WWE: Undertaker, Triple H & Shawn Michaels Are Their Generation's Horsemen

What’s causing all this?

Watching Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this past Monday night brought it all back for me. Not that it ever went anywhere.

Not that I have ever let go of those NWA glory days, watching the Four Horsemen perform at the highest level that the business of professional wrestling has ever seen. I haven’t. And I probably never will.

On my DVD rack right now are two shelves of WWE discs. Among them is Ric Flair: The Ultimate Collection, Ric Flair: The Definitive Collection and, of course, Ric Flair and The Four Horsemen.  

That’s just three. I’ve got a bunch of ‘em. And let me tell you, I have watched them.  

A lot.

As my wife deals with the fact that she’s married to a middle-aged pro wrestling fan boy, I can only say that the further removed I get from that era, the more I enjoy watching those DVDs.

Call it nostalgia; call it a stubborn refusal to grow up; call it what you will. For me, the fact is that it just does not get any better than the Horsemen in the 1980’s Jim Crockett Promotions.

They gave everything they had for the business, and entertained fans all over the world. The reaction they received from the crowd at the Hall of Fame ceremony said it all.  

Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen are respected. They are loved. And they always will be.

They represented a different era, another generation of workers and fans, who helped the industry grow to staggering heights. They paved the way for all who followed. The Four Horsemen, as clichéd as it sounds, are often imitated, but never duplicated.

Don’t look now, but it’s happened again. We have crossed into another era.

It’s not that I didn’t realize it. I mean, it is 2012, the John Cena Era is in full effect; it’s not like I’ve been asleep for the past five years.

But the reality of the situation has hit me like a freight train. I guess you can say it has caused me to be, as with the Horsemen, a nostalgic fan boy who just refuses to grow up.

What brought about this sudden pro wrestling epiphany? The Horsemen. No, not Ric, Barry, Tully and Arn. The other Horsemen: Shawn, Hunter and Taker.

Actually, I’m going with another name. I’m leaning toward the Three Kings. How’s that hit you?

Undertaker and Triple H’s Hell in a Cell match at Wrestlemania 28 was beyond epic. It was, to borrow from Christian, an instant classic.

It was real drama in its purest form, and it had everything that a match needs to become legendary. Fans expected them to step it up, and they did not disappoint.

Hunter’s vicious attack with a steel chair on the Deadman, who refused to stay down. Shawn Michaels begging Taker to give in, that he was going to ring the bell.  

And Triple H telling Michaels, “Either you end it, or I will!” I still have chills over that one.

These three guys represent everything that’s great about the business: a dedicated work ethic, commitment to character and a desire to be the best every time they’re in the ring.  

Sound familiar?

Since the Horsemen rode off into the sunset, fans have been searching for the group that would succeed them. Many have tried over the years, and many have fallen short. Different factions, stables, alliances, composed of four or more wrestlers, all using the same formula, all trying to recapture that Horsemen magic.

But no one has done it completely right. No one group has broken the ground that the Horsemen did, and no one group has dominated in the ring, and in a company, the way that the Horsemen did.

Much respect to some of those other stables that have performed through the years, but when it comes to the symbol of excellence, no one holds a candle to them.

However, maybe that’s the problem. Maybe expecting a second coming of Ric and the Horsemen was a mistake from the beginning. The truth is, we have probably seen the closest example that we will ever see with the three men involved in the Cell match at Mania.

Triple H, Undertaker and Shawn Michaels are their generation’s Horsemen. And just like the original, they are now moving on.

They had their time, they gave all they had and they left their company, and the business, better than when they got there.

Shawn, Hunter and Taker, just like Ric, Barry, Tully and Arn, represented a different era, another generation of workers and fans who helped the industry grow to staggering heights.

The Three Kings are often imitated, but never duplicated.

It’s settled. I’m definitely going with that name.