The United Nations of Pain

If there's anything in wrestling that I like, it's a faction. It's one of the few wrestling nuances that are lost in the WWE, like legitimate tag wrestling, managers, and even cruiserweight wrestling. There are some wrestling factions in the WWE today. Sadly, when I say some, I actually mean one as Legacy still remains, but even this clique of Randy Orton, Ted Dibiase, Jr. and Cody Rhodes is on the verge of splitting up. We're seeing the signs everywhere. It's like no one wants good teams to form and thrive as it is always about the wrestler in the singular. Well, in this new faction's case, the fact that they aren't focused on the singular is helping them, in spades. It's the group of William Regal, Vladimir Kozlov, and Ezekiel Jackson, three big guys who like to induce pain, destroy opponents, and represent the countries of the U.S., England, and Russia while doing so. It's a pretty domineering faction to say the least. When asking why they exist is an interesting question.

It started with Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov pretty much destroying their opponents. Then, they started to show up to each other's matches and destroyed the other's opponents. When the time came to put Christian in a tag match against Regal and Kozlov, Ezekiel Jackson became Christian's partner, only to turn on him and join Regal and Kozlov, starting this powerful faction in sheer physicality. Their mission was simple: total domination of ECW, starting with securing the ECW title for Regal. So far, Regal has attempted this twice, and has failed twice, as per both SummerSlam and WWE Breaking Point. So, what now? Simple! You just keep on dominating until it works out.

This faction actually helps and benefits on a lot of levels. It first helps Regal by establishing him as a top heel on ECW, which is what the WWE wants since he is a fantastic wrestler that can put on a great match with virtually anyone. It also helps Kozlov and Jackson, embellishing their status as heels. This is another thing the WWE had wanted since they see potential in these two. The problem is that they have no general charisma to get them over with the fans in a sense or so as singles wrestlers. We have already heard the horror stories with Kozlov on SmackDown. Jackson, however, has no horror stories, but is still a far way from being completely established. This trio has the ability to get over as top heels to a full degree on ECW, while developing their potential skills to dominate another brand.

This faction does have its weak points. Kozlov and Jackson aren't exactly three-dimensional. They're just big, burly men with bad attitudes and slight tweaks in their wrestling approach. This sounds a lot like Mike Knox, an ECW alum of the new version of ECW. All he had to his credit was his jealousy of guys staring at his then-girlfriend, Kelly Kelly. However, having been the constant target of losses, and even dumping Kelly Kelly, his value dropped and was rarely seen on television. As he finally returned, he developed a meaner mean streak, and a bigger beard. Still, nothing was done with this character until recently, and it's not gaining steam. Since all three have simple styles, there really isn't any room for decent development. So, they are stuck being bodyguards with no hope for the future, with Knox floundering and losing to various SmackDown stars. As for Regal, he hasn't really been pushed to do anything major in his career in the WWE. Now that he's straddled with two lumbering oxes with no direction, it can be a hindrance on his movement. However, this possibility isn't as strong only because there is more of a benefit on his part. If it's helping Orton, it can help Regal.

Still, one could say that the existence of this faction is just a hand at bad booking and writing for the WWE as they could have at least tried to make some competent feuds or angles with all of them on a singular basis. Since they did not, we have what we have. One also has to question the effectiveness of said group as they have been on the losing end of some key battles of wits with Christian. Maybe it's too early to tell, so, we'll see. I will say this: I would have no problem with added members like Paul Burchill and Katie Lea, along with Sheamus. Who knows, Nigel McGuinness could join up, or not (check back on 9/27 for my thoughts on that).

Perhaps more can be said about this group, but I doubt I can find it. Just expect this group to be pre-eminently destructive in the future, possibly coercing a gang war in ECW involving a few superstars who need the rub. The fact that they are from different countries is very interesting though. This leaves a lot of room for expansion, truly. But, with the ECW brand already strapped for wrestlers, let alone potential main eventers, one can only wonder what's next. The dirty, rotten scoundrel, William Regal, has the perfect set of brawlers for backup in the Moscow mauler, Vladimir Kozlov and the Harlem Hitman, Ezekiel Jackson (I thought of the nickname, by the way) and all Regal needed to do was convince them that they can be a unit instead of enemies. This could be perfect for them as a tag team, with the unified titles (the WWE World titles, as I call them) looming on the horizon of every brand. If all goes well for this group, prepare yourself for an international incident of epic proportions. If not, just watch for a body count of injured and destroyed wrestlers. Either or, it doesn't make any difference with Regal at the helm. He was "born naughty", after all.