The History of the Horsemen

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

We had a ECW history one, now the history of the Horsemen. Long read:

 

1985

 

It all started as a family business. Arn and Ole Anderson, the future spine of the 4 Horsemen, had a personal vision.. and it all involved the tag team title belts. To understand the bold nature of this mission, you must first understand that the tag team division in this era was extremely competitive, with such legendary names as the Midnight Express, the Rock and Roll Express and the Road Warriors, as well as singles workers pairing themselves as a team in hopes of capturing the gold. While Vince would boast such legendary alliances as the original Hart Foundation, the Rockers, the British Bulldogs and eventually the Andersons, there was little doubt where the best action in the nation was kept. As such, these belts were no laughing matter.

 

Ole held one of these belts alongside his partner at the time, Thunderbolt Patterson. Suddenly, one week in the blunt nature that would over time become the Horsemen's own, Ole walked out to an interview segment and effectively told T-Bolt that the team's best days were behind them. To his partner's face, Ole Anderson announced he was dissolving their coalition in favor of a run with his brother, Arn.. and he was taking the titles with him. Before Patterson had a chance to react, Ole had left the set. No questions asked, no room to retort.

 

One week later, Arn was participating in a singles match while Ole supported him at the announce table. As the match became increasingly competitive, it was slowly becoming evident that the younger Anderson's opponent had the upper hand. That all changed in an instant, though, as Ole had jumped into the ring and the match was thrown out. As the bell incessantly rang, the Andersons effectively stomped the fight out of the enforcer's opponent with no sign of slowing down.. which brought out former tag team champion T-Bolt Patterson. As Ole and his former partner exchanged words, Arn came from out of nowhere, blindsiding Patterson and sending him to the mat in a heap. Initially hesitant, Ole had no choice but to help in the beating once Patterson started to fight back. Working as a team, the two announced themselves the new tag team champions, the Minnesota Wrecking Crew.

 

While the uproar began in the tag team scene, it gained a head of steam and national attention in the World Title scene. At the time, our World Champ was none other than the Nature Boy, Ric Flair.. but things weren't always going according to the champ's well-orchestrated plans. As always, Flair was the dirtiest player in the game and often escaped with his pride intact and belt around his waist by only the skin of his teeth. Embarrassment is an emotion with which Flair's never been comfortable, and as his opponents came closer and closer to an upset victory throughout his ongoing 2-year title reign, he began to realize a little help was necessary. Honestly, it couldn't have arrived at a better time.. Flair's next scheduled opponent was the fastest rising star in the NWA (compared by many to the god-like Hulk Hogan at the time), Magnum TA.

 

As Flair defended his title against an unproven challenger, Sam Houston, Magnum made his way to the announce table (then located beside the backstage curtain, as opposed to ringside), where the announcers welcomed him and took their attention away from the predictable Nature Boy cakewalk which was transpiring in the ring. Upon seeing this, Flair stopped the match and made his way to the table to remind the announcers, fans and especially TA why they were here. As the match continued, Flair was given a surprisingly strong fight but eventually claimed the victory with his figure four leglock. However, Ric wasn't satisfied with a clean victory.. post-match, he only relinquished the hold long enough to remove Houston's boot before strapping it back on and making a terrible effort to end the young man's career. TA made the obligatory save, and an instant rivalry was born. Meanwhile, Sam Houston.. technically far from a legend, actually played a large role in the history of the Horsemen. But we'll see more about that a bit later.

 

In typical Flair style, his mouth and wallet would attempt an escape long before a physical confrontation was in order. Thus, one week later Flair arrived for another title defense showcasing his brand new suit. Claiming it cost an exorbinant amount of money, he left it at the announce position as a sort of peace offering for TA. It wasn't long before the young challenger arrived to claim his prize, and he brought it with him to the ring where Flair was waiting. As TA went on about how wonderful the suit was, Flair gushed with pride. Moments later, however, Magnum began tearing the suit apart, and when he made the mistake of turning his back Flair called him on it. TA was expecting it though, and swiftly caught Flair in a belly to belly suplex.. his trademark maneuver. As Flair lay in the ring, TA calmly grabbed the World Title from ringside and left it with the announcers. Before departing, Magnum stated "The next time I touch this belt, it'll be mine."

 

Weeks passed, and TA demanded his title shot.. while Flair avoided the issue, claiming Magnum wasn't worth his time. "The Man" even went so far as to say he could beat the young upstart in 10 minutes. Calling his bluff, TA stepped from backstage and slapped down the gauntlet, putting $10,000 on the line against Flair's claims of a ten minute victory. It was too late to back down, so into the ring we went as Ric Flair attempted to take home the short victory, effectively stamping out the small fire TA had lit underneath of him. As the match was nearly set to go, Ole and Arn stepped from behind the curtains and took up choice seats at the announce table. As an interesting sidenote, the Andersons claimed Flair as a long lost cousin during this same broadcast.

 

The match itself was a seesaw battle with neither man taking a distinct advantage. As the match drew near the 10-minute mark, Magnum put Flair in his own figure four leglock, holding the submission maneuver until time had expired. Amidst the announcers' shrieks, the Andersons had seen enough and stormed the ring. While Magnum fought the good fight, the odds turned out to be unbeatable, and the three men beat him mercilessly. As the three attempted to break the rising superstar's arm, help finally arrived in the form of Sam Houston, Buzz Sawyer and various other backstage athletes. The damage had been done, however, and this new coalition was one that Magnum could never overcome. Title match after title match would come down to the wire before Anderson interference would end the bout in a DQ.

 

Some time later, TA had moved from the World Title scene, instead setting his sites on the tag team straps. Alongside his partner at the time, the immortal Dusty Rhodes, Magnum's shot was to come on a televised NWA program. Just before match time, Magnum took time backstage to pre-tape a challenge toward one Tully Blanchard. Suddenly, without warning, the Minnesota Wrecking Crew hit the scene and dismantled the surprised young star. Concentrating on the ribs and torso, the two made short work of the challenger before taking out the cameraman and marching down the entryway for their title defense.

 

While the champions stood in the ring, Dusty made a brief appearance, asking for a few more minutes' time, given the circumstances. Before an official decision could be made, the Wrecking Crew had jumped Rhodes from behind and drug him into the ring. As the gangland beating continued, Terry Taylor attempted a save to no avail. As the Andersons beat on the two men, Magnum TA stumbled from backstage; battered, beaten and broken. As one can expect, even his best efforts weren't enough and he almost immediately fell before the champions. The beating continued until more backstage help finally drove the future Horsemen off. While Rhodes left the scene under his own power, Magnum was taken out of the ring on a stretcher. Later in the night, TA showed his guts by completing the challenge that had started backstage hours earlier.. this time from the hospital.

 

As Magnum and Rhodes focused on the tag team titles, Flair wasn't exactly having an easy go of it as World Champion. Fending off more and more challengers ranking from rookie lightweight to veteran heavy and everything in between, Flair had managed to hold onto his belt.. but things weren't getting any easier. Following a particularly difficult cage match with Nikita Koloff (in which Flair had taken the clean win), an enraged Koloff and his Uncle Ivan overwhelmed Ric. While the two tore Flair apart, Dusty Rhodes ran to the scene and made the save for his longtime enemy. After the Russians had been chased from the ring, Rhodes checked on Flair.. who looked up at Rhodes and began to berate him! As the American Dream tried to reason with him, the Andersons stormed into the cage and blindsided poor Dusty. Flair saw this going down and rose to his feet, shying away from the beating only to seal the cage door. As the assault continued, focusing on Rhodes's knee, help swarmed from the back and finally broke into the cage. The attack had been halted, but the damage was done. Dusty's leg was in poor shape.

 

About a week later, Flair was back in the ring with Sam Houston. After nearly dropping his earlier defense against the rookie, Ric wanted to prove it was a fluke with a decisive victory here. Following a solid defense, Flair had done his job but wanted to ensure no threat remained for the future; he called Arn Anderson to the ring and the two attempted to deliver the same beating as was given to Dusty Rhodes not long beforehand. Without the aid of a steel cage though, this assault fell short and the American Dream himself hit the scene. Complete with a steel-toed cowboy boot, created so Dusty could continue working despite his injury, Rhodes made the best of a bad situation and used his new bit of ring garb to chase Flair and the Andersons from the battlegrounds.

 

In just a few more weeks' time, poor Sam Houston had returned to action against Tully Blanchard in what was supposedly a safe matchup. It wasn't long, though, before the Andersons appeared yet again. At first patiently observing from ringside, the duo made their move minutes into the match.. and Tully didn't seem to have anything against it. While Blanchard held the maligned Houston, Ole and Arn tore into his left arm, putting him right back out of action for an additional set of months. After being chased from the ring, Tully celebrated with the Minnesota Wrecking Crew and Flair, as the four ran the NWA roster ragged. J.J. Dillon, who had previously joined Blanchard as manager, now accompanied the quartet. It all became official on a spring night in 1986, nearly one full year after the ball began rolling.. and Arn set it in stone with a name that would last through the ages.

 

Asked to fill remaining TV time, the four came out to close the program with an interview. After Flair had said his piece, Arn took the mic and told us all that we were witnessing history. Only once had so much damage been caused by so few, Arn screamed, "and to find that source you need to go all the way back to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." The name stuck, and pro wrestling's first major stable was born.

 

With the battle lines drawn, the four had their work cut out for them in the months to come. The Andersons had a strong hold on their US Tag Team Titles, but the threat in that category would be a constant one. Flair's World Title, easily more highly contested and defended than Hogan's WWF belt, was always a target with everyone from seasoned veterans to hopeful rookies demanding a shot. Under the guide of J.J. Dillon, the Horsemen had a definite direction and a plan. And don't count out Dusty Rhodes or Magnum TA just yet..

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

1986

 

It was early in the year, and already the Four Horsemen were dominating in full. They'd made lifelong enemies out of major powers in Dusty Rhodes and Magnum TA, they held the singles World title and the National tag team belts, and they hadn't allowed anything to hold them back. Without a doubt, things were looking easier and easier for the Horsemen.. but their enemies weren't ready to be counted out just yet.

 

Dusty and then-US champion Magnum TA had realized their common issue, and decided the best way to fight fire was with fire. Assaulting the Horsemen as one man against an army was useless, so perhaps the strength truly lay in numbers. As Ole, Arn and Tully were participating in a 6-man tag team war, Dusty and Magnum climbed into the ring and made public their coalition alongside the unexpected help of Ron Bass. After chasing away his teammates, the three centered their assault on Ole Anderson, the man all held responsible for the attacks on Sam Houston. Giving Ole a taste of his own medicine, the three tried their best to break his leg. Though the elder Horseman escaped without injury, the message was clear: these three weren't about to take things lying down.

 

Meanwhile, Tully Blanchard had fought several unsuccessful bouts with Magnum TA over Magnum's United States Heavyweight title. One evening, TA had all but wrapped things up with his patented belly to belly suplex.. but Blanchard's leg had caught the ref on his way down and, holding true to wrestling tradition, the official went down as though he'd been shot. While Magnum tended to the man in stripes, Tully's former valet, Baby Doll (I can’t make this stuff up, folks..), came from the crowd dressed as a security guard. She handed the recovering Blanchard a foreign object, which met Magnum's head moments later and gave Tully the US gold he'd been chasing. The Horsemen now each held a major NWA belt, and their presence could no longer be be ignored.

 

Almost one month later, Blanchard was accompanied to a title defense by Baby Doll. As the match progressed, Magnum TA stepped from the crowd dressed as.. you guessed it.. a security guard, and handcuffed Baby Doll to the bottom rope. TA entered the ring, and Blanchard charged him.. right into a belly to belly suplex. As TA looked upon his work, he made a formal challenge to Blanchard and walked out of the ring to thunderous applause. The return match went nearly a full hour, before it ended a draw as neither man could respond to the referee's ten count. Unsatisfied, TA was given a rematch.. the infamous "I Quit" cage match, in which there must be a winner. After a bloody, grueling war, Blanchard surrendered as TA ground the point of a broken wooden chair into a cut over his eye. The feud continued for some time, leading into the NWA's humongous summer event, the Great American Bash.

 

Meanwhile, Arn Anderson had acquired the TV Title while his partner and brother Ole was recovering from a leg injury. As a result, the two could not defend their National Tag Team Titles within 30 days and were stripped of the belts. The NWA was heading into their major event, the Great American Bash, and unlike today’s single PPV event, the Bash of 1986 was a series of cards that spread across the States. With different matches, participants and outcomes at every stop, the Bash wasn't an event so much as it was a tour. The run demanded a spectacular 13 world title defenses from Ric Flair in the span of one month. His first challenge? None other than Hawk, one half of the former National Tag Team Champions. The big man's power kept Flair's technical prowess surprisingly in check, but after a hard fought contest, Flair squeaked out a DQ finish that allowed him to keep the precious gold around his waist.

 

Throughout the series of events, Flair fought more and more difficult opponents. Young athletes, eager to prove themselves, jumped at the opportunity. Ricky Morton proved a lightweight could handle the stress of a world title match, Nikita Koloff brought brute strength to the plate, Rugged Ronnie Garvin gave Flair a feud to look forward to in the years to come, Magnum TA brought the sting of an old foe and Wahoo McDaniel took it to a cage before his card was played out. Amazingly, the Nature Boy survived through 12 of the 13 defenses and never failed to pronounce his proficiency to all who would listen. Such competition defined Flair as a fighting champion, and it was hard to argue with the convincing point he was proving. The tour's final challenge, however, came in the form of Dusty Rhodes, fully equipped with a steel cage and thousands of screaming spectators. As Flair wore down Rhodes's still-injured leg, he seemed to have everything under control. Bleeding as though it were going out of style, Ric set the Dream up for his signature figure four leglock, but Rhodes reversed it into a cradle. It was enough to register the 3 count, and a ballistic Flair could only look on as his arch-enemy walked out of the event with the World Title on his arm.

 

That's not to say the Great American Bash ended as a complete embarrassment for the NWA's premiere stable.. throughout the 13 dates, the Andersons had been viciously seeking the World Tag Team Titles, currently in the hands of Jim Cornette's Midnight Express. A series of #1 contenders matches ended with no winner before the Rock'n Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) took the spot from the Andersons and captured the belts from Cornette's boys. This left the Wrecking Crew as contenders to the titles, belts which eluded them through several difficult title shots. After injuring Gibson, the Andersons demanded that the titles be vacated and awarded to them.. but management disagreed. They allowed Morton to choose his own partner for title defenses until Gibson could return, which sat well with Morton. The likes of Dusty Rhodes, Tim Horner, Ronnie Garvin, and Brad Armstrong jumped at the chance to piss on the Horsemen, and after several difficult battles and near-victories, Ole and Arn were left without the titles they'd so desperately sought. Though the belts had eluded them, the Wrecking Crew was without a doubt back in the ranks of the NWA's top tag teams.

 

The cards may have been down, but the four men didn't take much time to sit and mope, as Ric Flair made certain this event wouldn't cripple the already formidable alliance. Only weeks after losing his title, Flair engaged in a series of rematches with champion Dusty Rhodes, most of which ended with a Horsemen run-in and assault on Rhodes's leg. In the final match of the series, Flair locked in a figure four leglock and Rhodes passed out. Not two weeks removed from a two year reign, Ric Flair was back in the limelight as World Champion, while Dusty Rhodes moved on to feud with the rest of the stable, nearly instantly winning the TV title from Arn Anderson.

 

In the months leading up to Starrcade, Dusty Rhodes was readying himself for one more big push at Ric Flair and the World Heavyweight title, though it wouldn't prove to be easy. He'd been conned into participating in a tag team match to determine his standing as of Starrcade, and it reeked of Horsemen ingenuity. Rhodes was scheduled to team up with Magnum TA against the team of Ole Anderson and JJ Dillon (who was presumably substituting for the injured Tully Blanchard) in a steel cage match. As always, the Horsemen had seen to it that a special stipulation was assigned; in this case if Rhodes and Magnum lost, Dusty would be banned from Starrcade '86. Magnum had just dropped the US title to Nikita Koloff in the blowoff of their classic best of seven series, and was certainly figured into future plans for the World Title before a car accident tragically ended his wrestling career. In a day that's mourned the premature losses of Shawn Michaels, Owen Hart and Mick Foley, it’s easy to overlook Magnum TA and the future he could've held in the NWA.

 

As the NWA as a whole struggled through the shock of this accident, Nikita Koloff stood up and took TA's slot alongside Rhodes, with Magnum's blessing. The two had formed a bond of sorts through their seven-month feud, and it translated over to real life. Fans didn't strongly back Koloff at first, but eventually came around to the big man, and it seemed all was ready to go for that big match.. but the Horsemen had another trick or two up their sleeves.

 

In the weeks before the match, it was announced that Rhodes had suffered multiple injuries outside the ring and details were sketchy at the moment. As announcers offered conspiracy theories, Tully Blanchard wandered to the announce position, video cassette in hand. On it, Blanchard proudly showcased a homemade movie that featured himself, alongside the Andersons and JJ Dillon chasing down Dusty's car, stopping him in a parking lot and viciously beating him with baseball bats and bare fists, utilizing their surroundings to further the damage. Nevertheless, Rhodes was determined and he showed up for the match ready to fight, complete with a bandaged body.. and, in an anticlimactically short match, Rhodes and Koloff completely dismantled the Horseman and manager. Flair made his way to ringside, but it was too little too late.. Rhodes was still in contention for Starrcade.

 

Outraged, the Horsemen assaulted promoter Jim Crockett with demands.. they sought a first blood match at Starrcade between Blanchard and Rhodes, with the TV title at stake. The Andersons demanded a tag team title match against the Rock'n Roll Express in a steel cage, with hopes that the gimmicked match could overcome the troubles they'd had dealing with the younger, faster workers in the past. If their demands weren't met, Flair and the Horsemen vowed they would pull out of the competition, leaving Crockett without a champion to defend the title at his cornerstone event. It was blackmail, plain and simple, and it worked to perfection. Crockett bent before the demands and the Horsemen had their way.

 

With the majority of his top contenders preoccupied, injured or outclassed, there was only man Crockett could look toward as a World Title contender. Nikita Koloff had no problem with the challenge.

 

The event itself was a split card, meaning it was held in two different arenas (i.e. WrestleMania II, but with 2 arenas instead of 3). While Dillon, the Andersons and Blanchard were together in Greensboro, Flair was left to fend for himself in Atlanta.

 

Tully and Dusty's war was the first of the three, and Blanchard came out with JJ Dillon's shady techniques in his corner. As the two gladiators readied for battle, Dillon handed his man a fitted boxing helmet, which concealed most of the challenger’s face. When referee Earl Hebner (the same) took that off almost immediately, Blanchard backpedaled and called for a time out while Dillon plastered his face with Vaseline. The announce team let us in on the secret; this was an old trick used by boxers, which would force Rhodes’s blows to slide right off his face. Once again the ref put a stop to this, and toweled the goop off the enraged mug of the challenger. After the defeat of their second plan, Dillon made the mistake of a lifetime and made a move for Rhodes himself. A bionic elbow, several strong fists and a boot later, Rhodes was ready to go and Dillon was left in a puddle of his own blood on the floor. That’s right, JJ Dillon bladed. The match was on, and neither man was willing to put their head at any immediate risk. The two circled for a bit before finally getting comfortable with the stipulations and letting it all hang out. Ref Hebner (the same) caught a wild fist in the face, and probably would've made it if he hadn't stumbled into the way of the following Rhodes suplex.

 

Dillon took the opportunity and rushed the ring with his hard-soled shoe, but that little onslaught ended about as quickly as it began. Rhodes sent Dillon back outside and considered using the shoe on Tully before lobbing it into the crowd and jumping on Blanchard with a series of vicious fists. With the ref out, Dillon on the floor, Blanchard bleeding like a stuck pig and a shoe into the audience, the Dream did what any face would do in the same situation.. he went to revive the official. While this excruciating process was going down, Dillon gathered himself and proved why he was such an asset for the Horsemen. He quickly grabbed a towel and the Vaseline and went to work, drying the blood from his man’s face and temporarily sealing the wound with the Vaseline. As the ref came to, JJ handed Blanchard a roll of coins and took off. When Rhodes spun around, he was met with the fistful of change and went down, bleeding from the side of his head. Both men fell, and good ol' Earl (the same) called for the bell.. the winner, and new TV champ: Tully Blanchard!

 

As Dillon and Blanchard fled the arena, the Andersons walked out for their steel cage match against the Rock'n Roll Express. The match was big, and all four men knew it. The cage was the Wrecking Crew's home, but the Rock'n Rollers had taken all the previous encounters, and thus held the momentum. As expected, it started off in the Anderson's favor. In fact, things nearly became a squash as Arn and Ole cut the ring in half and dominated Gibson in their own unique fashion, with a focus on the right leg. Every time Robert would climb near his partner, Arn or Ole would be there to hook the leg and drag him back to their corner. The eventual hot tag to Morton turned the tide for a moment, but Ricky soon met the cage close up, and before long Arn and Ole were having their way with both men once more. Arn hit his mean trademark spinebuster in the middle of the ring and Gibson made the last second save. The Andersons hit their double team finisher, a top rope arm-breaker into an arm bar submission that still looks brutal today, but Morton held on. As things began to fall apart, all four were in the middle of the ring at once. While the ref escorted Arn back to his corner, Ole went for a big bodyslam on Morton, which Gibson countered by dropkicking both men to the mat. Morton landed on top, and the ref counted the fall as Arn looked on in disbelief. The Wrecking Crew had lost one more opportunity.

 

Finally, it was time for the main event. Ric Flair made his way to the ring without an escort, as his comrades were miles away. Things started off in Flair's favor, but it quickly became obvious that his assorted offense wasn't having much effect on the big Russian. Where Flair's chops and kneedrops would just bounce off Koloff's bulky mass, Nikita's offense was wearing the Nature Boy down. When the night's second big Hebner bump came to pass, Koloff was enraged. He turned his attention from Flair to aid the ref, and Ric took the opportunity to jump the man from behind. The comeback was short-lived, and Flair soon went down to the Russian Sickle, Koloff's clothesline finisher. As an additional ref came from the back and counted a nearfall, Koloff sent Flair to the corner and continued his punishment uninhibited. As this second ref urged Ivan to break, the Russian turned and shoved the new ref down! When the original ref made his way back to the ring, he got more of the same. Finally, more workers ran from the back and held Nikita back. Flair took the opportunity to deliver some additional offense, which just served to further piss the Russian off. As all hell broke loose, the bell rang.. the winner was announced as Ric Flair, as Koloff had thrown the first blow at an official.

 

With 1986 drawing to a close, the Horsemen held the World title and the TV Title.. things hadn't gone down as poorly as they could have or should have at Starrcade, but the stable was far from happy. With the tag team titles eluding the Andersons, the new presence of Nikita Koloff, the Rock'n Roll Express and Dusty Rhodes biting at their heels and the threat of future assault looming over their heads, the Horsemen needed solidarity now more than ever.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

1987

 

Coming out of the war that was Starrcade 1986, the Horsemen could stand proud after winning two of three title matches. Tully Blanchard defeated the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes, for the TV title, Ric Flair fended off the assaults of Nikita Koloff, somehow maintaining his grasp on the World Title, and the Andersons had a near-miss defeat at the hands of the Rock'n Roll Express. The group was tight-knit in their power beyond this blockbuster event and if any disagreements went down, the differences were settled backstage. The Horsemen had solidified their place atop the NWA ranks as a team, and now it was time to test their longevity. As the seams began to show in the initial grouping, sides were taken. It all erupted in the spring of 1987, two years after Ole walked out on his tag team partner to start it all.

 

The early part of '87 was just business as usual for the stable. Nikita Koloff was given multiple rematches for Flair's gold, but never walked away a champion. The Horsemen had come together as a cohesive unit and had everything pretty well down to a science. Flair had little to worry about, as his troops were always there to bail him out in case of an emergency. Arn Anderson fought a losing series against Koloff in hopes of picking up the Russian's US strap, and Tully Blanchard had an enraged Dusty Rhodes to deal with.

 

Throughout the months, Rhodes would grab multiple count-outs and DQ victories, but when the dust settled, Blanchard was still wearing his belt. As the Dream became angrier and more frustrated over time, Blanchard even grabbed a couple count-out victories of his own, which served to further enrage the big cajun. The feud would be coming to a head, but not for several months' time. In the mean time, Flair had a new World Title competitor in the form of Barry Windham.

 

A refugee from the historic small time Florida circuit, Windham had been making a nuisance of himself for weeks, raining on the Horsemen's parade and always popping his head into the mix when it was least expected. After spending months alongside veteran Ronnie Garvin, Windham felt the time was right to make his move for Flair's gold. With his own protegé in the form of a rookie Lex Luger by his side as well as far-reaching backstage connections, the stage was certainly set and Flair, ever the showman, wasn't about to back down with his reputation on the line.

