Arn Anderson

Lunde began his career on January 2, 1982 in Georgia Championship Wrestling going by the ring name Jim Vertaroso,[2] having been trained by Ted Lipscomb (Allen). He spent much of the year wrestling in various independent wrestling companies across the United States, including a minor run in Mid South Wrestling for Bill Watts from 1982 to 1983.[5] By the middle of 1983, he made his way to Southeastern Championship Wrestling, an NWA affiliated promotion operating out of Tennessee and Alabama. Taking the name of "Super Olympia", Lunde soon became a member of Ron Fuller's Stud Stable before the year was out. Lunde saw success in the tag team ranks by winning the NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship three times with Mr. Olympia and once with Pat Rose throughout 1984. It was also here in this promotion that Lunde met and began what would become a lifelong friendship with Ric Flair. By the end of the year, however, Lunde left the company and joined Mid South Wrestling based out of Shreveport. Lunde's time in Mid South was coming to an end, and during a TV taping the Junkyard Dog mentioned to Bill Watts, the owner of Mid South Wrestling, that Lunde looked like an Anderson. Watts called Jim Crockett and convinced him to book Lunde.[6]

Lunde made his way to Jim Crockett, Jr.'s Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, based in the Virginias and the Carolinas. By this time, the company extended its range into Georgia after rival promoter Vince McMahon purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling. There was a strong physical resemblance between Lunde and Ole Anderson, who had achieved legendary status in the Georgia and Mid-Atlantic territories as a tag team wrestler. Ole noticed that Lunde's style was a no nonsense approach in the ring and specialized in working over a part of an opponent's body throughout the match, much like Ole himself. Anderson agreed to work with Lunde, helping to hone his capabilities, and re-formed the Minnesota Wrecking Crew with Lunde replacing Gene Anderson and taking on the name of "Arn Anderson", Ole's kayfabe brother. The team quickly became a force in the territory by capturing the NWA National Tag Team Championship in March 1985.[5] Arn and Ole defended the titles throughout the year, with their highest profile match being part of the card for Starrcade 1985 on Thanksgiving night. The Crew successfully defended the titles against Wahoo McDaniel and Billy Jack Haynes.[7]

In the latter half of 1985, the Andersons formed a loose knit alliance with fellow heels Tully Blanchard and Ric Flair, as they began to have common enemies. The foursome frequently teamed together in six-man, and sometimes, eight-man tag matches or interfered in each other's matches to help score a victory or, at least, to prevent each other from losing their titles. The alliance quickly became a force within the territory, working in feuds against some of the biggest stars in the company like Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T. A., The Road Warriors and the Rock 'n' Roll Express. Anderson also saw success as a singles wrestler on January 4, 1986, by winning the vacant NWA Television Championship.[5] Simultaneously, Anderson was still one half of the NWA National Tag Team Champions and, even though Crockett promotions abandoned the National Tag titles in March, Anderson's success as a dual champion elevated his status within the territory. It was also during this time (in 1986) that the Andersons, Blanchard, and Flair began calling themselves The Four Horsemen with J. J. Dillon serving as the group's manager.[5] Anderson also had a tremendous ability to do interviews to further the storylines he participated in. His ability to improvise in interviews allowed him to coin the "Four Horsemen" moniker for the stable, as he likened their coming to wrestle at an event and the aftermath of their wrath as being akin to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the name stuck. Anderson continued his reign as NWA Television Champion for most of the year, holding the championship for just over 9 months before losing it to Dusty Rhodes on September 9, 1986.[8]

The first real setback with the Horsemen occurred at Starrcade 1986 after Anderson and Ole lost a Steel Cage match to The Rock 'n' Roll Express, with Ole getting pinned. The subsequent storyline positioned Ole as the weak link within the team, possibly attributed to his age. Ole's position with the group was only further weakened after he decided to take two months off after Starrcade. After Ole's return in February 1987, the other Horsemen turned on him and threw him out of the group, resulting in Ole incurring numerous attacks over the next several months. Afterwards, Ole was replaced with Lex Luger and the Horsemen resumed their dominance of the company.[9]

