Tuesdays at TNA: Should the Four Horsemen Ride Again?

While holding up four fingers...

Growing up watching the NWA on WTBS Saturday nights, I quickly became a fan of the calm demeanor of Gordon Solie, to the elbows and grit of Dusty Rhodes, to the sheer domination of the Road Warriors as they destroyed the poor Mulkey brothers within seconds. 

Despite all of that, nothing enthralled me more than watching “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, and their manager J.J. Dillon control the federation as the infamous Four Horsemen.  They kept me on the edge of my seat with every scathing promo to every time they were the main event at Starrcade. 

Most importantly, they had the perfect combination of grace, glitz, and brute force that resulted in multiple championships, becoming the benchmark for which every wrestling stable has still yet to reach (and that includes Evolution and the NWO). 

Although there was a revolving door of members between Ole Anderson, Lex Luger, and Barry Windham, the mission was always the same: make sure the World Heavyweight Championship always remained upon Flair’s waist.  The Horsemen made for must-see TV as they went across the country earning both the cheers and boos of the fans, yearning to see them defeated by the valiant faces. 

When they attempted a reincarnation in the heyday of WCW, it lacked the style and originality that made the original group of the 80s so riveting.  Despite having Anderson and Flair as mouthpieces, they lacked that one person people could look at and say, “THAT will be the next Nature Boy.” 

Besides, who could take a stable that had Steve "Mongo" McMichael seriously?

That said, I never really thought it was a good idea to try and bring back the past with another version of the Four Horsemen.  However, now that Flair has become the mouthpiece of TNA World Champion AJ Styles, is it time to see if the Horsemen could ride one last time down in Orlando?  Also, who could even emulate the style, glamour, and force that could bring back memories of the 1980s version?

First, if TNA were to do it, they would have to be built around the same premise:  keep the World title on Styles at all cost.  Secondly, they would have to possess that one member who could be a potential World Champion down the line. 

Remember, there were many people who thought that Tully Blanchard could’ve been the NWA World Champ before Flair came along. Also, they would need two guys who could be tag team specialists but still hold their own as individuals.

Should TNA decide to go that route, here is who they could use to become the next dominant stable:

AJ Styles:   Flair is promoting Styles as “The Next Nature Boy” so having him as the headliner of the group is the obvious choice here.  I don’t think that Styles can become the jet-flyin’, limousine-ridin’ star on the level of Flair, but as a wrestler there is no equal. 

He has proven that he can consistently produce four-star matches with just about anyone, yet he needs to work on improving his promo skills if he wants to get over as the kind of heel that fans want to see beaten for the strap.  He will have a lot of chances to grow in that department heading into his Lockdown championship match against “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero.

Desmond Wolfe :  Wolfe took TNA by storm when he challenged, and almost defeated, Kurt Angle upon arriving in the Impact Zone.  His calm yet devious persona would be perfect for the Horsemen.  Besides, he really needs to be given a chance to grow since he has been on the treadmill since his feud with Angle. 

He already has the mic skills and talent to bring it as that secondary champion that TNA desperately needs right now.  Put the Global title on him and have him join the new Horsemen.

BEER! MONEY!:   They have already established themselves as the pre-eminent tag team in wrestling today.  Both Robert Roode and James Storm could dominate the tag team title division while serving as the enforcers for the group.  Also, since they are great on the mic they could instantly draw heel heat while growing under the tutelage of Flair. 

Imagine the rivalries they would have with the Motor City Machine Guns, Generation Me, or even Team 3D. They fit the profile of of the kind of wrestlers who could become stars on their own as well.

As usual, we now take a look at the positive and negatives of this issue:

Positives :  TNA needs that one stable that could get people’s attention as they head into the Monday Night Wars next month with the WWE.  What better conglomerate than a reincarnation of the greatest stable in wrestling history?  Also, unlike the 1997 version, all of these guys are great on the mic (save Styles but Flair could cover him) and possess championship caliber talent in the ring. 

Besides, TNA has proven they are no stranger to building up dominant heel stables.  From Planet Jarrett’s group to the Main Event Mafia, they can provide a constant storyline week in and week out.  Build up the stable and watch the challengers such as Samoa Joe, Dinero, and others try to upend Flair’s crew. 

Finally, since there is already a Flair versus Hogan-Bischoff dynamic brewing, it only makes sense to have strength in numbers to make sure that Styles stays champion, and seeing Hogan try to counteract it with his own crew, just so as long as the climax of the feud isn’t Flair-Hogan in the ring!

Negatives :  They tried and failed in WCW, so what makes people think it would work in TNA? Besides, with Vince Russo not being able to create a logical ending to most of his storylines (go back to the failed MEM versus Frontline saga) this may not end so well, with no one being built up in the process. 

Also, there could be a backlash from fans who have seen the results when wrestling tries to bring back angles from years ago.  Would it also end up being another rehash of Sting versus Flair one last time as a result?

That said, it would be interesting to see if TNA goes this route.  I think it is time for a new generation of fans to throw up four fingers in honor of a new era of Horsemen!

Next week we look at what could be the end of the Samoan Submission Machine .