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RADICAN'S TAKE
RADICAN'S KAYFABE COMMENTARIES REVIEW SERIES: "Being a Horsemen with J.J. Dillon" - life on the road, day-to-day travel, Flair-Rhodes dynamic

Mar 27, 2012 - 1:05:10 PM
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By Sean Radican, Torch columnist

RADICAN’S KAYFABE COMMENTARIES DVD REVIEW SERIES
“BEING A HORSEMAN WITH J.J. DILLON”
RELEASED IN MARCH 2012
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It’s rare that a new concept can turn out so well, but Kayfabe Commentaries has done it again with “Being a Horseman” with host Sean Oliver and legendary manager J.J. Dillon. Billed as a “shoot-sim,” this release takes the viewer back through an entire week of the lives of the members of the 4 Horsemen in February 1987. Timing being everything in wrestling, this release couldn’t come out at a better time with the 4 Horsemen set to be in the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania weekend.

We start on Monday, Feb. 23 1987 with the Horsemen set to fly from Fayetteville to Charlotte. Dillon, who kept a journal during this period, is able to go back and look at just about every detail such as where the Horsemen were flying for shows, the venues, the cards for the shows, what kind of cars they rented, the hotels they stayed at, and even the lineup. The details Dillon provides are amazing, as not only was he a talent but he also served as a member of the office for Jim Crockett Promotions.

As a detail junkie, I found myself wrapped up in all the little details Dillon was able to provide, especially the details of how the Horsemen would arrive at the show. Dillon describes the locker room environment in-depth and details what he and the Horsemen would do on each day covered on this release. Dillon compares the locker room environment in ’87 to the modern day environment in WWE and it was a very different. Babyfaces and heels dressed in different locker rooms. On a typical house show, there were no agents and at times, Dillon was the office rep at the shows in charge of the lineups. Referees went back and forth between the babyfaces and heels to work out match details. These details are a blast to listen to as Dillon covers just about everything you could imagine that went into the typical NWA show during this period.

Another thing that Dillon details is the hectic travel schedule. The 4 horsemen flew all over the place doing house shows, syndicated TV tapings for Jim Crockett Promotions, and WCW tapings. Dillon talks about life on the road in great detail, including how the Horsemen presented themselves in public. It was really interesting to hear that they rented a specific type of car and most of the time they travelled together on the road and while flying. Not all of the Horsemen lived the gimmick in public with the way they dressed with the exception of Ric Flair, who Dillon talks about in great detail as living the gimmick.

The overarching theme through this entire release is the grind of the schedule and the celebrity life the Horsemen lived during this period. Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Ole Anderson, Ric Flair, and Lex Lugar are all discussed in great detail by J. J. Dillon. Of course, hanging over Dillon’s head constantly were the plans for the next TV taping, which he details on this release. Unlike the rest of the group, because Dillon was a member of the office, he had more responsibilities, so his typical day on the road wasn’t the same as the other members of the Horsemen. At the end of this release, Dillon looks in his journal and he has to flip through 9 weeks of entries before he can find a day where the Horsemen didn’t have a show.

Dillon talks about how the different personalities in the group fit together. It was interesting to hear him talk about how there would be disagreements between the members of the Horsemen, but Flair was the leader of the pack and overall, everyone got along. Of course, the Horsemen also lived the high life at night. Dillon talks about Flair being the life of the party and during a hilarious segment, Dillon talks about the preferred beverage of each member of the Horsemen complete with on-screen graphics depicting the drinks, including Flair’s signature tray of Kamikaze beverages.

The dynamics between taping for Jim Crockett Promotions in Rock Hill, S.C. and then later in the week in Atlanta, Georgia are also discussed by Dillon in great detail. It’s really interesting to note the differences between taping for Mid-Atlantic syndicated TV and TBS as Dillon runs them down in detail. How the shows were run in both places was almost totally different with different timing issues, where promos were cut, and separate camera crews. To say the least, this is a really interesting portion of this release with Dillon talking about helping to run the tapings in Atlanta, which were live to tape.

During this period, the main rival of the Horsemen was Dusty Rhodes, who was also the booker during this period. Dillon runs down how the relationship between Rhodes and Flair was kept in check with Dillon and Jim Crockett handling communication between both men. Flair’s main point of contention during this period was the Horsemen gave more than Dusty did and he felt Rhodes always wanted more.

Lex Lugar was brought into the Horsemen during this period and Dillon and Oliver discuss Ole’s exodus from the group and how Lugar fit into the dynamic between the other members of the group. Oliver points out Lugar’s limited promo ability, but Dillon doesn’t take the bait and is mostly praiseful of Lugar’s tenure in the Horsemen.

Dillon also talks about the payday for the members of the group during this period. He said some payoffs would be much higher than others. Surprisingly, the Horsemen ran in front of a small house and Dillon details how they got a high payoff, but on another day in front of a large house, the payoff might have been smaller. Dillon then goes through his journal and discusses how when he looked at the ledger by the end of the month, the money was there. The bottom line is that when all was said and done, the Horsemen were paid well during this period.

An interesting detail brought up by Oliver later on is whether or not Dillon thinks Rhodes treated the Horsemen fairly. Dillon doesn’t take the bait once again and refers to the bottom line on the pay. It is an interesting way of answering the question most people are wondering about Rhodes and how he was booked during this period. Dillon simply states that personally, he made more money than he did in his entire career during the Dusty-Horseman feud.

This release is a total grand slam. Dillon’s ability to go through the details of the day-to-day schedule of the 4 Horsemen is amazing to watch. The production on this release is fantastic for an independent company. The studio is well-lit with iconic pictures of the members of the 4 Horsemen hung in the background. The graphics and background noise used to support Dillon’s stories almost bring you into the moment whether Dillon is describing the scene at the bar or the atmosphere in a full arena. If you followed wrestling during this period or ever wanted to know what it was like to be a member for the 4 Horsemen during this period, you must buy this release.

You can purchase “Being a Horseman” at KayfabeCommentaries.com

Please click HERE and click “like” to join the Radican’s Wrestling Community Facebook fan page.

Follow Sean on Twitter at Twitter.com/SeanRadican

Contact Sean at PWTorchSean@gmail.com


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