Book the Four Horsemen DVD

[Loss]

WWE is releasing a Four Horsemen DVD later this year. What do you think has to be included on something like this?

 

Strangely enough, when they've shown clips of Bash '87 on Confidential in the past, it's letterboxed and looks to be about 4th generation, and in awful shape. The first War Games seems like a gimme, but their copy may be in horrible shape, which is funny considering that Bash '87 is probably the easiest old Crockett commercial release to find in great VQ.

 

Anyway, I do think they should stop with the Windham version of the Horsemen, but I have a feeling they'll focus on the Roma/Benoit versions more than they deserve, especially the Benoit version because it coincided more with Bischoff and the NWO as far as the time frame.

 

I'm sure the documentary will have Jim Ross, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and maybe Tully Blanchard providing comments. Windham is an outside possibility, and Luger and JJ are definite nos. It'll actually be interesting to see how they cover both guys considering how much they're disliked within the company.

 

Let's discuss.

[goodhelmet]

Well, in terms of matches, you absolutely have to include the first Wargames so that could be a nice addition to the upgraded matches library. I don't remember seeing it in bad shape. For more matches, I'll have to look through my match lists and decide which ones are necessary.

 

As for the participants, I think JJ will rarely be mentioned at all. If they attack his character, I don't think it would serve a purpose. For Luger, they could always claim that the Horsemen lost their magic because he was so inexperienced, was difficult to work with, etc. You know, the Warrior burial job where all problems with the Horsemen begin and end with Luger being a member. However, this would be complete WWE revisionist bullshit history. The Horsemen died because Arn and Tully defected to the WWF where I am guessing Arn will come in and talk about how great it was to work in the Fed.

 

A

[Loss]

I'd say the following matches are musts:

 

* Flair v Magnum - TBS 5/85 - the 10-minute $1,000 challenge match with Arn & Ole running in

* Flair v Nikita -- Omni 10/29/85 - this was also on the Flair DVD. It has to be here at least in clipped form. The big angle that finally made Flair a full-blown heel after months of playing both sides and put the wheels in motion for the Horsemen

* Flair v Morton -- highlights of the feud and a complete match would be nice, but it isn't necessary. But the Horsemen v Rock & Rolls was the first official Four Horsemen feud

* highlights of Luger replacing Ole

* War Games - Bash '87, already discussed

* highlights of Luger being tossed, leading to Windham turn. I really think this match and angle deserves to be shown in full.

 

The rest they can mix and match any singles, tags and six-mans from the era, but if they include it with all the stuff above, it should be a killer set regardless.

[Stuttsy]

God, there's just SO much. Personally, I think a strictly NWA compilation would be amazing, but I expect that all the Horsemen line-up changes will be covered. With that in mind, here's the stuff that really comes to mind:

 

Flair & Andersons attacking Dusty in the cage is a must of course. I actually don't think the Nikita MATCH is necessary, but, I dunno..something more than the exact segment from the Flair DVD would be nice. Maybe something with a couple more promos to put the whole thing in context more?

 

There's an awesome segment from May 1986 where Flair and Dusty do a brief TV match on Worldwide that is the back drop for Ole Anderson making his return and an awesome post-match promo with all the Horsemen together.

 

As many random Worldwide/Pro/6:05 tag matches as possible. Everyone has seen Andersons/RnRX from Starrcade by now, it really doesn't warrant inclusion. I could do without any Tully/Dusty singles matches too, actually.

 

Definitely agree that the Ole/Luger angles need to be included.

 

Anderson & Blanchard vs. Luger & Windham from Clash 1 (or the rematch featuring the windham turn) would be super.

 

Wargames '87...eh, sure. Hugely significant but I can't imagine *that* many people who'd be seeing it for the first time...but I could be wrong.

 

I really for something from the Horsemen/Midnight Express feud but I don't expect it.

 

Arn Anderson vs. Barry Windham, Slamboree 1993.

 

Anderson & Flair vs. the Hollywood Blondes would be okay.

 

Flair vs. Anderson from Fall Brawl 95, with the promos leading up to it and Pillman's turn would be awesome. Bonus points if the Halloween Havoc clip of Flair's heel turn is included as well.

 

Chris Benoit vs. Kevin Sullivan from the '96 Bash would be cool, especially for the post match promo and Arn talking about Benoit earning his stripes.

 

Actually, if there's a WCW Pro or Worldwide or Saturday Night random tag match that has Pillman & Benoit as a two-man team, I'd throw that on there too.

 

Arn's new world order promo, I think it was the first Hog Wild, would be sweet. In fact, Arn has an awesome 1:30 quasi-squash match with Hugh Morrus that'd be fine to include there too.

 

The September '98 Flair return angle should at least be touched on, I would think.

 

I'd love one of the Benoit/Malenko tags to be included also. Either against Windham/Hennig or Raven/Saturn.

[Dylan Waco]

I actually think Starrcade 95 should go in, just because in some ways the craziness with Harts megaphone and Savage getting jobbed and Flair bleeding to death and still winning due to the Horseman, was sort of the last "true" Horseman moment.

[Stuttsy]

Oooh, great call. I definitely agree with that one.

[Loss]

I seem to recall that getting a massive pop, but maybe I'm wrong. I know at the time no one ever expected Flair to wear the belt again.

