10 Things You Somehow Missed In AEW

5. The Four Horsemen Teases

Cody Rhodes Arn Anderson AEW Dynamite
AEW.com

In September of 2020, reports circulated that Arn Anderson was in the process of securing a trademark for 'The Four Horsemen': the legendary, innovative stable of which he was a gruff, sinister, measured cornerstone.

Almost in parallel, perhaps in anticipation of a successful application, AEW flirted rather heavily with associated aspects of the act in the late spring/early summer of 2020. When cutting a promo as the TNT Champion, Cody revealed that he was the "fourth" wrestler Tony Khan called when forming All Elite Wrestling in 2018. He held the famous hand gesture aloft when he said it.

As did Dax Harwood when attempting a pin in a tag match. Dax also held directed it towards the Lucha Bros. at Fight For The Fallen. During the aforementioned presidential address promo, MJF spoke of "famine, pestilence and war" plaguing AEW in the event of his not rescuing the title from the clutches of Jon Moxley.

The teases quietened down as the temperature dropped, and by December, FTR explained to Pro Wrestling Illustrated that "replicating" the Horsemen would represent a "backwards" step.

Of course, this did all lead somewhere - that somewhere being the Pinnacle stable, and for a time, they entered the ring backed by a (not at all shabby) Jimmy Hart version of the Horsemen theme - but the apocalypse never did come for AEW.

This despite morons forecasting its demise since January 1, 2019.

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!