D-Generation X: The most influential faction in WWE history

D-Generation X celebrate their 25th WWE anniversary tonight on the “season premiere” of Raw, with most of the band getting back together for the show.

Triple H, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac and Road Dogg will all be in attendance, but Billy Gunn won’t be as a member of the AEW roster. Expect a few “Scissor Me” chants relating to him and The Acclaimed as a result. Chyna, who sadly passed away in 2016, will also be remembered tonight.

It’s not certain what is planned for the celebration or who might be involved, but with Bray Wyatt returning and The Bloodline in the building, it’s sure to be something special for WWE’s most influential faction ever.

Following the infamous Curtain Call in 1996, when Kliq members Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall broke character to embrace one another before the latter two departed for WCW, it was believed that WWE management wanted to keep The Game and HBK apart on-screen.

Despite this, with Nash and Hall co-founding the New World Order with Hulk Hogan and streaking clear in the Monday Night Wars, it was obvious WWE needed to step up their game. This led to the eventual creation of DX in August 1997, and a clear change in the direction of the company towards the Attitude Era.

Triple H and Shawn Michaels were joined by Rick Rude, an insurance policy for the group, and Chyna, the “ninth wonder of the world” and their female bodyguard. The two were slightly out of place in terms of look but it simply worked.

Chyna was also the first WWE women’s wrestler to be presented as a star on the same level as the men, and she eventually captured the Intercontinental Title in her later career. Her influence on the current female roster cannot be understated.

It was also likely necessary