Armchair Bookers: The "WWF Horsemen"...

[Zack Malibu 0]

Been a while, so here's something to get our minds working on another Saturday afternoon. In 1991, with Flair's arrival to the WWF, he was paired with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and later Mr. Perfect as a heel unit, though not what you'd consider a stable or a group. The Heenan Family was a thing of the past, and with Perfect having to stay out of the ring due to his injuries, it was simply like Flair having two managers/advisors to help him do his dirty work-a far cry from being surrounded and protected by the Horsemen in the NWA/WCW.

 

However, what if McMahon tried to copy the formula that worked so well for his rivals, just with the WWF machine behind it? Obviously not taking the name due to trademarks and copyrights, but what if McMahon created his own version of the Horsemen to showcase Flair and other talents, using Flair's jump to give guys the rub, or elevate people up the card via association? Would it be an elite supergroup packed with main event talents, or would they surround Flair with midcard lackeys to keep the focus on him? Would they turn any popular stars heel for this? Would Heenan and/or Perfect still be involved? How would you create/book a WWF version of The Four Horsemen?

 

For me, my likely scenario would be Flair's arrival, and immediately getting into it with Hogan/Piper as he had done. From there, on an episode of Superstars, Flair would be scheduled to face Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, at the time a babyface, but before the match started, Flair would get on the mic and run down Piper, causing him to get up from the booth and confront Flair in the ring. Flair would egg Piper on, slapping him in the face, but just as Piper was about to go after him, Valentine would attack from behind, and he and Flair would put the boots to Piper, working him over. Flair and Valentine would then hug and leave together, with Bobby Heenan proudly proclaiming that they put one over on Roddy.

 

On Primetime, Flair and Valentine would do an interview about how Valentine was "not the nice guy everyone thought he was" and how he was Flair's friend from way back, not a friend to the fans or especially to Roddy Piper. They'll hint at the history he and Piper had, saying what happened to him was a "long time coming", and Flair would state that while he might have come in as an outsider, he had more friends than you'd think. Valentine would make reference to the "incentives" he was due for helping Flair, and Flair will tell him that they'll come when the time is right.

 

A few weeks of back and forth goes on, with Piper promising retaliation and Flair and Valentine mocking him. Finally, again on an episode of Superstars, Piper is ready to return to the ring to face Valentine, who comes to ringside with Flair. Piper and Valentine face off and have a very good match, and when Flair tries to interfere, Piper knocks him off the apron. He goes to suplex Valentine back in, but as he does, Rick Martel comes out and they do the Warrior/Rude WM5 finish, with Martel helping Valentine beat Piper. Martel now officially joins the outfit, toning down the "Model" gimmick a bit while still keeping it, acting more like a Gino Hernandez/Tully Blanchard type. He'll claim that he deserves better than the hand he's been dealt...he'd been held back by the wrong partners before, but finally he's proud to have forged an alliance with superstars on equal ground as himself.

 

So now the Flair/Valentine/Martel trio have Piper to deal with, as the next week Martel/Valentine will wrestle a tag squash that sees Piper rush the ring swinging a chair, scaring them off. All the while, the announces will speculate why this guy Flair, who thinks he's bigger than the WWF, is able to get help from WWF superstars. Again on Primetime, they'll confront the group, and Bobby Heenan will be asked about how can he afford such demanding talent. Heenan will then reveal how shrewd a businessman he is, because Ric Flair is not the only one that wants to bring down Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan. Out walks Ted DiBiase, who has been the money man the whole time. DiBiase will talk about how Flair is a kindred spirit, and how all Valentine needed was a little "green motivation" to get away from the fans, and how this unit was a sound investment, as they can take over the WWF and run it as they see fit, thanks to the talent, brainpower, and money involved.

 

From that point, Hogan/Piper will have to forge an alliance to take on the foursome, getting occasional help from people like Tito Santana (thanks to his past with Valentine and Martel), Sgt. Slaughter, and Bret Hart. Finally, after the feud with Jake runs its course, Savage will join the trio, with the heels mocking the fact that you have three guys who can't get along on a good day thinking they'll be a cohesive enough unit to bring them down.

