What if? Stan Hansen was a member of the Four Horsemen?

[It's...Baylariat!]

Picture this story. It's basically how Lex Luger was introduced into the Horsemen, only I'm replacing Lex with Stan "The Lariat" Hansen.

During a period of time, Ole Anderson was starting to wear thin with the members of the Four Horsemen. He wasn't as diabolical as he once was and to be honest, was becoming dead weight. It's addressed a few times, but brushed off. Finally, it explodes when Tully Blanchard calls Ole's son a 'snot nosed' kid. Ole potatoes Tully and the rest is history. The Horsemen turn on Ole and kick his tail out of the Horseman.

Now, this is where the Horsemen recruit a young muscle bound guy named Lex Luger...but wait... what if? All of a sudden, Stan Hansen starts making waves around the NWA. He returns a while before the Horseman have any issues and tries to align himself with guys like Dick Slater, Dick Murdoch, and even Dusty Rhodes. He wrestles a couple of matches, and even goes for the US Title against Tully Blanchard, who he went to college with. The thing is, it's not a feud as much as it is a case of Hansen earning a title shot and cashing in on it. He loses, thanks to possible interference, but the Lariat's not down trodden. He recruits a few men to have HIS back during these matches in order to have a fair shake. During this time, the Horsemen get rid of Ole and it's only a three man team. But that doesn't stop wrestlers from gunning for Tully, Arn, and the Nature Boy. And here's how I'd set up Hansen being put in the Horsemen.

Have a six-man tag match with Tully, Arn, and Ric against Hansen, Rhodes, and Barry Windham or something. During the match, you notice Hansen really doesn't get too involved with the match and Windham and Rhodes pull off most the dirty work. Then when it comes for, say Rhodes to tag in Hansen, Hansen gives a look toward the corner of Arn, Tully, and Ric...throws up four fingers and puts the boots to Rhodes and Windham. They beat them ALL up and they end up leaving the ring together.

The next week on TV, Flair introduces the Bad Man from Borger as their newest member. Hansen comes out and cuts a promo about loyalty and how Tully and himself played football together and knew about teamwork. And how he respected Flair and Anderson, but HATED Dusty Rhodes. Then you have a formidable team with Arn, Tully, the Lariat, and Flair.

So... would this work? Why or why not?

 

[FromTheSouth]

Arn was the enforcer in The Horsemen. This is the role that Hansen would have had to take. Luger was an OK choice because he was a pretty boy and semi-intimidating. Hansen would not have been polished enough. He was too rough around the edges. Honestly, do you think Hansen fits in with the "Jet flying, limousine riding....."? I don't. Having him team with Rhodes and Windham is where he needed to be. The three rednecks against the polished pretty boy partiers. That feud makes sense.

Interesting idea. You should start a series of "Fifth Horsemen" threads. I think they would go over pretty well.

 

[PEP3]

Yes, unfortunately Hansen goes against every last thing the Horsemen represented. Seriously, I can just imagine Flair recoiling in horror as Hansen starts one of his promos with "chaw" in his mouth and tobacco juice dripping down his chin.

The Horsemen dynamic was all about jet-flying, limousine-riding ladies men. Even though Arn didn't 100% reflect that, most of the other members selected could fit into that "pretty boy" mold. And, as "The Enforcer," Arn was expected to be a little more rough-and-tumble, rugged and less polished. Even with that exception, though, he still wore sports coats and dress shirts for a majority of the group's promos. Can you honestly imagine Stan doing that? It's just not his style.

No, as much as I think Arn Anderson and Stan Hansen would have made an incredible tag team, that's about as far as I can go with this one. He just wasn't cut out to be a Horseman. Then again, not everyone was. That's what made the group so elite and special. (Well, "elite" and "special" until they let in Paul Roma, but that's a different thread.)

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

I thought about that before posting this. The thing is, Arn Anderson wasn't exactly fancy himself. He was billed as a hard knocks kinda guy from Minnesota. Double A would still be the enforcer, but having Hansen as the muscle would be great, too. 6'5 300 lbs can be real dangerous if needed.

But I can see why it wouldn't work either. The limos and planes are something Hansen never really cared about. He wanted to make money though. Lots of it. And he's loyal. Someone who would make a great asset in team competition. But imagine having a team like Rhodes, Magnum TA, Murdoch, AND Hansen to counter that? Talk about some rivalries. Pair Hansen with either Tully or Ric in a rivalry and you'd have a great story. But at the same time, Luger could be considered the worst of the Horsemen in that time... until Roma and Mongo McMichael came along.

I think it'd work. With Arn and Hansen as a tag team, Tully as the midcard champ and Ric as the World Champ...I'd hate to go against that faction.

 

[PEP3]

Do I think Hansen would have been an asset for any team to have? Absolutely! The guy was rugged and tough as nails. At the same time, though, there was nothing fancy about him. It would have made almost for a comedic pairing, Flair all prim and dressed to the nines, and Hansen kind of rough-around-the-edges and slobbering and such. Crazy!

Mongo McMichaels was even WORSE, in some regards, than Paul Roma. He didn't deserve any of the push he received, and I was SUPER disappointed how WCW gave him a U.S. title run. Ugh!

At any rate, Roma's downfall was the track record he had in WWF. He had the look/feel that was right for the Horsemen, but when they introduced him, it wasn't the same as bringing in an "elite" member of a competing company's roster. They'd basically added to their ranks a jobber from WWF.