 

On the eve of January 24th, it all hit the fan on a live TBS broadcast. Windham stretched Flair to his limits, matching him move for move, reversal for reversal and step by step. Flair took the technical victory, but Windham walked away an overnight sensation. Not nearly as surprising as his stamina and lasting power (the match went well over an hour) was the way he got there. Instead of relying on his brute force to overcome Flair's previously unmatched technical skills, Windham fought fire with fire and proved his own worth as a technician. In this day and age, to match Ric Flair in a scientific showdown was to ascend to the echelon of pro wrestling, and Barry Windham was headed there in a hurry.

 

Embarrassed, bruised and nearly beaten, Flair had met an opponent who could keep up with him in the ring.. and quite possibly beat him at his own game. Without his ring prowess to fall back on, Flair instead used his powers of persuasion to turn the tables on his new foe. In the weeks following the 24th, JJ Dillon began a professional relationship with Lex Luger, Windham's friend and loyal student. Before long, Dillon had Luger under his complete mental control, leading the young Package away from the World Title and Ric Flair, and instead aiming him at Horsemen enemy and US champion Nikita Koloff. It was only a matter of time before his turn against Windham was official. Bearing this in mind, Barry made one last effort toward awakening his friend to what he was getting himself into. The confrontation went down on live television, and before Windham was through speaking, the Horsemen had jumped him.. with Luger by their side. With open arms, the 4 accepted Luger as an "associate member" of their team.

 

With the big Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament just around the bend, and a prize of $1,000,000 going out to the team that walked away victorious, many believed a duo of Horseman tag teams would pretty well seal it up, as Flair was defending his belt at the top of the card. However, almost immediately following Luger's arrival, Tully and JJ began to pick at the often-missing Ole Anderson. These two blamed Ole for their only Starrcade loss, as he was the Anderson that took the pinfall. It was argued that Ole was no longer pulling his weight. What began as common criticism eventually turned into a feeding frenzy and with Ole missing from the ring for weeks, it all went unanswered. On the eve of his return, Ole explained all. His son had been competing in amateur wrestling tournaments, and the elder Anderson was determined to be there for him. When Blanchard called the boy a snot nosed little brat under his breath, it all boiled over. In a day when backstage coverage was all but absent, Tully, Ole and JJ had a brawl that tore apart the TV studio. When the dust had settled, Tully and JJ turned their backs on the man who started it all. One week later, Arn made it official by jumping his former partner from behind. Ole was out, and Lex was in.

 

This left 3 Horsemen to compete in the tag tournament, and Arn without his partner of the last 2 years. While Tully and Luger would complete the only all-Horsemen team in the tourney, Arn would tag with Kevin Sullivan.. a bit of irony, considering 3 future Horsemen would later depart the federation due directly to Sullivan's reign(s) as booker. When the top-seeded Rock'n Roll Express were kept from the tourney thanks to an eye injury, it seemed like a cakewalk to victory for the Horsemen. However, the team of Anderson and Sullivan were eliminated in the first round by Bob and Brad Armstrong, which was an upset to say the least. In their stead, Luger and Blanchard received a bye into the second round before climbing to the finals, eliminating the Armstrongs along the way. Waiting in the finals were two familiar faces; the Super Powers, or Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff.

 

As the teams began to measure each other up prior to the bell, the audience exploded at the sight of another familiar face: Magnum TA was hobbling down the entryway in his first public appearance since the car accident that ended his career. Though Magnum's presence was motivation for the Super Powers, the newest Horsemen were already working as a cohesive unit. They isolated Koloff and proceeded to run him through the mat, as Rhodes looked on helplessly. The match progressed, and the Horsemen nailed Koloff with a spike piledriver while the ref was distracted. As chaos broke out, Tully went for one more piledriver on the big Russian, which Rhodes finally ended with a flying cross body block. The big man landed on top of Blanchard and scored the three count for the victory. Later, Flair had his hands full once again with Barry Windham in the World Title match. Again Flair squeaked by with his belt, but the post-match activities told quite a story. While Windham walked out of the ring, discouraged but proud, Flair lay breathless on the mat. Windham had stretched him to the limit once more and the champ knew at this rate his days were numbered.

 

After his victory in the tourney, Dusty had his sites set on a certain champion as well. Tully Blanchard had been ignoring his requests for another shot at the same TV title Dusty shouldn't have lost in the first place, and Rhodes was ready to boil. The Dream offered a cash equivalent of Tully's choosing in exchange for the shot, and Blanchard agreed.. to the tune of $50,000. While Rhodes apparently didn't have that kind of money, Magnum TA did.. and he was willing to risk it. Surprised that Dusty had scraped enough together, Tully became a bit concerned and demanded a signing bonus of another $50,000. Surprisingly, that deal went through as well, and the match was signed. In the meantime, Dusty busied himself alongside Koloff in tag team matches. During one particularly heated battle against the Dream Team of Flair and Luger, war broke out. Tully and Arn made it 4 on 2, concentrating on Rhodes's knee. Once again, the Dream would have a handicap to fight off in an important match.

 

The beginning of June rolled around and with it came the big title shot. Rhodes was still suffering from his knee injury, as was blatantly obvious throughout. Dusty would deliver a move, take a moment to sit, and then get back into the action. Suddenly, Rhodes nailed Blanchard’s finisher; the slingshot suplex, from out of nowhere. He made the cover, and the pinfall.. or so it seemed. In the seconds after the fall, Dillon draped the limp leg of Blanchard over a ring rope and claimed it had been there throughout the count! While the ref debated restarting the match, Dillon grabbed the $100,000 and ran to the back with Rhodes in hot pursuit. Back in the ring however, the ref had decided to resume the match and started a ten count. Before Dusty had realized what was happening, he'd been counted out and the money was all Blanchard's!

 

Elsewhere in the NWA, Jim Cornette and company were up to their old tricks once again. When Rugged Ronnie Garvin dared to stand up to their might, Cornette pulled out an one of the few remaining old school gimmicks that hasn’t lost its shock value in today's world of table spots and staple guns. He blew a fireball into Garvin's face. Before an all out attack could ensue, Garvin's brother Jimmy ran in to make the save. As a former ally of the Horsemen, for Jimmy to assist his brother (with whom he'd had many an argument over the years) was out of line. Flair hadn't much time to discuss the subject though, as his hands were about to fill.

 

In the weeks leading up to the Great American Bash, random attacks escalated into an all-out war between the two major factions of the NWA. Similar to the nWoWCW feud's heyday, any particular card would end with one stable or another at their enemy's throat. The insanity prompted the decision for the 1987 GAB card, which featured a unique match that's since gathered a reputation for intensity; the infamous WarGames. Though the event's come and gone more often than not since the '87 Bash, the rules have remained virtually the same. A roofed steel cage covers two rings, side by side. The match begins with one competitor from each team in the ring, a clock counting down the two minutes until the next man will be allowed in. A coin toss then decides the order of combatants, with each team alternating turns. Once all ten men are in the ring, the match officially begins. All ten tear at each other until one gives in to the pain, submitting and losing the match for his team. The teams for the inaugural WarGames consisted of the Horsemen (Flair, Luger, Arn and Tully) and manager JJ Dillon vs. Rhodes, Koloff, the Road Warriors and their manager Paul Ellering.

 

It’s what Arn Anderson described as the best match of his career. The first two combatants to step into the WarGames cage were Anderson and Dusty Rhodes. Write it down, it’s an important match. The Horsemen had luck on their side, as Flair was the third man in the ring. Amidst the kind of insanity usually reserved for a battle royal, some order remained. Tully Blanchard made a beeline for the worn-down Dusty Rhodes, continuing their never ending feud. Flair went after Animal and Hawk, as he'd be defending his title against both later in the tour. Luger's assault against Nikita Koloff was a given, as the two were still involved in a heated feud of their own. The deciding factor lay in the managers, and which team member could get to which manager first. As the dust began to settle, The Road Warriors collected the last laugh. They scooped up Dillon and delivered their Doomsday Device double team finisher before forcing a submission out of him with a solid arm bar. One more for the good guys..

 

Further along in the tour, Luger was finally granted his wish; a US Title shot against injured champion Nikita Koloff. After suffering through the majority of the WarGames match, with an exclamation point coming in the form of a spiked piledriver, Koloff's neck had seen better days and he wore a brace to the ring. To assure there would be no outside interference on either man's behalf, the match took place in a 10 foot solid steel cage. Right out of the gates, Luger assaulted the injured body part, tearing the brace off mere minutes into the bout. As Dillon shouted encouragement from beyond the steel walls, the Russian superstar began his comeback. But before he could deliver his finishing maneuver, the Russian Sickle, the ref took his complimentary bump break to the corner. With Luger down for the count and no referee to make it official, Dillon worked more of his magic. While Koloff's resuscitation techniques fell short on the other end of the ring, JJ lobbed a chair over the top of the cage. As Luger wobbled to a verticle base and Koloff's efforts began to bear fruit as well, the Package struck. The recovering ref saw Lex apply his torture rack to an unconscious Koloff and called for the bell. Luger was the new US Champion, as a result of a "submission".

 

With WarGames behind him, World Champion Flair finally had a chance to say his piece regarding Jimmy Garvin's recent face turn. To sum it up, Ric didn't appreciate it. In the fashion unique to the Nature Boy, Flair professed his love for Garvin's valet and wife, Precious. As the weeks went on, Flair continued to make Space Mountain readily available to Precious and at one point presented her with a $15,000 mink coat. Precious accepted the coat, but brought it with her back to Garvin's side. Flair was outraged, and immediately wanted the gift back.. but Precious wasn't about to look this horse in the mouth (the pun... bad as it is... was not intended). Amidst multiple attacks by the Horsemen, Flair challenged Garvin to a steel cage match; the winner would walk away with the belt, the mink coat and an evening on the town with Precious.

As the match began, Garvin seized an early advantage. With the momentum on his side, Garvin looked to make quick work of the champion with his brainbuster and threw him into the ropes. In the process of a leapfrog though, Garvin landed on his knee badly and went down in a heap. Flair immediately spotted the opening and began to disassemble the challenger's entire leg, eventually locking in the figure four. As the audience went berserk and called for Flair's blood, the dirtiest player in the game used the ropes to his advantage. The additional leverage was enough to gain a pinfall on the challenger, but before Flair had a chance to welcome Precious to the ride, Jimmy's brother Ronnie was in the ring. The battle was over, but the war had just begun.

 

The evening after, a cameraman was mysteriously allowed into Flair's hotel room in time for the big date with Precious. As the Nature Boy styled and profiled, the anticipated knock came to the door and Flair answered with his pearly whites a'shinin'. Before we got a glimpse of his date for the evening, Precious had turned to head right back out the door. Flair put a stop to that with his naturally soothing nature, and just when it seemed he might get some play.. Precious turned and decked him with one punch. As JJ Dillon ran (and was subsequently shoved into a pool), "Precious" revealed herself as Ronnie Garvin dressed as a woman. Who says wrestling's come a long way from its roots?

 

As you can imagine, Flair was pissed. Blue balls are hell, and he wasn't about to let Garvin get the last laugh. Back in the TV title scene, Dusty Rhodes had looked past the belt. His heart was set on regaining the $100,000 he'd lost in their previous encounter, and the bookerman came up with an interesting gimmick to settle it once and for all. Tell me if it sounds familiar. A bag containing the money was to be hung high above the ring, with only one way to retrieve it: a ladder. On top of that, around the ropes was wound twine upon twine of barbed wire. Amidst outside interference from Barry Windham and JJ Dillon, the two had a violent encounter that saw Blanchard climb to the top of the ladder. As the Horseman reached for the cash, Rhodes delivered a dropkick that swept the ladder out from under Tully. The tubby gladiator then climbed to the top and walked away with the money.. but not the title.

 

In the middle of August, Blanchard was still shrugging off his defeat at the hands of Rhodes by defending his TV title on a fairly regular basis. One such occasion came against Nikita Koloff, who was still in pursuit of Lex Luger. While JJ Dillon made his regular ringside additions to the match, Koloff decided he'd seen enough and took care of the problem, decking Dillon. Turning to deliver a belly to back suplex, Nikita took out the ref in the process. While all in the ring were dazed and confused, JJ gathered himself enough to hand in a foreign object from the floor, which Tully gladly accepted. The armed Horseman took down the challenger with his new weapon, but before the ref could count the cover, Barry Windham was around to stop the count. Dillon mistakenly climbed back into the ring in an attempt to stop Windham from stopping the referee from stopping his count after not stopping Blanchard from stopping his loaded fist on its way toward Koloff's head. Right. Anyway, there was a big schmozz in the ring and when the dust settled, Koloff had taken the belt by using the object JJ had introduced earlier.

 

In the World Title picture, Flair had been chasing Garvin for weeks now. Any match involving the Ronnie or Jimmy was fair game for a Horseman run-in, which occasionally ended with the brothers in a dominant position. With things at a toss up, Flair did what he had to and challenged Ronnie to a steel cage match for the World Title. The match was a brutal slugfest, certainly not Flair's expertise. Garvin was knocking the champion from one end of the ring to the other, and eventually rolled the champ up in a sunset flip from the top, taking the win and the title in the process.

 

Just as things appeared to be spiraling downhill for the premiere stable, the four bounced back. Four days after Flair's big loss, Tully and Arn were scheduled for a Tag Title shot against heated rivals the Rock'n Roll Express. Later, on television, the not-so-quiet Jim Cornette contested this new team's rights for a Title shot while his Midnight Express stood by patiently. As the interview drug on, Cornette said some things he shouldn't have and Rock'n Roll member Ricky Morton decked him for it as the champs made their way to the ring. Along the way, the Midnight Express took the Rock'n Rollers to the floor. With Tully and Arn waiting in the ring, the champions looked for a few more minutes to prepare following such a heinous attack. Dillon worked his magic, though, and goaded Robert Gibson into the ring without his injured partner. Though a healthy Express could give Arn and Tully a run any time, an injured single member here against the two would make a good comparison to that goat in the first Jurassic Park. Moments later, the Horsemen were champions once more.

 

In the days after, rumors swirled that Morton's injuries were career threatening and the Rock'n Roll Express dropped from active contention for the moment. Glowing from their recent victories, the Horsemen challenged any team from the back to a title match, a call to arms which was almost immediately accepted. The masked Texas Outlaws meandered towards the ring amidst catcalls and sympathy cheers.. and promptly kicked the hell out of the champs. As Arn and Tully ran with their belts, the new team removed their masks to reveal Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson.. rumors of their demise had been greatly exaggerated.

 

By this point, Starrcade 1987 had closed in on the NWA and though the Horsemen no longer held the World Title, Flair aimed to change that by night's end in another Flair/Garvin cage match. Opening the night for the Horsemen was a Tag Team title match pitting Arn and Tully's gold against the ongoing opposition of the Road Warriors. With the Road Warriors on a tear of late, a Chicago home crowd in their favor and their first NWA World tag team titles within reach, things seemed to be stacking up against the younger Horseman duo. Early on, the technicians went to work on Hawk's leg, cutting the ring in half and isolating the bald doomer. In time though, the hot tag was made and Animal tore through the champs like 'rrhea through a weakened colon. Tully sent the ref through the ropes to take the evening's first bump just as the Warriors hit their Doomsday Device on Arn. As another ref ran in to register the pinfall, the crowd went nuts before noticing a discussion taking place with the original referee. As the ring announcer let us all in to the tragedy, it was announced that the original ref had seen Anderson thrown over the top rope before the finishing blow was delivered. That meant a DQ victory for the champions, and a really pissed off Chicago crowd.

 

Later in the card, Dusty Rhodes met Lex Luger for his US title in a steel cage. Where Luger's usual assault of bodyslams, suplexes and.. um.. bodyslams would usually suffice, Rhodes's weight soon became an issue. Luger had trouble getting him off the ground, so he stuck with fists and forearms. As the now-bleeding Rhodes fought back and locked on a sleeper, Luger took out the ref and Rhodes before collapsing in the center of the ring. Dillon once again tossed a chair over the cage's walls, and Luger made a move for it. As a last resort, Rhodes jumped to his feet and tried a DDT.. which drove Luger right into the chair. The ref recovered and before Dillon could utter a word's complaint, Duthtay was our new US champion.

 

As Ric Flair floated to the ring amidst glitter and lighting effects, he was met with something new.. cheers. The crowd was split between the two contenders during Garvin's reign as champ, and Flair's supporters were easily the more vocal. As the two started the match, Garvin went right back to the strategy he'd employed successfully weeks ago. He brawled, and when Flair tried to make it technical he'd put a stop to it. Flair strapped on the figure four at one point, but Garvin fought it off, eventually forcing a break by reversing it to his own favor and forcing Flair to the ropes. Ric attempted to escape over the top of the cage, but Garvin drug him back in and drove his head into the lip of the steel just for good measure. Garvin hit a cross body block from the top, and the two continued to pound the living hell out of each other. Garvin hit his full-body stomp, and Flair bled. The two went back up top, and Garvin went for the same sunset flip that had won him the belt in Detroit. Flair had learned from his mistakes though and fell to his knees, grabbing the ropes to aid his pinning attempt. The ref caught this (!), and kicked Flair's hands from the ropes, almost ending the match with the following Garvin roll-through and pinning reversal. Garvin gave Flair a close-up view of his fist and got a 2 count. The two ran through a stellar series of reversals, nearfalls and all around manliness, which saw Ron take the advantage. Running with the momentum, Garvin looked for a Lou Thesz press that Flair nabbed in mid-air. Ric used his opponent's forward motion against him, dropping his head into the side of the cage and fell through with a pinning attempt. It was enough for three, and as the crowd exploded, Ric Flair walked away with his fifth World Championship.

 

As the year drew to a close, young Lex Luger fought to overcome the bitterness of his Starrcade defeat. Part of his personal therapy involved joining Arn, Tully and JJ Dillon in a 25 man over-the-top battle royal. Where Arn and Tully stuck to guarding their manager, Luger went after everybody else.. and proceeded to eliminate almost all. The final four men left in the ring were all Horsemen, and Dillon had a favor in mind. He asked the other Horsemen to willingly step out, leaving him winner of the match. Arn and Tully, grateful for his advice through the years, nodded and silently made their leave but Luger stood his ground before turning and clotheslining him over the top! As the three attempted to assault their former ally, Luger fought off their combined attack time and again. The young star was set to make 1988 a year to remember, and it all would begin with his split from the Horsemen.

 

So with Luger out, Flair and Tully champions again, Ole out and the threats continuing to line up, the next year was shaping up to be quite interesting. 1987 had turned out to be a very strong year, both for the NWA and for the Horsemen.. but in '88, they'd see some new opposition; some guy with bleached blonde hair and face paint.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

1988

 

With 1987 drawing to a close, the Horsemen were reaching new heights. As the NWA's cult following looked on, they'd brought home the World Titles in both singles and tag team action. Their only loss was on the head of Lex Luger, who left the group at the tail end of the year and eliminated their weak link. Despite a renewed title race with new participants (the Fabulous Freebirds eyed the tag team titles, while Barry Windham was again making a bid for the World belt), the Horsemen took the time to celebrate their winnings. In the vein of the nWo ten years later, the Horsemen took over an entire television program and dedicated it to their leader, World Champion Ric Flair. It's like they always say, I suppose; work hard, play harder.

 

While the champions celebrated like kings, the undercard went on with business as usual, taking part in their scheduled matches as well as could be expected. One such worker was a young man with a distinct look, feel and style. His hair a bleached blonde spike, his face a painted canvas and his matwork risky and unique, Sting was building a respectable fan following within his first few years. On this night, the rising star had a thing or two to say about what was going on, and after dispensing of his opponent grabbed the mic. As the audience grew silent, Sting shocked the world by asking for Flair.. that very night!

 

Before long, JJ Dillon arrogantly made his way down the entryway and attempted to shoo the riled up youngster from the ring. With his disdain for Sting obvious, Dillon told the crowd that tonight was the Horsemen's night off, and such a wild challenge was far beneath the recognition of Ric Flair.. he had better things to do. With that, he took a sip of his champagne and splashed the remainder right in Sting's face. As one can imagine, that wasn't the ideal action he could have chosen and the Stinger immediately delivered with his stinger splash and cinched in the Scorpion Death Lock. When the troops hit the ring, Sting fled.

 

Within one week, Sting had received his demands: Ric Flair stood in the ring, waiting for the young upstart to make a move. The match wasn't exactly classic when compared to their later efforts, but for an initial encounter it went over rather well. It wasn't much of a surprise when the Horsemen invaded the ring and caused a DQ finish, but Sting had kept up. He'd matched Flair all the way, overcoming a lack of technical prowess with speed and youthful vigor. Though he didn't walk away with the title, Sting had captured the hearts and souls of millions of fans nationwide. Flair knew the day would come when his experience wouldn't be enough to match up with this young man, and a plan had hatched in the back of his mind.

 

Meanwhile, the tag team champions had begun a personal crusade to right the wrongs of one Lex Luger, former Horseman and current threat to the structure. When the three were locked into a battle royal with one another, Anderson and Blanchard made a point of isolating and humiliating the Package. As the two pounded away, a familiar face ran into the ring and cleared out all opposition. Ole Anderson had returned, and he'd taken a side against his former allies.

 

Tully Blanchard had more than former partners on his mind though, as he went after Barry Windham in a televised singles match that same nightr. A hard fought contest had apparently ended in a time limit draw, after the bell rang some 20 minutes into the match. Before the warriors could exit the ring, Lex Luger was right there to point out a technical error. Riding the controversy from the NFL instant replay debates (it's true, it's true), Luger grabbed the ref and showed him what had really gone down: JJ Dillon had, for whatever reason, rung the bell early. This was enough for the viewing public, and the match was resumed. Blanchard caught Barry off guard and made the pin almost instantly.. or he would have, if Luger hadn't jumped in the ring to cause a DQ. Within moments, the Horsemen were right there, destroying the young Luger while Flair helped Windham to his feet. As Blanchard and Anderson held back Luger's arms, Flair looked into Windham's eyes and screamed "Join us!!"

 

Windham chose against the Horsemen, and was joined by Dusty Rhodes in chasing off the three before they could do any more damage. After a few tense moments, Luger apologized to Windham and the two embraced.

 

The spring crept around and Sting's threat hadn't gone away, as Flair had hoped. Instead, the two had been meeting each other at house shows and untelevised events across the country in vicious battles for the World Title. Though he'd never taken a victory, Sting had more than proven himself and it was little surprise when the two were scheduled to battle once again atop the first Clash of Champions card.

 

Early in the lineup, Arn and Tully defended their belts against the resurrected tandem of Luger and Windham. As Luger doled out punishment to his former allies and Windham worked to overcome the losing streak that had befallen him recently, JJ Dillon crept to the ring apron with a chair. He made eye contact with Arn and brought the steel object to head level, while Anderson flung Luger towards the awaiting foreign object. Unfortunately, Arn wasn’t the only one who had seen Dillon's invitation, and Lex reversed the irish whip. Arn hit the chair. Luger fell on top and just like that we had new tag team champions. Upset, Tully Blanchard stormed to ringside and proceeded to throw a tantrum. When he looked up, Blanchard saw Magnum TA (who had begun doing color commentary after his injury years ago) and in the faded star a vent for his sudden frustrations.

 

As the crippled superstar stood his ground against the cocky former tag team champion, Blanchard took a look around and waffled his old rival, knocking him to the floor. As Tully began to stomp a mudhole, Dusty Rhodes made a much-needed save, nearly frothing at the mouth and toting a baseball bat. Rhodes swung at anything that moved, and before he knew what had happened something had gone wrong. Not only was Tully Blanchard a mess on the floor, but so was NWA promoter Jim Crockett. The arena was in stunned silence as the main event drew near.

 

As an added attraction, JJ Dillon had been suspended above the ring for the main event in a little cage (woo hooo!), and the Horsemen were barred from ringside. Flair and Sting fought neck and neck throughout, right up to the 45-minute time limit mark. In the ending Hart and Michaels used for the WWF's first Iron Man match, Sting had locked Flair into the scorpion death lock with only seconds left. Flair managed to hold off his submission until after the bell sounded, signifying a time limit draw. Instead of returning the belt to Flair, the officials instead went… to the judges? A 3 man committee voted, one in favor of Flair, on in favor of Sting and one calling it a draw. So, despite the presence of outside officials, we had a tie. Flair kept the belt, while Sting was left to ponder how close he'd been one more time.

 

The next week, an executive meeting was scheduled to discuss a fitting punishment for Dusty Rhodes and his wild actions at the Clash. JJ Dillon had somehow squirmed his way into the meetings, which didn't bode well for the American Dream initially. Once the meetings had concluded, it was obvious Dillon's influence was there.. but JJ hadn't completely had his way with the suits. Dusty was to be suspended for three months and stripped of the US title. Only days later, the Midnight Rider made his first appearance for the NWA. The Rider was a portly, slow man in a mask and a hat.. which is to say he bore more than a passing resemblance to the suspended star. Until Dillon and the Horsemen could find undeniable proof of his identity though, the Rider was allowed to continue working.

