When it was announced that The Four Horsemen would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year the night before WrestleMania 28 in Miami, Florida, the hot topic of debate quickly surrounded the incarnation of the group that was included.
The five men selected to go in are Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham and J.J. Dillon. That would be the most popular pairing of the supergroup but it's not the original.
No, the stable initially consisted of all the same guys except Windham. Ole Anderson was in that spot and there are many who credit him with being the brains behind the entire operation.
So why wasn't he inducted?
There are likely a few reasons. For starters, Ole has heat with just about everyone in the pro wrestling industry but most notably he and Vince McMahon still haven't kissed and made up from their court battle way back in the 80s over Georgia Championship Wrestling. That falls more on Anderson than McMahon, as you can see from an interview Ole gave to the Post and Courier explaining the situation:
"Vince McMahon hates my guts, and I don't like him. So that's all there is to it. To be a part of that, anyone with a brain knows who the first Four Horsemen were. It was me and Arn and Ric and Tully Blanchard, and J.J. Dillon was the manager. So if they don't know that, they don't know anything about wrestling anyway. So what's the difference? ... Vince McMahon is never going to call me. I hate his guts just like he hates mine. It's no big deal. ... I told Vince McMahon to go (expletive deleted), and I wouldn't change my mind now."
Anderson also explains that he has multiple sclerosis and his health is poor enough that there's simply no way he could logistically make it to Miami to take part in the ceremony. Add it all together and it was easier to avoid the headache and simply exclude him from the festivities.
Meanwhile another member of the Horsemen, albeit only for a short time, Lex Luger, told Busted Open Radio that he's happy Barry Windham is a part of it and he's looking forward to being in the audience to see it all go down:
"I think Barry Windham would be a splendid choice for getting inducted. What a great honor for him. I think it would be a great time in Barry's life right now, from what I hear, for him to receive that. I'm going to be down in South Beach for Wrestlemania. I wouldn't miss it. I will be in the audience cheering on the guys who gets selected as The Four Horsemen. I'm just thrilled that I was a part of it at all. I think Barry is a great pick."
Luger is referring to Windham suffering from some major health issues of his own, including a seizure and a heart attack/stroke that nearly took his life. He's recovering well, though, and is expected to be healthy enough to be in attendance at the ceremony.
So Flair, Arn Anderson, Blanchard, Windham and Dillon will be on stage accepting their induction, Luger will be in the audience happily cheering them on and Ole will be back home, grumpy and unhealthy, cussing out Vince all these years later.
The more things change, the more they stay the same, eh Cagesiders?