[Marty]

I'm sure the documentary will have Jim Ross, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and maybe Tully Blanchard providing comments. Windham is an outside possibility, and Luger and JJ are definite nos. It'll actually be interesting to see how they cover both guys considering how much they're disliked within the company.

Blanchard's certainly possible, depending how much contact they have with him. He did interviews with them before, but I believe it was briefly for Confidential or something.

 

I think Road Warrior Animal, and maybe Paul Ellering may have some interview clips too. They may wind up having past interviews, or more recent stuff. I believe Animal left on good terms anyway, IIRC.

 

Too bad Cornette's with TNA now. He could provide good insight for this.

 

I wonder if HHH would be capable in the near future of providing some "childhood memories" of the Horsemen while in rehab. (Not that I'd want that, but I can see it happening.)

[jdw]

Blanchard's certainly possible, depending how much contact they have with him. He did interviews with them before, but I believe it was briefly for Confidential or something.

Tully was interviewed on the Flair DVD. They looked as current as the other recent interviews on it.

 

John

[Loss]

Tully also had a brief stint as a road agent for WWE recently.

[Guest HTQ]

If they bring Tully in for an interview, just make sure JBL is kept away from him.

[Loss]

WEAK!

 

--Here are the matches in the upcoming WWE DVD release of "Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen," which includes interviews with Flair, Tully Blanchard, J.J. Dillon, Jim Ross, Dean Malenko, Barry Windham and Dusty Rhodes:

Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard & Ric Flair vs. Pez Whatley & Italian Stallion & Rocky King 6/22/85

Ric Flair vs. Ricky Morton cage match from Charlotte on 7/5/86. As I recall, this was an awesome match

Dusty Rhodes vs. Tully Blanchard First Blood match Starrcade 86. I was at that show and this was not an awesome match

Four Horseman vs. Dusty Rhodes & Steve Williams & Lex Luger & Nikita Koloff & Paul Ellering 7/16/88 in a War Games match

Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard vs. Sting & Nikita Koloff 7/16/88

Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard vs. Barry Windham & Lex Luger 3/27/88 Clash of Champions

Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair 9/17/95 Fall Brawl

The War Games match they chose appears to be a house show one never before seen, which is cool, but still a bit of an odd choice. This can still be okay-ish if they have all the key angles, but this doesn't look too promising.

[sek69]

It's as if they went out of their way to pick matches that would not convey the awesomness of the Four Horsemen. But then WWE would never bury something that got over they didn't create, right?

[Marty]

From the Observer, via WrestlingClassics:

 

Paul Roma was actually baited into making the comments he did for the Four Horsemen DVD. At first, Roma actually did most of his interview completely favorable to his experience in the group and to Flair & Anderson. It was only when producers riled him up by saying they were negative towards him, that he came back as a reflex and changed his tune towards then. Roma would go on to say, "Ric Flair wanted to be me, but never could." Flair & Anderson didn't say anything negative about him at first, but once they shot the footage and showed it to them, it was very easy to get Anderson & others to knock Roma as a gym rat who wasn't fit to be in the group. The producers did all this to create controversy and to create an on-screen heel for the DVD.

Heh.

[Guest teke184]

Anyone else catch Dusty making a big time-line mistake in there?

 

 

He was talking about how he was hanging out in bars in New York with John Belushi and other Hollywood people when the Horsemen walked in and everyone flocked over to them instead.

 

The serious problem with that scenario is that Belushi died in *1982*, years before Arn and Tully even entered the Carolinas. (Arn only made his pro debut about two months before Belushi's fatal OD)

 

 

 

I'm not sure if he meant to say *Jim* Belushi instead of *John* or was completely talking out of his ass.

 

Considering it's Dusty, I'd say it's the latter.

[Al]

Probably got a name mixed up somewhere, like maybe it was John Candy or Chris Farley or another overweight actor. It's not a big deal, since it being John Belushi isn't the important part of the story. The point is they were smoozing with celebrities.

[Guest teke184]

Probably got a name mixed up somewhere, like maybe it was John Candy or Chris Farley or another overweight actor. It's not a big deal, since it being John Belushi isn't the important part of the story. The point is they were smoozing with celebrities.

Dusty's prone to exaggeration, so I bring it up.

 

I could definitely see big stars schmoozing with the WWE guys at the time because of the exposure they had, but the NWA guys getting that treatment seems a little more far-fetched IMHO.

 

 

(If someone besides Dusty had said it, I'd be more inclined to believe it.

 

Not that I doubt some of the other stories on there, such as Flair's infamous penthouse party after one of the Crockett Cup shows (1987?) where he ran up a $4,000 bar bill and the bar downstairs filled with all of the people who couldn't get in ended up having the bar's biggest receipts of the year next to New Year's. Flair's got the back taxes owed to the IRS to prove he could piss money away like that.)

[Marty]

I'm just trying to picture Dusty Rhodes partying it up with Bette Midler (another one he mentioned). She would've been interesting in the Sapphire role.

[Loss]

Bette Midler got her start singing in bathhouses. If that's where Dusty met her, I am incredibly disturbed.

[Guest teke184]

Bette Midler got her start singing in bathhouses. If that's where Dusty met her, I am incredibly disturbed.

Man, Loss, that's just WRONG.