion, one would assume his role in the faction would be a lot like The Game’s in Evolution. Also, seeing as Joe has had more beatdowns on other Superstars than matches with them and is new to some WWE fans, he seems primed for the Batista role.
However, that leaves one glaring omission from a possible “Evolution 2.0”. Randy Orton was the young, hotshot prospect of Evolution. Joining the group when he was only 22 years old, Orton quickly became a household name within the wrestling world, with the help of the other members of Evolution.
If Triple H’s new group comes to fruition, it will surely be made up of former NXT stars that “The Game” can claim “he made”. Let’s take a look at Superstars from the current roster that could possibly join Triple H’s new stable as the fourth member:
#1 Rusev
“The Bulgarian Brute” has been considered by many as one of the top bright, young stars in the WWE for the past few years now.
Debuting on the main roster from NXT in April of 2014, Rusev went on an impressive undefeated streak for almost a year and had an equally impressive reign as United States Champion that lasted till Wrestlemania 31, when he lost his title to John Cena.
For the next year, Rusev would find himself in limbo with the company, going from breaking up with Lana to joining The League of Nations and then going back to being with Lana.
Once he reunited with “The Ravishing Russian”, Rusev had another 100+ day run with the United States title, this time losing it to Roman Reigns.
Since losing his title and his rematch, Rusev, again, seems to have no direction moving forward. Adding Rusev to the stable would give them a younger Superstar that can focus on the mid-card title on Raw and instantly make Rusev the top tier talent that they’ve been wanting him to be.
It would also give Rusev his clearest direction with the company since his first U.S. title run and would almost certainly put him in line for a major push when/if the stable splits.
#2 Pete Dunne
At only 24 years old, Pete Dunne would fit the Orton role perfectly for Triple H. Dunne, who debuted this past week in NXT, has already drawn high praises from Triple H for his work in the UK Championship Tournament that WWE held last month.
From jumping his opponents before their tournament match to winning those matches at any cost, Dunne feels like the perfect Superstar to take the “young prospect” role over for Trips’ stable. It would also help WWE transition Dunne from “a guy in the UK tournament” to a big time Superstar.
“The Bruiserweight” is one of the younger male Superstars in the company and could use the stable to help him climb the ranks of WWE, much like Orton did.
#3 Bobby Roode
I know what you’re thinking....isn’t Bobby Roode 40 years old? Yes, yes he is. However, one could see how Triple H would take a liking to the most glorious Superstar that NXT has ever seen.
Not only has Roode won the NXT Title in very short time there, but for years Roode’s character outside of WWE has resembled that of Triple H’s during his prime.
At 40, Roode’s window for a memorable WWE career is closing quickly, therefore bringing Roode up and making him a part of Triple H’s group would help on capitalizing Roode’s early NXT success.
Also, most people don’t expect Roode to be the “top guy” on the main roster, therefore making him the member that focuses on the mid-card title scene would be key, seeing as most fans would want Roode to be successful on the main roster.
Adding him to the mix with KO and Samoa Joe would relieve some of the pressure on WWE from fans to make Roode a main event player once he gets called up.
#4 Finn Bálor
This one almost speaks for itself. There is not another Superstar in the entire company that embodies the growth of NXT under Triple H more than Finn Bálor does.
A long time heel on the Indy scene, Bálor has been a babyface for his entire WWE run so far.
Many speculated, that after long-time friends Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson were signed by the company, Finn would re-join with his Bullet Club buddies after being called up and would recreate the magic that they had in Japan.
However, Finn would remain a babyface and even won the WWE Universal title from Seth Rollins at Summerslam last year in just his third match on the main roster. However, the title reign would only last a day as Finn would be forced to relinquish the championship after suffering a major injury during the title match.
“The Demon” has been out of action since last summer but is looking good to return sometime in the very near future.
There’s also no denying Bálor’s tremendous relationship with “The King of Kings”. Finn Bálor was considered Triple H’s biggest NXT signing to date when the news broke during the summer of 2014 that he had signed with the company.
He’s also the one Superstar that gets the most credit for making NXT the brand that it has become today.
For that reason alone, Triple H should want Finn to join his stable. Also, like Orton compared to Trips and Batista, Finn wrestles a completely different style than Kevin Owens or Samoa Joe and would add a different element to the group’s dynamic.
#5 Charlotte
This one absolutely speaks for itself. In her short tenure with the company, Charlotte has become the top female wrestler in WWE and is already one of the best female Superstars to have ever graced the squared circle.
It isn’t surprising at all to know that she’s held in such high regards considering she is the daughter of Ric Flair, the man that many consider as the greatest of all time.
Therefore, Charlotte has the pedigree (no pun intended) to be a female Superstar in a stable with male superstars. Also, having Triple H lead the stable, like before, and having another person with the last name “Flair” in the group would make the connection to Evolution undeniable. Also, the women of Raw, led by “The Queen”, have become a main attraction for their ring ability and is the biggest part of the current evolution of the business.
While this is highly unlikely because of her impact on the Women’s Division and WWE not wanting her to get outshined, Charlotte, to me, makes the most sense to join a new stable led by Triple H that resembles Evolution.
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