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- The Four Horsemen remain one of the best factions in the annals of professional wrestling history. While plenty of people love to remember the nWo and DX, it is impossible to talk about wrestling history and not remember the importance of the Horsemen. While it is often fun to see the best and worst members of the faction, there were actually 18 different members of the Four Horsemen and at least two honorary members that recently represented the faction in wrestling. With so many members, this included several former world champions and more than one member of the WWE Hall of Fame, making it important to remember them all.
When looking at the best factions in professional wrestling history, the Four Horsemen usually ride straight to the top of many lists. While younger audiences think of Degeneration X and the nWo, it was the Horsemen who perfected the heel faction that remained dangerous and hated, but also a little cool. The original faction was formed to help protect NWA/WCW World Champion Ric Flair, and he was the man who was the head of this faction throughout its history. It was so influential that Triple H mimicked it when he formed Evolution, which also included Flair. Through its many iterations, here are the five best members of the Four Horsemen, and the five worst choices to join its ranks.
UPDATE: 2023/08/31 16:30 EST BY SHAWN S. LEALOS
The Four Horsemen remain one of the best factions in the annals of professional wrestling history. While plenty of people love to remember the nWo and DX, it is impossible to talk about wrestling history and not remember the importance of the Horsemen. While it is often fun to see the best and worst members of the faction, there were actually 18 different members of the Four Horsemen and at least two honorary members that recently represented the faction in wrestling. With so many members, this included several former world champions and more than one member of the WWE Hall of Fame, making it important to remember them all.
19 Honorable Mentions: Brock Anderson & Brian Pillman Jr.
When Arn Anderson brings someone out and says they represent the Four Horsemen, it legitimizes them in that role. These two men are also second-generation Horsemen. Brock Anderson is Arn's son, who worked in AEW to start his career. Brian Pillman Jr. took up his dad's legacy and had a solid run in AEW as well, although it now looks like he might be headed for WWE. With that said, the two teamed at the "Ric Flair's Last Match" show in 2022 as a tag team representing the Four Horsemen. They even beat the Rock 'n' Roll Express, although it was Ricky Morton and his son Kerry Morton in the match. That was it for the new Horsemen.
18 Butch Reed
Butch Reed had a great career as a tag team wrestler in WCW, but that success was never as part of the Four Horsemen. Instead, the former WWE superstar won the tag titles with Ron Simmons in Doom - one of the best Black tag teams in wrestling history. However, before Doom, he was a member of the Four Horsemen. He isn't as notable as any other member though because the Horsemen were in a transitional phase here. Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard had left for WWE, which had Ric Flair and Barry Windham bring in Kendall Windham and Butch Reed as new members. However, Reed was rarely mentioned as a Horsemen and was out before it really got going.
17 Curt Hennig
Curt Hennig saw his career seemingly come to an end in WWE. Back injuries caused WWE to stop allowing him to wrestle, so when his contract ended, he went to WCW and started wrestling again. His first major angle saw him looking at joining the Four Horsemen. This was the moment when Arn Anderson revealed to the world that he had to retire from in-ring competition, and he offered his spot in the Horsemen to Curt Hennig. This was the moment that the nWo spoofed in an insulting promo, but it was all for nothing. Hennig never intended to join them, betrayed the Horsemen at WarGames, and joined the nWo. This ended the Horsemen at the time.
16 Jeff Jarrett
It is easy to forget that Jeff Jarrett was a member of the Four Horsemen, but it happened in 1997. Jarrett had left WWE and came to WCW, and he immediately said he wanted to join the Four Horsemen. He kept politicking to get into the group until Ric Flair finally agreed to accept him into the group. However, it was Jarrett's ego that eventually doomed him in the group. He was the "fifth" member of the Horsemen at the time, and he began to flirt with Steve McMichael's wife Debra, so Flair fired him, although the Horsemen never beat him down to kick him out. Arn Anderson said Jarrett was never a member, but it happened on WCW television.
