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CW Anderson knows there’s a right way to honor the past.
Bobby Fish and Bret Ryan Gosselin aligned with Brock and CW Anderson at MLW’s Summer Of The Beasts event last month. The group made things official at MLW Fightland, christening themselves as the ‘Rogue Horsemen.’
The name is a spinoff of the legendary Four Horsemen stable, which featured Brock’s father, Arn, as a founding member of the group. The ‘Horsemen’ name also has a history in MLW, as CW Anderson was a member of the ‘Extreme Horsemen’ iteration in the early aughts.
CW Anderson was asked about the reception the ‘Extreme Horsemen’ got, considering they were using such a revered name in the wrestling business. Anderson pointed out how Dusty Rhodes first pitched the idea to them. Barry Windham, who joined the original group in 1988, was also working with the ‘Extreme’ lineup and gave his blessing. Because of that, Anderson said he was honored to be part of it.
CW Anderson on the ‘Extreme Horsemen’
“[The Horsemen name] is such a sacred thing when it comes to professional wrestling since Arn came up with it,” CW Anderson explained. “We didn’t come up with the name. Dusty Rhodes came up with it when we were working for his TCW promotion. And he [paired] myself, and Steve Corino, and Barry Windham, and had this idea of calling us the Extreme Horsemen. Barry was one of the originals of the Four Horsemen and Steve and I came from [ECW]. And we started running that in TCW. And then we always wanted Simon Diamond to be a part of it. Because Steve, Simon, and I were so close that when MLW came along, we pitched that.
“The only pushback we’ve gotten is from fans because they call us ripoffs of the Horsemen and stuff. We’re using that name, we took it to a kind of different level being the extreme. But we always try to do it honoring the Four Horsemen,” he continued. “It was never anything [insulting or derogatory]; it was honoring those guys. And still 31 years, I’m still doing the same thing. I honor it with the Four Horsemen, honor it with Dusty giving it to us and with Barry being a part of it. And Barry always gave us his blessing and loved being a part of it.”
CW Anderson on honoring the past
There have been other ‘Horsemen’ monikers used over the years, including the ‘Four Horsewomen’ of MMA and WWE. Anderson knows that pro wrestling evolves and previous generations will often disagree with things today’s athletes do in the ring. However, Anderson says he is OK with things like new variations of Horsemen/women, as long as it’s done with the right intentions and in an honorable way.
“Wrestling evolves. Sometimes evolves in the wrong way. And a lot of us, especially the older generations don’t agree with a lot of stuff that’s going on today, or some of them don’t like it. But, as long as you are honoring what was put before you, I have no problem with that,” Anderson said. “Those are the ones that laid the foundation, laid the roadway for these ones today to be able to do that.
“As long as you are honoring, I have no problem with it and go about it the right way. Just calling yourself that doesn’t make you a Horseman,” he continued. “And I think we went about it the right way because, Steve, and Simon, and I would have never called ourselves the Extreme Horsemen. But Dusty and Barry honored us and blessed us with that. And when Barry was okay with it, then it was all right. Ran with it from there.”
Watch our full interview with CW and Brock Anderson below:
