The Longest Running Faction In WWE History Isn't Who You Think

When a WWE fan thinks of the greatest stables that have ever existed in the company, many names come to mind. D-Generation X were one of the groups that spearheaded the era that was centered around promoting "Attitude." The Shield were the "Hounds of Justice," three brothers in arms who rose to the top of the wrestling industry by force, taking out anyone and everyone who got in their way. Most recently The Bloodline, a faction so important to WWE since the beginning of the 2020s that without it, the company wouldn't be enjoying the success they are now. However, none of those groups ever truly lasted.

The original version of DX only lasted a few months before Shawn Michaels semi-retired from wrestling, and would eventually dissolve after a few years, reuniting sporadically in different variations until "The Heartbreak Kid's" retirement in 2010, and from there it was reserved strictly for non-wrestling segments. The Shield's original run lasted just over 18 months before Seth Rollins turned his back on Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, who would forgive Rollins for brief reunions before Ambrose left the company in 2019. As for The Bloodline, they officially formed in 2021, but at the time of writing, it seems as if the faction is officially taking a backseat as 2025 rolls on.

With all that said, one group can trump them all in terms of how long they have lasted as a group, to the point where at least the majority of the faction is still working with each other in WWE on TV to this day. The answer to the question "who are the longest running faction in WWE history?" At an estimated time of 3,787 days as an official group is none other than the 13-time Tag Team Champions: The New Day.

While Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston still team together to this day, meaning that the group is still technically continuing and in its 11th year, The New Day was officially put together on July 21, 2014. The group was originally conceived as an upbeat, heroic Black gospel group comprised of Woods, Kingston, and Big E Langston, who would eventually lose his last name (which was the style at the time) and come to be referred to simply as Big E. Their original run as babyfaces did not go according to plan, and were eventually booed by the WWE fans, despite trying to maintain their good guy personas.

By the spring of 2015, The New Day had transitioned away from their gospel gimmick in favor of preaching the power of positivity, and despite still being heels in the ring, the live crowds started to get behind them. Fans started to laugh with them instead of at them, and after they won their second set of WWE Tag Team Championships at SummerSlam 2015, The New Day were firm fan favorites.

That reign would last all the way through 2015 and nearly all of 2016, eventually losing them at the Roadblock: End of the Line in December to the team that would eventually be known as The Bar. From 2017 onwards, Big E, Kofi, and Xavier were inseparable. Another nine reigns as WWE Tag Team Champions would follow, and the group even stayed strong through the singles runs of all three men, with Kingston and Big E winning the WWE Championship in 2019 and 2022 respectively, while Woods would live out his own personal dream of winning the King of the Ring tournament in 2021. However, the March 11, 2022 episode of "WWE SmackDown" would change the course of the group forever following one belly-to-belly suplex.

During a tag team match against Ridge Holland and Sheamus, Big E was suplexed by Holland on the ringside area, only to land directly on the top of his head, breaking his neck instantly and fracturing his C1 and C6 vertebrae. Big E has not returned to action since, and is still unclear on whether he will wrestle again.

With that said, Woods and Kingston would power on, vowing to do everything they could to help their brother out. Every win they picked up, it was for Big E, even the set of NXT Tag Team Championships they won in December 2022 was for their injured brother. In a 2023 interview with FOX Sports Australia, the group explained that they had never put their individual needs above the faction, hence why they are still able to be considered a trio despite Big E not knowing whether he will ever wrestle again. 

However, cracks began to show in the summer of 2024 when Woods and Kingston would not only try and replace Big E with Odyssey Jones, who wouldn't last due to being fired in September, but would end up losing all of their big matches. Big E would return at the December 2, 2024 episode of "WWE Raw" to bring the band officially back together by offering to be their manager until he was medically cleared, but Kingston and Woods had other ideas. They banished Big E from the group, making their own partnership stronger in the process, and with their power of positivity now turning into the power of hatred, Kingston and Woods would use this new found attitude to win the WWE World Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 41.

The New Day still exists through Kingston and Woods, but their run as an official faction will go down in WWE history.