 

About a month after winning them, Luger and Windham found themselves defending their tag team titles against Arn and Tully yet again. Luger started the match, and after several quick tags found himself on the receiving end of a lot of punishment. Time and again Lex would crawl within inches of the hot tag, only to be drug back to the Horsemen's corner and mauled even further. When he finally made the big tag, Windham jumped into the ring and cleaned house while Luger fell to the floor, a bloody mess. Windham held his own as long as he could, but was soon looking for a tag. Without Luger on the apron, Barry took more punishment than he was comfortable with and became frustrated, while Dillon taunted him from the floor. "I told you he wouldn’t be there!" screamed the Horseman manager, and Windham found himself believing it. Once Luger finally crawled his way to the apron, Windham tagged him, picked him up, and powerslammed him into the ring. The Package tried getting to his feet, but Windham took him down for good with a harsh lariat. Arn and Tully made the cover and claimed their lost belts as Dillon talked Windham back to the locker rooms.

 

Not a week later, Windham had already discovered the fringe benefits of his new association: an instant seed in the tournament to fill the still-vacant US championship. Things weren't picture perfect, as he met the Masked Rider in the first round.. but there was something strange in the ring on this night. Windham completely destroyed the Rider from start to finish, and added insult to injury by removing the mask! Instead of revealing Dusty Rhodes, though, there sat a jobber named Gary Sabough. Rhodes had skipped out this time, and had drawn the Horsemen out. It mattered not to Windham, who found himself in the tournament finals after Lex Luger's match went to a double DQ. Tully Blanchard's efforts fell short in the semi-finals against Nikita Koloff, but Blanchard did more than his share after the match. A prolonged beating left Koloff's ribs ripe for the finals, a weakness which Windham exploited to its fullest on his way to an easy victory and a US championship reign. Once again, the Horsemen were on top of the game.. they'd filled their ranks in the wake of a defector and now held the US, World and Tag Team championships

 

 

With the US title around his waist, Windham needed a direction and JJ Dillon, mastermind that he is, found him one. Lex Luger had been making a nuisance of himself in the past months, and seemed ready and willing to make his move for Ric Flair's World Title. Luger and Windham had more than enough issues of their own, and Flair would appreciate the extra breathing room. So Windham took the bait and began assaulting Luger whenever the opportunity presented itself. Backstage, outside the ring or at the announce position, nowhere was safe and Windham always had backup. One evening, the returning Dusty Rhodes had seen enough and gave Windham a taste of his own medicine while Koloff, the Garvins and Sting stood guard outside the ring.

 

Once the Great American Bash had crept around again, Windham wanted more of Rhodes than he did Luger. With the card shuffled, Luger had been granted his World Title shot at an annoyed Ric Flair while Windham occupied himself with Dusty Rhodes in a US Title match. Elsewhere, the tag team champions defended against the combined might of Sting and Nikita Koloff.

 

Anderson and Blanchard had more than a mouthful in their defense, and for the first time JJ Dillon was a non-factor in the end result. While the 4 went at it in the ring, none of Dillon's attempts seemed to be distracting Sting and Koloff. The match was very physical and a fair fight, for what seemed like the first time in the Horsemen's history. Sting finally locked on his scorpion death lock in the middle of the ring on Blanchard, and when Anderson tried to get in to break it up, Koloff cut him off. Blanchard screamed his submission but before the ref could call for the bell, it had already sounded. Arn and Tully walked away with their belts, the result of a time limit draw.

 

In the US title matchup, Dusty wasted no time in showing us all why Windham had been labeled the underdog on this night. After a lengthy advantage, Windham turned the tide to slap on his big claw finisher, which Rhodes managed to fight out of. Barry whipped the challenger to the corner, and then took him up top in hopes of delivering a superplex. The champ seemed to forget that ol' Dusty's got a few pounds on him, and the extra weight was enough to reverse the maneuver. On his way down, Barry nailed the ref and Rhodes dropped his trademark bionic elbow for what should've been the win. From the back came Ronnie Garvin, who Rhodes figured was out to wake up the referee. Instead, Garvin drug the Dream to his feet and leveled him with his "hands of stone". The ref came to in time to catch Windham delivering the claw on an unconscious Rhodes and called for the bell. Ronnie had been bought by JJ Dillon.

 

The main event was as strong an event as could be expected, in a time that Flair could carry a stray turd to a match of the year candidate (provided it was still warm). Luger even threw out an effort, trying a few new moves along the way and keeping the Nature Boy on his toes. Where he couldn't hope to match Lex in terms of sheer mass and physical strength, Flair instead counted on his psychology and intelligence to carry the load. He took every opportunity to wear down the leg, often tricking Luger into attempting a knee drop or something along those lines, which would further his work without as much effort. Twenty minutes in Flair locked on the figure four, but Luger managed to fight it off. In action outside the ring, Dillon sent Lex headfirst into the ringpost, drawing blood. Back in the ring, Luger caught Flair off guard with a powerslam, which was followed by the torture rack. Amidst medlam in the crowd, the bell rang and confusion reigned in the ring. Luger grabbed the belt, but it was immediately taken back and placed around Flair's waist. The Maryland Athletic Commission, in a rule that's still enforced today, had called the match as a result of blood loss.

 

So Luger walked away without the title (in what's become known as a Dusty finish), and the Horsemen moved on to other challenges. Nothing much was really said about Luger's unsuccessful bid for the title afterwards, and it would be another while before he could really complete his climb. Flair went on through the rest of the summer into short feuds with most of the NWA's top guys. Sting, Koloff, Steve Williams.. they all made a run, but Flair stood strong as champion. Some nights would end with a hazy Horsemen run in and DQ, some would see Ric walk away a clean winner. While the Nature Boy was having a relatively easy time, his partners in crime weren't getting off quite as lucky. All three had been on something of a slump lately, dropping more matches than they picked up, but their respective belts remained snug around their waists. Though the records may not hold up, many believe this collection to be the finest set of Horsemen throughout history. They'd passed the test time and again, and when the matches mattered and the titles were up for grabs, the Horsemen always walked away the winners.

 

The success of this magnificent foursome wasn't going unnoticed however, and it was only a matter of time before jealousy changed someone the team considered an ally.. in this case, the US tag team champion Midnight Express. Managed by Jim Cornette (and his tennis racket), Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane had considered the Horsemen brothers in arms since their shared feud and disputes against the Rock'n Roll Express. Recently, Cornette had been experiencing problems with JJ Dillon; both considered their boys to be the superior team of the alliance, and it wasn't long before the workers took notice of their constant bickering. Before the argument could escalate to much more, Dillon decided to take advantage of the opportunity the mutual respect presented before the chance vanished altogether. Backstage at an NWA show, Tully and Arn jumped the Express at JJ's bidding.. leading to their inevitable clash with the belts on the line. After a rough and tumble meeting, the Express walked away with their heads held high and the Tag titles around their waists.

 

The very next night, Arn and Tully heaped the blame on Dillon and 2 and a half years of pent up frustration finally came to a head. The former champs had actually come to consider the Midnight Express as close personal friends, and to treat them as they had didn't feel right. As Dillon tried to explain, Tully said they'd had enough. Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard walked out of the ring, out of the Horsemen, and into the arms of the WWF. Suddenly, Ric Flair was the sole remaining original Horseman.

 

As his usual cordial self, Jim Cornette wasn't about to let such a moral victory go without squeezing every possible drop of humiliation out of the situation. The first opportunity he was given after Arn and Tully's departure, he grabbed a mic and announced his Midnight Express as "The men who chased half the Horsemen out of this territory." Just as before, Dillon found himself outspoken, outmaneuvered and outclassed by the fast-lipped Cornette, which served to further enrage the remaining Horsemen. Seeing as how there's only one way to settle things in this fine business of ours, the four took it to the ring in a brawl to end all brawls. Flair and Windham met the Midnight Express in a tag team main event at the fourth Clash of the Champions event. Where Flair and Windham worked as a combination of singles workers, the Express had the edge as a team and often used this to their advantage with experienced double team maneuvers. Despite their disadvantage, there was no doubt the Horsemen had the edge when the action was limited to one on one.. and such was their game plan. Both isolated Bobby Eaton, working him over piece by piece and effectively taking him apart. When the hot tag was made, the winded singles workers were overwhelmed by the fresh man. The Express hit their finisher and Eaton went for the pin. Watching his teammates' fall, Dillon immediately hopped up on the apron.. but Cornette was right there to pull him back down again. Dillon's shoe made it into the ring regardless, and armed with this new advantage, the Horsemen snuck home with a victory in the quick blowoff.

 

Despite the loss of half their roster, Flair and Windham were determined to keep the dynasty alive. Standing in their way was an old enemy, ready to deal the final blow and not without his own backup. Dusty Rhodes brought Bam Bam Bigelow to the main event scene in the fall of 1988, and the two soundly defeated the remaining Horsemen in a series of tag matches throughout that season. In Rhodes, the Horsemen knew what to expect and how to counter his offense.. but Bigelow was the undetermined variable, and Flair just couldn't find an effective counter to his rough and tumble style. There were rumblings that the Beast from the East would be jumping right into the World Title scene, but the tattooed monster hadn't made any such choice just yet. After a televised title defense of his own, Barry Windham decided to dish out a little extra punishment.. which was enough to bring Bigelow to the ring for the save. Bam Bam manhandled the US Champion with a press slam and a diving headbutt from the top, solidifying the notion that his bid for Windham's title took precedence over Flair's World gold.. for now.

 

With Starrcade '88 peeking right around the corner, Flair had kept himself busy with title defenses against Rhodes, Eddie Gilbert and, more recently, a rejuvenated Lex Luger. The champ was worked to the bone, and though Windham had relieved him of Bigelow's challenge for now, Luger was becoming more and more of a nuisance as the months carried on. With rumors growing concerning the Horsemen's destruction, Starrcade 1988 would prove to be judge, jury and executioner for the group's immediate future. A duo of strong defenses against Bigelow and Luger at the event would silence critics nationwide, but dropping one or both belts would just amplify the personal assaults. It was do or die time as the month of December finally crept in.

 

With Bigelow the odds-on favorite, Windham did his best to make a name for himself once again on this night, but not without certain precautions. Every time the Beast started to take a solid advantage, Windham would find a way to skid to the floor. After a couple of these momentum-stoppers, Bigelow grew tired of the games and followed him to the cement. This was just what Windham was waiting for, and he took the much larger challenger by surprise. The minute Bigelow was on the floor with him, Windham cut loose with wild punches, clotheslines and other power moves.. effectively fighting fire with fire. Back in the ring, Windham continued his assault with suplexes and powerslams while the stunned Bam Bam tried to find an effective counter. As the tide of the match turned, Bigelow found what he needed with a swift flurry of acrobatic maneuvers.. but Windham fled to the floor again. When Bigelow climbed out one more time, Windham used the same tactics again.. this time pounding his opponent to the floor and rolling back in just in time to avoid the count out that awarded him a victory over the heavily favored Bigelow. Nearly two years after his first taste of fame, Windham had effectively turned a lot of heads and raised his stock once more.. and he'd done it with a sound strategy.

 

While Windham walked to the showers a proud man, Flair came to the ring worried. Luger had convinced the Board of Directors to add a special stipulation to this match, after Flair had kept his belt so many times in the past as a result of a disqualification. Tonight, if Flair was DQ'd, Luger would take the belt due to forfeit. As the two fell into the roles they'd filled so often in the past months, Luger took an early advantage with his power moves.. claiming several near falls early in the encounter. As Dillon held himself back from causing a DQ that would cost his man the title, Flair slowly began work on the challenger's legs. Attempting an early figure four, Flair was surprised by a Luger reversal that put the pressure right back on his own legs. Flair went outside the ring, and while Dillon had a chat with the official, put a steel chair to good use across Luger's legs.

 

As Luger gripped his knee in agony, Flair enjoyed the moment. After an adequate amount of taunting was admonished, the Nature Boy settled into the Figure Four. Fighting off waves of pain, Luger eventually escaped the hold and caught Flair by surprise with a powerslam. While Ric lay dazed on the mat, Lex showed us all it was time for the torture rack. He picked the champ up, and stretched him across his shoulders for the big finish, but all that work Ric had done to the knees wasn't for nothing. Before Flair could submit, Luger's knee gave out and he fell. Flair landed on top and before either man knew what was happening, the ref had counted the fall. Flair had squeaked out another victory, and the Horsemen had proven the critics wrong with their most successful Starrcade to date. Despite their diminished numbers, the Horsemen had remained a force to be reckoned with.

 

In the following weeks, the challengers were being mowed down one by one. Not long after his strong arrival in the promotion, Bam Bam Bigelow had left to pursue other interests. With Dusty Rhodes also on his way out, would the story end here? Not a chance, as 1989 turned out to be one of the best years in NWA history.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

1989

 

 

Coming out of their highly successful set of matches at Starrcade, the Horsemen had reclaimed their status as the elite force in the NWA. Barry Windham had soundly defeated Bam Bam Bigelow in singles action (which indirectly led to Bigelow's jumping ship soon after), Ric Flair had knocked off the challenge of Lex Luger in as clean a fashion as we're likely to get from the Nature Boy, and the #1 threat since day one, Dusty Rhodes, had left the promotion for the greener pastures of the WWF. In 1989, the Horsemen faced a new challenge: with many of their toughest opponents long gone, who was left to defend against? The problem would solve itself in the early weeks of the year, as the youth of the NWA jumped at the opportunity before them.

 

Enter Eddie Gilbert. Much like Kidman or Eddy Guerrero today, Eddie was often overlooked in the NWA title hunt of the late 80's. Labeled a midcarder for life, nothing special was ever expected of Gilbert.. which only served to further motivate him. The Horsemen scoffed at the series of challenges he extended to Barry Windham for the US title and, expecting an easy defense, accepted without hesitation. Their initial encounter was far from the cake walk Windham had expected, as Gilbert outclassed and embarrassed the mighty Horseman from bell to bell. The US champ even found himself relying on outside interference to save him, with JJ Dillon's meddlings ending this one in a DQ.

 

Enraged, Gilbert confronted Windham, Flair and Dillon in an interview segment the next week. He called the three cowards and demanded a rematch for the belt, to which the Horsemen responded with a 3 on 1 beating. Gilbert wasn't deterred by the assault, and was soon granted the title shot he'd demanded. Again the challenger dominated the champion and Windham found himself backpedaling, as he looked to Ric Flair for the save and DQ this time. Gilbert made a game of it, challenging Flair himself to a match which also ended in a DQ, before a memorable late January interview set the tone for the year to come.

 

With the threat of another beating hung over his head, Gilbert stood with his head held high and challenged Flair and Windham to meet him in a tag match, along with a mystery partner of his own choosing. Dillon laughed it off and signed the match immediately, while his men smiled from the back. With such a depleted roster, the two couldn't imagine a mystery partner worth the time of day. In the days leading up to the match, the possibilities became more and more endless. Would Rick Steiner return alongside the man he'd been aligned with for many of the past months? Would the eve reveal another challenge from Lex Luger? What about Sting? The two hadn't seen eye to eye since their meeting in a 6-man tag at Starrcade '87.. could the threat of the Horsemen unite even these bitter enemies? The night of the match was upon us, and Flair and Windham stood in the ring, amused by their new "challenge". The fog machine started up, the music kicked in, and the lights came to life. From behind the curtains, out stepped Eddie Gilbert.. alongside his partner, Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat!

 

Flair was no longer amused. His history with Steamboat was already the stuff of legends, and the last thing the Nature Boy wanted at this stage was a serious contender to his coveted World Title. The dragon pinned Flair for his first World Title back in 1978, and Flair had never forgiven him for it. While the hatred the two shared for one another was obvious, it was amplified by their mutual respect, earned from years upon years of combat. Steamboat pinned Flair in that tag team match after a half hour's worth of solid action, and suddenly the NWA didn't seem quite as empty anymore.

 

Following their loss in the tag match, Flair turned his anger on JJ Dillon, who had officially signed the match for the two. Without his anchor, Tully Blanchard, Dillon feared another wrong move could cost him his precious association with the Horsemen, and went on a personal quest to win back their favor. He gave Flair the night off and signed himself alongside Barry Windham in a tag team bullrope match against Gilbert and an unnamed member of the Texas Broncos (Dustin Rhodes and Kendall Windham). It turned out to be Windham and Dillon against Gilbert and.. Windham. If you couldn't see this one coming, I've got some lovely property in the everglades I'd be interested in selling you. The match hadn't officially started, but Kendall had already turned on Gilbert. Together, the three bloodied "Hot Stuff" with the bullrope and attatched cowbell. Flair, though, remained unconvinced, and instead of inducting a second Windham brother to the Horsemen, he officially fired JJ Dillon from the group. Dillon wasted no time in making the big jump to the WWF, where he worked with talent backstage.

 

Almost immediately, Flair and Windham introduced their new manager.. Hiro Matsuda, who led a large, powerful Japanese organization named The Yamazuki Corporation. Matsuda stuck out from the group like a sore thumb. Where Flair and Windham were outspoken, homegrown boys that settled things through complex strategies and gang beatings, Hiro was a quiet, weasel of a man that seemed to cling to Flair and Windham rather than lead them. While the management of the group crumbled, Flair began making bold decisions himself. He signed a World Title match with Rick Steamboat for a PPV in February, and a US Title match for Barry against the defector, Lex Luger. Matsuda introduced the threesome to Butch Reed, a decent enough worker that slid right into the vacant 'enforcer' role emptied by Arn Anderson. His proving grounds would come at the PPV against Sting, who never seemed to go away. In the days before the big card, Flair and Steamboat began jabbing at each other through their interview segments, with it all coming to a head in a heated verbal exchange at the televised Clash of the Champions only days before the PPV event. Flair and Steamboat were becoming absorbed with their feud, and the lack of attention was having a negative effect on the Horsemen. They were headed for a big fall if just one match went down the wrong way at the coming event.

 

Sting and Reed opened the card up in less than desirable fashion for the elite stable. While the Stinger was riding a huge wave of popularity both behind the curtains and in the crowd, Reed… wasn't. Sting dominated the match, and eventually pinned the hopeful with a sunset flip from the apron back inside. So it goes…

 

Barry Windham started his match in a completely different manner, taking command early on and basically having his way with Luger throughout the early goings. Luger delivered a power move where he could, and both men wore down relatively early on. Windham sent Luger outside and continued the process of wearing his former comrade down, sending him into the ringpost. Windham propped his opponent against the post and went for a solid jab to the face, but Luger got out of the way and Barry's hand hit solid steel. As the wound began to bleed, the two climbed back into the ring.. but the momentum had changed and when Windham couldn't continue his punishment, Luger's recovery was a quick one. The injury was clearly having its effect on the champion, but you couldn't blame him for trying. He went up top for a superplex but couldn't support Luger's weight with his crumpled right hand. A clawhold was useless without the appendage. In desperation, Windham hit a side suplex and then bridged it into a pinning combination. With both men's shoulders on the mat, the ref went down for the count.. and watched Luger's shoulder rise just before the three count was registered. When it was explained to Windham, his temper exploded and he pounded away at his opponent. He eventually left the ring with some prodding, but not before hitting a piledriver on the belt. It was actually one of Luger's best matches, and the swan song for the worker that was Barry Windham.

 

As the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey rang through the arena, Flair's face was surprisingly unconcerned. Though his cohorts had gone through hell in the matches prior, The Nature Boy's concentration was on Steamboat and Steamboat only. In a match that's gone down in history, Flair and Steamboat carried each other to the brink of insanity.. if you've never been lucky enough to take one of these in, I'd urge you to enjoy any opportunity to do so in the future. It's pure history, and no amount of words can do it honor. Flair fell into his role as the rulebreaker, while Steamboat played the crowd as the favorite. Speaking personally, I'd rate Steamboat's skills in the ring a nip higher than Flair's, but in terms of personality and entertainment value.. Flair's got it hands down. Apart, both men were superb at this time, but together.. well, they tore the damn house down. Steamboat fought through an early figure four before building some offense of his own. A wild cross body block sent the ref sailing, and gave Ric the opportunity he needed. Within moments, Flair had tossed Steamboat over the top rope (which would've netted him a DQ at this stage in NWA history) and began to celebrate. What the Nature Boy didn't notice however, was Steamboat's recovery. The Dragon hadn't gone all the way to the floor after all, and had climbed his way to the top rope. Flair turned in time to see Ricky taking flight as a new ref climbed into the ring. Ric sidestepped the danger and immediately applied the figure four once again, but Steamboat was waiting for it and reversed the finisher into a schoolboy rollup. Referee Teddy Long counted to three, and Steamboat walked away with the World Championship. As superb as this clash was, they managed to top it before the year could close. This had been the worst night of the Horsemen's long legacy, and things were about to get even worse.

 

In the footsteps of JJ Dillon, new manager Matsuda had failed under pressure.. and, also like Dillon, he tried to make it up to his employers by introducing a new prospect within the next few weeks.

 

A televised tag match was aired, featuring the team of Lex Luger and Michael "P.S." Hayes against the Windhams, Barry and Kendall. Kendall had never been accepted as a full-fledged Horsemen, which was an oversight Matsuda hoped to correct. When Luger opened the match by destroying both Texans, it would appear Hiro's plan had backfired. The moment the Package looked for a tag, though, Hayes proved we'd all been played for fools. The former Freebird turned on the United States champion, and after the three had thoroughly trounced the odd man out he grabbed a mic. With Matsuda welcoming him to the corporation, Hayes told all; "Me, Flair and the Windhams.. we rule wrestling."

 

Unfortunately, the plan was doomed from the start, and Barry Windham had left the promotion for the WWF only weeks later. When the issue was pressed, Flair told Matsuda it was over and asked to be left alone. He'd engaged in a series of bloody, spectacular rematches with Ricky Steamboat, and his thirst for the World Title was stronger than his love for the Horsemen. Without Ric the stable would certainly fail. The crowds knew it, Flair knew it, and the bookers knew it. Flair tagged with Hayes on a couple occasions, but he'd meant what he said. For the first time since 1985, the NWA was without the Four Horsemen. Hayes was forced to finish what he'd started with Luger alone, and Matsuda wasn't really heard from again. Wait, scratch that. He took the time to introduce us to a young star before fleeing the public eye.. and in the months after his departure, the Great Muta would have a greater effect than any could have predicted.

 

As for Flair.. well, therein lies another story.

 

The additional concentration gave Ric the edge he needed in the final rematch with Steamboat, and after a classic, classic match that I can't hope to describe here, Flair pulled out a schoolboy for the necessary three count. (Seriously.. nobody's even touched this match in the decade since.. it's that good.) As fans cheered, Terry Funk climbed between the ropes. The "retired" future Hardcore Legend had been acting as a sanctioned judge for the rematch, and was taking the opportunity to congratulate Flair on a job well done. While raising the hand of the new champion in celebration, Funk nonchalantly throw out a challenge for the title and Flair gave him the cold shoulder. Terry seemed to take the dismissal well enough, but when the new champ turned his back to enjoy the applause, Funk jumped him. The fresh competitor simply destroyed the Nature Boy, adding an exclamation point with a brutal piledriver onto a ringside table. The fact that this spot looks as nasty as it does 11 years later, in an industry overflowing with table spots, is a testament to how ferocious it really was. Funk delivered it hardcore style, and the table (being.. well, a TABLE and not the pre-cut stuff we've got today) didn't budge. Flair's head hit the structure legit, and the whole thing came of extremely well. As Ross herniated, Funk told us he'd just taken our champion out of the mix.. and he was right.

 

While Flair sat out with a serious neck injury, Funk took a personal crusade to former champion Ricky Steamboat. The two met in a #1 contender's match, and through less than fair tactics Funk crawled away with a victory. While he had Steamboat's attention, the Texan decided to take advantage of it with a beating for old time's sake. After a couple minutes, Lex Luger made the save but decided it wasn't worth his time and took off again. Funk finished the job, and howled for Flair's blood.

 

It was months before we saw Ric Flair again, and when he did make his anticipated return it was in a limited capacity. Talk about Flair's "injured" neck was all over the place, and many believed he'd never be able to compete at the same level again. Though he was still the champion, Flair wasn't under any kind of pressure to defend the belt again after such a brutal attack. Still, the Nature Boy took it all in stride when he challenged Funk to a World Title match at the 1989 Great American Bash. All smiles, Funk accepted and promised us all a surprise at the event.

