Arn Anderson Remembers Ole Anderson

On the latest episode of The ARN Show, Arn Anderson talked about the passing of his former tag team partner, Ole Anderson, Brutus Beefcake joining WCW, and more. You can check out some highlights below:

On Ole Anderson’s passing: “First of all, condolences to his family. We’re grieving with you. Anytime we lose one of our family — and in this business, it happens more often than not — some people don’t have a vehicle to reach out and say how sorry we are. So I’m glad we have this opportunity to do that. Ole Anderson gave me a rub early in my career, making me and Anderson and his partner, and half of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew, which launched me to the very seat I’m sitting in right now forty years later. Forty-plus years later. And it was a gift that most guys in our business never get, a magic wand waved over their career like I did. Just that association, first with Ole and then with the Horsemen. And we know how that went, that was a pretty successful deal as well.

“Just want to say that he was a mentor to me without even knowing it. You know, he didn’t — after the shows we’d make a trip or go back to the hotel, he didn’t tell me a lot of, “This was good’ or ‘This was bad,’ or whatever the deal was. There wasn’t a lot of that going on. But I was studying everything he did in the ring. He was a mentor to me without even knowing it. And I just, from the psychology of what he did out there, the credibility, the believability that he brought to the business. I just absorbed all that that I possibly could. And some of it is stuck, which I can pass on to Brock. And just want to say that, you know, he was a cantankerous, grumpy some bitch. He really was. But I’ve learned long ago to treat people the way that you want to be treated, and Ole was good to me. And that’s all I can say. So again, sincerely to his family and to all the people that love him and to all of his fans. He left his mark in the business. Eighty-one in our business is a long life. So if you take something from that, that’s a long life in our business. So God bless Ole, God bless all the people that care about him, and very, very sorry to hear the news.”

On the WCW locker room reaction to Brutus Beefcake joining WCW: “I think [Hogan] was getting his support system in place. Because you gotta remember, he walked into a company of guys that he had not been in the same company with. A lot of guys — I mean, Sting, Luger, the Steiners, those guys. There was a lot of guys — Ron Simmons — that he didn’t, you walk into a foreign locker room. And bringing in his guys in, you know, he had a crew of guys that he trusted that he could surround himself around. And coming off of the immediate impact that he had off that first big show, they were gonna go with whatever he wanted at that time.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The ARN Show with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.