As a member of the Horsemen, Anderson continued to be involved in high-profile angles within the company. By mid-1987, Anderson and fellow Horsemen Tully Blanchard began regularly competing as a tag team and rose quickly through the tag team ranks.[5] The duo faced the Rock 'n' Roll Express for the NWA World Tag Team Championship on September 29, 1987, and were victorious.[5] This win further solidified the group's dominance in the company as Lex Luger was the reigning NWA United States Heavyweight Champion and Ric Flair spent most of 1987 as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, losing it to Ron Garvin in September, only to regain it at Starrcade 1987 on Thanksgiving night. Anderson and Tully continued to feud throughout the rest of the year and first few months of 1988 with the Road Warriors, the Rock 'n' Roll Express and the Midnight Express being their most frequent rivals.[10][11][12]

By December 1987, Luger had defected from the Horsemen and began a heated feud with the group, with Ric Flair especially. In early 1988, Luger formed a tag team with Barry Windham and began challenging Anderson and Blanchard for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. The bigger, stronger team of Windham and Luger were eventually successful, winning the titles on March 27, 1988. The reign would be short lived, however, as Anderson and Blanchard regained the titles less than a month later after Barry Windham turned on Luger during their match and joined the Horsemen. Though Anderson and Blanchard were two of the biggest stars in Crockett's company, they were frequently in dispute with Crockett over their pay. Despite the fact that the two, along with the Horsemen, were helping to generate millions of dollars in revenue for the company, they considered themselves to be underpaid. Their last contracted match with the company took place on September 10, 1988, when they dropped the NWA World Tag Team Championship to the Midnight Express before leaving for the WWF.[13]

Anderson (left) with his tag team partner Tully Blanchard in the World Wrestling Federation (March 1989).

Anderson and Blanchard left Crockett's company to join Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation. Upon being named the Brain Busters, the team took Bobby "The Brain" Heenan as their manager and quickly began rising through the tag team ranks, eventually coming to challenge Demolition for the WWF Tag Team Championship. On July 18, 1989, the Brain Busters won the titles, ending Demolition's historic reign of 478 days; the match would air on the July 29 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event XXII.[14] Although they would lose the titles back to Demolition on an episode of WWF Superstars just over three months later, the Brain Busters continued to be a force in the WWF's tag team division.[5]

In December 1989, Anderson left the WWF and went back to WCW.[5] Blanchard was slated to return as well but WWF accused him of testing positive for cocaine. Crockett's company was now called World Championship Wrestling and was under the ownership of billionaire mogul Ted Turner. Anderson helped to reform the Horsemen and he quickly found success in the company, winning the NWA World Television Championship on January 2, 1990.[5] Anderson remained the champion almost the entire year before dropping it to Tom Zenk. Zenk's reign would be short lived, however, as Anderson regained the title, having been renamed the WCW World Television Championship on January 14, 1991.[5] His third reign with the title was also considered successful as he held the title a little more than five months before dropping it to "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton on May 19, 1991. Afterwards, with Horsemen members Ric Flair and Sid Vicious gone to the WWF and Barry Windham having turned face, Anderson entered the tag team ranks of WCW.[15]

In the summer of 1991, Anderson formed a tag team with Larry Zbyszko and they called themselves the Enforcers. After competing for several months and moving up in the tag team ranks, they successfully captured the WCW World Tag Team Championship on September 2, 1991. The reign would be short lived, however, as they lost the titles roughly two and a half months later to Ricky Steamboat and Dustin Rhodes. Anderson and Zbyszko wrestled their final match as a tag team in December 1991 as part of WCW's "Roar Power" tour of Europe.

Later in December 1991, Anderson joined Paul E. Dangerously's new stable the Dangerous Alliance, where he formed a new tag team with "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton. They quickly moved up the tag team division and were soon a threat to Steamboat and Rhodes. Anderson and Eaton quickly won the titles on January 16, 1992, and defended the titles against all comers for the next four and a half months before losing the titles to the Steiner Brothers in May 1992.[5] The Dangerous Alliance disbanded in November 1992 following Clash of the Champions XXI, following which Anderson took a short hiatus from WCW.

