The Four Horsemen vs. The NWO: Which was the better stable?
Arguments between wrestling fans about who is the 'best' at any particular facet of sports entertainment tend to be quite heated.
Ask who is the greatest technical wrestler, and you will get some who claim Dean Malenko, some who claim Bret Hart, and still others who think Antonio Inoki is the best ever.
If you query about the most popular wrestler, you might get answers like the Rock, Hulk Hogan, or Ric Flair.
It's difficult to analyze the show business aspect of wrestling, but there are certain criteria which can be evaluated for a more or less objective conclusion. In this slideshow, we'll examine which of the two most dominant, popular stables in wrestling history are superior; The NWO or the Four Horsemen.
We will judge the two stables on the following criteria.
Star Power: First and foremost, were the members of the stable representative of the best the sport had to offer in their era?
Title dominance: Did the stable members hold gold, and if so for how long?
Wrestling ability: How well did the stable members perform the physical act of wrestling?
Charisma: Booed or cheered, how over was the stable with the fan base?
Before we rate the stables, let's take a look at both the Horsemen and the nWo.
The Four Horsemen
Since both stables had fluctuating memberships, we will judge them by their strongest lineups. For the Horsemen, that means Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and Barry Windham (with JJ Dillon as the shoe-wielding manager.)
The Four Horsemen were created by a happy accident. In order to preserve television time, JCP decided to do the interviews for Flair, the Andersons, and Tully Blanchard all at the same time. Arn famously said, "The last time so much mayhem was caused by so small a group, it was the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."
The name stuck, and history was made.
The Horsemen were known for their peerless execution, top-notch promos and interviews, and utter ruthlessness. The Four Horsemen didn't give a damn about the rules or fair play and only cared about continuing their dominance of pro wrestling.
Now, let's look at the NWO.