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If not Roma, then who?


DMJ

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In 1993, the Four Horsemen reunited - though, they weren't the original Four Horsemen and, based on the limited footage I've seen, aside from being there for the actual "reunion," Ole Anderson wasn't really around too much (though, his voice would make a legendary appearance at August's Clash of the Champions).

 

The Horsemen then were Flair, "The Enforcer" Arn Anderson, and the newest recruit to the legendary stable, "Pretty" Paul Roma.

 

As most of you know, Roma's run with the Horsemen was far from a success with many citing him as the worst Horseman of all time. Whether or not that is true may be its own discussion, but let's at least agree that WCW might have made a better choice considering they felt it 100% necessary to reform the group anyway.

 

So...if not Roma, then who?

 

I'll spitball a few names, feel free to discuss their merits or non-merits:

 

Marcus Bagwell - Young, still pretty green, but recognizable to WCW fans. Probably would've flopped, but a heel turn like that could've also propelled him up the ladder. If Roma was a poor choice, I'm willing to say Bagwell would be just as poor...but not necessarily any worse.

 

One of the Hollywood Blondes - Storyline wise, this wouldn't have made sense and this would've meant turning them face (in the short term), which would've been bad for either guy. Still, worth mentioning and, in-ring, both were better than Roma at the time.

 

Tom Zenk - I don't think there's any universe where Zenk was going to be a huge mega-star...but compared to the names already listed above, he's the only one who had the three qualities I mentioned: more in-ring experience than Bagwell, was already a babyface unlike the Blondes, and was recognizable/decently popular with the WCW fanbase unlike Roma. Unfortunately, him joining the Horsemen would've had very little impact.

 

Erik Watts - No.

 

 

Kevin "Vinnie Vegas" Nash - As crazy as it sounds, after looking at WCW's roster in 93', this name jumps out at me. In a sense, if you can't get Tully back, why not go the opposite way and bring in a monster who at least looks imposing? Repackaging Vegas would've taken some work and, to be sure, Paul Roma was a much better in-ring performer than Nash back then (arguably ever), but Nash would eventually prove to be a very charismatic personality. He might be the most intriguing choice simply because of how this might've not only changed his career trajectory, but also added another element to the nWo storyline.

 

 

I'm curious to hear what other people think, especially those of you who were WCW fans at the time and may come in with some names that were available on the indies that would've been perfect...

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Paul Roma wasn't a bad choice. Yeah, I said it.

 

He's underrated. Great? Maybe not. But certainly decent, both in the ring and in terms of charisma.

 

He also had that rich, cocky Horsemen vibe, or could have at least developed it.

 

Ole was the bigger mistake in that incarnation of the Horsemen. Too old, too Southern, and here's the big one...not around.

 

Roma and Orndorff formed a pretty good tag team after the Horsemen, so there's that too.

 

But to answer the question: If not Roma, then who? Nothing really jumps out at me. Was Orndorff around then? Even so, that doesn't quite work for me, for whatever reason. Pillman a few years earlier? Nah. Was Stunning Steve Austin around? If so, maybe he's the answer. I kind of like the idea of a repackaged Nash too, but in terms of impact, he would have had the same effect as Roma... "That job guy?!"

 

Edit: Yeah, I'm going with Stunning Steve. There's my answer. Were there any storyline conflicts at the time that would have prevented this?

 

Another edit: Ditch oldie Ole entirely and put Austin and Pillman in there instead! Were they still a team at that point? If not, reform them!

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Seeing this newest incarnation of the "then who" series made me laugh out loud.

 

How about Ted DiBiase? Someone at WCW must have known he was leaving. Maybe the offer of being one of the horsemen would have been enough for him to turn down Baba's offer. He was also kind of a mentor to Arn in his earliest days and they were friends.

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Honestly, looking back, I don't really see any good alternatives to Roma. They clearly wanted someone young, but still experienced, who didn't have anything else going on at the time.

 

It's easy to jump and say Dustin, but, there's too much history between the Horsemen and Dusty (which was even brought up after AA turned on him at BATB the following year), and he had his own program with Rude going on.

Bagwell was young, but couldn't work his way out of a wet paper bag.

Austin and Pillman would have worked, but that breaks up the Blondes.

Bobby Eaton had nothing going on, but doesn't add the youth factor that they seemed to want.

What about Johnny B. Badd?

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