While still under WCW contract, Anderson wrestled a handful of matches for Smoky Mountain Wrestling in March and April 1993, teaming with the Rock 'n' Roll Express. At Slamboree '93: A Legends' Reunion in May 1993, Anderson unsuccessfully challenged Barry Windham for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

In May 1993, Anderson joined Ole Anderson and Ric Flair to once more reform the Four Horsemen. The Horsemen introduced Paul Roma as their newest member. Although athletic and a skilled in-ring competitor, Roma had spent much of his career as a jobber in the WWF. As part of an interview segment for the Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen DVD, Triple H stated that he thought the addition of Roma made the membership the weakest in the history of the group, and Arn himself referred to Roma as "a glorified gym rat". Although Anderson and Roma won the WCW World Tag Team Championship in August, the group was seen as a failure by WCW.[16] The stable disbanded in October 1993 after Anderson was legitimately injured in an altercation with Sid Vicious.[17]

Anderson returned to the ring in December 1993, facing his former stablemate Paul Roma in a series of matches. In February 1994, he formed a short-lived tag team with Ricky Steamboat. In May 1994, Anderson wrestled at the Eastern Championship Wrestling event When Worlds Collide as part of a talent exchange between WCW and ECW. At the event, Anderson teamed with Terry Funk in an unsuccessful challenge to Sabu and Bobby Eaton.[18]

In May 1994, Anderson formed another new tag team, this one with Dustin Rhodes. At Bash at the Beach 1994, Anderson and Rhodes faced Col. Rob Parker's Stud Stable; during the match, Anderson betrayed Rhodes and cost him them match, subsequently joining the Stud Stable alongside Terry Funk, Bunkhouse Buck, "Stunning" Steve Austin and Meng. The Stud Stable feuded with Dusty and Dustin Rhodes until late 1994 when Funk left.[19]

Anderson's last championship run began on January 8, 1995, after winning the World Television Championship from Johnny B. Badd. Anderson helped restore the prestige of the title, which he held for just over six months before dropping it to The Renegade at Great American Bash 1995. He briefly feuded with long-time friend Flair, and was assisted by Brian Pillman in his efforts.

In 1995, Anderson reformed the Four Horsemen yet again with Flair, Anderson, Pillman, and a partner to be named later (who ended up being Chris Benoit).[20]

By the end of 1996, Anderson rarely competed in the ring as years of wear and tear on his body finally started to catch up with him. On the November 25 edition of Nitro, Anderson fought Luger to a double count-out in a quarter-final tournament match for the vacant WCW United States Championship.[21]

On the August 25, 1997, episode of Monday Nitro, Anderson formally announced his retirement from the ring.[5] While standing in the ring, surrounded by Ric Flair and newest Horsemen members Steve McMichael and Benoit, Anderson declared that his last official act as the "Enforcer" for the Four Horsemen was to offer his "spot" in the group to Curt Hennig, as he was forced to retire due to extensive neck and upper back injuries. He worked a couple tag matches afterward, including teaming with David Flair on an episode of WCW Thunder, but his physical involvement was extremely limited in those bouts.[22]

On the September 14, 1998, edition of Nitro, alongside Steve McMichael, Dean Malenko, and Chris Benoit, Anderson ceremoniously reintroduced Ric Flair to WCW after his 12-month hiatus. In doing so, they reformed the Horsemen who then feuded with WCW President Eric Bischoff. Flair won the presidency of WCW from Bischoff on the December 28, 1998, episode of Nitro followed by winning the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Uncensored 1999 and turn heel in the process. Anderson remained Flair's right-hand man during this time as he attempted to keep Flair's delusional hunger for power at bay.[23]

In 2000, Anderson was a member of the short-lived Old Age Outlaws. Led by Terry Funk, the group of veteran wrestlers battled the revived New World Order.[1] On May 9, Anderson wrestled in two matches losing to David Flair and a week later teaming with Ric to defeat David Flair and Crowbar.[22]

WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation in 2001, ending Anderson's tenure there.[24]