What could have worked with Roma, though, would have been a storyline where he's introduced as a "young lion" looking for a break. After a few months of climbing the ladder, getting some key wins, it could have culminated in a prolonged feud with Arn Anderson for the TV title. Then, after Arn finally retains the title in a PPV match-up against Roma, the younger wrestler has earned the veteran's respect. Then he would have been a "worthy" member of the Four Horsemen.

As it happened, though, Roma just didn't have the credibility to be one of the NWA's most elite faction. I'm just glad that, in the grand scheme of things, his legacy with the group is largely forgotten. The alternative could have been a black spot on the faction's good name, and I'd have really hated that!

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Do I think Hansen would have been an asset for any team to have? Absolutely! The guy was rugged and tough as nails. At the same time, though, there was nothing fancy about him. It would have made almost for a comedic pairing, Flair all prim and dressed to the nines, and Hansen kind of rough-around-the-edges and slobbering and such. Crazy!

Mongo McMichaels was even WORSE, in some regards, than Paul Roma. He didn't deserve any of the push he received, and I was SUPER disappointed how WCW gave him a U.S. title run. Ugh!

At any rate, Roma's downfall was the track record he had in WWF. He had the look/feel that was right for the Horsemen, but when they introduced him, it wasn't the same as bringing in an "elite" member of a competing company's roster. They'd basically added to their ranks a jobber from WWF.

What could have worked with Roma, though, would have been a storyline where he's introduced as a "young lion" looking for a break. After a few months of climbing the ladder, getting some key wins, it could have culminated in a prolonged feud with Arn Anderson for the TV title. Then, after Arn finally retains the title in a PPV match-up against Roma, the younger wrestler has earned the veteran's respect. Then he would have been a "worthy" member of the Four Horsemen.

As it happened, though, Roma just didn't have the credibility to be one of the NWA's most elite faction. I'm just glad that, in the grand scheme of things, his legacy with the group is largely forgotten. The alternative could have been a black spot on the faction's good name, and I'd have really hated that!

The thing with most pro wrestling fans is they have selective memory. I barely remembered Paul Roma in the Horseman. The bad news is I have memories of Mongo in the Horsemen. NO reason for this man to be associated with a faction such as the Horsemen. Made no sense. Former football player, wasn't worth a shit in the ring, and was given a US Title run to boot. He made GOLDBERG look weak. Remember that? Goldberg's first rivalry was with Mongo over a Super Bowl ring. Goldberg destroyed Mongo, and that's where the streak begins.

And Hansen could have worked. Many remember the Lariat as a backer spittin', half wit who just went around yelling and swinging a bull rope with a bell on the end of it in WCW. Hansen was rough and tough, but well rounded and very intelligent in the ring. Although he'd let his temper get the best of him and go into a mode where he was one track minded, he was still tough as they came. And Hansen was an EXCELLENT tag wrestler, too. From Brody to Dibiase, to Gordy. He teamed with about anyone and made the team better because of it.

Personally, I see the vignettes and interviews in my head and I see it working. Arn Anderson was a southern boy from Georgia built as a man from Minnesota. Hansen wouldn't be above wearing a nice Cowboy Hat and a leather blazer or something.

 

[PEP3]

Honestly, I would see Hansen as almost the antithesis of everything the Horsemen represented. I'd have a far easier time seeing Hansen booked to take apart the Horsemen because he doesn't believe in the whole uppity-feeling of what they stand for in the industry. I think he could have been great pitted against Flair for the belt. Too bad he never had a decent face run. The rednecks who most vocally supported NWA could have really gotten behind a tough Texan kicking a pretty boy from Minnesota's ass for the belt! And, as both a legend in Japan and a former AWA World Heavyweight Champion, Hansen would have made a very credible contender to Flair's title.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

When I 1st saw this thread it really raised my eyebrow, but after considering it from all angles, I'd have to agree that Hansen was not in any way, shape or form a Horsemen nor Horsemen'esq. Hansen should have been brought in to team with Rhodes and Windham because like previously mentioned, they could have been seen as the tough Texas trio out to take down the Horsemen establishment. I honestly never felt Ole belonged in the Horsemen and he was just there as a direct result of being an "Anderson". He always seemed to stick out like a sore thumb during their eariler promos and was usually in the background while Tully, Ric and sometimes Arn would do most of the talking. Plus, Ole ALWAYS yammered on and on about how 1986 was going to be the year Rhodes retired. Boring after a while.

Back to Hansen. He should have been brought in to take the place of goofy Koloff, who by this time was losing that fierce edge he had during his major program with Magnum T.A. By the time 1987 rolled around (check out WWE Classic's World Championship Wrestling), Koloff looked stale, so the angle could have been a vicious attack on Koloff (pretty much the same way the Horsemen did later on in the summer to injure his neck), then insert Hansen into the mix. Then what they could have done was draw that out for a year until Barry turned on Rhodes (and not Luger cause it really made NO sense to have him turn on Luger when Rhodes was his mentor). This way, it would have been Rhodes & Hansen vs. Windham and a few Horsemen (i.e. Tully since all four are from Texas) with Flair wrestling Luger and Arn feuding with perhaps a returning Koloff. Now that's good booking. What do you guys think?