Just 5 Guys for me. I love seeing Sanada matches now. This was the very much needed boost for him. TMDK is a close second for me because I can’t get enough of ZSJ. I do miss Suzuki-gun but everyone seems to be doing better since it was forced to stop.

Favourites - Queen’s Quest & Oedo Tai (yeah yeah there I go again with the Joshi’s right off the bat :P). I cannot think of a single member of these factions that I don’t love. Seeing Queens Quest coming out all garbed up in their regalia always makes them feel like final bosses, and watching Natsuko Tora always wanting to destroy them is just good shit.

Also for younger me: DX. Early DX, middle years DX, hell even Old Men DX™. The little kid in me just starts jumping when I see Hunter/Shawn and the others yelling ‘suck it.’

Least favourites - House of The-Fuck-Evil-Pissing-Away-His-Career-In-This-Shit-Faction-For. I genuinely do not remember anything Evil has really been involved in since House of Tomatoes started. My brain is a void when I try and recall. And that’s from an Evil mark.

Love factions!

It will literally never make sense to me that, in a business where interference in matches is commonplace, how a character deals with them and prevents them is not one of the major points of their development.

Not that everyone needs to be in a faction but if they aren’t they better have a plan for when a faction targets them.

Faves I’d say Biishiki Gun, Queen’s Quest and DDM. Honorary mentions to Oedo Tai, BCC, and Itoh Respect Army.

Each faction gets judged on there own a lot of them in aew just feel pointless like they only exist in Excaliburs head and on being the elite

Love em They give a sense of identity, they are great for bringing new wrestlers up to speed and can easily help elevate them.

They also make it easier for newbies to quickly understand things. You don’t need to know much about Wheeler Yuta he’s the little shit in the group of big tough guys. You also get a rough understanding around what a group of people are about.

I had a friend watch All In with me, and he quickly understood the Elite/BCC way better than most of what was going on.

Love em, as long as they’re anchored by a headliner or someone who’s really over. If it’s just a bunch of lower-mid carders mashed together it rarely seems to work out well. That said, I’m almost hesitant to comment as I just got back in the wrestling fan pool last Wrestlemania after dropping off in like 99-00 so make of that what you will. Gotta say I’m absolutely loving the Judgement Day right now on Raw, tho they could really go a lil lighter on the dissention pedal.

Favorite factions: Evolution was my first run in with the idea of group who wasn’t necessarily a tag team, and that whole experience still holds a place in my heart. More modern, I’m a fan of the Elite; Kenny, Hangman, and the Bucks really brought me back into the scene in 2019 (also liked them individually in NJPW and other things I’d see them in)

Least Favorite: if I had to pick one, I think I’d have to say things like House of Black. Not that they’re bad; just the whole vibe isn’t my thing

Between 2016 and 2019, I was trying to get into NJPW after a 10 year hiatus from the sport. One thing that struck me as interesting but a challenging idea was how important the different stables were. Not a bad thing, I just remember feeling like, “wow, this is pretty different”