Anderson in January 2003

Not long after the closing of WCW, Anderson became a road agent for WWF, renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May 2002.[5] He occasionally appeared on WWE television trying to, with the help of other WWE management, pull apart (kayfabe) backstage brawls. Before the WCW/ECW Invasion storyline, Anderson took up color commentary for a WCW World Heavyweight Championship match between Booker T and Buff Bagwell, WCW Cruiserweight Championship match with Billy Kidman and Gregory Helms as well as another WCW Championship match between Diamond Dallas Page and Booker T, which would be his only appearances as a commentator in WWE. He made an appearance on Raw in 2002 delivering a video to Triple H before he was supposed to renew his wedding vows to then-heel, Stephanie McMahon. Anderson was also assaulted on Raw by The Undertaker leading up the Undertaker vs. then-babyface, Ric Flair match at WrestleMania X8. During that bout, Anderson made a brief in-ring appearance, delivering his signature spinebuster to The Undertaker. He would later turn heel once again by helping Ric Flair in his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin, leading to Austin (kayfabe) urinating on him. Several months later he became a face once again and attempted to help a then-babyface Flair gain (kayfabe) sole ownership of WWE during a match with Vince McMahon, but backed down from a confrontation with Brock Lesnar, who entered the ring to assist McMahon.[25]

Anderson in August 2014

Anderson made a special appearance at the October 2006 Raw Family Reunion special, in which he was in Ric Flair's corner for his match against Mitch of the Spirit Squad. Anderson was in the corner of Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, Dusty Rhodes, and Ron Simmons at Survivor Series 2006, where the four faced the Spirit Squad, but was ejected from the arena during the match. On the March 31, 2008 Raw, Anderson came out to say his final goodbye to Ric Flair and thank him for his career. At No Mercy, he was backstage congratulating Triple H for retaining the WWE Championship against Jeff Hardy.[26]

On an episode of Smackdown Live in August 2016, Anderson made an appearance as one of the people asked by Heath Slater to be his tag team partner for the tournament to determine the inaugural winners of the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship. Anderson refused to help Slater upon learning that he was not Slater's first choice as a tag team partner. On the August 8, 2017, episode of Smackdown Live, Anderson made a guest appearance on Fashion Police, revealing himself to be the one who destroyed Breezango's toy horse, Tully, and boasting he was the best horse from the Four Horsemen, and that "Tully" should have been named "Arn".[27]

On February 22, 2019, it was reported Anderson had been released from the WWE.[28][29] It was later reported this was due to Anderson allowing an intoxicated Alicia Fox to wrestle a match at a WWE Live Event on February 10.[30] At Starcast II, Anderson spoke briefly about his release saying he didn't want to be somewhere he was not wanted and the hours had become too much for him. He couldn't say much due to being bound by a non-disclosure agreement.[31]

On August 31, 2019, Anderson made a surprise appearance at the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) pay-per-view event, All Out, assisting Cody in his match against Shawn Spears by hitting Spears with a spinebuster. On November 6, 2019, Anderson would be a guest commentator on AEW Dark.[32]

On December 30, 2019, AEW announced that Arn Anderson had signed a contract with the company as Cody's personal advisor and head coach.[33] He would make his AEW Dynamite debut on the January 1, 2020, episode, assisting Cody to win his match against Darby Allin.[34] On June 3, 2020, Anderson announced that he had signed a new multi-year contract with AEW.[35]

On the June 11, 2021 episode of Dynamite, in an interview with Tony Schiavone, Anderson (alongside his son Brock and Cody Rhodes) announced that Brock would be wrestling with AEW and would join the Nightmare Family. The interview was interrupted by QT Marshall and a fight ensued.[36][37][38] On the June 18 episode of Dynamite, Anderson accompanied Brock to the ring for his debut match. Brock, teaming with Cody Rhodes defeated QT Marshall & Aaron Solow. After the match Anderson hugged Brock and raised his hand.[39][38][40]

On the September 29 episode of Dynamite, Anderson dumped Rhodes, who was on a losing streak, and left the ring with Lee Johnson, who had just successfully scored a winning pinfall while teaming with Rhodes.[41][42] During the promo when he dumped Rhodes, Anderson (a real-life gun enthusiast) told him that Rhodes would allow a carjacker to steal his car while Anderson would "pull out the Glock, put it on his forehead, and spill his brains all over the concrete". The promo, which received approval in advance from both Tony Khan and TNT,[43] received universal critical praise from fans and other wrestlers, as the quote got Anderson trending on Twitter; AEW promptly released a T-shirt featuring the quote due to the reaction.[44][45] However, Anderson would afterwards resume coaching Rhodes, who would later go on to have another reign as AEW TNT Champion.[46][47]