5 Ways Evolution Has Aged Poorly (& 5 Ways They're Timeless)

Composed of Ric Flair, Triple H, Batista, and Randy Orton, Evolution formed in 2003 under the premise that these men were the best wrestling had to offer, with Flair being the past of wrestling, Triple H the present, and Batista and Orton the future. Together, the quartet is considered the best stable of WWE’s Ruthless Aggression era.

Evolution was great, but like so much that pro wrestling has produced, not everything about the stable has aged well, given more than a decade since the group’s inception. So let’s see just how Evolution has withstood the test of time, as well as how it really hasn’t.

10 Aged Poorly: The Latest Four Horsemen

Evolution was obviously meant to be a successor to The Four Horsemen, but playing off of one of the greatest wrestling factions of all time can be a little tricky. There have been numerous Horsemen revivals with varying degrees of success and participation from classic members.

That includes official WCW iterations all the way to stuff like Fortune in TNA and Xtreme Horsemen in Major League Wrestling. Evolution may have been a strong stable, but they were also just another play off of something that worked two decades prior.

9 Timeless: The Four Horsemen, With an Added Gimmick

What set Evolution apart from the Horsemen and its myriad imitators is the fact that it had a clear gimmick in addition to being a quartet of pro wrestlers. They had the same goals as any stable -- wreck dudes, be dominant, win matches and titles -- but the “Evolution” part is what made the faction feel fresh.

They had the top heel of the ‘80s in Flair, the top heel of the early to mid-'00s in Triple H, and future heels in Orton and Batista. In kayfabe, the premise made it feel like if they stuck together, Evolution would reign for many years to come.

8 Aged Poorly: Batista as “The Future” of Wrestling

When Evolution first formed, Triple H cut a promo explaining the whole “past, present, and future of wrestling,” gimmick, with Randy Orton and Batista flagged as the future of WWE. It proved true for Orton -- after all, he did have the greatest pro wrestling match ever. Batista, not so much.

Don’t get it twisted, Batista obviously did well for himself in the ring (see below), but it often feels like people came to love him after he left pro wrestling for Hollywood where he’s better known as Drax the Destroyer than “The Animal.”

7 Timeless: All-Stars

Originally, Mark Jindrak was going to be the big bruiser bodyguard of Evolution but ended up getting switched out for Batista before the group’s debut. It worked out because all four members of Evolution ended up being big stars in wrestling.

Triple H and Ric Flair were already established, but Batista would end up with six World Titles to his name, while Randy Orton would become a WWE lifer, enjoying several heel and face runs all while becoming a multi-time World Champ.

6 Aged Poorly: Triple H’s Reign of Terror

As great as Evolution was, its existence coincided with Triple H’s time on Raw in the mid-2000s, which most fans refer to as his “reign of terror.” This was the period where it felt like Trips was World Heavyweight Champion more often than he was not, and his victories usually came at the expense of the babyfaces’ reputations.

It was during this era, for example, that Triple H won that infamous racially charged WrestleMania feud over Booker T. Even when Triple H threw Randy Orton out of Evolution, Trips was able to put away the newly babyface Orton.

5 Timeless: Dominant Heel Faction

There are loads of forgotten stables in WWE history -- usually because they never accomplished anything -- but Evolution made its mark on the promotion by being an extremely dominant heel faction.

The group racked up numerous wins and title victories, and at one point every member of the faction held titles, with Triple H as the World Heavyweight Champion, Batista and Ric Flair as Tag Champs, and Randy Orton as the Intercontinental Champion.

4 Aged Poorly: Randy Orton Face Turn

Being a pro wrestling stable, a betrayal within Evolution’s ranks was inevitable, especially considering that the group is entirely made up of violent egomaniacs. The first betrayal -- if you don’t count Mark Jindrak being ousted before their debut -- had Triple H boot Randy Orton out of Evolution in the wake of Orton winning the World Heavyweight Title from Chris Benoit.

It made a lot of sense, character-wise, as Triple H didn’t want to be upstaged as one of his proteges. However, Orton has proven over the years to be such a good heel that any babyface turn feels ill-advised.

3 Timeless: The Thumbs Down

Both of the big betrayals in Evolution involve a hilariously theatrical reveal of a “thumbs down” gesture. The first happened when they kicked Orton out. Orton won the title, Batista hoisted the new champ on his shoulders, and Triple H’s thumbs-up slowly turned into a grim thumbs-down.

Then there’s Batista choosing between Raw and SmackDown, and giving a thumbs down to Flair and Trips while throwing down a clipboard. Both make for great GIFs.

2 Aged Poorly: Randy Orton’s Ability to Dress

As a new era Four Horsemen -- complete with Ric Flair in it -- Evolution of course had to wear nice clothes to show how much better they were than everyone else. Flair had been wearing nice suits longer than most people have been alive even at that point, Triple H acquitted himself well Batista was always a low-key snappy dresser even before he started appearing in movies.

Then there’s Randall Keith Orton, who always seemed to wear the most ill-fitting clothing like a nerd having graduation dinner at the Macaroni Grill. It’s no wonder why, these days, he wears T-shirts and no pants.

1 Timeless: The 2014 Reunion

In 2014, fans basically revolted at the prospect of a Randy Orton vs. Batista WrestleMania XXX main event after WWE created a new underdog babyface in Daniel Bryan the year before. In shifting gears, Batista became heel alongside Orton and reunited with Triple H to reform Evolution.

All three men were now established stars, and Evolution’s shtick worked especially well in 2014 as foils for the up-and-comers who were going to become the future of WWE, like The Shield, who put on some great six-man tag matches together.

NEXT: 10 Worst Things Ric Flair Ever Did In Wrestling