 

On the PPV that saw the introduction of the Steiner Brothers as a team, the still unbeaten Great Muta had gone to a shady decision against Sting for the TV title. The presence of the Japanese star's new manager, Gary Hart, wasn't easily overlooked, but the finish itself was genuine. Later in the evening, Hart made another appearance.. this time alongside Terry Funk in the main event. Announcers assured us this was Funk's big surprise, and that it gave the Texan a huge moral advantage. He and Flair fought up the ramp, back into the ring, and out onto the floor again in a bloody mess that went over half an hour. Funk's branding iron factored into the match heavily, as both men used it to bludgeon their opponent. An ungodly series closed this one out, as Funk set in with his spinning toehold finisher.. which Flair reversed into his figure four.. which Funk reversed to an inside cradle.. which Flair reversed into a cradle of his own for the win. Just.. go rent this. Now.

 

 

 

Post-match, Gary Hart revealed he hadn't come alone. In one of the coolest spots ever, the Great Muta sprinted into the ring and absolutely drilled Flair with his infamous "green mist" spit. The two deconstructed the champion until the loud "we want Sting" chants were answered. The two faces chased Funk and Muta away as the show went off the air.

 

Incidentally, Steamboat dropped his match on the card to Lex Luger, and was soon back in the WWF. So goes the feud of the century..

 

Funk and Muta took on Flair and Sting at Halloween Havoc months later, in a Thunderdome Cage match which aimed to blow off two feuds at once. This time, Gary Hart's presence was more a hindrance than a help. He accidentally threw in the towel for his team while Funk was thrashing about in a Flair figure four. Ticked as all get out, Funk laid down the gauntlet for an "I Quit" match against Flair at the very next Clash of the Champions TV event.

 

Flair and Funk made a run at the final Flair/Steamboat encounter in terms of sheer star power, and may have even topped it with this "I Quit" batch of goodness. The two went on for well over half an hour before Funk said the magic words to Flair's figure four leglock. The two stood post-match and stared each other down, while the crowd pissed itself. Just as it seemed they would come to blows once more, Funk extended his hand.. Flair took it.. and the Funker told the champ he'd earned the respect he was given. Gary Hart had seen enough, as he sent his now-larger J-Tex stable (including Muta, the Dragon Master and Buzz Sawyer) out to take out the both of them. Before the beating got too far out of hand, Sting again made the big save for the champ. It just doesn't get much better than this, kids.

 

In the middle of a brief feud with the Great Muta, Flair took the time to invite Gary Hart to the ring. He announced he'd put together a surprise for the evil manager, but before it could be revealed Hart had grabbed a mic of his own. He told Flair to "Suck it" (well.. no, he didn't. I've taken a little artistic license here), as his stable of goons slowly circled the ring and climbed inside. Just as the assault began, Arn and Ole Anderson came out of NOWHERE and cleaned house. The three celebrated together in one of the finest moments of pro wrestling history, and held high the four fingers. The boys were back in town.

 

For the first time ever, the Horsemen were solid babyfaces. Their change in tactics reflected the new attitude, and they went into Starrcade with their heads held high. Unfortunately, the NWA had dropped the ball by shooting the Funk / Flair load a month early and had to scramble for a Starrcade main event. What they came up with was the "Iron Man Competition". Flair, US Champ Luger, Sting and still unbeaten TV Champ Muta would compete. The rules got a bit complicated. Everybody would face each other once (which meant Flair would fight Luger, Sting and Muta, Luger would face Flair, Sting and Muta, etc..) in a 15 minute time limit encounter. Points were awarded as follows: 20 for a pin or submission, 15 for a countout, 10 for a DQ and 5 for a time limit draw. Whichever man held the most points at the end of the night would be our winner.. but, for one reason or another, wouldn't be the champion. It was a mess, and I'm sure I'm not the only one that would have rather seen Funk / Flair II a month later.

 

Luger and Sting stretched it to the limits in the first match of the night. A battle that saw Sting slip out of the Torture Rack ended when Luger solidified his teased heel turn with a dirty finish (He put his feet up on the ropes). Collect 20 pts, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

 

Flair completely disgraced Muta in what would serve as the blowoff to their otherwise stupendous month-long feud. He held most of the offense, and collected a pinfall within 2 minutes of the opening bell. 20 pts, go directly to jail.. do not pass go.. yadda, yadda.

 

Let’s-Screw-Muta night continued, as the Japanese name took on Sting to kick off round two. Both hit their finishers early on, and both failed to register victories afterwards. Muta took the advantage a minute or two in, and sent Sting to the corner with judo chops. When the Stinger fell, Muta went for the Moonsault, his finisher, but missed. Sting sent him up top, landed a superplex, and took home the clean pin.

 

Luger and Flair pounded on each other for a solid 10 minutes before, with the clock ticking, Luger got frantic and collected several nearfalls but no decisive victory. Flair went up top, which meant Luger was contractually obliged to slam him back down again. Out of nowhere, Flair strapped on the figure four, but Luger managed to wait out the clock. Both collected 5 points and an "E" for their efforts.

 

Luger/Muta kicked off the final round, with Lex selling the knee Flair worked over not one hour before. Muta actually cleaned up here, giving Luger a run for his money before the Total Package blew through his offense and looked for the Torture Rack. Muta pulled out that sweet, sweet green mist, but the ref saw it and DQ'd him for his troubles

 

Heading into the last match, the scores read as follows; Luger: 35, Flair: 25, Sting: 20 and Muta: 0. The crowd's split in their allegiances between Flair and Sting, before Flair makes the choice an easy one by falling into his heel-esque personality. Flair takes his time in approaching the younger star, and the two finally lock horns a couple minutes in. The two trade blows, with Flair chopping the night's opponent down and Sting hitting strong clotheslines. Outside they go, and Ric suplexes the Stinger back in. Flair takes control and starts hitting his usual spots about 10 minutes in. Sting hulks up, and locks in the Scorpion Deathlock. Flair breaks it in the ropes, and comes right back with the Figure Four. Sting breaks that, and Flair looks for the win with a series of unsuccessful schoolboys and backslides. Flair continues to work on the leg as time runs down to less than a minute. Cocky as ever, Ric begins the process of hooking on the figure four when Sting rolls him up for the sudden 1- 2- 3.

 

Immediately, the Andersons dove into the ring and stared down the Stinger with eyes of fire. As the crowd erupted with anticipation, the Horsemen helped the winner to his feet, rose his arm, and held up four fingers! As a stellar year drew to a close, the Horsemen were complete at last. Sting, Arn, Ole and Ric celebrated the hard fought victory together in the ring as the credits rolled on by

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

1990

 

 

1989 had been a landmark year for the NWA in terms of match quality, storylines and roster development. Several familiar main event faces had abandoned the promotion for the skyrocketing WWF, including mainstays Dusty Rhodes and Barry Windham. Weeks into the year, the Horsemen officially split for the very first time. The cards were down for the Southern-based promotion, and it was do or die time. With adversity, though, came risks.. and with risks came either strong success or bitter defeat. Midway through the year, the NWA had captured the attention of all within earshot. New stars had risen to pick up the slack left by the old in Terry Funk, Ricky Steamboat and Sting. Ric Flair was invigorated with new life, and his reassembled Horsemen boasted their strongest roster in years. The Starrcade main event showcased not one, but two current members in Sting and Ric Flair. As the year drew to a close, the forefront heel faction of the world was functioning as perennial babyfaces.. and the audience couldn't get enough of them. Things weren't quite business as usual for the four, but that would soon change..

 

Two days into the new year, Arn Anderson gave the Horsemen a new taste of gold with a solid victory over then-TV Champion The Great Muta. After his horrendous handling in the Starrcade iron man tournament, Muta had read the writing on the wall. This loss signaled the end of his first and only extended visit to North America. It's a shame nothing more was done with him, as I stand firm that Muta could've taken the NWA to even further heights after the exits of Rick Steamboat (again to the WWF) and Terry Funk (back to "retirement").

 

 

Not long after Arn's major victory came a casual promo spot for the Horsemen on "Funk's Grill", an interview program hosted by former rival Terry Funk. While Flair worked his magic on the mic and the rest of his comrades looked on, Woman (Nancy Sullivan) made an unscheduled appearance on the show. Woman (then the real life spouse of Kevin Sullivan) told the viewing audience in no uncertain terms that she wanted to "own the Horsemen". Flair didn't quite know what to say, and managed to dodge the issue long enough to appreciate her... finer values. Slick Ric was looking to hand out free passes to Space Mountain, and Mrs. Sullivan was at the head of the line.

 

Elsewhere in the NWA, manager Teddy Long had announced the departure of Sid Vicious from his forefront tag team, the Skyscrapers. Little was known about Sid's exit from the dominating coalition alongside "Dangerous" Danny Spivey, though rumors of an injury were reported. It would only be a matter of time before the true intentions of this split were revealed. As an interesting sidenote, Long introduced Vicious' replacement during the very same interview.. a tall, pale redhead by the name of "Mean" Mark Callous. You may recognize some of his more recent work in the WWF, where he's since been known as The Undertaker.

 

Back on the Horsemen's side of things, the J-Tex stable had continued along, ready to cope with the imminent loss of their keynote player in the Great Muta, and had actually posed something of a threat for the reformed Horsemen. While the Andersons' dependable offense and Flair's tactical wizardry certainly aided their cause, Sting's youthful energy put the group over the top. To drive the point home, the Horsemen had signed a 6-man tag team cage match with J-Tex for the upcoming tenth Clash of the Champions. Ole had willingly stepped aside so that Sting could receive his moment to shine in the stable, and all was well in the world.. with one small exception.

 

Following his victory in the Iron Man Tournament, Sting had been rightfully granted a shot at Ric Flair's world title. The executive committee had set a date in late February for the event which would house this title match, Wrestle War 1990, but Flair wasn't concerned. As far as the Horsemen were concerned, their protection was worth more to Sting than this World Title shot and when the subject was brought up in an interview, Flair simply asked Sting to forget about it and set his aims at the US Title. When Sting refused, Flair was more than a bit surprised.. but he accepted it and moved on to concentrate on their tag match at the Clash.

 

The night of the 6-man tag, the Horsemen walked into the ring to open the show. Flair told us there was big news on the horizon and handed the stick to Ole, who sternly told Sting his presence in the Horsemen was no longer necessary. Before the stunned Horseman had much chance to protest, the senior member told him all bets were off. He gave him 2 hours to back out of the upcoming title shot, and turned his back. The youngster grabbed Ole's shoulder, looking for an explanation, and Flair took the golden opportunity; he pegged him from behind. After a brief beatdown, the champ told Sting to get out of his life. The Horsemen made their way backstage as the challenger lay prone in the ring.

 

The main event crept around, with Ole working in Sting's place, and the former Horseman was nowhere to be found. Finally, midway through the gigantic 6-man, Sting suddenly beat a path down the entryway. Midway to the ring, friends from backstage held him back from something he might regret later.. but he'd hear none of it. Running solely on emotion, he broke free and attempted to scale the cage. When he was pulled down from the steel wall, he managed to escape again and attempted a second scaling. However, something had gone awry with this continued assault, and Sting was obviously limping as he was helped down. After taking the victory, Flair met him in the entryway and the two had a brief brawl. As the show went to black, it took with it the promise of an immediate World Title match between the two. Sting had ruptured a tendon in his left leg and would be out of action until mid-summer.

 

Almost immediately, the Horsemen hopped on the NWA television programming and buried the defenseless youngster, with hopes of keeping some momentum for the feud alive. Flair busied himself with the usual title defenses, and met Lex Luger at Wrestlewar in Sting's place. The two ran their usual routine and as Luger appeared to be on the verge of the World title yet again, Flair was saved by a familiar face. Barry Windham made the run-in this go around, making an unscheduled return to the stable that led him to stardom. Not long after, the four converged in the same ring for the very first time and announced yet another surprise.

 

Ole Anderson had willingly stepped down from the active roster, and would be handling the group's managerial interests. After the chaos that they'd survived with Dillon and Matsuda, Ole seemed the only logical replacement. With the first Horseman's big news serving as a lead-in, the four then introduced their newest member.. big Sid Vicious, who'd left the Skyscrapers not long before. They wasted no time, promptly assaulting Sting's knee backstage.. an action which would serve as the kayfabe explanation for his absence from action in the weeks to come.

 

Brian Pillman was next in line for a title shot, after he questioned Flair's actions in removing Sting from the group. The blowoff was a televised affair, and the two really tore it up. Just another ironic sidetrack to the history of the Horsemen, as the two would continue their feud some five years later.. resulting in one of the most anticipated and rewarding swerves in the group's history.

 

Flair would continue to defend his belt on a more than regular basis (nearly every week) against the likes of Ricky Morton, Tom Zenk and Robert Gibson while the Steiners provided healthy opposition in the tag ranks. Ole Anderson introduced and endorsed a masked team named the Minnesota Wrecking Crew II, but they were largely unsuccessful.

 

Finally, Sting made his long-awaited return to the NWA in time for the Great American Bash. After considering the situation surrounding his lost opportunity at Wrestle War, the executive committee awarded Sting the imminent title shot immediately upon his return. The deal was done, the time was set, and don't think Flair didn't do everything in his power to get out of it. Still, despite Ric's finest efforts, the two met at the 1990 Great American Bash for all the marbles. Flair promised it would be the last time we'd see Sting step between the ropes.

 

 

As the two sized each other up, the match's special stipulations came into play; Ole Anderson had been handcuffed to the almost 8 foot El Gigante at ringside, and a collection of Sting's closest backstage friends would be at ringside to ward off any possible Horseman interference. There would be no easy escape this time around.

 

Sting took an early advantage, but Flair turned it right back around after the necessary begging off and eye-prodding was out of the way. Flair instinctively took his assault right to Sting's injured leg, which was still visibly on the challenger's mind. The champ looked for a figure four moments later, but Sting fought it off as announcers let us know just how crippling a maneuver that would be. Just as the tides began to turn in his favor again, Sting attempted an ill-timed dropkick and Flair stepped out of the way. Solid chops reverberated throughout the arena as Slick Ric took the advantage that didn't last. When Sting finally reclaimed the offense, Ole decided he'd had enough and tried to escape the Mexican giant. As the newly appointed manager realized how futile his attempts were, the rest of the Horsemen were learning the same lesson at the hands of Sting's friends. Back in the ring, Sting had missed a splash and run his knee into the corner. Sensing victory, Flair moved in for the kill and was surprised by a rollup counter. The ref slapped mat three times. Sting's moment had arrived.

 

In the months after his victory, Sting was constantly hounded by a masked challenger calling himself the Black Scorpion. It was a pretty ridiculous angle, full of smoke, glimmer and lighting effects. A Sting title defense would be interrupted by a ridiculously cartoonish voice that boomed "STING!!" over the PA. A man dressed in black would wander out and mysteriously disappear before Sting could reach him. Lame, right? Wait.. it gets even better.

 

Halloween Havoc had rolled around again, and Sting found himself locked into a defense against Sid Vicious of the Horsemen. The mysteriously masked masked Black Scorpion had announced his presence to Sting in a skit earlier in the card.. he'd abducted someone from the crowd, and given Sting the scare of a lifetime by dragging her into.. a box. He then mysteriously draped both the box and himself with a cloth. Sting was watching this from across the entryway (likely doing all he could to maintain a straight face) and fought through security, only to discover both were missing when the cloth was lifted. They then appeared in a puff of smoke in the spot Sting had just left. Good, quality programming..

 

Later on, Flair and Arn took on the tag team champions, Doom (Butch Reed and Ron Simmons), for their titles in a solid affair. Hopelessly overpowered, the Horsemen relied on treachery for gains in this one, and the two attitudes meshed well. The first half of the match saw Flair isolated to the champions' corner, where he was utterly destroyed. He broke away to make the tag, but flopped before he got there. The tag still managed to register, and Arn near-instantly landed his spinebuster but couldn't get a three count for it. Together, the two worked over Simmons' leg and Flair tried a figure four that was reversed. Chaos followed, as both teams took it to the floor. Amidst the craziness, none took heed of the referee's count and while the brawl continued on the cement, they were both eventually counted out. Still no dice for the Horsemen.

 

Sting and Sid met in the main event and Sting's first major title defense while the Horsemen looked on from various stations throughout the area. Sting came out a house of fire, and before long had chased Sid to the outside. The two took it to the stands and beyond, all the way back to the locker room. As the Horsemen made a distraction, Sting chased Sid back into the ring and scooped him up for a slam. The champ balanced incorrectly, and fell to his back with Sid on top. The ref's count reached three before Sting's shoulder could raise, giving us a new champion!

 

While Sid celebrated with the Horsemen, a second Sting came down the entryway, this time with a shredded piece of cloth on his arm. Upon closer examination, the ref put two and two together.. this was the real Sting (the cloth meant he'd been tied up during the fall..), and the man who'd taken the pinfall was a painted-up Barry Windham. The match was restarted and Sting hit a quick stinger splash, followed by a rollup for the win.

 

The powers that were decided that the best matchup for the fans' money at their pinnacle PPV event, Starrcade, would be a Sting/Black Scorpion match for the gold. Sting agreed to it under one stipulation; if he won, the Scorpion would be forced to unmask. It was set in stone, and the event loomed overhead like a storm cloud.

 

Flair and Arn were owed a rematch for the tag team titles against Doom after their indecisive match at Havok, but Doom jumped Flair earlier in the day. Windham took his spot in the street fight, and the four produced another wholly enjoyable tag extravaganza. The brawl got brutal fast, and by the time the finish approached all four were bleeding. Arn climbed to the top while Barry held Simmons down, but the former All American escaped and clotheslined Arn on his way down. Simmons went for the cover, while Windham rolled Reed up on the other end of the ring. The ref counted three for both, and the bout was ruled a draw.

 

It was now time for the main event, which was placed in a steel cage. A complete waste of several thousand dollars marks the entrance of the Scorpion.. and then the scorpion.. and then the scorpion.. and so on. Four scorpions had stepped out before the real Black Scorpion made his way to the cage. It was already bound to be a long night.

 

For his part, the man behind the mask did everything humanly possible to cover for his otherwise distinct ring style.. and it showed where his mind was when the match itself failed to live up to what it could have been. The two traded advantages relatively often, with Sting taking advantage in the climax and hitting his stinger splashes before eventually locking in the scorpion deathlock. The Black one made it to the ropes, breaking the hold, and Sting slammed his head into the cage. While the challenger was stunned, Sting took the advantage to tear off his mask.. but there was another beneath it. The champ put it away with a bodypress, just in time for the other scorpions to storm the ring and attack. One by one they went down, losing their masks along the way, until the Horsemen rushed the ring and laid Sting out. Still, he made a recovery, and finally unmasked the master Scorpion as Ric Flair.. just as time ran out on the PPV

 

=====

 

 

Should I continue? The history goes on to 1998

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Yes, please do. I'm enjoying this read.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

1991/1992

 

 

It was less than two weeks into 1991, but you knew it was bound to be a wild year both before and behind the cameras. In front of the camera, Sting had marched out of a horrendous feud with the Black Scorpion (later revealed as Ric Flair) with his World Title intact. The Horsemen had added new blood to their roster with Sid Vicious and a familiar face in Barry Windham, as well as a manager they could trust: Ole Anderson. Arn Anderson's TV title was the group's only gold (recently regained after Anderson had briefly dropped it to Tom Zenk) as the year began, but to count them out at this point would be ridiculous. Flair still had his head in the World title scene, Windham and Anderson were tagging together regularly, and common sense would lead Sid after Lex Luger's US title to round out the roster.

 

Backstage, away from the glare of the cameras, the former Jim Crockette promotions venture was at the center of some debate with its NWA partners. Some years back, Ted Turner had bought out Crockette's small fed and renamed it World Championship Wrestling. WCW had been just a small part of a larger whole, the NWA. It was Turner that put the NWA progamming on TBS, and when the two sides began bickering in early 1991, it was Turner who left the coalition.. and took all the stars with him. Early January would mark the last time you'd see the letters NWA on Turner air time. To further solidify this change, Turner held a World Title match between Ric Flair and Sting, the two top contenders, with the winner laying claim to the first WCW World Title Belt. Flair took the victory, and was recognized by the NWA as their world champ, to boot.

 

Flair and Sting renewed their rivalry on the airwaves, this time bringing their friends into the mix. The Horsemen found themselves opposed by Sting, Brian Pillman and the Steiner Brothers in 8-man tag matches across the nation. The next generation of stars seemed to be taking shape right before our eyes, and the groups traded dance partners as well as victories for the majority of the first month.

 

Not long into the headlining feud, The Horsemen brought El Gigante into the mix, inadvertantly or not. Gigante was struggling through an interview with Jim Ross, rambling on about nothing in particular one evening early in February. As the giant crept along with his broken English, the Horsemen made an unannounced arrival and put the boots to Gigante. Somehow, the monster fought back and nearly chased the quartet off before finally succumbing to their combined assault. Before the night was over, the nearly eight foot monster had done his best to return the favor; he'd found Ric Flair backstage, and the two brawled the night away.

 

El Gigante began slowly building a single man offense against each of the Horsemen and their allies from that moment, which suited Sting & company just fine. He took on Barry Windham one evening, dominating most of the matchup. Windham bladed, and Gigante appeared ready to put the match away when Flair made the run-in and returned the favor of several nights ago. Gigante was featured on the "Danger Zone", the talk show of Horsemen ally Paul E. Dangerously and took a verbal assault from the energetic mouth before getting physical and attacking him on his own program.

 

Still, it wasn't enough to merit a meeting at the next PPV event, the 1991 edition of Wrestle War. The Horsemen took on their standard opponents of the day, Sting, Pillman and the Steiners, in a War Games double cage encounter. Unfortunately, much of the magic of this gimmick had been drained in years past, and not even the starpower featured in this year's match could do much to save it. The Horsemen's history with the event gave them the necessary edge to put the 1991 edition in the bag, as they walked away the decisive victors after winning the coin toss and enjoying a constant advantage. It probably didn't hurt that they'd softened Pillman up considerably the night before, either.

 

In the nights after their victory, the Horsemen proved they hadn't forgotten about El Gigante, making their presence in his matches a common occurrence. In one instance, Gigante was in the middle of a squash victory when Flair ran in and laid out his own particular variation of the smackdown. Before he could do much damage, Sting threw his hat back into the picture and made the save. Weeks later the four were meeting regularly in the tag team ranks.

 

In the meantime, Sid and Flyin' Brian were involved in a series of their own. The feud had been hinted at long before, in the two ring battle royal at the 1989 Great American Bash. Sid and then-partner Dan Spivey walked away from that one victorious (splitting the winner's cash reward between them), but Pillman had been involved in heated exchanges with both before finding himself the last man sent to the floor. Sid had been on a rampage in the past months, basically destroying any jobber unlucky enough to get in his way and sending them home on their backs. In the middle of one of these "matches", Pillman decided enough was enough and made the run-in, standing up for the smaller guys.

 

Facing opposition, Vicious decided to modify his tactics a bit.. he wouldn't destroy his own opponents, he'd just find somebody else's. Fellow Horseman Barry Windham was facing Ricky Morton on an episode of WCW Worldwide, when Vicious tried this new strategy. Sid stalked into the ring, plain as day, and delivered a powerbomb on the former Rock'n Roll Express member. The two continued their assault until Pillman figured out what was going on and made yet another save. Morton went home on a gurney.

 

Surprisingly enough, the two never had a proper blowoff. Sid went to the next PPV, Superbrawl 1991, against the perennial Horsemen opponent, El Gigante, in a no holds barred/loser leaves town/stretcher match. Apparantly, WCW wasn't large enough for the two of them (and Vicious, unimpressed by his push, was headed straight for the open arms of Vince McMahon), so this was "the only way" to settle things. Still, in a day and age before the internet, news of Sid's jump travelled slowly and the match's outcome wasn't spoiled by rumors of his contract's end.

 

In the month prior to the card, WCW and New Japan had co-promoted a show in Tokyo, where IWGP champ Tatsumi Fujinami took on WCW/NWA champion Ric Flair, pitting his Japanese gold against Flair's WCW title. Though both were just passing their prime at the time of the encounter, they never really got things together in the ring. At their first meeting, Flair carried an early advantage through the bout, working primarily on the leg (as always). When Fujiyami made his comeback, Flair fell back into character and begged off, already wearing a crimson mask. The ref took a fall, and in the aftermath, Fujinami threw Flair over the top rope in what should have been an automatic DQ. Flair surprisingly slid back into the ring, just as a second ref ran in and counted the fall in Fujinami's favor. WCW officials argued that the challenger's actions warranted a disqualification, and that Flair was still the rightful champion, but NJPW didn't see things that way and both men were declared WCW champion in their respective home country. The rematch was set for Superbrawl, where fellow Horseman Arn Anderson would be defending his TV title against the constant challenge of Bobby Eaton, Sid would be fighting the aforementioned bout with El Gigante, and Barry Windham was nowhere to be found.

