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14 Great Four Horsemen Moments Fans Forgot About

There have been stables across pro wrestling history that have changed the business and left an indelible mark on the industry. But no other group seems to be revered as much as WCW's The Four Horsemen, who perhaps pioneered the idea of a dominant unit that would run roughshod across a company.

The NWO, DX, and Shield may come close to replacing The Four Horsemen as the most dominant ever, but even if Ric Flair & Co were to be named the best, most fans would smile and begrudgingly agree with the verdict. Such is their influence and legacy, though not everything about is faction is remembered, as many awesome moments seem to have been forgotten by fans.

UPDATE: 2022/08/09 15:30 EST BY SHAWN S. LEALOS

"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair had his "official retirement match" in 2022 and the leader and iconic head of The Four Horsemen seems to have finally rode off into the sunset. However, even though it has been over 20 years since fans last saw the Four Horsemen in action in a ring, many still consider them the greatest faction in wrestling history. There were bad moments, and some terrible members over the years, but when it comes to the main members, they still hold a spot in wrestling fans' hearts. In the case of Arn Anderson, he is still working on camera, reminding fans of his importance to wrestling as well as that of his Four Horsemen brothers. It might be time for wrestling fans to go back and watch some of the best moments of this iconic stable's career.

14 Breaking Ricky Morton's Nose

The Four Horsemen were all champions in Crockett Promotions, with Ric Flair leading the way with his NWA World Championship. However, he held the title by any means necessary, and there was no one dirtier than the Four Horsemen in wrestling.

RELATED: Members Of The Four Horsemen: Where Are They Now?In a match with Ricky Morton of the Rock 'n' Roll Express, Flair suffered a shocking loss when Morton won with a small package. It was a non-title match and put Morton in line for a world title shot. As a result, the Four Horsemen attacked Morton backstage and smashed his face into the floor, breaking his nose. Morton sported a nose brace for the next few weeks as he vowed revenge.

13 Breaking Dusty Rhodes' Arm

The most persistent rival of the Four Horsemen for almost their entire existence was "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. While Flair was all about his wealth and prestige, Rhodes was the common man fighting for the people. Flair and Rhodes exchanged the world title and the Horsemen were there to make sure the Dream didn't win it back.

To do this, the Four Horsemen did something shocking. They attacked Rhodes in the parking lot with a baseball bat. They tied him to a truck in the parking lot and then used the bat to break Rhodes' arm. It was like nothing wrestling fans were used to seeing in that era.

12 J.J. Dillon In The War Games

When the Four Horsemen entered the WWE Hall of Fame, it was Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, and JJ Dillon. For Dillon, he was more than just a manager for the team. He represented Tully before he joined the Horsemen and was one of the big promo guys for a group that were all great at talking.

Dillon also got in on the action. In the first-ever War Games match, Dillon was on the Four Horsemen's team and the Road Warriors' manager Precious Paul Ellering was on the opposite side. The two teams fought hard and neither would submit until the Road Warriors hit Dillon with the Doomsday Device and brutally beat him until he finally gave up.

11 Mr. Perfect Buries The Four Horsemen

The Four Horsemen had one last big ride in WCW. Arn Anderson agreed to reform the group with newcomers and a returning Ric Flair. However, soon Arn said he couldn't continue to wrestle any more because of an injured back. He found his replacement.

Mr. Perfect had jumped ship and came to WCW as Curt Hennig and Anderson cut an emotional promo, offering his spot to Hennig. The nWo ended up mocking the moment in an embarrassing promo but then Hennig took it one step further by betraying the Horsemen and joining the nWo himself, shutting the door on the final iteration of the group.

10 Big Bossman Is A Horseman

Not many fans will remember that the Big Boss Man, most associated with the WWE thanks to his years of service there, was once a short-lived member of the Four Horsemen. He had to come in and replace manager J.J. Dillon, who had to appear in a few matches but got written out for the second-ever WarGames match due to an injury.

As a result, the then Big Bubba Rogers got a taste of the big time before his days keeping kayfabe prisoners in check. He represented the legendary stable under the name War Machine, took the match-deciding loss, and never returned with that character.

9 Alliance To End Hulkamania

Yes, the Four Horsemen aligned with the terribly spooky Dungeon of Doom to bring an end to Hulkamania at Uncensored on March 24, 1996, in Tupelo, Mississippi. This was an angle that also involved Randy Savage teaming with Hulk Hogan in a reunion of sorts for the Mega Powers.

