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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ivhorsemen.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:The Originals (l-r): Ole Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Manager J.J. Dillon, Wrestling/ArnAnderson and Wrestling/RicFlair]]
3->''"Being a Horseman isn't something you put on in the morning and take off at night. It's a state of mind. It's excelling to the best of your ability. It's four individuals thinking singularly, acting collectively."''
4-->-- '''Wrestling/ArnAnderson'''
5
6The Four Horsemen were a {{professional wrestling}} PowerStable in the Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance and later [[Wrestling/{{WCW}} World Championship Wrestling]]. The original group featured Wrestling/RicFlair, Wrestling/ArnAnderson, Ole Anderson and Tully Blanchard. Flair and Arn Anderson have been constant members in each incarnation of the group.
7
8The Four Horsemen formed in November 1985 with Flair and his storyline cousins Ole Anderson and Arn Anderson, and Tully Blanchard, with James J. Dillon as their manager. They feuded with Wrestling/DustyRhodes (breaking his ankle and hand), Wrestling/MagnumTA, Wrestling/BarryWindham, Wrestling/TheRockNRollExpress (breaking Ricky Morton's nose), Wrestling/NikitaKoloff (injuring his neck), and Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors. Animal, Hawk, Ronnie Garvin and many others fought Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship during that time period. They usually had most of the titles in the NWA, and they often bragged about their success (in the ring and with women) in their interviews.
9
10The Four Horsemen moniker was not planned from the start. Due to time constraints at a television taping, production threw together an impromptu tag team interview of Flair, the Andersons, Tully Blanchard and Dillon; all were now united after Ole Anderson returned and, along with Flair and Arn, tried to break Dusty's leg during a wrestling event at the Omni in Atlanta during the fall of 1985. It was during this interview that Arn said something to the effect of "The only time this much havoc had been wreaked by this few a number of people, you need to go all the way back to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!" The comparison and the name stuck. Nevertheless, Arn has said in an RF Video shoot interview that he, Flair and Blanchard were as close as anybody could be away from the ring while they were together. They lived the gimmick outside of the arena, as they took limos and jets to the cities in which they wrestled.
11
12The TropeCodifier for the PowerStable.
13-----
14!!"The most elite fighting tropes in the world today!":
15* ArchEnemy: Several. The Horsemen's primary function was to keep the [=NWA=]/Wrestling/{{WCW}} title around Flair's waist. Secondarily, they aspired to win all of the promotion's gold. (Blanchard was the U.S. Champion while the Andersons were Tag Champs more often than not.) During that time the Horsemen feuded with Wrestling/DustyRhodes, Wrestling/{{Sting}}, Magnum TA, Wrestling/TheRoadWarriors, Wrestling/LexLuger, The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Wrestling/{{Scott|Steiner}}) and the Wrestling/NewWorldOrder.
16* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Frequently did whatever the hell they wanted because nobody could stop them. Dared anyone who didn't like them to try. A frequent line of Flair's was, "We have all the gold, so we make all the rules."
17* BashBrothers: In the ring and out. These guys were close, fighting together, partying together, flying together. They used to fly out to Vegas after [=TV=] tapings and party all weekend, only to come back to Atlanta and do it all over again. Arn and Flair call each other "brothers", and years later many of the principal members remain close.
18* BigBadDuumvirate: After Ole left, Ric and Arn were the only constants and they ruled the Horsemen this way.
19* CannotTellFictionFromReality: At ''NWA/WCW Capital Combat'' in 1990, the Horsemen locked Sting in a cage, only for Franchise/RoboCop to come down to make the save. No, not some wrestler in a costume. It was billed and sold as '''the actual, honest-to-goodness [=RoboCop=]''' (according to Jim Cornette, it actually was Peter Weller in the suit, part of a stunt to promote the theatrical release of ''Film/RoboCop2''). He plodded down to the ring, "broke" the cage to free Sting, and while Sting celebrated, the Horsemen, rather than wonder why the heck is a fictional character from a movie doing there, backed down in fear as if they already assumed that [=RoboCop=] existed in real life.
20* ChickMagnet: Self-professed in many interviews, but a lot of the stories on the road bear them out in their younger days.
21* ContinuityNod: Arn would occasionally call Ole "Rock" in TV interviews, referencing Ole's pre-Anderson ring name Rock Rogowski.
