The Four Horsemen (professional wrestling)

Four Horsemen was the name of Wrestling Table, which was established in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA ) and is known especially about the future wrestling promotion World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) nationwide. The name is derived from the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

The group originally consisted of the four wrestlers Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and his storyline cousin Ole Anderson and Tully Blanchard. The stable consisted in changing occupations and intermittently from 1986 to 1999 and was involved during this period to numerous important feuds and storylines. At times, the members of Stables all titles in the WCW.

History

Foundation

The Stable was founded in 1986 in the wrestling organization Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling ( MACW ), then the most influential member of the NWA. All founding members were already established in the wrestling business: Flair was already multiple winner of the World Heavyweight title, the NWA that made Anderson the former occupation of the tag teams "Minnesota Wrecking Crew ", which is in the occupation of Ole and Gene Anderson eight times 1970-1981 the NWA Tag Team titles held. Blanchard was the son of a wrestler and wrestling promoter and had already possessed single and tag team title of the Southwest Championship Wrestling promotion several times before the foundation of the Horsemen. Manager of the Stables was J. J. Dillon, a former wrestler, who also worked as a booker. The first feud of the group was against Dusty Rhodes, who worked for the MACW as Booker front of the camera as a wrestler and behind the scenes. The participation of both Booker to the storyline made ​​the feud to the main promotion. The result was that the wrestling magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated feud Horsemen vs. Super Powers ( consisting of Rhodes and Nikita Koloff ), as well as road warriors who supported the Super Powers within the storyline, chose the feud of the year. Singles match of the year was a run in the context of the feud match between Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair Wrestler of the Year.

First change and first end

In 1987, the occupation of the Horsemen. Ole Anderson, whose career came to an end, was replaced by Lex Luger. Luger came out of the NWA Florida, where he was very successful. Membership of the Horsemen meant for Luger of course a career boost. In the same year he won by Nikita Koloff the title of " NWA United States Champion ", the second single most important title of the NWA. After Luger had storyline according to the title to the ore - adversary of the Horsemen, Dusty Rhodes, and lost for the manager Dillon blamed, he had to vacate his spot in the Horsemen again.

The next member of the Four Horsemen was Barry Windham, who had worked with Lex Luger in Florida and had been brought as his tag team partner to MACW. Windham was introduced by betrayed Luger during a match against Horsemen Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. Also Windham's career got through membership of the Horsemen a boost. He also received in the same year the NWA United States championship belt. This kept the Horsemen for the first time at the same time all three national titles ( Heavyweight, United States and Tag Team ) of NWA, as Ric Flair were at this time heavyweight champion and Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard Tag Team Champions. An association of these three titles in a Stables was not previously occurred and should be until 2000, when the promotion of WCW nWo same allowed, not repeat them.

End of 1988, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard changed to World Wrestling Federation (WWF ), which had thus recruited two of the four Horsemen and thus the main stars of the competition. Flair, Windham and Dillon led the Stable first to third on until Dillon moved to a desk items in the WWF. The name Four Horsemen was not used, and in early 1989 joined Barry Windham for the WWF, which Ric Flair was left as the only one of the original Horsemen at the MACW.

The second edition

In December 1989, Stable was new, what was possible to NWA by the return of Arn and Ole Anderson. After the Four Horseman was previously known as heel- group, a face- Stable, whose fourth member Sting, a oftmaliger previous opponents and the flagship Face the NWA was created this time was. Sting quickly became the No. 1 contender to the title of NWA World Heavyweight Champions, which was held at that time once again of flair. In order to allow the match, led to induce the breach between the Horsemen and Sting by wrote a storyline in which the remaining Horsemen by Sting required to withdraw from the title match against Flair. As Sting role faithfully refused and the promotion wanted to keep him as a face, the other Horsemen in the role of the heels had to change by beating Sting from the group.

