The Perfect Members for Cody Rhodes’ Four Horsemen
There are few things more exciting in wrestling than a dominant heel faction. The nWo shook things up in a major way after Hulk Hogan turned heel in WCW in 1996. In WWE, around the same time, DX dominated. During the woes of the Thunderdome Era, the perfectly crafted drama of Roman Reigns and the Bloodline made such a struggling time compelling.
For those of a certain age, however, there will never be a greater heel faction than Ric Flair‘s Four Horsemen. Although there were several iterations of the group, they were at their best with Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and J.J. Dillon. Now, there has been talk on social media and wrestling podcasts about the idea of the Four Horsemen being reformed in WWE by none other than Cody Rhodes. Could the group work, with Rhodes now the head of a stable which was once opposed by his father, Dusty Rhodes? Just as important of a question is who would be in the new Four Horsemen.
Paul Heyman Is the Perfect Manager
- J.J. Dillon was the executive director of the original Four Horsemen.
- Heyman is one of the greatest talkers in wrestling history.
- He managed the Bloodline for years and is now being wasted in the Vision.
Although Ric Flair is one of wrestling’s best ever talkers, the Four Horsemen still needed someone to manage them. Enter J.J. Dillion as the executive director of the stable. So who would manage a new version of the faction? The answer there is easy. It can only be Paul Heyman. His promos are masterful, and he’s already been the mouthpiece for one of wrestling’s greatest heel groups, the Bloodline. Currently, he’s the man behind the Vision, but that group is dying and has become a waste of Heyman’s talents.
Putting Heyman in a new Four Horsemen immediately makes the group a force to be taken seriously. Cody Rhodes respects the man he once went to war with so much so that on last week’s SmackDown, during a promo with Randy Orton, he broke out the line, “That’s not a prediction, it’s a spoiler.”
Ethan Page Has the Cockiness of a Great Heel
- Page is friends with Rhodes in real life.
- Cody wouldn’t hire Page to work in AEW at first because he didn’t want him to be seen as a friend hire.
- Page is great at being a cocky heel and looks good in a suit.
A new version of the Four Horsemen led by Cody Rhodes shouldn’t include other A-listers. There’s no need for a Kevin Owens or Oba Femi in the stable. It should be made up of men on the rise, made even more believable if they are friends of Cody’s or have a past connection to the faction.
That’s where Ethan Page comes in. He’s connected to Cody by working with him in AEW. In real life, they are friends. During a 2024 interview with Jackson Bragman on Bragman Breakdown, Page spoke about Rhodes, saying:
“He was definitely looking out. I’ll always deliver on my end to make sure whoever puts their neck out for me is not doing it in a way that is going to get them in trouble. He definitely put his foot forward for me. Ironically, when I was signing with AEW, he told me that he wouldn’t, because he didn’t want me to be a friend hire, and that’s how I started my career. I respected that. He’s always had my back.” (h/t Fightful)
Ethan Page is so good at being a heel. He has the aura of a bad man willing to do horrible things. Plus he looks great in a suit. The Four Horsemen would show the potential he has to be a WWE main eventer one day.
Ricky Saints Is a Close Friend of Cody Rhodes
- Cody brought Ricky Saints with him to the Royal Rumble even though he was still with AEW.
- Saints has a deep love for Cody because he sees and understands him.
- Saints hasn’t done much on the WWE main roster since being called up to SmackDown.
Another wrestler Cody Rhodes worked with in AEW is Ricky Starks, who now goes by Ricky Saints in WWE. The two are such good friends that Cody brought Ricky with him to the Royal Rumble a few years ago, back when he was still signed with AEW. The leaked image of them backstage created controversy, but it also showed just how much Saints meant to Rhodes. When appearing on Cody’s What Do You Want to Talk About? podcast, Saints said of his friend:
“I don’t have a lot of friends, so to speak, the people that have shown me being seen, being heard, being understood… I have such an endearing and deep love for you as a person because of what you have shown and reciprocated back.” (h/t Yahoo! Sports)
Ricky Saints has so much going for him. He has the look, the gift of gab, and the confidence. All he’s missing is a chance. It didn’t happen in AEW, and he’s already being forgotten in WWE. The Four Horsemen can save Saints’ career and be his coming out party.
Lexis King Is the Son of Brian Pillman
- King was part of the AEW roster as Brian Pillman Jr.
- Both King and Rhodes are second generation wrestlers.
- King’s father, Brian Pillman, was part of the Four Horsemen in WCW during the mid 90s.
Rounding out Cody Rhodes’ Four Horsemen is a wrestler who has yet to make his WWE main roster debut. For the last few years, Lexis King has been in NXT, where he made the transition from going by his real name of Brian Pillman Jr. in AEW to becoming a more three-dimensional and flamboyant character. King, like the others, worked with Cody in AEW, and the American Nightmare means so much to him. In 2024, he told Chris Van Vliet on Insight:
“A dream story for me would definitely be to work with Cody Rhodes. Having spent some time at AEW with him, he is someone I’ve always looked up to. He was a great leadership figure there. He definitely gave me a sense of direction and purpose when I was there. I don’t know what it is about me, I just have this thing with other second generation wrestlers that whenever I’m in the ring or working with them, I always rise to the occasion and have some of my best work.” (h/t Fightful)
The second generation reference was mentioned because Lexis King is the son of Brian Pillman. Putting King in the Four Horsemen would be perfect, not only because King is so close with Cody, but because Pillman Sr. was once a member of the Four Horsemen during the mid 90s. What a great full circle moment it would be to see King take the place of his father and get the biggest chance of his career thus far.
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