15 Paul Roma
When looking at the wrestlers who served as members of the Four Horsemen, there is one that most fans rank at the very bottom of the list. He is someone who became a running joke due to his inclusion. That man is Paul Roma. Before the Four Horsemen, Roma had an average run as a tag team wrestler in WWE.
In 1993, Roma signed with WCW and joined the Four Horsemen. Triple H later called Roma the "job guy from WWE" who had no business in the Four Horsemen, and his stint there lasted six months before he moved on to form a tag team with Paul Orndorff called Pretty Wonderful.
14 Kendall Windham
Kendall Windham was one of the least impressive members of the Four Horsemen, but he at least has a legacy behind his name. When Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard left for WWE, that only left two members of the faction. Ric Flair and Barry Windham decided to bring in new members, and they were Butch Reed and Kendall Windham. Kendall, Barry's little brother, was the only one who acknowledged this, betraying his tag team partner Eddie Gilbert, and holding up four fingers. He was in the Horsemen only for a short time before the group changed its name to Yamazaki Corporation, but that ended when Barry left for WWE as well.
13 Sid Vicious
What makes Sid Vicious one of the worst members of the Four Horsemen is the fact that he did nothing of merit while a member and this lineup was a footnote in Horsemen history. This version formed in 1990 after they kicked out Sting and saw Ole Anderson retire, and both Sid and Barry Windham join the group. The most infamous moment came when Sid fought Sting for the world title. They fought to the back and then back to the ring where Sid pinned Sting. However, it was Windham dressed as Sting, and the title change never happened. This version broke up one year later, and it marked the end of the Four Horsemen when Flair left for WWE.
12 Steve McMichael
In the '90s in WCW, there were a lot of attempts to revive the Four Horsemen with new members. Some of them were great and entertaining additions, with Chris Benoit and Brian Pillman as two of the more memorable members. Then, there was Steve "Mongo" McMichael. The former Chicago Bears' standout was a great heat-seeking heel, but he just wasn't very good. He lasted one year in the Four Horsemen. While Mongo was never a great wrestler, he was still entertaining and was someone who at least brought some sorely needed charisma to the faction in its later years.
11 Sting
Sting was the most popular wrestler in the NWA and WCW for many years. That made him the perfect opposition for a group like Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen. However, Sting also has another reputation in WCW. He was the most gullible babyface in wrestling history, always trusting people like Ric Flair and Lex Luger and getting stabbed in the back. Sting joined the revived Four Horsemen in 1989, but when he was the number one contender spot for Flair's title, they betrayed him and kicked him out. He never saw it coming, which is a surprise because no one betrayed Sting more than Ric Flair.
10 Brian Pillman
Brian Pillman showed up in WCW as one of the most exciting stars on the roster. Known as Flyin' Brian, he was the prototype for the cruiserweights, and he even had a show-stealing match on the very first-ever Monday Nitro against Jushin Thunder Liger. However, his career began to morph the longer he remained in WCW, and he soon developed his Loose Cannon persona, which led him to join the Four Horsemen in 1995. This was an opportunity for him to shoot to the top, but Pillman sabotaged his own career when he threw a match against the head booker Kevin Sullivan and got himself fired. It was a short stint, but a memorable one in the Four Horsemen.
9 Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit was there to join the Four Horsemen when they reformed in 1995. At this time, Flair had been feuding as a babyface with Big Van Vader while Arn Anderson was still a heel. The two close friends even feuded with each other for a time. Arn brought in Brian Pillman to help him and Flair teamed with Sting. To absolutely no one's shock, Flair betrayed Sting and he and Arn reformed the Horsemen with Pillman and Benoit as the fourth member. Benoit stayed in the group for a long time, even working with the faction when Dean Malenko and Steve McMichael were the other two members.