 

There would be much more to it, such as the Sid Justice involvement, the Undertaker face turn, and Mr. Perfect's return that could all be tied into the storyline (and it'd be an immense amount to write for sure), but as far as stables go, I think a Flair/DiBiase/Valentine/Martel unit in the early 90's could have been a great heel faction, especially playing off the babyfaces of the time period. The one thing I'm stuck on is a name though, as I've no idea what I'd call them.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

For me, when I think of the Horsemen I think of Ric Flair who's elite on the mic and in ring, Tully/Arn who create a very good tag team whilst also being able to bring it on the mic (Arn moreso), and then there was the 4th member who seemed to constantly rotate at times during the Horsemen's total run in WCW.

 

So with that criteria, I'm mainly looking at Flair, a 2nd who can challenge for the IC Title/Tag with the 3rd and cut a great promo, a 3rd who can form a solid tag with #2, and the 4th who can basically act as an intimidator while still being a decent wrestler.

 

In terms of "players" in the group...

- Ric Flair: Leader striving for the WWF Title

- Ted Dibiase: Ya know... I really like this selection (I would've chosen Bret Hart if he hadn't just turned face). He would later tag with IRS anyway as Money Inc and he'd be a perfect compliment to Flair in both workrate and on the mic, which is really just as important.

- Irwin R. Schyster: I would drop the tax gimmick but here's a guy who would be a good 3rd man and can cut a decent promo as part of a group. He has some history with Flair and could make a solid tag team with my #2 guy.

- "Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich: He would be a great little 4th man. Decent wrestler with a notable history in Texas/with Ric Flair and at this point could use a heel turn to try and revitalize his stagnant character. He really seems to me as if he'd be a great fit as he could slide into a variety of tag teams within the faction.

 

So now you have 2 guys who can tag together in "big" matches in Flair/Dibiase who will be taken seriously as threats, a tag team of Dibiase/IRS that can compete for the Tag Titles and be credible enough, and Kerry Von Erich who can be credible against the mid-card level and is a former IC Champion himself meaning he could have some credibility with the fans. Von Erich could also team with any of the other 3 members and not look terribly out of place either.

 

My main feuds would be as follows...

- Ric Flair vs. Roddy Piper (or Hulk Hogan for the WWF Title)

- Ted Dibiase vs. Bret Hart for the IC Title (or feud him with a bigger name like Sid Justice/Undertaker/Randy Savage)

- IRS vs. Big Bossman or Ricky Steamboat

- Kerry Von Erich vs. Davey Boy Smith or Jake Roberts

 

You really have a multitude of feuds that can be chosen from for each individual wrestler, whilst also setting up multiple tag match combinations (imagine a Flair/Dibiase/IRS/Von Erich vs. Hogan/Piper/Steamboat/Roberts match at Survivor Series).

[Zack Malibu 0]

I had thought of adding IRS (but with the Rotunda/o name and minus the taxman gimmick), but to me, Martel has the Tully vibe, as I mentioned. Valentine, while not necessarily an imposing intimidator such as a Luger, Windham, or a Sid, could have had an earlier version of the Crippler gimmick. A grizzled veteran who was willing to hurt anyone and just did not care about the consequences.

 

Besides Valentine, I had considered Big Boss Man for the enforcer role (in a gimmick similar to Big Bubba Rogers, somewhat like his 2002 return gimmick), as well as a repackaged Hercules since Power and Glory were pretty much done by this point. Those were the only big bodyguard types I could see fitting in, as I don't think the cartoonish powerhouses like Warlord would have fit.

 

You could also replace Martel with Hennig, but I wanted to go off real life and not have Hennig be ready to return to the ring during the formation of this group.

Edited December 27, 2008 by Zack Malibu

[theone 0]

Flair

DiBiase

Mr. Perfect

Big Boss Man or Kama Mustafa / PaPa Shango

[CubbyBr 0]

Ric Flair

Ted Dibiase

Shawn Michaels

Kerry Von Erich

 

Two charismatic young guys and two veterens which could lead to a great storyline for the eventual breakup of the group. I could see Shawn and Von Eric making a good tag team.

[ryankeast 0]

Ric Flair

Sid Vicious as his bodyguard

Bobby Heenan as the manager

Mr Perfect in an ideal world he wouldn't have been so "banged up"

 

Ted Dibiasie and IRS would not be full time members of the group but would also be cahoots with Flair.

 

Later Lex Luger and Razor Ramon would be future members.

[korndogg123 0]

My first thoughts for this were also Dibiase/IRS since they'd be Money Inc. anyway. As for the 4th guy, I like the Martel idea. But if an enforcer really is needed, then I suppose the Bossman heel turn is a good one since Sid seemed to be too high on the WWF superstar totem pole to fill that role.