Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
When talking about the legendary faction known as the Four Horsemen, fans can’t help but bring up members of the group that perhaps had no business holding up the four fingers. Individuals, that should have been steered clear of the elite group of wrestlers. The most mentioned name is Paul Roma, who was a last minute addition after Tully Blanchard legitimately failed a drug test. After that, names like Sid Vicious, Jeff Jarrett are considered. Then, there is the ex NFL player turned pro wrestler….Steve ‘Mongo’ McMichael that gets a lot of votes. While not a fan favorite of the Horsemen fandom, he was a big favorite of the members themselves. This is his story.
After retiring from pro football as a member of the 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears, Steve McMichael had aspirations of trying his hand at pro wrestling. McMichael certainly wouldn’t be the first, nor the last to switch from the gridiron to the squared circle. There have been countless others like Wahoo McDaniel, Alex Karras, Ernie Ladd and Ron Simmons…just to name a few. McMichael wanted to be the next football player to make the transition.
Mongo’s first stop was with the World Wrestling Federation in 1995. McMichael provided guest commentary alongside Vince McMahon and was involved in a brawl with Kama Mustafa on Monday Night Raw. He also seconded Lawrence Taylor in his Wrestlemania XI match against Bam Bam Bigelow, providing protection from outside interference from the Million Dollar Corporation. After Taylor’s Wrestlemania victory, McMichael was not asked back to the company, but McMichael was not through with his wrestling dream.
Five months later, Eric Bischoff and World Championship Wrestling gave Mongo a call and was hired to be a color commentator along with Bischoff and Bobby Heenan on WCW’s new show Monday Nitro. Steve McMichael had great charisma and knew how to talk on the mic, which made him a perfect choice for this new role. Bischoff loved the chemistry all three had with one another during the early days of Nitro.
Despite his initial success as a color commentator, McMichael wanted more. He still wanted to get physical inside the ring. McMichael was still very much in his old NFL mode and missed the physicality he could dish out and take. Mongo talked to Bischoff about a move from commentator to wrestler. At the time, Bischoff was against it, feeling he was better suited for his gift of gab, but McMichael was persistent and convinced Bischoff to give him a try in the ring. Years later, Bischoff said he regretted making that decision, feeling that Mongo just wasn’t equipped to wrestle.
Mongo McMichael was trained by Terry Taylor for his wrestling debut. He was thrust into a high profile feud with ‘The Nature Boy’ Ric Flair, who was flirting with Mongo’s wife Debra. It led to a tag team match between Mongo and fellow football player Kevin Greene against Flair and Arn Anderson. The culmination of that match, saw McMichael accept a briefcase full of money and turned heel on Kevin Greene and thus joining the Four Horsemen.
During the time, many fans expressed disgust over the decision to make Mongo a horsemen. While many thought Eric Bischoff was behind the idea, the truth is it was Arn Anderson’s idea. According to Arn, the Four Horsemen were looking to add a new member and the name Booker T was the most talked about. While Arn thought Booker T was an excellent worker and definitely Horsemen material, he rejected it because he felt that Booker T could and would become a big singles star on his own.
Arn felt that while Steve McMichael wasn’t up to par as a wrestler, he had the personality of a true Horsemen and would mesh better with the group. Ric Flair and Mongo became very good friends during their Horsemen run. Flair often said that Mongo could out party Flair himself, which was no easy task. So while some fans of the Four Horsemen were in an uproar over McMichael’s inclusion into such an elite faction….Arn Anderson was the ultimate decider on his membership. Ric Flair had his party buddy before and after shows.
Steve McMichael never became a great wrestler, although he did hold the United States title for a spell. What Mongo was to the Four Horsemen was a personality. A personality that could cut solid promos and also bring new eyes to the group during his year long tenure.