Trios and three-man collectives are running rampant in wrestling today. While there is a good reason for this and six man tag team matches are usually very entertaining, here are three reasons why having groups with more than three members is the way to go.
Injury Protection
One of the bad things about a three man group is that, like a tag team, if one of the members goes down, what is left is basically cannon fodder until the injured member comes back.
Look at three man groups like The OC, who are basically a dead act without AJ Styles. Also, the Brawling Brutes lost every match that they were in while Sheamus was injured. Lastly, the Young Bucks were barely used when after Kenny Omega got hurt.
If any of those groups had an extra member, they could still do the same thing despite one of their key members being out.
Being able to give wrestlers time to rest and not missing a beat as a group is hard work and getting injured is something that happens fairly often.
A group having an extra one or two man buffer opens up what you can do with them long term.
Spreading the Popularity
I think that this is the biggest reason why companies like to use three man groups. Using one match or one segment to get three people over at the same time is very efficient.
Also, this allows you to cover up weaknesses of wrestlers way easier. If you look at The Shield in it’s early days, Ambrose and Seth covered up both of Roman’s biggest flaws at the time.
Fast forward to today, and Roman instantly makes The Usos, Solo Sikoa, and Sami Zayn bigger stars than they are just by being associated with him.
Also, if it is done correctly, the main person doesn’t always need to be on the show. If you look at The Bloodline, The Usos, Solo, and Zayn has so much credibility built up over the years that they are still taken serious and can control a crowd even when Roman takes nights or weeks off.
This also helps Roman by making the times that he do show up on television must see programing. It is the same thing as the Brock Lesnar effect and it is working to perfection.
Covering All the Bases
This is the biggest reason why I think that groups or factions should have more than just three people in them.
If you are a long term wrestling fan, you remember groups like the Nation of Domination, DX, NWO, Evolution, and the Four Horseman.
Something that all of these groups had in common was that they had many members in them and they all had their own goals that wasn’t always the goal of its leader.
If you look at Evolution for instance, Triple H always had his eyes set on the world title while Orton went after the Intercontinental title and Flair and Batista went after the tag team titles.
All of them helped each other out when they needed it, but they each had their own focuses. The same can be said about all of those other groups and you can see it today from The Bloodline in WWE and The Blackpool Combat Club and Jericho Appreciation Society in AEW.
Having someone competing in every division that your company got sets your younger wrestlers up for a better future and extends the longevity of your main event or already established wrestlers.