 

 

Interestingly enough, the Superbrawl card would also see the introduction of a man that would (for better or worse) hold a strong influence on the company in later years under his real name.. Kevin Nash. He wasn't working as himself, of course, as this was the early 90's and pro wrestling still stunk to high heaven of a gimmicked circus sideshow. Nash was instead dubbed 'Oz', and he came out complete with a manager named "The Wizard" who walked a yellow brick road. It isn't even as simple as a poor gimmick choice, however.. Nash's character was advertised to hell and back. See, Turner had recently picked up the rights to a great many classic films for exclusive airing on his networks, and the Wizard of Oz was listed among the masses. Billionaire Ted, in all his majesty, figured there was nothing like free advertising.. so he went about promoting his buy in this unique fashion.

 

The Wizard aside, Sid and El Gigante made their way to the ring as fans screamed for Sid's head. Incredibly, the audience was lively before, during and after, despite the plodding work in the ring. I suppose there may be a place for the story in wrestling, after all. Anyway, the match crept along to a finish in a relatively short amount of time, and El Gigante took the "V" with his dreaded clawhold, sending Vicious out of WCW in a huff. The loss of their big man was the least of the Horsemen's worries at this point, however, and with the group slowly drifting apart his departure was glossed over.

 

Back in the ring it was now Arn's turn, as he'd be defending his TV title against former Midnight Express member "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton. The history between these two was a bit tangled by this point, as JJ Dillon's orders to jump Eaton were what drove Arn to the WWF years ago. For the purposes of this match, Eaton was playing the face, as he was opposed by a member of the top heel stable in professional wrestling. The two began feeling each other out, and Eaton hit a short armbar before climbing up top. Arn would have none of it, though and hit a nice reversal, slamming him all the way out to the rampway. The enforcer attempted a piledriver on the ramp, but Eaton wasn't worn down far enough just yet. They took things back into the ring, where Anderson quickly regained the advantage through a shot to the eyes. Double A went on to work heavily on the knee, capitalizing with a rope-aided leglock. When Eaton tried his big comeback and went for a suplex, the leg buckled. Arn nailed the spinebuster late, but Eaton somehow mustered up the strength to kick out. Arn, pissed, assures the ref that he'd counted three. However, while the argument gets heated, Eaton hits his finisher and falls on top for the three and the belt.

 

It's main event time, where we'll discover the true fate and future of the WCW World title. Ric Flair's got his rematch against Tatsumi Fujinami here, in a winner-takes all title encounter. Fujinami grabs an early advantage, wearing Flair down with submission holds of all names, shapes and sizes. As Flair begins to stand, Tatsumi nails a forearm and gets a two for his troubles. He hits another that sends Flair out to the concrete. When the Japanese challenge takes the fight outside, Flair reaches into his bag of tricks and crotches him over the steel railing. As always, Flair tosses him back into the ring and goes right for the leg. He locks on a figure four early, but Fujinami gets to the rope. As the two rise, Fujinami somehow ends up on top with a sharpshooter, but Flair also nabs rope. They head back out, where Flair's bleached white 'do is smeared with red. Fujinami takes a strong advantage as we head into the ring. Flair flops. Flair tries a scoop slam, but balances incorrectly and Fujinami falls on top for two. Fujinami looks for a rollup, but Flair was waiting for him and reverses for the three after nearly 20 minutes. Flair celebrates his victory, after another less than stellar-yet easily watchable meeting between the two.

 

The remaining Horsemen (with Ole moving back into a more active role) would go on to continue their ongoing feud with Sting and his "dudes with attitudes" (a rotating crew of faces, including but not limited to El Gigante, the Steiners, Brian Pillman, Junk Yard Dog, and Bobby Eaton), with matches at an upcoming Clash of Champions in June. Pillman and El Gigante were scheduled to meet Double A and Windham in a tag team "loser of the fall gets outta town" match, while Flair took the still-TV champion Bobby Eaton in a best two of three falls match for his World Title. Meanwhile, WCW had been building Lex Luger steadily for well over a year in the US Title picture. He'd emerged quite successful after another feud with Nikita Koloff, but had yet to find a steadfast role as heel or face. Still, his victories had warranted a title shot against Flair at the upcoming Great American Bash card.. a match in which many expected to see Luger's first World Title victory over the Nature Boy. All that stood in the way was this Clash of the Champions card.. and the slim issue of Flair's expiring contract.

 

The tag match turned into something of a mess, both in the execution and the follow through. Windham pinned Pillman, which meant the Flyin' one should've been gone from the promotion. Instead, the masked "Yellow Dog" began showing his face shortly after, in what looks to have been a poor attempt at recapturing the old Dusty Rhodes / Midnight Rider magic. Regardless, the Horsemen went over relatively clean here in a schmozz.

 

Flair and Eaton took each other to as good a match as could be expected, with Eaton taking the surprise first fall with a fluke pin. Flair fought back and took a cheap countout victory for fall number two, and instantly drug Eaton back into the ring to work on the leg. A figure four later, and it was all over.

 

On July 1st, only a few days after the Clash defense, Flair met with WCW officials to discuss the standings of his contract. As far as WCW was concerned, everything was in order. They'd labeled Flair as the loyal, aging superstar of the company, one who'd never even consider jumping ship. He'd been with the promotion religiously for more than 20 years.. I think they had just cause for making that assumption. However, they'd made a bad move in telling Flair their future booking plans. The champ was scheduled to do the job to Luger, a task which Flair had refused several times in the past.. he didn't believe Lex was ready to be World Champ. There was a suggestion that Flair should drop the title to Barry Windham, who would then do the necessary job to Luger at the Bash, but nothing came of it. The two sides drifted even further apart within the span of a couple days, and when Flair signed a deal with the WWF he was stripped of both his WCW and NWA World Titles.

 

It should've ended there, but it didn't.. politics found a way to get even more involved. See, when the belt is placed on a man he's responsible for its care, its well-being, its making it to every event night after night. Thus, a down payment of a large amount of money is standard as a collateral in case something happens to the gold along the way. Flair had indeed put down his money when the belt was given to him earlier in the year, and when the money wasn't returned upon his being stripped of the title, he took the belt with him to the WWF. Summerslam 1991 featured an incredible backstage spot; Bobby Heenan took a cameraman along with him as he knocked on Hulk Hogan's dressing room door. Hogan turned, and Heenan offered up a challenge on behalf of the man himself, Ric Flair... and in Bobby's hands was the WCW World Title. It was a surreal sight, especially considering word of Flair's contractual difficulties was well kept.

 

As is often the case, everything eventually sorted itself out. Flair publicly protested the questionable actions of the WCW commitee by showing up on WWF TV every week with their World Title, calling himself the "true world's champion" and working it all into an angle. WCW finally cracked and repaid his money in full, and Flair returned the belt right away. I've heard rumors that Vince had asked Flair to hold onto the belt for sake of continuing the gimmick (and McMahon would even pay the resulting legal fees from an impending WCW lawsuit), but Flair had too much class and stayed true to his word in returning the belt. But that's just a rumor, and Flair was WWF champion within a year, NWA belt or not.

 

 

Don't go feeling sorry for WCW, though. The Great American Bash went off without a hitch, as far as their booking was concerned. Lex Luger and Barry Windham met after Flair's departure deleted the Horsemen from group contention, and Luger walked away with his first World Title after years toiling in the midcard. Flair's path crossed once more with former Horseman Sid Vicious (now dubbed Sid Justice) in the main event scene of the WWF, though the two never had anything of a feud. Justice and Flair were the last two men in the ring at the 1992 Royal Rumble, a rumble which would grant the winner a World Title reign (as the belt was vacant at the time). As Justice smiled on the winded Flair in the closing moments of the big brawl (Flair had drawn #3 and lasted all the way to the finish), Hulk Hogan surprisingly yanked Justice out from the floor, giving Flair the nod in what many consider to be the greatest rumble of all time. Justice and Flair both found themselves competing in the main event of Wrestlemania VIII, but not against each other. The event held the first "double main event" in Wrestlemania history, as Flair defended and lost his World Title to Randy Savage, while Justice took part in a grudge match against Hogan. Ironically enough, the man WCW had so firmly backed in their rebellion against Flair, Lex Luger, made his jump to the WWF official with this show through a satellite interview. Flair would go on to defeat Savage for the title in the months after, with help from his friend and colleague Mr. Perfect, before granting Bret Hart his first World Title a month later. Flair's contract would soon expire, and faced with a recalculated role in the midcard of the WWF, he decided to triumphantly return home to WCW and the chaos therein.

 

While Flair was gone, Arn Anderson had joined another stable.. Paul E.'s Dangerous Alliance. Though the group had disbanded by the time Flair returned, it was actually quite successful for its time and gave Double A a good angle to work with while Flair was gone. Rumors were almost instantly sailing regarding yet another Horsemen reunion. Like Arn, Barry Windham had flourished in Flair's absence. After losing his World Title bid against Lex Luger, Windham took the role of the "lone wolf" and found success as a technician. When Flair returned to the fold, Windham was champion of the resurrected NWA.

 

The stage was set, and the important players were once again returning to the scene. After a successful WWF stint, Flair had proven his worth to the skeptical WCW crew once more.. and they needed him now more than ever. Following a tumultuous 1992 and on the brink of an even worse 1993, WCW turned to their multiple-time World's Champion to once again bail them out. Though he couldn't technically play an active role until midway through the year, Flair seemed ready to grab the ball and run with it. With loads of new faces to work with, what would 1993 have in store for the Horsemen?

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

1993

 

 

WCW was in deep water following the tremendous failure that was 1992. Buyrates were plummeting, house show attendance was at an all time low, storylines were silly and contrived, and morale was way below par. After nearly burning all their bridges with the resident franchise in the mess that saw Flair head to the WWF, the higher-ups in Turner came crawling back to the multiple-time world's champion in their hour of need. Flair had no issue with it, as he'd hoped to get out of his WWF contract anyway.. the Vince McMahon's plans had him phased out of the World Title. The two sides came to terms and as 1993 rolled around, Flair was back home.. but the last one out hadn't turned off the lights. The WCW/NWA that had given birth to the Horsemen was long gone, and in its place was a strange beast none could recognize. With former Horsemen scattered throughout, Flair began the rebuilding process himself.. but didn't start right away.

 

When Ric made his first reappearance on WCW television, it wasn't in an active role. A clause in his WWF contract kept the Nature Boy from active contention until June of that year. The contract said nothing of hosting a talk show however, and "A Flair for the Gold" was born not long after. In this role, Flair's name was kept fresh amongst the ranks, his mic skills were given opportunity to flourish, and new relationships began to form. Old friends Ole and Arn Anderson were among ther first to join him on the program, and the three set out on their search for a fourth Horseman almost instantly, though they'd never admit it on air.

 

Not long into the lifespan of A Flair for the Gold, Slick Ric invited The Hollywood Blondes, Steve Austin and Brian Pillman, to his program. At this point the blondes were the tag team champions, and over as monster heels with the otherwise dead crowds of the day. They'd grabbed their spot through hard work, interesting personalities and consistency, so fans respected them nearly as much as they hated them. The two came on the program with something of a chip on their shoulder, and berated Flair before a live TV audience. Flair attempted to verbally fight back, but the two were too quick witted even for him and by the program's end Slick Ric was left humiliated in his own spotlight. It wasn't exactly a familiar feeling for the former champion, and was not one he wished to get better acquainted with. The search for a new Horseman stepped up.

 

As the search went on, Flair and the Andersons began to narrow down their options. Barry Windham's new role as a lone wolf had netted him tremendous success since Flair's departure (Windham was now the NWA World Heavyweight Champion), and he wasn't likely to give up that kind of success for another run with the Horsemen, where he'd always been the second fiddle. Lex Luger had run to the WWF just after Flair, where he remained in a slowly dissolving role as the Narcissist. They'd pretty well eliminated Sting after a failed partnership in 1990, and Sid was happy enough with his new affiliation with Big Van Vader at the top of the WCW pecking order.

 

Before the big selection, A Flair for the Gold was given something of an interesting sidenote. The main event scene at this point was a rotating assault, centered on a collision between the masters of the power bomb (the team of Sid and Vader) and the resistance (Sting and Davey Boy Smith). The annual WarGames event had crept along, and while Sid and Vader had recruited a fresh team named Harlem Heat as their partners for the war, Sting and Davey Boy had yet to name their allies. A Clash of the Champions card gave WCW a big opportunity to anounce the surprise partner(s), and the good guys came out for a chat on the special edition of Flair. The two stood up for added effect as the crowd tensed, waiting for a big name announcement to surprise them. Sting took the mic and, after sufficient dramatic pause, announced "our partner... the SHOCKMASTER!" Everyone was silent for several seconds. The fans.. the wrestlers.. their opponents. Dead air. Suddenly, the wall to the set exploded as Fred Ottman, known in the WWF as Tugboat and Typhoon, burst through. In what's best described as a stormtrooper helmet wrapped in tinfoil, jeans, cowboy boots and an open-chested vest, he stood. It was a homemade halloween costume gone awry. On his way through the wall, his foot caught and he tripped.. sending his helmet bouncing along the floor of the set and revealing his identity to all in attendance. While Typhoon scurried after the useless prop, his "voice" boomed over the speakers in a disembodied acceptance of the heels' challenge. It was hilarious.. even Flair couldn't keep a straight face. Not exactly Horsemen fare, but.. still worthwhile of mentioning. As a particularly frightening sidenote, not even this could derail WCW's plans for him; the Shockmaster went 11-0 in 1993. He never lost a match.

 

 

After his subpar run as talk show king, Flair finally made his triumphant return to the ring in the summertime, and wasted no time in calling the Andersons to the ring. The three promptly introduced the fruit of their efforts.. the star destined to boost the Horsemen back to their previous heights.. former WWF jobber Paul Roma. Rumor has it the original plan was to tempt Tully Blanchard out of retirement and an enjoyable career as a reverend, but Blanchard stood firm and wouldn't have any of it. So we got Paul Roma, in what's considered the weakest Horsemen lineup of all time.

 

The setback didn't slow Flair down for long though, and he soon set off on the task of recapturing the NWA and WCW World Titles, held by Barry Windham and Vader, respectively. He started after the NWA title first, and took it from the former Horseman in less than one month. A fighting champion, Flair defended the belt against all comers.. a strategy which didn't hold up with the times as well as it had in the past. As competition became stiffer and stiffer, Flair had more difficulty retaining the title and the added strain of a failing Horsemen didn't aid his cause. His luck finally ran out in September, as he dropped the NWA title to Rick Rude.

 

Not long after, WCW and the NWA had a final disagreement over portrayal of their titles. The NWA as a collective sued WCW in an attempt to get their belts back. Turner argued that the belts were legally his property now and, with a high powered lawyer team, convinced a jury of the same. The only real change brought about from the complete divorce of the two promotions was purely cosmetic. The NWA world title was renamed the WCW International Heavyweight Championship. The belt was meant to hold the same prestige and honor as the WCW World Title, but even the efforts of Rude and his constant challengers Sting and Ric Flair couldn't deliver on such plans. The belt found itself in free fall soon after. Still, Flair persisted, but after multiple rematches and inconclusive DQ finishes that left the belt on Rude, he finally gave up and set his gaze elsewhere.

 

While The Nature Boy glared at Vader's WCW World Title, Anderson and Roma tried to make the best of a truly horrible situation in the tag ranks. They stepped out to defend the Horsemen's pride against the verbal threat of the Hollywood Blondes, and the two teams embarked on a strong, underrated series of matches with Austin and Pillman's titles on the line. At one marathon Orlando TV taping, Arn and Paul were one step ahead of the champions and took the straps following a clean victory. Later in the program though, it was revealed that Pillman and Austin would hold onto the belts after all.. a result of a technicality. The truth behind the reversed decision went beyond storylines, and more into maintaining credibility and the element of surprise.

 

WCW had taken to taping their programs in the vein of their competition, the WWF, several episodes at a time. While Vince would tape 4 Raws at every show, WCW would record a full 3 months' worth of TV in one fell swoop. Audiences were screened to eliminate wrestling fans, as the internet was just gaining its bearings and spoilers were becoming more of a reality. Crowds were told who to cheer and who to boo. It was a really sorry, dead way to run the federation, and it took an immeasurable toll on the struggling promotion. Regardless, reports had still managed to climb onto the net spoiling the next few months' worth of programming (including the Horsemen's title victory), and the previously scheduled title change was altered as an early swerve, knocking the credibility of those early spoilers. Within weeks, Anderson and Roma defeated the Blondes for their titles legitimately.

 

At this point in the game WCW was really having a hard time of it. The actual wrestling and storylines were at an all time low, the company was losing money by the fistful, and the hyped reunion of the Horsemen hadn't even come close to reaching the lofty goals that were set for it. Vader's run as champion, strong as it could've been, was being considered a failure because of its grim surroundings and Sid had been booked to take the belt in their big blowoff at Starrcade. He would then rejoin the Horsemen booting Roma in the process, and the Four would hopefully regain some of their past glory with a newer, more powerful lineup. It sounded like a good plan, and it really could've worked.. but then something unexpected went down.

 

The whole thing was sent on its way to hell when new President Eric Bischoff decided to run a WCW tour of Europe. Working angles together as a team to prepare for their association after Starrcade, the long road hours wore hard on Sid and the Horsemen. Especially tense was the air between Vicious and then tag team champion Arn Anderson. When Arn answered his hotel door one evening in September, Sid was waiting with a pair of scissors and a chip on his shoulder. The meeting turned for the worse, and both were later taken to the hospital with multiple puncture wounds, inflicted by the dreaded scissors. As he was the instigator of the incident, Sid was immediately fired. He went to the WWF, where they eventually turned this whole situation into a gimmick; Sycho Sid. Arn went without punishment, aside from over a dozen stab wounds, but didn’t feel nearly as secure in the WCW locker rooms and began spending time with other promotions. Paul Roma made the team's disintegration official when he turned on Arn in a Tag Team Title defense against a throw-together team of Steve Austin and Paul Orndorff. For the third time, WCW was without the Four Horsemen.

 

Ric Flair, however, was just getting warmed up. With the sudden departure of Sid Vicious, Flair was given the opportunity he'd been looking for, an open shot at Vader's World Title. Flair made a challenge for Starrcade, but Vader would only accept under one condition: Flair had to put his career on the line. So it was set, Flair vs. Vader at Starrcade. Gold vs. career, life vs. life. The two put on a clinic, and in front of his hometown crowd, Flair captured the WCW World Title for only the second time since its inception. Post match, Flair gave a heartfelt speech in front of thousands of hungry NC fans and thanked them for a second chance to rise to the top. As 1993 drew to a close, Ric Flair had taken the World title along with the booker's chair, and without the Andersons by his side, set out to recover the lost dynasty left behind by the NWA.

 

Bischoff, however, was not content with the promise of glory long past. While Flair was given the illusion that he was in charge, Bischoff began making deals. Big money was on the table for anyone interested in turning WCW around, and the biggest fish in the sea took the bait.

 

While Flair worked as a face and gave us some tremendous action, Bischoff wined and dined Hulk Hogan for a huge run in WCW. Ricky Steamboat was brought in to reprise his grand feud of years past with the Nature Boy, and the two picked up right where they left off. Flair cut loose the proven failures on the card and tried his hand on something new.. something the fans liked. Half of the immensely popular Hollywood Blondes, Steve Austin, was given a US title reign. Flair himself seemed to be grooming Austin for the World Title picture. The Great Muta was brought back in for a brief stint, though he wasn't nearly the same man he was five years ago. Things were starting to get interesting again, and Flair was reaching heights of popularity unseen since the glory days. He finally won the elusive WCW International Title from Sting just after Spring Stampede, unifying it forever with the WCW World Heavyweight Title. And then Hogan arrived, and everything was dropped to please him.

 

Flair's face run, building towards a big money feud with Austin, was scrapped and Flair was suddenly and unsuccessfully turned heel to provide a foil for Hogan. The Hulkster's first match in WCW was met with mixed reactions, as he slapped Flair around and won the World Title with ease. Flair's credibility was stretched to its limits, and then stretched some more after countless weak main events with the Hulkster. Crowds were audibly behind Flair, but Hogan was pushed down their throats as the gracious babyface champ. Ric was teamed with longtime Hogan stooge Ed Leslie, best known as Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake, Zodiac and the Disciple, in a movement to rid the world of Hulkamania.

 

Finally, Hogan had enough of the multiple rematches and refused to offer World Title shots to Flair without reason.. so Flair put up all he had. Hogan/Flair at Halloween Havoc was a career vs. title match, and it was a complete slap in the face for any devout Nature Boy fan. Hogan completely dominated him from start to finish, refusing to sell Flair's attacks and chasing the "cowardly heel" around the ring. The pain didn't stop with a pinfall, either, as Hogan heroically pulled Sherri Martel, Flair’s manager at the time, into the ring. He went on to clothesline her, slam her from the cage to the mat and kick her in the face while Flair hid in a corner. Not the way I'd choose to end a career spanning two decades.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

1995

 

To say 1994 was a terrible year for professional wrestling would be a pretty safe bet. By the time the smoke had cleared, not only was WCW in a heap of their own dung, but the WWF was struggling through issues of their own (the steroid folder had finally been opened by the public, Diesel was flopping as champion, Vince didn’t know where to turn with the company next and backstage politics was at an all-time high). When all was said and done, WCW had effectively shot itself in the foot. Their plans to give Sid a World Title reign in late 1993 had backfired horribly when Vicious and Arn Anderson cut paper dolls out of each other with scissors. A Horsemen reunion went over terribly with the viewing audience. Sting had lost nearly all his credibility in a horrid series of "feuds" with Vader that looked more like cheesy movies than wrestling events. A sparkling Flair run as booker was tossed aside to make way for Hulkamania and though entire arenas were turning on him, Hogan dominated the scene. Their home grown champion had been disgraced all the way out of the promotion, retiring after losing the mother of all squashes to the Hulkster. Revenues were down, attendance was in the can, and morale had hit an all time low. But it’s like they say.. once you’ve hit rock bottom there’s nowhere to go but up.

 

Flair tasted the fruit of retirement for the first quarter of 1995, while Arn Anderson made a slow return to the company he’d helped to build from the ground up. Barry Windham had disappeared from the scene altogether. Paul Roma’s terribly failed Horseman run pretty well sealed his fate, and Tully Blanchard remained an ordained minister, enjoying a quiet life away from the glitz of professional wrestling. Sid Vicious had left the company after the scissors incident in Europe, and was just starting a new run atop the WWF with Shawn Michaels. The Horsemen were scattered like dust in the wind, but it would only take the eventual return of one man to bring rumors of their arrival back to the forefront yet again.

 

The said return hit at the very first Uncensored PPV in March of ’95. The real American hero, Hulk Hogan, was meeting the man they call Vader in a main event strap match, and the audience was delighted to see Flair and Arn Anderson alongside the Mastadon as both walked down the entryway. Cue those Horsemen rumors I’d mentioned before. Flair slid right into the heel role he was born for, but fans still didn’t buy it wholeheartedly. They’d rather cheer a heel Flair tan a face Hogan. Along the course of the match, Hogan no-sold the Vader bomb, because he’s an ass. The match mercifully ended, but not without further destroying Flair’s reputation. After the Nature Boy had sold the entire match outside the ring for “Renegade”, WCW’s pale attempt to recreate the Ultimate Warrior, Hogan drug him into the ring. After several unsuccessful attempts at driving Vader headfirst into all four corners (and thus winning the match), Hogan instead did so to Flair. For one reason or another, the bell rang. The match had ended, and Hogan was proclaimed the winner. Post match, Flair recovered from his humiliation at the Hulkster’s hands, only to jaw alongside Arn and Vader, promising a Horsemen-style beating the champion would never forget. As the show went off the air, fans were left with an interesting visual; Flair, Anderson and Vader... certainly a step up from their previous roster.

 

While Slick Ric continued to waste time as Vader’s manager, watching the big man drop match after match to Hogan, the Renegade was given a tremendous push to the top, which culminated with a clean TV Title victory over Arn Anderson. The audience just abhorred this pale Warrior rip-off, and it took bookers months and an extended TV Title reign to realize it just wasn’t working.

 

Meanwhile, Flair went about interfering in Vader’s matches... most of which were against Hogan. Just before Bash at the Beach, the champion had enough and asked WCW to reinstate Flair as an active wrestler. The committee accepted Hogan’s request, yet Flair remained at ringside for Hogan/Vader at the PPV. The match itself isn’t worth the effort of recounting and almost became a comedy routine when Hogan put Vader’s big, spooky helmet on himself right in the middle of the match. Mr. T was at ringside, as was Jimmy Hart. The Zodiac (Ed Leslie / Brutus Beefcake / The Disciple) made a run-in that amounted to absolutely nothing, and Hogan high-stepped his way to another victory. Post match, realizing his man had dropped yet another title shot, Flair snapped. While Hogan celebrated with his mainstream friends, Flair climbed into the ring and verbally berated Vader. After jobbing to Hogan, Vader was in no mood for any more humiliation and stood to confront Flair when Arn Anderson hit the ring.

