Arn Anderson Reveals What It Was Like Working With Triple H Backstage, More

During the latest edition of his “ARN” podcast, Arn Anderson commented on what it’s like to work with Triple H backstage, Vince McMahon, and more. You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:

On working with Triple H: “He’s following the lead of his father-in-law. He’s putting forward the policies that Vince has laid out. I think he speaks well, I think he has a good grasp on the business. But I’ve always dealt with him – that’s the one blessing I’ve had, no one has asked me or have I volunteered to be in those meetings where they involve just the business end of what we do. Mine was always matches – setting up matches, setting up angles because he and I think a lot alike. I think he’s a bit of a throwback as far as his work back to an 80s style of worker……he’s a guy that could’ve fit in the 80s as far as how he works. He’s not a big high-spot guy and all that stuff. So I dealt with him more on the mechanics of matches and things like that. Sometimes he would ask my opinion on stuff.”

On whether Triple H could succeed Vince McMahon as chairman of WWE: “I think he’s always been in his mind, and maybe it was the plan of the company for him to one day take over the leadership of the company. You’ve got Shane and Steph who would probably fall in line – if you really broke it down – ahead of him I would think since they are Vince’s kids. But who knows? Steph has her job as far as the branding and Shane does his thing. I don’t know how it’s lined up, and you’ll never know until the issue arises and who exactly will run the company.”

(h/t – 411 Wrestling)

Backstage News On Arn Anderson's WWE Firing

Arn Anderson was released from WWE in February due to an incident at a live event with Alicia Fox.

Wrestling Inc. has confirmed with multiple sources that Anderson was fired because Fox showed up at a live event intoxicated. Anderson was the agent for her match and allowed her to perform. Vince McMahon was reportedly furious when he found out. There were apparently some other issues, however that was the final straw.

Anderson had been working with WWE since WCW folded in 2001. He would occasionally appear in backstage segments and even got physical at the WWE Starrcade event in November of 2017, where he delivered his trademark spinebuster to Dolph Ziggler.

Fox's status is unclear. She was not backstage at RAW last week.

Rumor Mill - Backstage Update on Arn Anderson's Release: Incident with Vince McMahon

In an update on the story about Arn Anderson's release from WWE, Dave Meltzer commented on the situation on Wrestling Observer Radio:

“Arn got fired. It’s an incident, I mean everyone is pretty much keeping quiet about what it was, but it was an incident with Vince. I know people who are siding with Arn. I know people who are siding with Vince. I don’t know the whole details of the incident other than it was something at a house show that evidently wasn’t handled well and Arn took the blame for that. Arn and Vince were not really on the best of terms. There had been a lot of situations over the years and another one not too long ago. You know the thing with Arn is he’s well-liked by key people — Triple H, John Cena, you know he’s John Cena’s agent.“

This Day In Wrestling History

Arn Anderson and Sid Vicious are involved in a brawl at their hotel which sees Anderson rushed to the hospital for 20 stab wounds from a pair of scissors, and Vicious with four puncture wounds.
October 28, 1993

Triple H And Arn Anderson Appear Off-Camera At Last Night's SmackDown Tapings

Triple H appeared off-camera at last night's WWE SmackDown tapings in Greenville, South Carolina. After a match with Sin Cara, Drew McIntyre was cutting a promo demanding a WWE official come out and explain why he isn't main eventing SmackDown. Triple H came out, hit a Pedigree on McIntyre and then left.

The dark main event after last night's tapings saw Sheamus retain the World Heavyweight Title against Kane in a Steel Cage match. Teddy Long came out and announced there must be a winner. WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson was brought out in a referee shirt as the guest enforcer.

The match saw Kane shove Anderson, which led to Anderson hitting a low blow on Kane and Sheamus hitting the Brogue Kick for the win.

Interview with Arn Anderson

WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson spoke with The State website about being forced to retire due to a spinal cord injury in 1997. "The fans gave me a warm send off,” he said of his August 25, 1997 match in Columbia, S.C. "They didn’t know it was coming, and I didn’t even know it coming. That was something I decided on that day. It was time."

Anderson also revealed how much longer he wanted to wrestle if he hadn't been injured. "To be honest, I had hoped to have a 20-year wrestling career and call it a day a wealthy man," Anderson said. "I was going to walk away in one piece, but that wasn’t the case. I was so fortunate that I paid attention to the inner workings of the industry. That afforded me a backup and allows me to work with all the young talent."..More?