RELATED: Four Horsemen: 10 Current Wrestlers Who Would Have Joined The Faction

The match was more or less a handicap multiple-decker cage match rebranded as the "Tower of Doom" match that had three steel cage levels. And somehow, despite the numbers advantage, the heel group lost to the two babyfaces come the end of the match.

8 The First Addition To The Original Four

As mentioned before, The Four Horsemen have had various iterations over their existence from 1985 to 1999, so a lot of wrestlers came and went as part of the group. The five inducted into the WWE HoF were Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, and JJ Dillon, who truly did form the best version of this faction.

While Windham was an important addition (read replacement), he wasn't the first one to come in as a new member. That honor falls to Lex Luger, who quickly aligned with the stable after his debut in WCW in early 1987, though not technically as a member. However, that changed when Ole left, and he was the new official member of the Horsemen after that.

7 Windham Screwing Over Luger

As mentioned earlier, both Barry Windham and Lex Luger were part of The Four Horsemen at some point. In fact, the former replaced the future Narcissist in the stable during a tag team match pitting himself and Luger against the Anderson and Tully Blanchard, when he threw Lex to Flair & Co.

Windham was then unveiled as the new fourth member of the stable, and most fans are unanimous in their agreement of this version being the best of the Horsemen.

6 Sting As A Member

Sting and Ric Flair have a legendary relationship, and that very much included The Four Horsemen. The two stars' love-hate relationship is reflected in the former's associations with the group, at one point fighting with them before joining forces to take on the J-Tex Corporation stable.

However, as always, Sting was left betrayed by something related to Flair when the Horsemen betrayed him after he became the No 1 contender to the Nature Boy's world title. While Ric wanted the WCW Icon to relinquish his opportunity, Sting was hellbent on the fight, resulting in his acrimonious kicking out of the group.

5 Windham The Icon

As an extension of the previous point, this incident happened during a WCW Championship match between Sting and a relatively green Sid Vicious, who had joined the Horsemen. This created another iconic moment in the Sting x Horsemen rivalry.

RELATED: Four Horsemen - The 5 Best (& 5 Worst) Members

The match ended in the young Sid's favor, shocking many fans. However, it was revealed that this Sting was actually Barry Windham in disguise. The real performer soon came out to chase off the Horsemen henchman and defeat Sid to retain his title.

4 Brian Pillman In The New Horsemen

When the group had another twisted go-around with Sting in 1995 that resulted in Flair once again betraying the face-painted warrior, the new Horsemen ended up being the Nature Boy, Arn Anderson, and the fast-rising Brian Pillman.

Interestingly, the future Loose Cannon did some of this best work with the group, and he became established enough to have the honor of revealing the group's fourth member. The second young star to be added to the legendary faction was Chris Benoit, who gained instant credibility by joining them.

3 Arn's Moment In Bringing The Group Back

The final time the Horsemen reunited was when Ric Flair made his emotional return to WCW post a hiatus borne out of a disagreement with WCW president Eric Bischoff. This angle had been teased for weeks preceding the event, with Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko looking to convince Arn Anderson into being part of the reunion.

The Enforcer had retired at that point, so he agreed to take up a manager's role with the new-look group. This iteration of the Horsemen consisted of Steve “Mongo” McMichael, Benoit, and Malenko.

2 Mongo's Betrayal

Mongo McMichael won't be remembered too much for his in-ring work, but he definitely had an impact in the short time he was in pro wrestling. And true to Horsemen's nature, he betrayed someone to join the group.

The Super Bowl XX winner had just started his stint in pro wrestling and WCW when he ran afoul of Ric Flair repeatedly hitting on his then-wife Debra. As a result, he challenged the Nature Boy to a match at The Great American Bash. However, during the bout, he betrayed his partner, Kevin Greene, losing the match but gaining entry in the stable for the next year.

1 Miss Elizabeth The Manager

It was established at the beginning of this piece that a group as accomplished as the Horsemen didn't need a mouthpiece, but they did have their fair share of managers, including females. The most famous of this list that includes the likes of Woman, Debra McMichael, and Baby Doll, was Miss Elizabeth, perhaps the most influential valet ever.

While she was known for her iconic association with Macho Man Randy Savage, Miss Elizabeth was part of other groups as well. Interestingly, she would betray her former beau in the process of joining The Four Horsemen at 1996’s SuperBrawl VI, where Savage challenged Flair for the world title in a steel cage match.

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Arica Deslauriers

Update: 2024-05-20