 

It all led to Flair’s real return to the ring at the next Clash of the Champions, where he and Arn took on Vader in a handicap match. Without the dead weight of Hogan hanging off him, Vader remembered he was allowed to work in America, and the three put together a relatively enjoyable match. Surprisingly enough, Flair seemed to be responsible for most of the slack on that evening, and when Vader made a big comeback, Ric was the one missing from action. Vader quickly and decisively nailed a three count on Anderson before anyone knew what had happened and that was it. Afterwards, Flair cut loose on Arn with a verbal tirade that could’ve cut through the strongest will and Arn stood defiant. When Flair was through, Anderson turned right back and confronted him about the years and years he’d been loyal... all without a title shot. The two glared nose to nose that night, and set their first and only one on one singles match for Fall Brawl 1995. One of the longest lasting professional friendships in the sport had come to a close, and all that was left was the blowoff.

 

Going into the Brawl, Arn Anderson took the time to recruit the help of Brian Pillman. The years he’d spent as a Horsemen had shown the younger Anderson the advantages of working in a group, and he was already employing his knowledge of team warfare, just weeks after his split from Ric Flair. The two met in the ring after a lackluster Fall Brawl card, itching to show all the new fans what the sport was really about. They put on a clinic.

 

Flair took the heel role for the opening minutes, giving his old friend the glory he was always denied in the past. Presented with a solid black and white for the first time in ages, the fans sparked to life behind Anderson. Arn didn’t hesitate, starting out on top and already softening the arm for his tried-but true arm bar submission. Flair fought back with the backhand chops that he made famous, but Double A hit a single arm DDT before the action spilled to the floor. Back inside they went, with Arn still in control. Flair quickly put a stop to that, however, with another Nature Boy specialty.. the low blow. Flair grabbed the advantage with a brutal suplex on the floor, throwing Arn back underneath the ropes. When Flair’s assaults were reversed into another attempted DDT, Ric stopped the new momentum by grabbing the ropes. The former champ seized the opportunity, locking in his figure four leglock, but it was almost immediately reversed by the one man who may know Ric better than himself. Unswayed, Flair tried it again and was rolled up for a two count. With Flair granting the audience a "whooo", Pillman climbed to the apron for a better view. Ric didn’t hesitate to smack the flyin’ one for good measure, and Brian shot right back with a kick directly in the head. Reeling, Flair backed right into the awaiting Anderson DDT for the one.. two… three. The crowd ignites, and Arn celebrates the huge victory alongside his new buddy. Before the focus could be shifted elsewhere, Arn fits the camera with an icy stare and announces "You’re looking at the new Horsemen." Meaning, of course, Pillman and himself.

 

Where Flair could’ve likely taken the loss in stride, the Horsemen reference was too much and he challenged the two to a tag match at Halloween Havok. They accepted, and Flair immediately asked Sting for his aid. The Stinger initially balked at the notion, but after Flair proved himself to be a man of his word in multiple handicap matches, Sting hesitantly accepted. Flair assured him he wouldn’t regret it, and the match was set for late October. Elsewhere in WCW, two former ECW tag team champions arrived in the tag ranks. Though his partner would wait a while, Chris Benoit would find his way right into the thick of things... or so it would seem.

 

With the event already underway, reports came in from the back that Arn and Pillman had started the match a bit early.. Flair had been jumped in the parking lot. His inclusion in the main event was immediately put in doubt, as announcers told us this may put the tag team event in jeopardy. We knew better, though, and when it came time for the match to go down, Sting made his way to the ring alone.

 

Sting came out a man on fire, completely deconstructing the two men on his own and sending them outside early to regroup. The former friend, Pillman, invited Sting to try all that again out on the floor, and the former champ was more than happy to oblige. When the “New Horsemen” tried a double team, Sting put a halt to it rather quickly and tore back into the ring. Arn followed, presumably to launch an assault, and Sting picked up right where he left off on the floor. With Double A and Pillman finally managing to grab an advantage, Flair finally arrived on the scene. Wearing street clothes, Flair jumped to the corner and urged Sting to make the hot tag. Unfortunately, Arn and Pillman had effectively cut the ring in half. In true Nature Boy fashion, Ric had taken off his dress shoe at this point and was using it as a weapon. Pillman tried a splash, but Sting managed to get the knees up and made a dive for the tag. Arn stopped him short, trying a belt to back that landed him a quick 2 count.

 

Pillman hits a kick to the ribs on a downed Sting and Flair doesn’t appreciate it. The two double team Sting to infinity in their own corner before the former World’s Champion fights back. He appears to break free, only to find himself caught by a neatly executed Arn Anderson spinebuster for 2. Just for the hell of it, Arn goes to work on Sting’s knee. Alongside Pillman, he chops away at Sting in the corner.. giving their opponent the perfect opportunity for a double noggin knocker. He takes it. He tags Flair. The crowd squirts. Flair does the strut for a moment, and then turns and kicks the living hell out of the Stinger. The three smear what’s left of Sting around the mat for a bit, before raising four fingers and proving we’d all been taken yet again. Arn grabs the mic, amidst simultaneous Flair and Pillman "whooo!"s and says "Be careful what you wish for… all the bloodthirsty fans out there asked for this!", flashing the Four Fingers "Well now you’ve got it. Deal with it!"

 

Just after Halloween Havok was in the books, Flair, Pillman, Anderson and Woman (the group’s new manager) climbed into the ring on a regular televised program for an interview segment. In it, Flair and Anderson revealed they’d been scoping the youth scene of the federation relentlessly for a fourth member, and had been deeply impressed with the work of one Chris Benoit. He’d turned heads as a team player with partner Dean Malenko early on, and his skills as a single were put to the test and proven with a strong showing against then US Champion Kensuke Sasaki. Though Benoit lost that match, he’d won the admiration and respect of the men watching in the back... enough so to merit a slot in the fabled lineup of the Horsemen. Within moments, Benoit himself had stepped into the ring and joined the group without hesitation. Once more, the four were complete.

 

Benoit and Pillman immediately took the roles previously reserved for the Andersons, assaulting the tag division while Flair jumped right back into the hunt for the World title, currently around the waist of Randy Savage. Pillman began his infamous habit of "snapping" around this time, viciously assaulting anyone unlucky enough to be around when it inevitably happened, and effectively injuring several big names in the process. Paul Orndorff was among the unlucky, and ended up in a neck brace as a result. Kevin Sullivan took exception to Pillman’s treatment of the established stars of yesteryear, and the two began a rather large-scale war of their own. With Hulk Hogan taking some time off at the time, WCW had inexplicably become halfway watchable in his absence Over a year before the nWo tried the same thing with a few variations, Sonny Onoo led NJPW (or New Japan Pro Wrestling) in an 'invasion' of WCW. What resulted was an interesting enough angle, well before its time. Unfortunately, audiences didn't know what to think, as names like Ohtani and Liger were thrust upon them without warning. The Japanese talent, strong as it was, still had some problems adjusting to the American style, psychology and crowd demeanor. While the two sides struggled, a definitive leader in the ongoing battle between promotions was difficult to judge. To settle this thing once and for all, officials decided to try a 'best of seven' series running throughout Starrcade. Pulling double duty were Luger, Sting, Flair and Savage... all busied in the main event(s), as well as in matches against the NJPW force.

 

The same committee that couldn't decide on a winner in the WCW / New Japan situation was having the same sort of trouble finding a #1 contender for the main event. So, in the traditionally nonsensical WCW tradition, another set of matches were set to be held at Starrcade: Flair, Sting and Luger (the three men in contention for the title shot) would meet in a semi-main event midway through the card, while Savage would defend his title early as well. The winner of the three way would then meet the equally-winded Savage in the final match of the evening for his World Title. Simple enough.

 

Starrcade 1995 opened up with a continuation of one of the decade's greatest feuds; Chris Benoit vs. Jushin Liger in a rare North American clash. The two tore it up with a solid performance that just lacked that extra something. Liger removed some of his higher spots, which wasn't without justification… they'd have probably gone over the viewing audience's heads. Benoit, too, was lacking his characteristic killer instinct here, though he did debut the rolling German suplexes to WCW on this night. The Ligerbomb hit paydirt, but without any knowledge of its history the crowds don't pop as they should, and the pinning combination that followed didn't net a fall. Kevin Sullivan popped his head in for the finish, in what was a continuation of his feud with stable-mate Pillman at the time, but served as a bit of foreshadowing of things to come for Benoit. As the Crippler made a move for the Sullivan, Liger secured the surprise victory.

 

Elsewhere on the card, Eddy Guerrero took on Shinjiro Ohtani in an encounter that I'd kill to see on TV today. Incidentally, Ohtani took the clean pin in that one. Elsewhere, World Champ Savage took out Tenzan within a couple minutes, pretty well negating the reason for his midcard defense in the first place. Lex Luger dropped a snore-fest to Masa Chono, before the WCW talent made a comeback to make the score 3 to 3 going into the final cross-promotion match of the night, Sting vs. Kensuke Sasaki (still wearing the US Heavyweight title belt). WCW’s resident phenom took it for the home crowd in an elongated squash, with Sasaki tapping to the Scorpion Deathlock in the end.

 

The rules for the triangle match weren’t your usual fare, as two men would go at it in the ring while the third stood on the apron, available for a tag. Despite being big draws on their own, the added history between these three is about as long as you’re likely to find; Flair and Luger have been at each other’s throats off and on for years, stretching back to Luger’s days as a Horseman. Flair still harbored angry feelings against Lex, who’d taken the World Title Flair vacated in ’91 only days after his departure to the WWF. Sting and the Nature Boy were right in the middle of a rekindled feud of their own, following the big turn at Halloween Havok, though their past was just as historic. Luger and Sting, however, were the best of friends. Though things may have been said behind each other’s backs, the two remained fairly open with each other on screen. They’d built a mutual trust, solidified alongside a common enemy. It was bound to be a rough night for Flair, no matter who he was in the ring with.

 

Sting started the match off against Flair, because the two buddies weren’t about to willingly take each other down this early on. Both Flair and Sting still had it in them at this point, and gave us a good series of holds, blows and reversals to start it up. Sting took the offense early on, beating a new hole in Flair in retaliation for the recent turn of events surrounding them. Following a convincing flurry of offense, Sting tagged Luger to continue the mauling. Lex did just that, pausing only to acknowledge Flair’s pleas for mercy. Taking advantage of the brief shelter his begging has provided, Ric immediately took Luger’s legs out from under him. The Nature Boy effortlessly made the transition from the beaten to the executioner, tearing into the leg and goading Sting, who watched from the apron. Soon after, Flair played his trump card and tagged the painted man in, forcing the two friends to duke it out in the middle of the ring. Luger seemed to have no problem with it, however, and recovered quickly from the beating his legs took in the moments prior. The Narcissist was immediately looking for a home run, and locked Sting into the torture rack.. but smacked the ref on his way up. Flair seized the moment and rushed into the ring, sending Luger hard out to the floor. He glared down at Sting, still shaken from the effects of the torture rack, and threw him, too, in a heap to the floor. The ref revived himself in time to count both men out.

 

This meant, of course, that we’d see Flair and Savage in the main event, with the World Title on the line. The injured Orndorff made his way out to catch the fight, still engulfed in the neck brace prison that Pillman had sentenced him to, and Jimmy Hart accompanied Flair to ringside after offering his services earlier in the evening. The two put on a lackluster performance, which looked especially bad after the worthwhile three man that had preceded it. A Jimmy Hart attempt to pass his megaphone in to Flair failed, and Savage ended up clocking the challenger, drawing some big time red along the way. The Macho Man then climbed up top and dropped his famous flying elbow on Flair’s prone body. Flyin’ Brian and Benoit took offense and made a run in while Hart distracted the referee with what was left of his megaphone. Arn, too, snuck in and drilled Savage with a pair of brass knuckles just before our ref turned back to the action. The three abandoned the apron, Flair covered and an unconscious Savage couldn’t kick out. Taking 1995 home on a bright note, Brian Pillman snapped and tore into the motionless corpse of Randy Savage. It was a good time to be a Horseman.

 

If 1995 was full of twists, turns and questionable alliances.. 1996 was overflowing. How long could the new Horsemen survive with a loose cannon, an aging champion, some new blood and an injured enforcer? Take a peek at the next installment, visible at finer newsboards around the nation tomorrow afternoon.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

1996

 

Following an off center 1994 and a bizarre 1995, the Horsemen had somehow found themselves back on top of the hill. On paper, the roster was one of their strongest ever. Flair held the World Title, with Anderson as strong a backup as anybody needed. The future of the stable seemed secure with two hungry young members, Chris Benoit and Brian Pillman. Both were riding their stars to fame at the time, both arguably ready to carry the legacy on into the coming decades when Flair or Anderson could no longer lace up the boots. Hogan, the greatest enemy the four had ever known (both before and behind the cameras) had dropped from the scene, and Randy Savage was proving to be less than an ideal replacement champion.

 

Brian Pillman had continued his feud with Kevin Sullivan and the Dungeon of Doom, begun during the later months of the last year, and Sullivan had begun to include the rest of the Horsemen in his assaults. His interference in Benoit's Starrcade match didn't sit well with any of the Horsemen, but Pillman took notable exception. The two took part in multiple run-ins, brawls and schmozzes throughout the weeks, all of which were meant to culminate at the upcoming Superbrawl card in a “Respect” match. Since neither had shown even a trace of respect for the other, this would likely have served as a blowoff for their lengthy feud. Their rumored real life troubles behind the scenes, where Pillman felt Sullivan (then the head booker of the promotion) was responsible for holding him back, added a whole new aspect to this already heated war.

 

In the mean time, the Horsemen had collected yet another new manager through their own characteristically sneaky measures. Following his loss at Starrcade, Randy Savage made an appearance on Nitro to challenge Flair to a rematch at the very same Superbrawl event that would house the Sullivan / Pillman blowoff. By his side were two lovely ladies, Woman (whose attempts to buy out the Horsemen years earlier never came to fruition) and his own mainstay and ex-wife, Miss Elizabeth. Their appearance was a shock to the viewing audience, but not nearly so much as Woman’s actions only moments later. Waiting until Savage had issued his challenge, Woman had revealed her true colors by jumping him in the ring.. leaving Elizabeth to console her former husband while the former Mrs. Sullivan joined her new escorts, the Horsemen. Savage would have the last laugh though, tricking Flair into a World Title shot on Nitro weeks later and taking the belt back from his Starrcade opponent. The Superbrawl rematch would still go down, but it had a whole new meaning to Flair now.

 

Pillman and Sullivan were the first in the ring together, and the crowd was naturally rather hot for their “respect” match. A stipulation had been added in the days leading up to the match, making this a strap match in addition to the existing stip. The two tangled for less than a minute, before Pillman played the first memorable swerve of the ‘smart’ crowd by abruptly grabbing the mic and shouting “I respect you, bookerman!” He then walked from the ring, laughing like the complete nut he was supposed to be.

 

The real story gets a bit more interesting; Sullivan and Pillman had played the whole scenario as a hush-hush sort of deal, taking every precaution not to let anyone in on what they were about to do. Everything was a work, from the rumored tension between the two backstage to what actually went down at the event. Like I said, they told nobody.. not even their coworkers and higher-ups. When Pillman asked for his release from the promotion, head booker Sullivan thought he was just playing the role they'd laid out. The WCW offices, however, had bought the gimmick. They gave him the release he so desired, and he signed his way out of WCW in a whirlwind! He'd used Sullivan for everything he was worth, and now had what he wanted: a golden road that led straight to the WWF. In the moments after his Brian's famous words, though, Sullivan stood around in the ring for a couple minutes while announcers struggled to figure out what to say, who to say it about and how to say it. Assuming something had gone wrong between the two, Arn ran out to the ring and threw himself into Pillman's abandoned slot. Those two went at it for a couple minutes, before Flair came out and broke the whole mess up. The crowd was left to try to decipher what they'd just seen.

 

While officials tried to sort out what had happened earlier in the event, Flair and Savage stepped out to entertain the paying customers in a cage match for the World Title. Woman stood alongside the then 12-time champion of the World, amidst pyro, feathers and the “theme to 2001” while Elizabeth was her timid self next to Savage. The two took their time stepping into the confined metal cube, but started off quickly enough once they were both in. Flair took an early advantage and swiftly took out the ref without much rhyme or reason. Ric then sent Savage into the cage, following up with solid knife edge chops in the corner before going up top; always a mistake. Savage saw the opening and slammed Flair to the mat. Adding a little insult to injury, he then locked the figure four on Flair, but saw it broken before any damage could be done. The Macho Man attempted a dive from the top of the cage, but Flair nailed him on his way down. Ric ran with the momentum and sent him again into the cage wall, before schooling Savage with a figure four done right.

 

Savage broke it, and quickly jumped to the advantage. Flair made a couple attempts to escape the cage, which Savage blocked with a handful of tights. Flair went into the cage, busting open both the door and his forehead and Woman took notice of the open entrance. While Woman blew powder unsuccessfully at Savage, Miss Elizabeth did the unthinkable. Handing her shoe to Flair through the cage, Savage's former wife looked on as Flair clocked the champion, made the cover, and recaptured his World Title.

 

With the sudden departure of Brian Pillman, the Horsemen had a couple problems to deal with: Savage was more pissed than ever and after blood, Kevin Sullivan was stuck in an ongoing feud with the stable that had yet to be resolved, and they were down one member. The problems, though, soon took care of themselves.

 

Chris Benoit rose to the challenge abandoned by Pillman, making use of a poor draw at the ‘Battle Bowl’ tag team tournament. An event that created the competing teams through a random drawing, the Battle Bowl had Benoit paired with Sullivan in the opening round against Public Enemy. The brawl turned out to be more Crippler vs. Taskmaster than a tag match. Not surprisingly, the makeshift tandem lost in the opening round, which furthered the hatred between them. Benoit had the Horseman name and reputation at stake, all the motivation he needed, and Sullivan had reasons of his own as well. Woman had begun accompanying Benoit to the ring on a regular basis, and her recent real-life split with the head of the Dungeon was more than an issue. The Horsemen played their cards perfectly, announcing that it was Benoit who had given her the extra motivation she needed to leave her ex. Enraged, Kevin set after Benoit for cauing the divorce that had ‘forced him’ to join the Dungeon of Doom.

 

The two took it to each other hardcore style at the 1996 Great American Bash PPV. "Since no ring could hold them”, it was a falls count anywhere match. “Since there had to be a winner”, it was no holds barred. These two just unloaded on each other, letting go with all their on-screen frustrations and, I'm willing to bet, many of their off screen ones as well. The end result was two men smearing each other all over the arena. They took it into the bathroom. They fell down a flight of stairs. They went to the loading docks. Finally, Benoit took home the victory after a suplex from the top of a table. The Horseman had won the battle, but the war was far from over.

 

Meanwhile, Flair went about business as usual. With Elizabeth anything but a constant by his side and Woman choosing to spend more and more time with Benoit, the Nature Boy was getting a little lonely. The new object of his affections was officially taken (as the ring on her finger told us), but that never stopped him in the past.. why should it be so different with Debra McMichael? While husband Steve was at the announce position butchering calls and letting his attention wander, Flair was hot on the heels of the former Chicago Bear's wife. Once McMichael caught wind of what had been going down, he was outraged. He confronted Flair and was promptly put in his place by the World's champion. Pissed at his wife and himself but most of all Flair, Mongo recruited the help of his NFL buddy, Kevin Greene. The two signed a one time only tag match against Flair and Arn Anderson, with the reassurance of a title-hungry Randy Savage in their corner.

 

By match time, the ringside area was getting more than a little crowded. Greene and McMichael were escorted to the ring by their wives and Savage, while Flair and Anderson had Benoit, Woman and Elizabeth in their corner. As the match hit the midway point, Flair's girls chased Greene and McMichael's wives to the backstage area. This gave Benoit and Savage a bit more breathing room out on the floor, though it was only momentarily. While Kevin Greene was on the receiving end of the Horsemen’s offense, Elizabeth, Woman and Debra pranced back to the ringside area. Debra carried a sealed briefcase, which she cracked open for her husband to examine. Inside was a large sum of money, covered only by the dark fabric of a Horsemen T-Shirt.

 

McMichael took a moment to weigh his options, but when Greene interrupted his thought process with a tag, Mongo had made his decision. He floored his former partner with the briefcase, allowing Flair to take the easy pin. Together with the Horsemen for the first time, McMichael joined in as the assault began. There wasn't much Savage or Greene could do as the four cleaned house, leaving their opponents lying beaten in the center of the ring.

 

After the addition of McMichael to their roster, the Horsemen made an attempt to tie up any loose ends. They started their work with the ongoing Dungeon of Doom feud, which still clung to them after months of tedious matchups. Double A and Benoit took on Sullivan and the Giant (then a Dungeon of Doomer himself) at the Bash at the Beach PPV, with hopes of ending the war with a decisive victory. Instead, the Giant held most of the offense and the Horsemen found themselves pinned in convincing fashion.

 

In a form of retaliation, Ric Flair was given a US Title shot against another member of Sullivan's stable, Konnan. The match went down on Nitro, and the Nature Boy held the young K-Dogg in the palm of his hand throughout. After several failed comeback attempts, Flair quit playing with his prey and brought home the sixth US Title of his illustrious career. Elsewhere, Chris Benoit was enjoying some time away from his long standing feud with Sullivan. He met Dean Malenko at Hog Wild in a brilliant technical masterpiece. Originally given a half hour time limit, the two were still going strong as the bell rang to signal the time limit had elapsed. Officials decided a 5 minute overtime was in order, and the former partners quickly drained the additional time as well. Finally, a second 5 minute overtime gave us a decision: Benoit's hand raised high. Though the match was a thing of beauty, the Sturgis crowd paid no heed and sat on their hands throughout. A shame.

 

 

Elsewhere, a couple former WCW employees had wandered back onto the scene after some years in the WWF. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash had dropped by “where the big boys play”, and the ultra-hot nWo gimmick had just begun. Recognizing the immediate threat to their thrones, the Horsemen abandoned their other interests to pursue this new challenge. Slowly drifting back to their abandoned roles as the establishment's favorite sons, the Horsemen were granted an opportunity to wipe out their new rivals at WarGames 1996. Realizing their common enemy, Sting and Lex Luger approached the Horsemen and suggested they join forces at the event. Hoping to destroy the faction before it became too strong, Flair accepted. Benoit and Mongo graciously stepped down, offering their spots in the caged match to the new volunteers.

 

A bit disappointed over giving up his spot in the main event, Chris Benoit opened up the card against a new lightweight making his WCW debut. Though it wasn't their first meeting, Benoit's road wouldn't cross with Chris Jericho regularly until years later, when both had left WCW for the greener pastures of the WWF. Regardless, the two tore it up here. Both worked a lot stiffer than their recent meetings under Vince's eye and gave life to a couple moves we haven't seen much of since. As an interesting bit of trivia, Benoit locked Jericho into the liontamer early on here, giving Y2J something to use as a finisher in the years to come. Though Jericho had Benoit beat in terms of speed and aerial maneuvers, Benoit's ring presence and experience gave him all the edge he needed here.

 

Shooting ahead to the main event, the nWo had won a backstage coin toss giving them the ongoing advantage in the WarGames battle, but still had one more trick up their sleeve. Joined by new leader Hulk Hogan, Hall and Nash were still a man down in the four on four match. Arn Anderson was waiting in the ring, and it would be a little while before the mystery man would stand revealed, as Scott Hall was the lead man for the nWo. Kevin Nash was the next man in and the Outsiders kicked Double A around for a bit before Lex Luger evened the sides. Luger cleaned house for a short period, before the recent WWF pilgrims took their momentum back. Hogan was the next out, and Luger and Anderson began kicking the holy hell out of him before he even got all the way into the cage.

 

Flair made his entrance, igniting the crowd, as the faces took a decided advantage. As Flair bestowed low blows upon all three nWo-ites, their surprise fourth member made his way out; Sting. The Horsemen in the ring stood shocked at the latest turn of events, with Luger openly questioning his friend's turn for the dark side. Keeping silent, Sting turned, paused, and then attacked Luger, leading to an all out beatdown. Finally, right on cue, another Sting appeared from the back in support of the Horsemen and promptly cleaned house. With the nWo nearly defeated, Sting asked his teammates why they didn’t trust him.. and walked right out of the match. Taking advantage of their new strength in numbers, the men in black made an easy comeback and finally isolated Luger. Locked in a scorpion deathlock by the nWo Sting, Lex tapped out and cost his teammates the match.