8 Dean Malenko
While he might not be up to the same level as guys like Chris Benoit and Brian Pillman, Dean Malenko seemed to be the best fit of all of them in the Four Horsemen. Malenko was like a smaller version of Arn Anderson, and as a second-generation star, he knew the business. Malenko joined the Four Horsemen in 1998 when Ric Flair returned and reformed the group, along with Benoit and McMichael, with Arn Anderson as their manager. With the nWo running wild, they only lasted for eight months before breaking up again.
7 Ole Anderson
While Arn Anderson became an integral part of the Four Horsemen in all its iterations, Ole Anderson was a different story. Ole was older than Arn by 16 years, and he was cantankerous behind the scenes. He came to Crockett when his Georgia promotion went out of business thanks to the Brisco brothers selling their shares behind his back. As a result, he came in with a chip on his shoulder, rubbing a lot of people the wrong way. Ole ended up leaving the faction after one year, and when he came back to manage them in 1989, he spent more time as a booker than a wrestler.
6 J.J. Dillon
J.J. Dillon was finished as a wrestler when he joined the Four Horsemen, but his role as their manager in the 1980s made him just as important a member as anyone in the group. Dillon managed Tully Blanchard when he chose to join the Four Horsemen and Dillon became the manager and talking head for a group that honestly didn't need anyone to talk for them. However, he played his role to perfection and was with them when the WWE brought them into the WWE Hall of Fame. Dillon even wrestled in the first-ever WarGames match, taking the loss for his Horsemen.
5 Lex Luger
Before 1987, the Four Horsemen were a tight-knit group. They had the fictional family ties of Ric Flair and the Andersons (none of which are related in any way). While Tully Blanchard was not a relative, he was as close as it can get and was synonymous with the faction even years after his last turn in walking out with them. However, in 1987, the Horsemen did something interesting. They brought in a young kid from Florida named Lex Luger and decided the next big thing in wrestling needed to be a member. Luger quickly became a star thanks to his inclusion. He was a solid mid-card champion in the group and became a world champion later thanks to his association with them.
4 Barry Windham
There was one thing that the Four Horsemen became known for, and that was the revolving door at the fourth member. After Ole Anderson left, it seemed there was a spot for a new fourth guy to come in until it was time to move up to fight Ric Flair for the world title, and then they would leave. It was this way with Lex Luger. It was this way with Sting. However, in between those two guys, one of the best Horsemen members of all-time joined. Barry Windham was a massively over babyface when he betrayed Lex Luger and joined the Horsemen. He was so legendary that he was the fourth member at their WWE Hall of Fame induction.
3 Tully Blanchard
The best singles star in the Four Horsemen in the faction's original iteration was Tully Blanchard. He was always the guy fighting for whatever the secondary title was, and he was a good soldier, never caring that he was second to Ric Flair and was just happy to fight for the National, U.S., and TV titles. He also held the tag titles twice with Arn Anderson, proving to be a superior tag team to the Minnesota Wrecking Crew in every way. Blanchard was easily just as important as Ric Flair, and what made him a perfect Horsemen member was that he knew his place and let Flair stick around at the top while he carried the mid-card feuds.
2 Arn Anderson
Arn Anderson came into the Four Horsemen as the fictional brother of Ole Anderson, and the Minnesota Wrecking Crew were the first tag team champions that spun out of the faction. However, over the years, Arn became so much more. If Flair was the leader and head of the snake, Arn was its heart and soul. He was the one stable member outside of Flair throughout the years and won several titles, both as a singles star and tag team wrestler while working in the Four Horsemen. Anderson is the sole owner of the Horsemen name now, and he still signifies what it means to be called by that name.
1 Ric Flair
Without Ric Flair, the Four Horsemen wouldn't exist. The times that the group tried to move on without him were monumental failures. The purpose of the Four Horsemen was to protect Flair's reigns as the world champion. At the same time, the other members fought for minor titles or tag team titles. Thanks to the Four Horsemen, Flair held the NWA and WCW World Championship belts for over 3,600 combined days. There were several members of the Four Horsemen throughout the years, but it was always Ric Flair at the top of the food chain, and Flair who is the man who lived the Four Horsemen lifestyle the best.