A little later, Ole Anderson finished his career as an active wrestler and was manager of the Horsemen. To bring the group back on the number four, we filled it up with Barry Windham, who was re- registered in the promotion, and Sid Vicious. Vicious and Windham were also involved in one of the most famous Angles of the Horsemen: The pay- per-view event Halloween Havoc 1990 saw Windham, disguised as the carrier of the NWA Heavyweight Champion Sting in its place to a title match against Sting Sid Vicious. After some apparent resistance he should lose. The plan worked, as provided by the bookers do not occur. The real Sting appeared, of course, in the best dramatic moment, but in the ring.

The Stable fell apart in 1991 again after initially Sid Vicious and Ric Flair WCW, which had now emerged from the Jim Crockett Productions, left in the direction of the WWF, Barry Windham moved to the role of a face again and thus Arn Anderson as the only member of the Stables remained.

The third Horsemen

Ric Flair returned in 1993 back to WCW. The Four Horsemen emerged once more, this time with flair and Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson, and with as a manager. Paul Roma, a former WWF jobber, was short notice as a replacement for Tully Blanchard, who was not recruited by the promotion because of a positive drug test, obliged. Roma and Anderson received the Tag Team belts for a month. In December 1993, Stable disappeared again after the promotion Roma Paul wrote from the day team.

Four Horsemen of the Fourth

The next incarnation of the Horsemen was created in 1995, as always with flair and Arn Anderson. This foundation has been prepared in a longer storyline, in the first Flair and Anderson were written in a feud, in which then Brian Pillman were drawn on Anderson and Sting Flair's side. At the pay- per-view Halloween Havoc 1995, the promotion released the storyline than the case of the Horsemen Flair, Anderson and Pillman Sting. A little later they brought with Chris Benoit, the number of Horsemen back to four. After Pillman had left WCW, they replaced him briefly through the early Footballer and occasional wrestler Steve McMichael, whose place was but temporarily occupied by Jeff Jarrett. After the creation of the nWo Stables, which announced in accordance storyline, to take over WCW, the Horsemen were for the tradition of WCW. This took the Booker of promotion for an intense feud. The place of the fourth horseman became a way station for wrestlers, what was that members of the Horsemen usually had decided for themselves whom they took to during this time WCW took a very strong influence on their storylines. In August 1997, Arn Anderson ended due to the consequences of many back and neck injuries his career as an active wrestler and was replaced by Curt Hennig at the Horsemen, the promotion but did go to the nWo after one month. At the same time made ​​a storyline Ric Flair as "President ", so that the Horsemen were dissolved in effect.

The end of the Horsemen

The next year there was the last incarnation of the Horsemen, this time with Steve " Mongo " McMichael, Flair and Arn Anderson as a manager, supplemented by Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko. This Horsemen tried to build on the previous by fehdeten against the nWo, but were not popular. Also a change in the group Images to heels was not accepted. The finish McMichael reduced the group to three members, which was mainly used by the promotion, at the head of state, according to storyline Ric Flair to get Ric Flair's son David Flair owned by the WCW United States Champion Belt. In May 1999, Malenko and Benoit left the stable in protest against Flair's selfishness, ending its existence.

Tribute other promotions

• The Wrestling Promotion Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling in 2003, founded a stable called "The Xtreme Horsemen ". This was formed from the former ECW wrestlers Steve Corino, Justin Credible, Simon Diamond and "The Enforcer " CW Anderson ( a tribute to Arn Anderson). At times, the grouping of J. J. Dillon, the manager of the original Horsemen accompanied and reinforced by Barry Windham, who also belonged to the original group. This formation appeared in various independent wrestling promotions.

• Although the " Four Horsemen " have never been part of the promotion World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment, this 2007 brought a box with 2 DVD ' Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen " out because the WWE now all naming rights of the former WCW has acquired Stables.

• When Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Ric Flair founded as a reference to the stable grouping "Fortune", which was from June 2010 to December 2011.

• On 31 March 2012, the " Four Horsemen " were added to the occupation of Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard and JJ Dillon in the WWE Hall of Fame.