 

In the days after the WarGames, the Horsemen and Luger had several violent disagreements, as Lex had cost them the match and the opportunity to rid themselves of a new threat. Sting, however, was nowhere to be found. When he turned his back on WCW, he meant it. Regardless, Arn put the Horsemen's name on his shoulders and carried it on to a feud against Luger, while Flair defended his US title both here and abroad. In Japan, Flair defended the belt against former holder Kensuki Sasaki, injuring his shoulder during the match. When he returned to America, it quickly became obvious that Flair wouldn't be able to compete for some time. His US title was vacated. Not long after being stripped of his gold, Eric Bischoff would sic the nWo on Flair, with the Giant beating him to the floor. Bischoff went on to claim the nWo “put Flair out of wrestling.”

 

With the other Horsemen a bit lost in their leader's absence, Flair recruited Jeff Jarrett to fill the role he'd be physically unable to assume. Though this added a bit of salt to the nWo's wound (Jarrett had turned down an earlier offer to join them), it didn't sit well with Benoit or McMichael. Regardless, Ric endorsed him as an unofficial member and Jarrett went about imitating the 13-time Champ as best he could. He debuted the Jarrett strut, continued using the figure four, and did just about anything he could to stay on Slick Ric's good side. As the other Horsemen slowly started to accept him, Jarrett began making moves on Debra, which incurred Mongo's immediate wrath. Arn had yet to state his position on the matter, as he was still busying himself with Lex Luger.

 

With Halloween Havok already upon us, the Horsemen found themselves stretched throughout, with Flair accompanying his sponsored son, Double J, to the ring. Jarrett would be taking on the Giant in a sort of grudge match, as it was supposedly the Giant's blows which had taken Flair out of action. Arn Anderson and Lex Luger would attempt to blow off their brief feud in the middle of the card, and Benoit & McMichael found themselves teaming against the Faces of Fear further along.

 

Flair by his side, Jarrett climbed in for his match against the Giant and was promptly thrown from one end of the ring to the other. Everything Jarrett tried was met with little or no success, and the match regressed into your run of the mill Paul Wight squash. The two went outside and Flair ended it with a DQ, nailing a low blow on the Giant.

 

Luger and Arn stepped in next, with announcers reminding us of the reason for this ongoing feud. Arn started right off, working over Luger's arm while the Total Package softened Double A's back. Though Arn hit his trademark spinebuster, Luger used the ropes to his advantage, breaking the count. When the ref went down moments later, the two went to the floor where Lex flattened his opponent with a steel chair. The official came to, saw Luger with the unconscious Double A strapped into the torture rack, and called for the bell.

 

Benoit and McMichael stepped up next, hoping to turn things around for the Horsemen against the Faces of Fear, Meng and the Barbarian. Following what was otherwise a prolonged squash, Mongo managed to shift the momentum back in favor of the Horsemen with a briefcase shot to Meng's head. Benoit fell on top for the three, avoiding a clean sweep of the Horsemen.

 

After a particularly poor outing at Havok, the Horsemen found themselves stagnating on the verge of the premiere WCW event of the year, Starrcade. Flair was still nursing his shoulder injury, and Arn had taken some time off to undergo neck surgery. His last match before the extended absense was a tag team encounter, alongside Mongo, facing the Amazing French Canadians. It would be his last, as the infamous WCW doctors botched the operation, leaving his left arm almost useless. So ended an otherwise remarkable career, highlighted with victories over both Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan.

 

arn anderson, whose career ended in late 1996, seen here victorious over hulk hogan

 

When Starrcade finally crept around, Chris Benoit was the only active member on the card, facing potential stable-mate Jeff Jarrett. His feud with the Dungeon of Doom was still ongoing, but had become so intertwined and convoluted by this point, few noticed it was still plugging away. With Flair visibly backing Jarrett, Mongo failing as a Horseman and Arn fading into the distance after his surgery, Chris Benoit was sitting on the hot seat for the group. He still came to the ring with Woman by his side, yet his allegiances were constantly under fire. Flair seemed to be making room for Jarrett, which didn't sit well with the Crippler and sat even worse with Mongo, who was losing his wife to the new teammate. Flair was a face, and the bookers hoped his backing of JJ would lend enough of a rub to launch a full babyface stint.. but the common man was just starting to notice Chris Benoit, and they liked what they saw. The end result? A heel that's cheered for his impressive, hard work and a face that's booed proportionally to the top heel.

 

When it was finally match time, Benoit gave the crowd just what they were beginning to expect from him: a rough, believable match from bell to bell. He tore Jarrett a new one, stomping him through the mat, stiffing just enough to remain credible, and having a good time of it. A couple minutes of that was enough for Arn Anderson, who stepped from behind the curtain.. followed by Dungeon of Doom members Kevin Sullivan, Konnan and Hugh Morrus. Double A finally revealed his opinion on the whole Jarrett deal, DDTing the guitar-toting pledge right into the mat. Had Benoit been paying attention, he could've grabbed an easy win. But his eyes were on Woman, who was the target of the Dungeon of Doom's assault at ringside. When the Wolverine tried to put a stop to it all, he was greeted with a solid wooden chair to the face. A gift from the Taskmaster, Kevin Sullivan. Benoit fell back into the ring, and Jeff threw an arm on top for the win.

 

While the year had begun with a cohesive Horsemen unit, apparantly capable of just about anything, it closed with a stable in disarray. Flair had his heart set on Jarrett as the future of the organization, a decision which Benoit, McMichael and Anderson despised. Benoit, despite constantly proving his worth and loyalty, was "on the bubble" so to speak, while Flair pondered the future of the group. With Arn out of contention for the moment (as the surgery was supposed to be non career threatening), a new slot was opened and Jarrett wanted it to be his. 1996 left us with several unanswered questions.. and 1997 would give us more than one answer. See it all in part XI tomorrow, as we hit the home stretch of this epic series

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

1997

 

As the year began its cold start, Chris Benoit and Kevin Sullivan picked up the pieces of their ongoing feud, only to throw them back to the floor again. Sullivan was still hot over Benoit's "stealing" of his wife, Woman, and countered her presence with a woman of his own: Miss Jacqueline. Everywhere Woman went, she now had a shadow in Jacqueline.. and this shadow wasn't afraid to get physical with her. The Benoit / Sullivan series had gone on long enough, and it was quickly becoming obvious that Chris had the upper hand after a solid victory at the year's first Clash of the Champions card. Still, the two signed the dotted line and agreed to meet yet again in a "San Francisco Death Match" at Superbrawl VII.

 

Meanwhile, Ric Flair was finally convinced that the Crippler was suitable as a member of the Horsemen, and had moved his critical gaze to Steve McMichael. Mongo would meet Jeff Jarrett at the same Superbrawl card, with the winner claiming a spot in the timeless stable. It was a final proving ground for Jarrett, and a chance for Mongo to redeem himself. As an added bonus, it seemed Debra was ready to make up her mind with this match. Though she'd never left Mongo's side, her infatuation with Jarrett was becoming more than a professional matter.

 

Leading off the night for the Horsmen, McMichael and Jarrett wasted no time in tearing into one another. When the action became too frenzied and the official was subsequently knocked unconscious, Debra indescriminately slid a briefcase into the ring. Double J was the first to his feet, and after knocking Mongo cold, took the pinfall and a slot on the Horsemen roster.

 

Later in the evening, Chris Benoit and Kevin Sullivan were finally ready to end their long standing feud once and for all. With Woman and Jacqueline chained to each other at ringside, the Taskmaster and the Crippler went through the usual motions. After a brief fight backstage, they returned to the ring where Benoit set up a table. While Benoit draped his exhausted opponent over the table, Jacqueline drug Woman into the ring and fell on top of her man. Benoit took a moment to make sure Woman was out of harm's way, before diving from the top rope and putting both Sullivan and his manager through the wood. A pinfall later, and Benoit had sealed the feud in decisive fashion.

 

After losing his slot to Jarrett at Superbrawl, McMichael appeared less often with the group, though his wife was just as visible as ever... living it up beside Double J. In the weeks after the match, Ric Flair surprisingly announced that Jarrett hadn't taken McMichael's spot after all. He was merely keeping Arn Anderson's space warm while the Enforcer was out of action. Though this appeased McMichael, Benoit was far from content. His membership in the horsemen had taught him the benefits of teamwork, and the Crippler was ready to take the next step. That is, if the original storylines had followed through.

 

Booking was calling for a new youth movement. The group was set to be named "The Apocalypse", and would've served to give several latent midcard talents their first big chance to shine. The roster reads like a who's who of the midcard talent that made WCW so strong in the mid '90s. Benoit, Malenko, Guerrero and Steven Regal were set to begin a public protest of Jarrett's new membership in the Horsemen, and were more motivated than they'd been in yaers. It was all to come to a head with Benoit leaving the Horsemen in disgust, leading his own stable of four.. and it would've likely worked to perfection. Instead, politics got involved. Hulk Hogan saw his spotlight fading, and the Apocalypse angle was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Benoit's on screen frustrations would never play out to a logical conclusion, and were eventually dropped altogether.

 

Back on screen, the nWo was becoming a thorn in the side of the Horsemen again. Without a strong leader in action and a subsequent lack of direction, Benoit, Jarrett and McMichael had a serious problem. Coincidentally, Roddy Piper had just signed a match for the upcoming Uncensored card pitting himself and three partners of his own choosing in a triangle match against the nWo's four top names (Hogan, Savage, Hall and Nash) and WCW's biggest stars (Luger, the Giant and the Steiners). Problem was, Piper hadn't really recruited anyone since signing the contract. He'd "tested" a couple Power Plant students on Nitro, a segment which flopped tremendously, and was becoming visibly concerned as the event neared. With Ric Flair's blessing, the active Horsemen signed on as Piper's partners against the nWo.

 

The match was to be fought in a fashion similar to WarGames, as one man from each team would start in the ring with three fresh men entering every two minutes after. Instead of falling victim to a pinfall or submission, though, workers were eliminated in battle royal fashion; over the top rope.

 

Before the match, WCW was handed an early disadvantage; Rick Steiner had been attacked backstage, and would not be able to compete in the main event. Benoit, Hall and the Giant started things out, and the Giant calmly sat outside and watched while the Crippler cleaned house on Scott Hall. Finally, the future Big Show stepped between the ropes and almost instantly took the advantage. With ten seconds remaining before the next wave of participants, Big Paul made a kamakaze charge at Hall, who stepped out of the way and eliminated WCW's big man. Jarrett, Savage and Luger were next, followed by Mongo, Scott Steiner and Kevin Nash. Steiner became a man with a mission, tiger bombing Hall and suplexing Nash out of his boots. Steering clear of the stampeding Michigan native, Nash got up and promptly clotheslined Jarrett out to the floor. Hall was still being beaten down, this time by Mongo, when he reversed an attempted piledriver and flipped McMichael over the top to join his teammate.

 

Piper and Hogan made it complete, while Steiner was eliminated by a Kevin Nash boot. On the inside, Benoit was still going but appeared to be fighting a losing battle against both Outsiders as Piper made an immediate beeline for Randy Savage. After a brief exchange of blows, Hogan awkwardly eliminated the Rowdy one with a little help from ringside. Moments later, Chris Benoit fell victim to a double team Outsider's Edge and was eliminated. With all of Piper's team eliminated and 2 of the 3 WCW members joining them, the nWo seemed to have things pretty well in hand. They slowly surrounded the last opposition to their domination, Lex Luger, but the Package wasn't about to go down without a fight. While Savage had turned his back, Lex took advantage of the distraction and racked / eliminated him in seconds. Nash, turning to see what was going on, quickly found himself on the receiving end of a clothesline that sent him to the floor. Hall didn't have time to think before he'd suffered the same fate. While Hogan backpedaled, Dennis Rodman hopped to the ring apron and sprayed paint into Luger's eyes. A Hulkster shoulder drove him over the top, and the match was at an end.

 

The following night on Nitro, Flair cut a promo on Piper.. verbally berating him and tearing his reputation as a leader to shreds. After announcing that Piper had dropped the ball, fans and critics alike saw something that had been missing for months. The fire had been reignited, the desire reclaimed. This was the Ric Flair we knew and loved, and he was back to stay.

 

Meanwhile, Mongo and Jarrett had, despite their personal dislike for one another, begun representing the Horsemen in the tag team ranks. After costing the Public Enemy a series of matches the Horsemen had gained their full attention and a match at the upcoming Spring Stampede card. In the meantime, Benoit found himself in the first significant title shot he'd been granted since joining the Horsemen, a US Title shot against former partner Dean Malenko.

 

The night didn't go according to plan, however, and McMichael let personal issues with Jarrett get in the way during their match. They lost the match they'd requested against the Public Enemy, after a briefcase shot floored Double J and Mongo didn't bother to stop the count. Meanwhile, Benoit seemed to be well on his way to federation gold when Kevin Sullivan made his way to ringside. The Wolverine was readying himself to put Malenko away when Sullivan's role became more than that of a spectator. A physical exchange later and the ref had thrown the match out, ruling it a no contest. Sullivan had taken Benoit yet again.

 

Interestingly enough, Sullivan dropped from the public eye just after costing Benoit his US title shot. In his place stood Meng, who aimed to do the Taskmaster's dirty work for him in a "Death Match" at Slamboree. A bit peeved that Sullivan couldn't be bothered to do the deed himself, Benoit set out with a renewed vigor.. ready to make an example out of the islander. Elsewhere, Flair and Roddy Piper had formed an uneasy alliance against the nWo, who refused to go away. Despite their ongoing dislike for one another, their shared hatred of Hogan's stable was enough to unite the two in a 6 man tag match on the approaching Slamboree card. Surprisingly, the two called on Kevin Greene to complete their roster, though Flair and the Carolina Panther had been butting heads less than a year before. Steve McMichael, the man who had turned his back on Greene to join the Horsemen, was nowhere to be found.

 

When the bell rang for Benoit, he wasted no time in throwing almost everything he had at the Samoan monster. After repeated attempts at wearing his opponent down failed, Benoit went for a submission. Twice, he locked in the Crippler Crossface and twice, the Dungeon of Doom member reached the ropes. Benoit threw him out to the floor and used his only ally, momentum, to fling himself out in pursuit. His suicide dive landed, but moments later they were back into the ring. When Meng tried to fight back, Benoit reversed his efforts into a pair of crisp german suplexes. It was enough to wind Meng, and Benoit went up the top for his diving headbutt. The monster had been waiting for this moment, and clamped his Tongan Death Grip on at the moment of impact. Benoit was trapped in the middle of the ring, and after several failed attempts to punch his way out, finally lost consciousness. What should've been a relatively easy victory had gone the other way entirely for the Crippler, dropping the match cleanly.

 

The uneasy team of Flair, Piper and Greene were up next, meeting the original Wolfpac in its entirety, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Syxx. The match served as a homecoming of sorts for Flair, finally returning to action before a friendly Charlotte crowd. Ric showed us all he hadn't missed a beat, as he slipped into his old form as though it were an afterthought. Apparantly out to prove a point, Flair spent the majority of this match representing his team, and the nWo couldn't come up with an effective counter to his years of experience. When Scott Hall finally mounted an offense, Flair tagged in a fresh Roddy Piper. Before long all six men were in the ring, and the ref had taken a fall. While the others brawled out on the floor, Flair and Hall were duking it out on the canvas. Kevin Nash smacked Flair through the ropes, giving Hall the chance to hit his Outsider's Edge. Instead of taking the plunge, though, Ric slipped out and locked in the figure four. Nash came in to put a stop to that, but Greene took Big Sexy's knees out from under him and Piper was there to slap on a sleeper hold. Syxx desperately ran towards the melee, but the football star was waiting with a powerslam. With his comrades gasping for breath, Scott Hall passed out in the figure four, and referee Nick Patrick called for the bell.

 

The following night on Nitro, Syxx demanded a shot at the man, the myth, the legend, Ric Flair. Surprised and perhaps a bit amused, Flair wasted no time in strutting down to the ring. Smiling all the way, he accepted the smaller athlete's challenge and the match was set for later that very night. Not long after the deal had been done, Waltman revealed the reasoning behind such a bold challenge: The Horsemen were to be banned from the arena, effective immediately.

 

Despite their protests, the group was indeed out of the arena by the time Flair's music filled the arena. The Nature Boy, manly man that he is, still stood proud on his way to the ring despite immeasurable odds. Syxx lay waiting in the ring, and the two wasted little time before locking it up. When Flair took the early advantage, the nWo wasted no time and jumped him, ending the match before it could really begin. As his teammates slaughtered the Nature Boy, Kevin Nash grabbed a mic and announced he was going to personally put Flair and Piper out of wrestling.

 

Hall and Nash put their tag team titles on the line against Flair and Piper at the Great American Bash, and the old rivals once again found themselves aligned against a common enemy. Many felt this would be the Outsiders' chance to disable their older opponents, making good on Nash's promise earlier in the month. Others thought a loss might send the nWo as a whole spiraling downward, eventually falling like dominoes. Something had to give, and all signs pointed to the Bash as the instigator.

 

Early in the card, Chris Benoit and Meng went to the finish we should've seen a month earlier, as both men just kicked the holy hell out of each other. Benoit somehow found a way to harm Meng, and finally locked in the Crippler Crossface in the middle of the ring. Meng passed out, granting Benoit the victory he needed on the home stretch of his ongoing feud with the Dungeon of Doom.

 

Piper and Flair tagged surprisingly well, for two guys who hate each other, and held a relatively comfortable advantage early. Eventually, though, their years of experience as a team gave the Outsiders the advantage. Integrating their unique offenses into each other, they isolated Piper to their half of the ring, all the while taunting Flair who remained helpless in his corner. Just as Piper appeared to be on his way to making the hot tag, Syxx ran out to ringside. Flair hadn't forgotten the beating he'd suffered as a result of his match with the cruiserweight, and took the opportunity to exact some revenge. With Piper slowly rising to his feet in the ring, Flair gave chase and ran Syxx to the back. Without a partner to tag, Piper was lost and Scott Hall eventually scooped him up for the win.

 

The next night on Nitro, Piper was furious. He demanded an explanation from Flair himself, who told the rowdy one he'd done what was best for the both of them. The explanation didn't satisfy the Rowdy one, and he made sure Flair knew it. One week later, the Scotsman continued his questioning of Flair's actions.. only this time he got more than he bargained for. Flair again confronted him in the ring, now backed by his Horsemen (sans Jarrett). While Flair remained somewhat silent, Mongo and Benoit confronted Piper, who promptly attacked the two men. Ric was caught off guard by this turn of events, but when forced to choose between the Horsemen and Roddy Piper, his opinion was crystal clear. He assaulted Piper, who fought off the younger Horsemen and backed Flair into a corner. "The man" begged off in his own unique fashion, giving Mongo enough time to deck Roddy with his briefcase. As Benoit locked in the crippler crossface, Flair and McMichael stomped away on the scot's exposed head. Just before the show went to commercial, the Horsemen left the ring together; the first sign of unity they'd shown in many months

 

 

Bash at the Beach was the next scheduled event for WCW, and the Horsemen were ready to make a name for themselves once and for all in the modern world of professional wrestling. With Arn still out, the three that stomped Piper out on Nitro became tighter than ever before.. and to an increasingly disgruntled Jeff Jarrett, the roles were becoming pretty clear cut. The golden-haired superstar saw his spot in the fabled group fading away and there was nothing he could do about it. Luckily for him, Eddy Guerrero was there to lend an open ear. The two began spending more time with one another before the cameras, and it was no surprise to the viewing audience when they began accompanying each other to the ring on a somewhat regular basis.

 

On the Bash card, Benoit and Sullivan had once again decided to finish their feud, with Sullivan putting his career on the line for one last chance to embarrass the man who'd stolen his wife. In the same fashion they'd used to build their feud, these two tore it down in front of Woman and Miss Jacqueline, their respective valets. Though Benoit had his share of offense, the advantage was becoming clearly Sullivan's. As the older man readied himself for the finish, Jacqueline suddenly flattened him with a wooden chair. Benoit, surprised, gathered up what was left of his opponent for the pinfall, and Kevin Sullivan's active career came to a close. With Sullivan's departure, though, so came Woman's. Her appearances were becoming fewer and further in between, and she soon stopped coming to the ring altogether. Benoit didn't seem to mind, as he jumped into the slot he'd been ignoring as a Horseman. With his partners in crime by his side and his long standing feud with the Dungeon of Doom finally at an end, Chris Benoit was ready to pick up the fight against the nWo.

 

Elsewhere, the former Mr. Perfect, Curt Henning, had made his much-anticipated WCW debut. He immediately announced himself as the "biggest free agent in all of wrestling", proclaiming his services would go to the stable or organization that most impressed him with their offer. Flair took notice, as did Jarrett. In the weeks to come, the Horsemen, the nWo and WCW would all make an effort to acquire Henning's services.

 

After weeks of rejection from his peers, Jeff Jarrett decided that he'd had enough. In the middle of a tag match with Steve McMichael, he turned his back on the Horsemen and devoted his focus to the sprouting partnership with Eddy Guerrero. Two weeks later, Flair made the split official when he announced the Horsemen didn't want anything to do with his failed protégé. The remaining three attempted to break his pride with violence, but Jarrett had the last laugh. He'd walked away from the stable of his own free will and brought Debra McMichael with him. He and Mongo feuded briefly, which all ended when Double J made for the WWF.

 

In mid August, Arn Anderson stepped into the ring for one of the most memorable promos you're ever likely to see. Before a hushed crowd, the former TV and Tag champion announced his official retirement from the sport. A botched neck surgery had left him without full use of his left arm and would put his life in danger if he continued. The interview was particularly emotional, to the point where Ric Flair himself was weeping openly in the ring. Many backstage echoed the sentiment, including Sting and Roddy Piper. Eric Bischoff's response to the touching scene? "That's great TV."

 

Double A quickly proved he wasn't about to let his retirement affect the Horsemen, and nearly topped his retirement speech within the month. After Curt Henning had avoided the issue of his promised spot in the stable time and time again, Anderson demanded an answer from the former Mr. Perfect. In another superb promo, Arn vacated his slot in the group, stepping into the empty managerial position Ole had left behind years ago. He immediately offered the space to Henning, but gave the words extra meaning, saying "I'm not just giving you any spot… I'm giving you my spot." Henning finally accepted, and the four were complete again.

 

Not long after, the nWo assaulted the Horsemen head-on, mocking Anderson's retirement, Flair's mannerisms and Henning's joining the group in a skit that's gone down in infamy. Flair and company were furious, and made the gravest of challenges… WarGames. So secure with their new lineup were they, that they were willing to risk it all in one of the most historically dangerous matches of all time. An almost B-team nWo roster accepted, and the match was set as such: Flair, Benoit, McMichael and Henning against Nash, Syxx, Konnan and Buff Bagwell.

 

The night started off on a sour note, as Mean Gene was interrupted mid-shill by an early nWo attack on the newest Horseman, Curt Henning. Flair and company didn't arrive on scene until it was too late, and Henning showed a bit of frustration over the lack of assistance.

 

In the ring, Benoit and Bagwell started it off for their respective stables, as Benoit took a sound advantage. The nWo won the backstage coin toss, and Konnan was the next man in the ring, followed by Mongo, Syxx and Flair. The Nature Boy had things in the pal of his hand by the time Kevin Nash finalized the heel roster. Henning arrived wearing an arm sling, and hesitated initially, before turning full-fledged nWo. He reached into the sling, pulled out a pair of handcuffs, and locked his former partners to the cage while the rest of the heel faction took Flair apart. Henning drug the 13 time World Champ to the cage door and threatened to guillotine him, which forced Mongo to submit the match. Henning slammed the door on Ric's head anyway, leading to a series of the most horrific screams you'll ever hear from a living man.

 

Days later, a defeated Flair disbanded the Horsemen through a telephone interview. As Starrcade approached, the Horsemen were scattered like dust in the wind. Instead of soaring with the eagles at the promotion's top card, the famed stable was in shreds. Benoit dropped his match to an unfamiliarly green Perry Saturn, Steve McMichael jobbed to a rookie named Goldberg, and Flair wasn't even on the card. Curt Henning, though, carried the US Heavyweight title.. a belt he dropped to DDP at the event.

 

And so, 1997 ended.. not with a bang, but a whimper. Though Benoit was slowly building an unstoppable amount of momentum (eventually losing a best of seven series against Booker T in the TV title ranks), his former teammates were in a bad way. Flair's personal problems with Eric Bischoff had intensified to the point Ric was sued by the promotion he'd helped create. It was all leading to one helluva triumphant return, and we weren't about to be let down. Check it all out as I wrap things up with part XII

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

1998 & Beyond.

 

It all started in a roundabout way, on the eve of April 9th. Flair claimed he’d been granted the night off months in advance. He’d planned to watch his youngest son, Reid, participate in an amateur wrestling tournament in Minnesota. Bischoff, however, says he never asked for the time off, and booked the Nature Boy for Thunder in Florida. In the weeks before, Flair had signed a letter of intent to stay with WCW. It served as a legally binding document, which basically stated Ric wouldn't show up on Raw while he was negotiating a new contract with Turner. The whole thing wouldn't have amounted to much of anything, had WCW not heavily promoted Flair's presence in the days before. Mean Gene told us on the Nitro prior that Ric had a "very important announcement in store, regarding the future of the Horsemen".

