Arn Anderson Reveals Who He Would Make Part Of A Modern Four Horsemen
WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson conducted another episode of Ask Arn Anything on the ARN podcast, where he discussed a wide variety of topics. One topic included which wrestlers he thinks would be best fit for a part in a modern Four Horsemen.
"Well, I'd have to probably take The Revival, I think," Anderson said. "Well, and I'll have to take Cody simply because the guy is driven by becoming the very best performer he can, and against every challenge that there can be. And I haven't seen a guy in a long time that has concentrated on his promos, his work rate, his business sense, the way he treats the fans, and the way he treats employees.
"He's just good for the business all the way around, and anybody that's talked to him will tell you that. And you're going to need that other fourth guy, I would think. And I would think, right now, even though we're facing him coming up very soon, it'd be hard to look over Harper, Brodie Lee."
Cody's next challenger for the TNT Championship is set to be the Dark Order's Brodie Lee. Anderson, Cody's personal advisor and head coach, gave his thoughts on Cody's next challenger.
"Yeah, buddy. I'm concerned about this one," Anderson admitted. "I've been high on him [Brodie Lee] for many years. He's so good that you just take it for granted. He's going to be good and you kind of overlook him, and man, he's ready to rock and roll. I could tell that. I'm worried about this one, but Cody said open challenge. That's what he meant and it means open challenge."
In 2010, TNA debuted a new faction called "Fortune" that consisted of Ric Flair, A.J. Styles, James Storm, Frankie Kazarian, and Bobby Roode. Flair leading the stable appeared to be TNA's attempt to invoke the Horsemen, and a fan asked if that was indeed the case.
"I agree with you 100%, and those were all performers, great performers and that was, as we've said many times before, that was our theory," Anderson revealed. "That was the way we operated. We wanted to just go out, and no matter which member of the group it was from a performance standard, we set the night. We set the pace through the evening and just had the best matches on the card. That was our deal.
"I think they would have been trying to recapture that Horsemen thing. There were a lot of people whether they want to admit it or not, the group with WWE, Evolution – that was a Horsemen knockoff, and it was all the same theory.
"Have class, act like you have a loyalty to the other three guys, whether you do or not, and dress well, speak well, perform well. It was all things that go back to the Horsemen deal. It'll always be situations where you try to recapture that magic. I don't think there can ever be another quote for Horsemen, but there can be a group of guys that have the same theory and operating strategy for God knows how many years."
Sticking on the topic of the Horsemen, Anderson was asked if Adam Page reminds him of Barry Windham. Anderson said he does, praising Page's in-ring ability and saying he has a bright future ahead of him.
"You know what? Come to think of it, he does, and I think he's very, very talented too," Anderson stated. "Here's one of the really smart things that are occurring is he is getting over, and he's being pushed. Not like a rocket straight up, but a little bit off on an angle so that he goes up one week, and then he may go up a little bit other the next week, and then he may flat-line across and stay where he's at position-wise. But he's not being shoved where you spit him out, and he's not dragging. He's not dragging his feet.
"He's one of those guys that every time he's on TV, you're glad to see him because you know he has the talent. And he really does have the talent, and he mixes just enough of old school and just good solid wrestling with some of the flips over the top, and some of the flash, and some of that stuff. There's a nice blend with him. He doesn't lean too far old school or he doesn't lean too far the new school, and I think that guy's got a very bright future."
Anderson later talked about Paul Heyman. He talked about how Heyman was "a guy that did his homework", praising his ability to study everything he could. This is as opposed to someone like Jim Cornette, who has a really good memory.
"Paul was gung-ho from the very beginning and you knew he had done his homework," Anderson said. "There are some guys in the business that study everything that is available. Whether it be reading the dirt sheets, watching the network, buying old tapes, trading old tapes, watching everything that somebody sitting at home, who's a super fan, and has taped every television match on earth. There are some guys that collect all of that information so that when you ask them something, they don't go on memory. They have it logged.
"Cornette was one of those guys that had a super memory, but Paul Heyman was a guy that did his homework. And I could tell he did his homework because when he was managing us [The Enforcers], he was pretty young in the business but he was polished. And his promos were excellent, and his working knowledge of things that have happened before was excellent."
Anderson also said that Heyman is someone who is one of the best of his generation when it comes to promos and everything else. He talks about some of the missed opportunities from working with Heyman.
"You could just tell the guy had a bright future. And to this day, he still is on top of his history. And you can cut a promo that matters, and will make you listen, and do all those things that keep you plugged into the show. And my experience with him, as he was gung-ho and we had a hell of a group there, probably didn't realize how big the group was if you really think about it. But you go back and look at some of the names, including him, that might have been one group, that might have got pushed and should have got pushed a little further."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit ARN with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Mehdy Labriny contributed to this article.