This Day in Wrestling History

Frank Gotch wrestles his last match in Chicago, defeating Leo Pardello in a one fall match. A crowd of 10,000 was on hand.
May 1, 1917

After retiring to work his farm, a drop in grain prices forces Joe Stecher to return to wrestling.
May 1, 1929

Happy Birthday to Booker T
May 1, 1965

The formation of the Four Horseman. The group consists of Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson and Ole Anderson with manager J.J. Dillon.
May 1986

Miss Elizabeth (Elizabeth Heulette) passed away of a drug overdose at 42
May 1, 2003

Wrestling Legend Arn Anderson and The Four Horsemen Get Their Due Honors

It happens to Arn Anderson all the time. He isn’t “The Enforcer” any more, and he’s only known as “Double A” to his pals in the wrestling business. But it still happens. He is still greeted wherever he goes with that familiar sign — four fingers, right in your face. It’s the sign of The Four Horsemen, the wrestling stable of all wrestling stables that paved the way for all the rest. That group — originally including Anderson, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard and Ole Anderson — was a revolution in the wrestling business...More?

source: trentonian.com

Another Inductee Announced for 2012 WWE Hall Of Fame

The Four Horsemen - Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham and JJ Dillon.

Rumor Mill - More on Vince Being Upset at RAW, Meeting Held with Staff

As noted before, Vince McMahon was apparently upset at Monday's RAW because Alberto Del Rio mentioned his name on TV. The mood at this week's RAW was described by some as the most negative environment they could recall. Vince McMahon was said to be in the worst mood.

Word is that Vince felt Del Rio gave away the end result of the Kevin Nash and John Laurinaitis storyline by mentioning him. Some say that Vince was in a bad mood before Del Rio name dropped him. It's said that Stephanie McMahon and Triple H both took more of the brunt from Vince this week than others, as did the agents, mainly Dean Malenko and Arn Anderson.

The writers had to do the usual script changes this week but sources say it was worse this week than most others.

Regarding the Mark Henry and Jerry Lawler angle, they went back and forth all day on whether or not to have Henry put Lawler trough the table. Shortly before RAW started, they made the decision to put him through it. The table was supposed to be gimmicked so it would break easier but because of the late decision, somehow the table wasn't gimmicked and Lawler was put through it the hard way.

Both Henry and Lawler were upset about the angle but Vince himself was said to be furious about it. After RAW ended, Vince called the agents and writers in for a meeting. Sources say Vince went into a "full-on red faced promo" where everyone felt they were being warned.

source: wrestling observer newsletter

This Day in Wrestling History

Frank Gotch wrestles his last match in Chicago, defeating Leo Pardello in a one fall match. A crowd of 10,000 was on hand.
May 1, 1917

After retiring to work his farm, a drop in grain prices forces Joe Stecher to return to wrestling.
May 1, 1929

Happy Birthday to Booker T
May 1, 1965

The formation of the Four Horseman. The group consists of Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson and Ole Anderson with manager J.J. Dillon.
May 1986

Miss Elizabeth (Elizabeth Heulette) passed away of a drug overdose at 42
May 1, 2003

This Day in Wrestling History

Happy Birthday to:
Tony Atlas
April 23, 1956

Terry Gordy
April, 23, 1961

John Cena
April 23, 1977

Sting & Lex Luger, managed by Magnum T.A., win the third, and final, Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup tag team tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina by defeating Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson.
April 23, 1988

Curt Hennig defeated Tito Santana in a tournament final for his first WWF(E) Intercontinental title.
April 23, 1990

Video: Legendary Competitors Assess The Game and The Phenom

This Day in Wrestling History

Happy Birthday to Booker T
May 1, 1965

The formation of the Four Horseman. The group consists of Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson and Ole Anderson with manager J.J. Dillon.
May 1986

Miss Elizabeth (Elizabeth Heulette) passed away of a drug overdose at 42
May 1, 2003

The Gangsta Rapper Tully Blanchard

An article relating hip hop to wrestling:

I watched Ric Flair and The Four Horsemen with the boy the other night, and it really struck me how Bad Boy/Death Row these dudes were. The whole aesthetic--"private jets...finest women...most expensive cars...biggest house"--is basically what popular hip-hop became as it matured. And then of course emphasis on mike skills (someone in the doc literally called it that, I think it was Triple H) the ability to be able to talk, almost off the dome, and expound on the character your playing.

Likewise, there were all these moments where wall of reality came down. If you listen to Arn Anderson talk, it's really not clear when he's talking himself or when he's talking about the character he's playing. Less interesting, but still with on the same theme, is the Flair v. Bischoff beef. You have a guy basically cursing out his boss in front of millions of viewers, except he means it. Of course a lot of the similarities boil down to the respective target audience for wrestling and hip-hop--young boys. Hip-hop pulls from the post-pubescent angst, and wrestling pulls from post-pubescent fantasies. Of course the "rapping" in wrestling is ultimately centered around an actual fight, and is a little less meta. But while I loved watching, say, the Road Warriors do work, I think I liked listening to Ric Flair rap at least as much as I liked watching him wrestle.

A shout out to Triple-H, Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes. They all had some really sharp points about wrestling and what the Four Horsemen meant. Triple H had a great breakdown on how the Horsemen fit into the whole psychology of the 80s. He talked about how Dusty Rhodes, the son of the plumber, represented the common man going to war against Horsemen, on the representation of villainous, capitalist excess. And capitalist excess almost always won...More?

source: the atlantic.com