 

Naturally, the viewers tuned in to see what Flair had to say, but Ric had flown to Minnesota anyway, putting family ahead of business. Gene explained to the viewing audience that Flair had experienced flight problems and was stuck in Charlotte, which was the last time the Nature Boy's name would be mentioned on WCW TV for months. Bischoff had decided to make an example out of Flair, much in the same vein as he had with Vader years earlier. He sued, taking Slick Ric for nearly all he was worth. He teased reuniting the Horsemen without their centerpiece. He tried ignoring the weekly, thunderous chants that demanded "We want Flair!" It wasn't long before rumors hit the net, confirming his arrival on Raw almost immediately.

 

Meanwhile, Nitro kept on with the teased Horsemen angle, Flair or not. Chris Benoit became a constant thorn in Arn Anderson's side, reminding him that the legacy shouldn't die so easily. Despite the fact Anderson wanted no part of any reunion without Flair, stating his opinion bluntly on several occasions backstage, Benoit would not be swayed. He fought the good fight, resuming the group's crusade against the nWo after defeating each member of Raven's flock in singles combat. Though he gave everything he could offer against the constantly growing heel faction, Benoit often found himself overcome by the sheer number of new opponents. One evening, following a match with Stevie Ray, Benoit again found himself buried by the mob of nWo members.. only this time help was on its way. Steve McMichael, who had taken months away from the ring, returned to save his long time teammate. The two shared a glance, turned to the audience and proudly rose four fingers to the air. The audience erupted, proving not even Bischoff's power could crush a legacy.

 

 

Following their own realignment, Benoit and McMichael started in on Arn Anderson again, whose opinion still hadn’t changed. Along the way, Benoit's friend and former partner Dean Malenko joined the crusade. After working so closely with the Crippler for so many years, Dean saw how important the group was to his friend. As a second generation wrestler, he held tradition in high regard.. and the Horsemen represented that tradition in every essence of the word. To see them defeated by the nWo so easily debunked the years of suffering the original four endured, and served as a slap in the face to all the men they'd beaten to gain their legendary status. Dean didn't want to see tradition dead.. not yet.. and joined the effort to reform the Horsemen. He was soon integrated with the other two, saving them when the occasion called for it and occasionally tagging up with them.

 

Though he meant well, Malenko's addition to the movement bothered Arn, and the Enforcer became more and more vocally opposed to what they were trying to do. One particularly memorable Nitro speech saw the younger Anderson revealing the deep scar that runs down his neck, telling the Iceman the mark was something he'd earned through his years with the Horsemen. Tradition wasn't dead, so long as he remained standing. The three youthful revolutionaries were moved by the speech they'd witnessed, and as a disgruntled Anderson stalked back to the locker rooms, a touch of doubt appeared on their faces.

 

Not long after, the nWo started in with their usual bag of tricks. When the new Horsemen movement was the subject of another nWo parody, Malenko took personal offense and embarked on a feud with the stable, focusing primarily on Curt Hennig. Though Hennig had the definite edge in terms of manpower (especially once the late Rick Rude began accompanying him to the ring), Malenko was always in charge and took multiple nearfalls, DQs and the like. That's not to say Rude and Hennig were helpless, however, and the inseparable duo had the Iceman at their mercy more often than not. Rumors swirled about Rude's imminent return to the ring, which were amplified when he used his old finisher, the rude awakening, on Malenko one particular Thunder. Fed up with the whole feud, Hennig invited the iceman into a steel cage on Nitro, where the two would settle things once and for all. When Stevie Ray joined Hennig and Rude on the way to the ring, Malenko knew it was bound to be a rough night.

 

Hennig dominated the early goings, much to the pleasure of his friends on the outside. But once Malenko took a distinct advantage, Rick Rude played his trump card. He produced the keys to the cage door, climbing in with Stevie Ray right on his heels. Together, the three destroyed the man of 1000 holds, and drug his body to the cage door. Reminiscent of the move that ended the Horsemen of 1997, the three draped Malenko's head through the opening and prepared to slam the cage door on him.. until Arn Anderson arrived from out of nowhere. Let me reiterate this: in a day and age when one can see a run-in coming a mile away (usually by watching the crowd, who turns in anticipation every time a stage hand moves on the entryway), this came from out of nowhere. The attention was so centered on Hennig and Rude's activities that Arn's lighting fast run-in was a necessarily unexpected surprise. You can check it out for yourself by clicking here, as the Calgary Sun has it archived.

 

Double A tore down the entryway, clotheslining Hennig, who sold like a bomb had just gone off in his face. Anderson turned and decked Rude an instant later, before climbing into the ring to meet Stevie Ray. Both peeled off their shirts as the crowd went nuts, and Arn dared the former Harlem Heat member to make a move for him. Stevie obliged, and soon found himself greeting the cage wall with a kiss. Ray went down and the Enforcer put the boots to him, forcing him to the floor, where Henning and Rude still didn't know what had hit them. It was Arn's first physical contact in the ring since his surgery, and he made it mean something.

 

The next week on Nitro, the WCW Executive Committee chairman, JJ Dillon, was spotted backstage in a tux. Moments later, he appeared in the ring. The Carolina crowd was already anticipating a possible Flair return, and even the most remote Horsemen reference would've been enough to send the roof off the place. Dillon introduced Arn Anderson, and the crowd had their excuse. An enormous "We want Flair" chant shook the arena, and Arn played it for all it was worth, telling us "everybody's gonna get what they want tonight." Clad in a tux himself, Double A kicked out yet another unbelievable speech. "Tonight is a new beginning for the four" he said, "About a year and a half ago, I laid down on an operating table, and when I woke up, Arn Anderson the wrestler was dead. And I thought to myself, 'How could I be a Horsemen if I couldn't be a wrestler?' Well, the fact is, I questioned my mind. When I thought I could no longer be a Horseman, Chris Benoit came to me.. and he said, 'This could all happen.'"

 

With that, he introduced the new roster. McMichael, Benoit and Malenko. He took a moment to praise their particular talents, saying "the best thing in the world I can call you is a Horsemen. And I'm proud to do that now", before letting the anticipation get to him and rushing to the next segment. "I'm not going to be responsible for what happens next. Because we don't wear white hats. We are not nice guys. And I can tell you this: heads are going to roll. Greenville.. I give you the champ." Seconds later, The Nature Boy was on his way to the ring. To say he got the pop of the night would be an understatement.

 

A humbled Flair tried to get a word in amongst the cheers, but it was no use. With the affection obviously having a profound effect on him, the best he could muster was "thank you." This is the kind of moment that makes your heart soar as a wrestling fan, the moment that sends a tingle through your body. Finally, Flair regained his composure and spoke of tradition, how the past 25 years on the road were all worth it. Passionately, he turned his attention to Eric Bischoff and his crimes against the sport.. recalling his words the night of Arn Anderson's retirement. Flair got so worked up in the process that he took a chunk out of his own tongue. Blood pouring from his mouth, he never missed a step and plowed right through what was arguably the most memorable interview of the decade. As he told us the disbandment of the Horsemen was Bischoff's doing, Eric stepped from behind the curtain. In an instant, Flair became a different man. While being physically held back by the Horsemen, out of his mind with rage, Bischoff announced the show was over. Flair called him and "overbearing ######." Tearing his jacket off, Flair invited Eric into the ring, but Bischoff had already gone to the back. The show triumphantly went to commercial as Flair and company enjoyed the adoration of their public. The boys were back.

 

By the next week, Bischoff had wasted no time and began to flex his corporate muscle. He'd acknowledged Flair's presence as a personality, but wouldn't call him a wrestler. Flair wasn't allowed to work a match, and Eric proceeded to exact his revenge on the other three, through ridiculously one-sided matches. As his mouth ran the next week on Nitro, the Horsemen tried to approach the ring, only to be stopped by Doug Dillenger and the WCW security team. After a heated staredown, Dillenger stepped out of the Horsemen's way and ordered the security under his command to do the same. Bischoff was irate, but he soon had company in the ring. While Eric tried to talk the talk, he successfully walked the walk.. right into a corner. He was at the Horsemen's mercy, and they made sure he knew it. Flair told us he was the one who introduced Hogan to Bischoff, and the segment ended with all the Horsemen raising four fingers right in the littl prick's face. It was a quiet message, but it delivered in spades.

 

One week later, Eric came out to tell us The Nature Boy wasn't in the arena.. but Arn was right there to tell him he was wrong. Apparantly a Flair was in the arena, in the form of young Reid. Anderson looked on as the ten year old styled and profiled in the ring, abruptly taking Bischoff to the mat on two occasions. When Bischoff demanded Reid's father on the telephone, 2001: A Space Odyssey blasted on the speakers. Ric Flair was in attendance, and that was enough to send Eric out through the crowd. The nWo bad boys were quick to circle the ring, but the remaining three Horsemen were even quicker in chasing them off. Again, Flair and friends had the last laugh.

 

 

In the weeks just after, Benoit and Malenko began to team on a regular basis with Arn Anderson serving as their manager. Their run as a team would lead to what looks to have been the last hurrah for the WCW Tag Division, competing against teams such as Raven & Perry Saturn and Rey Misterio, Jr. & Kidman.

 

Flair, meanwhile, came to the ring one Thursday night with a surprise for Mean Gene; a returning Barry Windham. The old school Horseman wasn't a new member, but Flair was simply glad to see him back. It wasn't long before Bischoff made his way to ringside, telling Barry there's no room for him in WCW. Later in the program, Bret Hart took on Chris Benoit in a fabulous little match that Chris took via DQ. When Hart didn't like the decision and clobbered Benoit with a chair, Malenko tried to make the save. When Hart flattened Dean with the chair as well, DDP finally ran him off for good.

 

Only one week later, Bischoff called Ric out to the ring, accompanied by Windham. Eric was acting surprisingly submissive, and told Flair he wanted to mend fences. The old school Horsemen exchanged high fives, and Bischoff mentioned the irony, claiming Barry would be knocking Flair on his ass before the night was through. Flair laughed it off, and Easy-E slipped in a slap. When Flair made a move for the little man, Windham turned and floored his former teammate. The turncoat sat down on a chinlock, while Eric rained down the hurt with kicks to the head. The Horsemen tried a run-in, but that was just what Eric's men were waiting for. The nWo intercepted them midway and isolated Malenko immediately, targetting his knee. Angrily, Bischoff banned Benoit, McMichael, Anderson and Flair from the arena and put the injured Iceman in a match with Bret Hart. The two went 16 minutes, before Hart reverted to the use of a chair again and found himself disqualified.

 

One week later, Flair had decided it was time he and Eric had a match. Calling the president out on live TV, Flair shouted "If you wanna fire me, fire me.. but in your neighborhood tomorrow a 12-year-old kid's gonna say, 'Ric Flair called you out - he's old, can't you beat him?' A 10-year-old down the block's gonna say 'Bischoff, Ric Flair called you out last night.' Ted Turner's gonna look across the board of directors and say 'Did Flair call Bischoff out last night?' They're gonna say 'yeah!' I wanna wrestle you here tonight, tomorrow, next week ... you and I are gonna have it out once and for all. YOU. ME. COME. JUMP. ON. THIS. OLD. MAN! WOOOO!" Bischoff responded in person, flanked by Barry Windham. He accepted the challenge, under one condition: that Malenko beat Windham one on one later that very night. Dean had no problem with it, and even told the other Horsemen to leave the arena.. he wanted to do this by himself. When the Horsemen had agreed, Bischoff introduced the special referee: long time Horseman enemy Dusty Rhodes.

 

Though Windham didn't really give the previous week's Malenko/Hart match much of a run for its money, the encounter was as strong as can be expected.. considering it was 2 minutes long. Barry was viciously assaulting Malenko's leg throughout.. and Dusty wasn't forcing a break in the corner. Dean went down and after a couple submission holds didn't net a finish, Windham started getting dirty. He hit low blows, illegal holds and whatnot.. and Dusty turned a blind eye to it all. Windham wrapped Malenko's leg around the ringpost, and Duthtay quietly asked for a break. When Windham refused, Rhodes flat out disqualified him! An irate Eric Bischoff confronted the American Dream and fired him, but it was all he could do.. the match was set for Starrcade. Flair vs. Bischoff.

 

In the weeks leading up to their meeting, Flair became more animated and more excitable than before in his promos. Though he wasn't allowed to work until Starrcade, that didn't stop him from dropping elbows on thin air and bouncing around on the ropes. On Nitro one evening, Ric was going through the same motions when something seemed to go wrong. After telling Bischoff he would rip out his heart, and "show the world", he grabbed his left shoulder and slumped to the mat. Gene quickly wrapped the segment up, while Flair sat in the corner.. staring blankly into the distance. It was a legitimately scary angle, as Arn Anderson, the WCW trainers and Dusty Rhodes came out to check on the Nature Boy. Doctors later told Flair he'd been "poisoned", and that was the last we heard of it.

 

Bischoff later tried to apologize to the fans and the Flair family for his actions. Later in the week on Thunder, Bischoff had David and Reid Flair in the ring, and told both he’s sorry.. for kicking their asses. With one swipe, David was on the floor and Brian Adams had restrained Reid. Eric continued the assault on an unconscious David, then made a quick move for Ric's wife, Beth. Bisch grabbed a quick kiss before Thunder ended.

 

That following Monday, Barry Windham and Van Hammer were ready to begin their scheduled matchup.. and Flair stopped the action before it had even begun. He caught a surprised Windham from behind and immediately went cheap, hitting low blows, eye rakes and widening the openings in his former ally's face a bit. Barry tried to fight back, but it was no use. When he fell back into a corner, Ric hit a shattered dreams kick before the nWo ran in to stop the violence. The Horsemen caught them before they got to the ring, and chaos erupted. The police eventually made an appearance and had to mace the Horsemen. The night ended as Flair stared right through the camera, snarling "Bischoff, as God is my witness… I. WILL. KILL. YOU."

 

The Starrcade that followed was far from a good sign for the white hot new group. Within the opening minutes of the broadcast, Bobby Heenan told us the Horsemen had been taken from the building by force. Flair and Bischoff was a mini-main event, capping the middle of the card, and Flair held a strong advantage throughout.. with the boss landing a solid kick or two when things got monotonous. The Nature Boy looked to have things wrapped up when Curt Hennig made his return after a couple months off. Hennig handed a pair of brass knuckles through the ropes to the executive leader of the nWo and Eric put them to use, KO'ing Flair and covering him for the swerve nobody wanted to see.

 

The very next night, Flair walked to the ring with his luggage in tow.. apparently deciding to show on Nitro at the last second. He started the segment almost sedate, telling Gene and his fans that he blew a golden opportunity, and didn't deserve any of the praise he'd been given. It didn't take long before things got heated, though.. he started slowly, taking off his coat, naming its maker and price and laying it in the center of the ring. Various accessories came off in the same fashion.. his sweater, his watch, his shoes. By the time he was through, Flair found himself standing in the center of the ring in his boxers, telling Bischoff it could all be his. He handcuffed himself to the ropes, did a little dance, and told Eric to meet him face to face like a man. Before Bischoff was even in the ring, Ric had already decided on the stipulations: if he lost tonight, Eric could have all his worldly possessions.. but if he won, he'd run WCW for 90 days.

 

Easy-E finally got near the ring, and said it was fun beating up his son. He loved kissing Flair’s wife. None of it would be nearly as exciting as taking all of his money. With an enraged Ric lunging for him, Bischoff said "you're on." It was all Flair needed to hear. 2 1/2 hours later, he man was already waiting in the ring. Backstage cameras showed us Bischoff was having second thoughts, as he made a beeline toward his own limo. He opened the door and climbed in.. climbing right back out, face as white as a sheet. Mongo, Benoit and Malenko had been waiting for him inside. The three carried the evil promoter to the ring, where he attempted to beg off instantly. The crowd was all over Bischoff, as Flair peeled the skin from the front of his chest with brutal, backhanded chops. Minutes of straight Flair domination led to Horace and Vincent's run-ins. Not surprisingly, the four on the floor were enough to counter any offense these two might have thrown together. With Bischoff apparently unconscious in the ring, the rest of the nWo flooded the ringside area. Amazingly, Benoit and company kept them from the ring.. but when the Giant hit the Horsemen blockade it became too much. He halfhazardly stepped into the ring and floored the unsuspecting Flair with a big headbutt.

 

As the locker room continued to empty, the Giant motioned for a chokeslam. When Randy Savage made his first appearance in months, the big man hesitated, but all seemed to be in order when the Macho Man flashed the "Wolfpac" hand sign. Wight went for the chokeslam, but Randy changed his mind, hitting a low blow and throwing the Giant back over the top rope. Flair lifted Bischoff into a big vertical suplex, then locked in the figure four. When Bischoff tapped, the entire arena was on its feet. Flair dropped an elbow and covered for three just for the hell of it. It was a good time, and a superb up note on which to end a sub par year for WCW.

 

Unfortunately, the end of 1998 would also prove to be a climax for this incarnation of the Horsemen. With his newfound power, Flair spent less and less time with the stable he'd lifted to near-mythic proportions in the past. Not a month into the year, Ric was teaming with his son David on PPV, while Benoit and Malenko struggled in the tag ranks. They would eventually hold the Tag Team Championships, Benoit’s first officially acknowledged WCW gold. It's been said absolute power corrupts absolutely, and such was the case with Flair. After extending his reign as President further than the original 90 days, the Nature Boy seemed to lose his mind. Benoit and Malenko tried to remind him of the Horsemen's existence, but Ric remained ignorant. He put the US title on his son, and that was pretty well the straw that broke the camel's back. Dean and Chris made the break official, appearing as Roddy Piper's "mystery partners" in a match against Flair and DDP weeks later.

 

Benoit would go on to hold each title in WCW's rotation (with the exception of the cruiserweight belt), including a brief one day reign as World Champ before heading to the greener pastures of the WWF. Malenko's story reads much the same. After dropping the tag straps he shared with Benoit, Dean joined up with Shane Douglas, Perry Saturn and... Chris Benoit, in the Revolution. Dean also jumped to the wild frontier of the WWF. Steve McMichael suffered a foot injury at the beginning of 1999 and was released from WCW. His current whereabouts are unknown. Arn Anderson eventually sided with Ric Flair, advising him as best he could through the Presidential reign. Flair himself has since won the World Title for a 14th and 15th time, returning from a short retirement as CEO of the company. Suitably enough, he worked the last match in WCW history against Sting.

 

Though it was a shame to see the historic stable fall apart so quickly in 1999, none can deny the magical air that surrounded them mere months earlier, as Flair locked Eric Bischoff into the figure four leglock on Monday Nitro. The stable's been through much worse, come back from more debilitating a break, and stood strong through too vicious a hellstorm to let it all end like this.. and it's only a matter of time before those four fingers lift toward the sky once more. Though they've since jumped promotions, the legacy is still alive in Benoit and Malenko and I wouldn't be surprised to see the name alive and well another ten years from now. And don't think the idea of a Horsemen invasion of the WWF hasn't crossed my mind. Now that Vince McMahon owns WCW and every trademark and videotape therein, such an angle could be huge. With two former members on staff, it's almost elementary

[Guest Mordecai's Cathedral]

I haven't read everything yet, but thanks a lot for this, man! This is awesome.

[Steve J. Rogers 0]

Uh, hate to nitpick but weren't the Andersons storyline cousins? And Ole was never in the WWF, Arn and Tully split for the WWF not Arn and Ole

 

Great stuff so far

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

*BUMP*

 

I think everybody should read this because the Horsemen are a big part of wrestling's history

[JoeDirt 0]

Fantastic stuff.

[Steve J. Rogers 0]

Wonder how close HHH ever got to calling Evolution "Four Horsemen"

 

I wonder if he even did consider using the name exactly who said "Uh NO!" Probably Flair himself if the idea never made it on air

 

Steve

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Wonder how close HHH ever got to calling Evolution "Four Horsemen"

 

I wonder if he even did consider using the name exactly who said "Uh NO!" Probably Flair himself if the idea never made it on air

The original plan was to call Evolution the Four Horseman, but it was decided the Horseman name was best left alone, and that calling it something new would allow them to create a legacy for themselves.

[BUTT 0]

The rematch was set for Superbrawl, where fellow Horseman Arn Anderson would be defending his TV title against the constant challenge of Bobby Eaton, Sid would be fighting the aforementioned bout with El Gigante, and Barry Windham was nowhere to be found.

Actually, that's wrong. Windham wrestled Pillman in a taped fist match at that show.

 

But that's just nitpicking.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

Woman was not with the Horsemen in '95 when they intro'd Benoit to the group. She didn't turn heel on Savage until Nitro in February 1996, during a Horsemen run-in for Savage/Benoit.

[BUTT 0]

Yeah, whoever wrote this has that all wrong.

 

In the mean time, the Horsemen had collected yet another new manager through their own characteristically sneaky measures. Following his loss at Starrcade, Randy Savage made an appearance on Nitro to challenge Flair to a rematch at the very same Superbrawl event that would house the Sullivan / Pillman blowoff. By his side were two lovely ladies, Woman (whose attempts to buy out the Horsemen years earlier never came to fruition) and his own mainstay and ex-wife, Miss Elizabeth. Their appearance was a shock to the viewing audience, but not nearly so much as Woman’s actions only moments later. Waiting until Savage had issued his challenge, Woman had revealed her true colors by jumping him in the ring.. leaving Elizabeth to console her former husband while the former Mrs. Sullivan joined her new escorts, the Horsemen. Savage would have the last laugh though, tricking Flair into a World Title shot on Nitro weeks later and taking the belt back from his Starrcade opponent. The Superbrawl rematch would still go down, but it had a whole new meaning to Flair now.

 

Woman actually didn't make her WCW return until the match where Savage beat Flair for the title. Liz debuted in WCW the next night at the Clash of the Champions. And Woman turned on Savage a couple of weeks after that.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

How can Ric Flair have so much title reigns? Were some of his reigns really short or something? I the beginning of the history he holds the title for like 2 years so how the heck did he get to 16?

[Jericholic82 0]

is this the same one from the old solies vinatge wrestling website? sorry I didnt read it thru first. Wanted to know cuz I enjoyed that and always wanted a copy of it.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

I got it off Obsessed with Wrestling somewhere. Great find. Just save it on your computer.

[Betty Houle 0]

Although I’ve enjoyed similar write-ups posted to this forum recently, I found this one to be annoying. There are a dozen or two really minor mistakes that would be easily ignored individually; collectively, these mistakes are quite annoying in a write-up that seems to be detail-orientated. The other problem is that the style seems inconsistent. Is this a kayfabed telling of the storyline (which would be fine)? No, because the occasional “smart” comment is made along with some typically dense personal opinions. In this case, whenever the write-up drew attention to the writer I found it off-putting and distracting. And he used the word “goodness”, another crime against nature. And the paragraph on the Benoit-Liger match from Starrcade 95 is, to quote George Carlin, “full of things that piss me off”. But a lot of thought and work probably went into this so whatever.

[EdwardKnoxII 0]

Actually, that's wrong. Windham wrestled Pillman in a taped fist match at that show.

Yeah and he beat him with a superplex. That was back when the move was something special and you didn't see it alot.

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

I read this entire thing a few days back when I had little to nothing to do during the day.

 

It was so amazingly awesome. I loved the half shoot / half kayfabed style of it, giving a full perspective of what was going on. Sure, there are errors but when you write something so friggin huge, and you don't spend a few years working on it, there will be errors.

 

For the most part, it was AMAZING and helped remind me why the NWA was my favoritist evah. Thanks alot for posting it!

[MikeJordan23 0]

How can Ric Flair have so much title reigns? Were some of his reigns really short or something? I the beginning of the history he holds the title for like 2 years so how the heck did he get to 16?

Ric Flair is closer to a 22 trimes champion, if you count certain reigns that go unrecognized.

[deancoles 0]

How can Ric Flair have so much title reigns? Were some of his reigns really short or something? I the beginning of the history he holds the title for like 2 years so how the heck did he get to 16?

Look at the number of short reigns he had in the 90s

 

92: Has the WWF Title for 2 months.

92: Wins it back only to lose it nearly 2 months later.

93: Has the NWA Title for 2 months.

95. Wins the WCW Title at Starrcade and holds it for a couple of weeks.

96: Has the belt from February-April.

99. Has the belt for a Month.

 

and there's some that might not be on the WWE's version of his Title History, the quick switches with Rhodes,Race and Von Erich,the 2000 Jarrett win and Nash giving flair the belt back(althought that might not have been counted by anyone as an official title run) a few weeks later.