Founded in the 1980s and composed of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and a host of others, The Four Horseman is arguably among the most influential stables of all time. A dominant heel faction, they established a lot of the tropes that would be replicated in various stables over the years, with a legacy that extends to WWE’s Evolution, Impact Wrestling’s Fortune, and AEW’s The Pinnacle, among others.

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The official Horsemen existed on and off from 1985 to 1999, and there are a number of odd little things about the group that many fans have likely forgotten, including kayfabe relationships, surprising members, and a shocking win/loss record.

10 Lex Luger Was The First Addition To The Group

While Flair and Anderson are usually staples of the group, the Four Horsemen lineup has changed a lot since its first incarnation, and the most surprising fact about their membership is that Lex Luger was actually the first new member in the group’s history. Luger made his debut in WCW in early 1987, where he was quickly aligned with the Horsemen but not technically a member. That changed when Ole Anderson left the group and Luger took his spot as an official Horseman. This stint would last until the end of the year when he turned on Horsemen manager JJ Dillon.

9 Sting Was An Official Member

Rife with betrayal, Sting and Ric Flair’s rivalry was a definitive one for WCW, and one that started with the very first Clash of the Champions in 1988. From there, Sting would fight various members of The Four Horsemen, but ultimately become a member after they turned babyface while feuding with the J-Tex Corporation stable.

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Sting’s alliance with the Horsemen wouldn’t last long once the Stinger found himself #1 contender to Flair’s World Title after beating him in a tournament. Flair wanted him to drop his contender ship, but Sting was set on going for the belt, so Flair kicked him out of the group.

8 Barry Windham Wasn’t An Original Member

Many fans consider the iconic lineup of the Four Horsemen to be the one with Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and Barry Windham, but that’s surprisingly not the first configuration. Instead of Windham, the original incarnation had Ole Anderson, who was considered a solid performer but not a great fit for the group in terms of personality. Windham would join the group in 1988 following the departure of Lex Luger, and would prove to be a defining member -- so much that the above-mentioned iconic lineup would be the one inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, leaving out Ole.

7 The Andersons Are Not Really Related

The Anderson Family is one of the stranger pro wrestling families, mostly because none of them are actually related. The family began with kayfabe brothers Gene, Lars, and Ole Anderson, who were a dominant tag team known as The Minnesota Wrecking Crew throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1980s, an up-and-comer reminiscent of the Andersons was named Arn Anderson and paired with now kayfabe uncle Ole Anderson as a revived Minnesota Wrecking Crew, who would end up uniting with Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard as The Four Horsemen.

6 Ric Flair And The Andersons Are Kayfabe Cousins

The Andersons aren’t the only kayfabe relations in the group. Before the Horsemen formed, The Minnesota Wrecking Crew regularly assisted Ric Flair in beating down various babyfaces. Flair would soon be established as the Andersons’ kayfabe cousin because Flair lived in Minnesota in his younger days. It certainly helped that Flair and Arn had a friendship dating back to prior promotions as well. Eventually the Andersons would also help Tully beat down babyfaces, too, and their group formed due to these shared interests.

5 Miss Elizabeth Managed Them

Over the years, the Four Horsemen had a number of female managers including Woman, Debra McMichael and Baby Doll. But it’s easy to forget that Miss Elizabeth -- one of the most iconic and influential valets ever -- also managed the group, which is probably because she’s best associated with Macho Man Randy Savage.

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At 1996’s SuperBrawl VI Savage challenged Flair for the World Title in a steel cage match, but Miss Elizabeth would turn on Savage, costing him the title and aligning with the Horsemen in the process. Later in the year, Elizabeth would betray the Horsemen and join the nWo.

4 The Three Horsemen

The year 1993 saw Ric Flair return to WCW after a run in WWE and rekindle his friendship with Arn Anderson. This would lead to a revival of the Four Horsemen, but a deal for Tully Blanchard to return to WCW fell through, resulting in an odd three-man configuration. The third man of this group was Paul Roma, who’s considered by many to be one of the worst members of the Horsemen ever so it’s easy to forget that he was also in one of the least-loved incarnations, which lasted about seven months.

3 Jeff Jarrett’s Membership is Disputed

When Jeff Jarrett jumped ship from WWE to WCW in 1996, he made an attempt to join the Horsemen, which Flair was receptive to but his partners were not. On top of that, Jarrett ended up feuding with Horseman Steve “Mongo” McMichael over Mongo’s wife Debra as well as the US title, which caused a lot of tension in the group. Eventually Flair had enough and banished Jarrett from the group, but there’s some debate as to whether Double-J was ever an official Horsemen, a fact that even some members of the group dispute.

2 They Almost Always Lost WarGames

The brainchild of rival Dusty Rhodes, the WarGames cage match was specially created so that a group of babyfaces could take on a united Four Horsemen. There were 31 WarGames matches over the course of WCW’s existence, 19 of which featured The Horsemen -- or 20 if you count the 1996 match where the team was Arn, Luger, Flair, and Sting. Despite the sheer number of appearances, the Horsemen lost all but one of them, with their sole victory being over Sting, Brian Pillman, and The Steiner Brothers at WrestleWar ‘91.

1 Their Entrance Themes Ruled

WCW themes are generally underrated compared to the iconic work of Jim Johnston in WWE, but the Horsemen’s music shouldn’t be slept on. The group had lots of great guitar-driven pieces as their entrance music, with the best being their 1990s theme. Composed by Jimmy Hart and Howard Helm, the instrumental piece boasts some slick guitars straight out of the Top Gun soundtrack, and is an obvious influence on the theme music of the aforementioned Pinnacle in AEW.

NEXT: 10 Backstage Stories About The Four Horsemen We Can't Believe