22* DistaffCounterpart:
23** Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} had the [[https://cdn.prowrestlingsheet.com/app/uploads/2015/09/04103134/Screen-Shot-2015-09-18-at-3.06.26-PM-777x437.png "Four Horsewomen"]] featuring Ric's daughter Wrestling/CharlotteFlair, Wrestling/SashaBanks, Wrestling/BeckyLynch, and Wrestling/{{Bayley}}. A downplayed example as the four of them have never actually been a PowerStable- they were given the name as they were the four best women in NXT at one time, credited with revolutionising women's wrestling within the WWE and they spend more time feuding with each other than teaming up. Still, the connection between them remains firmly lodged in the minds of fans, and they still recognise the connection between themselves, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfTemI8_Sb4 even exchanging the "Four Horsewomen" hand sign]] of four raised fingers even after leaving NXT.
24** Another group of "Four Horsewomen" taking their name from the original stable formed in [[UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts MMA]] around 2014, consisting of Creator/RondaRousey, Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir. All four women were subsequently contracted by WWE, which led to speculations about a confrontation with NXT's Four Horsewomen.[[note]]Unfortunately, like the much-desired and never-done Wrestling/TheShield vs Wrestling/BulletClub dream match, this one slipped through WWE's fingers as well. Aside from the fact that WWE's Four Horsewomen never ended up on the same side of the heel/face spectrum at the same time, Duke and Shafir never made it out of NXT, not being considered ready for the main roster, and were eventually released in 2021, with Shafir signing with AEW instead. The final nail in the match came when Sasha Banks walked out of WWE in 2022, separating the Horsewomen for the forseeable future.[[/note]]
25* EliteFour: Kinda the point of the whole thing. But these four guys were the best in the business, more often than not.
26* EnemyMine:
27** When the [=nWo=] was finally established as a legitimate threat, Arn and Ric teamed up with old enemies Sting and Lex Luger to take them on in the 1996 War Games match.
28** Earlier than that, the Horsemen were willing to team up with the Dungeon of Doom (who hated each other) in order to take out Wrestling/HulkHogan.
29* EvilVersusOblivion: Their feud with the nWo had them as the "Evil". While the Horsemen were hedonistic, prideful and rule-breaking pricks, they just wanted to do whatever the hell they wanted and saw themselves as already at the top of their game. The nWo on the other hand, were brutal and no-nonsense thugs who wanted to take over WCW through any means necessary and desired to destroy ''everything'' affiliated with "traditional WCW", which included the heelish Four Horsemen.
30* GameBreakingInjury: Arn Anderson's neck injury forced him to retire and give his spot to Wrestling/CurtHennig in 1997.
31* InformedAbility: The War Games match was supposed to be the Horsemen's "specialty match". Career Record: 1-15. Then again, it is par for the course for "specialty matches" in wrestling that the wrestler or stable that specializes in them actually loses them more often than not.
32* JapanTakesOverTheWorld: Even professional wrestling stables were susceptible to the late-80s craze. During the time of the Flair/Blanchard/Arn Anderson/Barry Windham incarnation, the group suffered two huge blows: Not only did Anderson and Blanchard jump to the WWF, but their manager James J. Dillon did the same afterwards (albeit for an office job). NWA's solution? Bring in Hiro Matsuda (known for being a trainer of many, ''many'' wrestlers) as their new manager and rename them "The Yamazaki Corporation" after a fictional company represented by Matsuda that, in storyline, brought their contracts up, clearly as a send-up of Japanese companies buying U.S. interests around the same time. Other members included Barry's brother Kendall and, very briefly, Butch Reed and Michael Hayes. It wasn't a success and it didn't last long.
33* LargeHam:
34** Anytime you have Wrestling/RicFlair this is a given, however, Ole and J.J. Dillon were just as guilty.
35** Sid during the infamous Franchise/RoboCop segment.
36** Arn could be when he was riled up as well.
37* LongRunnerCastTurnover: The group lasted over 20 years in an industry with a big turnover rate. Guys came and went with varying degrees of success:
38** When Ole Anderson left, Wrestling/LexLuger came in to take on the (quite literal) Muscle role in the group. When he left, it came to Wrestling/BarryWindham.
39** For a time Wrestling/{{Sting}} replaced Tully Blanchard, but was excommunicated for accepting a world title match against Ric Flair.
40** Over the nearly 20 years of the stable's history various wrestlers rotated through the ranks, usually with Arn and Ric being the constants. [[Wrestling/SidEudy Sid Vicious]], Paul Roma, Wrestling/ChrisBenoit, Wrestling/BrianPillman, Steve [=McMichael=], Wrestling/DeanMalenko and Wrestling/CurtHennig all tried to fill in with varying degrees of success.
41* NarrowParody: Done by the [=nWo=] the week after Curt Hennig was inducted. While some parts were funny, many wrestlers and commentators have said since that the skit was harsh in its portrayal of Double-A as TheAlcoholic. Arn has had legitimate struggles for years with this problem, and Flair has never been shy about defending Arn when the skit is mentioned. Apparently Arn got into a fight with someone over the skit, but Flair has been tight-lipped about whom, saying only, "Arn is a tough guy, and I'll leave it at that."
42-->'''Ric Flair:''' What hurt everyone's feeling was, his son is watching that at home, and they're depicting Arn as drinking beer all day long? His kid is watching that, and nobody wants to see that.
43* NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught: The Horsemen were master cheaters and rule breakers and used underhanded tactics to win many matches and titles.
44* {{Parody}}: Wrestling/DramaticDreamTeam is a parody of American pro wrestling as a whole and their Italian Four Horsemen are one of this group.
45* PowerStable: The TropeCodifier for stables in general and TropeMaker for a specific kind of stable. They established the roles and dynamics, laying the blueprint for others who followed.
46** '''The Centerpiece:''' Wrestling/RicFlair
47** '''The Heir Apparent:''' Tully Blanchard
48** '''The Enforcer:''' Wrestling/ArnAnderson, the {{Trope Namer|s}} for this role
49** '''The Muscle:''' Ole Anderson, Lex Luger, Barry Windham
50** '''The Manager:''' J.J. Dillon
51* SixthRangerTraitor: Or fifth, considering the group is a four-member ensamble, but Curt Hennig came in to replace Arn Anderson ... only to turn on the group to the nWo and join them.
52* SpiritualSuccessor
53** [=WWE's=] Evolution stable in the early 2000's.
54*** '''The Centerpiece:''' Wrestling/TripleH
55*** '''The Heir Apparent:''' Wrestling/RandyOrton
56*** '''The Muscle:''' Wrestling/{{Batista}}
57*** '''The Manager:''' Wrestling/RicFlair took over in this role serving as the mentor, and was also a part-time wrestler, teaming with Batista to win the Tag Titles. He would also deliver promos, especially for the more inexperienced Orton and Batista.
58** Wrestling/{{TNA}}'s Fourtune, which eventually became Wrestling/{{Fortune}} as it couldn't shake its [[OneExtraMember two extra members]]. A group mainly consisting of company "originals" Wrestling/AJStyles, Beer Money Inc. (Wrestling/JamesStorm and Wrestling/BobbyRoode), Wrestling/FrankieKazarian, and then Wrestling/ChristopherDaniels following the leadership of Ric Flair.
59** Wrestling/TheDangerousAlliance was conceived and assembled deliberately as a new version of the Horsemen, right down to having Arn Anderson.
60*** '''The Centerpiece:''' Wrestling/RickRude
61*** '''The Heir Apparent:''' [[Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin "Stunning" Steve Austin]]
62*** '''The Enforcer:''' Wrestling/ArnAnderson and his then-tag partner Bobby Eaton
63*** '''The Muscle:''' Larry Zbyszko
64*** '''TheHeart:''' Wrestling/{{Madusa}}
65*** '''The Manager:''' Wrestling/PaulHeyman
66** [[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} NXT]]'s Wrestling/TheUndisputedEra seems to be the most recent. They share the [[TrueCompanions real-life brotherhood]] and [[BadassInANiceSuit penchant for nice suits]] as the Horsemen. (However, it is the only example on this list to not include the participation of one of the original Horsemen.)
67*** '''The Centerpiece''': Wrestling/AdamCole
68*** '''The Heir Apparent''': From 2018-2020, it was Wrestling/RoderickStrong. In 2020, it's been [[Wrestling/ReDRagon Kyle O'Reilly]].
69*** '''The Enforcer''': [[Wrestling/ReDRagon Bobby Fish]]
70*** '''The Muscle''': Strong and O'Reilly have swapped between this and Heirs Apparent.
71** Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling has Wrestling/ThePinnacle, further enforced with Tully Blanchard's endorsement.
72*** '''The Centerpiece:''' Wrestling/{{MJF}}
73*** '''The Enforcer:''' [[Wrestling/TheRevival FTR]] (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler)
74*** '''The Muscle:''' Wardlow
75*** '''The Point Man:''' Shawn Spears
76*** '''The Manager:''' Tully Blanchard
77* UnPerson: Done a lot by WWE after they acquired WCW's library and started making documentary [=DVDs=] about WCW's past. Not only is Wrestling/ChrisBenoit's time with the group glossed over, if not omitted, but so is Ole Anderson, due to Anderson not being very well-liked by just about anyone (and, truth be told, the feeling was mutual). The WWE recognized the Flair/Arn/Blanchard/Windham version along with manager Dillon as the version inducted into the Hall of Fame and all five were on hand to accept. Arn would later reveal on his podcast ''The Arn Show'' that Ole Anderson has been invited to be inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame as a single and as a member of the Horsemen, but refused both offers.

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