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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.
The New World Order
Like the Horsemen, the nWo had a fluctuating membership. Their strongest line up was arguably Hall, Nash, Hogan, Syxx, and The Giant (Big Show.)
The nWo changed the rules of wrestling when they teased a 'hostile takeover' of WCW. Getting the biggest name in wrestling at the time--Hulk Hogan--on their side was a real coup, and instantly made the group a household name.
The NWO were known less for their technical wrestling ability and more for their trash talking and gangland tactics. For the nWo, there was no such thing as an unfair advantage, and they took many liberties with the rules. However unlike the Horsemen, they didn't seem to care if they actually won matches or not, and many of their cheating shenanigans got them disqualified.
Now. let's rate both teams on their star power.
Star Power: Advantage NWO
This was a close contest, with wrestling's G.O.A.T. Ric Flair as the leader and arguably the best mid-carder of all time, Arn Anderson, making for tough competition.
However, with the biggest, most recognized name in wrestling with Hulk Hogan, and the added oomph of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, the nWo had a bit more star power--and therefore, drawing power to put 'asses in the seats' as Eric Bischoff was fond of saying.
Title Dominance: Advantage Horsemen
This is another close contest because both stables held the main heavyweight and tag team championships of their respective generation for long periods of time.
However, when you look at two factors, the Horsemen arrive at the top. First, the Four Horsemen defended their titles much more frequently than the nWo did.
Secondly, the National Wrestling Alliance championships were more prestigious than their WCW counterparts because the belts were defended against a more diverse competition from many different regions.
Wrestling Ability: Advantage Horsemen
Unlike our previous two categories, the Horsemen win this contest in the first round with a knockout!
While Syxx was a capable light heavyweight, and Scott Hall was a decent worker, most of the nWo had a plodding, slow ring style. The Horsemen, by contrast, were four of the most technically sound wrestlers not just of their era, but of all time.
Charisma: Advantage NWO
While the Four Horsemen served their role very well in the 1980s, the fact is the nWo did an even better job of being the dominant heels of the 1990s.
From Scott Hall's opening salvo of "Hey, yo!" to Kevin Nash's quasi-humorous diatribes to Hollywood Hogan's ability to gain savage hatred from the fans, the NWO were far and away the more charismatic group.
Arn Anderson could give a much better interview, and Ric Flair was phenomenal, but neither Tully nor Barry were the best on the microphone or resonating with the fan base.
It's a tie!
Unfortunately, our contest has been concluded without a decisive winner. The NWO had greater star power and charisma, but the Horsemen's title dominance and technical acumen evened out the playing field.
It comes down mostly to a matter of personal taste. Do you prefer the limousine riding, custom tailored suit wearing Horsemen or the pseudo-gang member in appearance and attitude NWO?
In any event, both the Horsemen and the NWO changed history and contained some of the greatest wrestlers of their -- or any other -- generation and will be discussed on social media and websites like this one for many long years to come.
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