The Forgotten Faction

[TUFFY54]

When it comes to 80's stables the conversation usually begins and ends with the Four Horsemen. However, there was another faction during that time that many people have forgotten. The Heenan Family should be remembered as one of the greatest stables of all time. I think the Heenan Family could have been better than the Horsemen if they had been booked properly. Lets take a look at the members they had in 89.

Bobby Heenan
The manager of the faction. (I would call it a stable but Heenan hated that term and said many times that he didn't "manage horses") Heenan was maybe the greatest manager of all time. He simply never did anything wrong in the ring. As good as JJ Dillion was, Heenan was just in a class of his own.

Rick Rude
The singles wrestler of the group. Great look, huge talent, and got more heat than almost anyone in the company. While not as good as Ric Flair, he was awesome, and damn sure the second best Rick to ever wrestle.

Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard
The tag team of the Heenan Family. These two were one of the greatest teams of the 80's, and the former backbone of the Four Horseman.

Haku
Talk about an enforcer. Haku is widely known to be one of the toughest and strongest men to ever set foot in a wrestling ring. If the Heenan Family wanted to take someone out, they sent Haku after them. Haku was also one of the first 300 pounders to fly off the top rope.

Andre The Giant
This is the real difference maker. Even though Andre was in terrible shape by 89, he was still Andre The Giant. The greatest big man to ever lace up a pair of boots. All he had to do to win a match was get his hands on you. Once you were in Andre's grasp, the match was over.

So there you have it. When compared with the original Horsemen, I think I'd have to give the edge to the Heenan Family. The only advantage the Horseman had was Ric Flair, and Rick Rude damn sure wasn't too shabby himself. Arn and Tully are the same. Heenan was better than JJ. And as far as an enforcer goes, I'd take the team of Andre and Haku over Ole, Luger, or Windham.

Sadly, in reality we all know that the Horseman were the better stable. Simply put, the WWE didn't know how to use factions in the 80's. With the exception of one Survivor Series match, these guys never really had that much interaction with each other. They were all simply managed by Bobby Heenan, and fell under the banner of "Bobby Heenan's Family of Wrestlers". However, with that much talent, they could have been one of the most dominate forces in wrestling history.

 

[Chadmw]

While I loved the Brain and also his "Family" the reason why it could never compare to the 4 horseman is that it's roster changed way to often and never had those core members, like the Horsemen always had Flair and Anderson. The group you named is just one variation of the group that had existed for many years before that.

It's members have included, Big John Studd, King King Bundy, Hercules, the Islanders, Mr. Perfect, Ric Flair and many many more

And as you mentioned the main reason it could never compare to the horsemen, is the horsemen were a closed knit group who hung around together, partied together etc.., while the Heenan family was just a group of guys managed by Heenan, they never seemed to be the kind of group that were tight with each other.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I don't think that the Heenan Family ever worked as stable in the strictest sense of the term. The only thing common amongst them was that they were wrestlers managed by Bobby Heenan. Heenan was the biggest star in their group. At this stage Andre was more of a novelty act rather than the legend he used to be.

We might have different opinions here but I actually feel that Anderson and Blanchard were bigger stars than Rick Rude. As good as Rude was he was only a midcarder in the WWF and I do not think that he had the talent to rise above that. He remained a midcarder when he went to WCW as well. Haku was probably a good choice as an enforcer as his toughness was a well documented fact.

Ultimately though, I don't think the Heenan family could be compared to the Horsemen. As good as Rick Rude is he is not comparable to Ric Flair. I think that during the time the Heenan Family was formed Rude was probably the 4th biggest heel in the WWF. Flair was ALWAYS the top heel in WCW and the top heel when he went to the WWF. I don't see how you can even begin to make a comparison.

Also the formation of a stable was not a popular idea in the WWF at that time despite the success of the Four Horsemen in WCW. In fact the first fully fledged stable in the WWF was DX. The Heenan family was just an assortment of wrestlers who had the same manager.