Should Arn Anderson have been built into a main event-caliber heel after 1991?

[TEIWCSCSAATBHPHASP]

Arn Anderson was more remembered by most people as a guy who is Ric Flair's sidekick in the Four Horsemen from 1985 to 1999, on and off; including the time Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard tried their luck with the WWF in the late 1980s, while Ric Flair got his first taste of being the first NWA/WWF bred megastar to be treated like WWF's own megastar from '91-'92 to '92-'93.

Dating back to the 1991 Great American Bash PPV, NWA/WCW were lacking main event-caliber heels as prior to the show, their main top heels were Ric Flair and Barry Windham. But Jim Herd wanted to push Luger as his main heel and had conflicts with Flair behind-the-scenes. Before Flair even got a chance to refuse to put Luger over, Herd fired The Nature Boy and off he went to the WWF by stealing the NWA Big Gold Belt over to the WWF, and Vince McMahon needed to refer to Flair w/NWA Championship Belt as The Real World Champion in his quest to go for the WWF Championship Belt, which he did. But his success wasn't quite as long as Flair wanted, because an eardrum injury suffered at the hands of Ultimate Warrior in late 1992 motivated Vince to change the focus of his cornerstone from a hulking powerhouse to a real wrestler. And because Vince wanted to go with the younger guys at the time, he gladly let Flair out of his contract and had Mr. Perfect send him away in a Loser Leaves WWF match on WWF Monday Night Raw in early 1993.

Meanwhile, WCW suffered across the board because with Flair being forced out in 1991, and Lex Luger being the Bash Victim because he got caught in the Flair-Herd crossfires and lost a lot of the intensity and motivation in his '91-'92 heel run w/Harley Race and Mr. Hughes than he did on his own in '89-'90 when he was a solo heel who displayed some fire and intensity on the mic and his matches without requiring a manager to do his speaking for him.

In the midst of all of the turmoil in WCW for '91-'92 with the Jim Herd/Ric Flair controversy, Jim Herd could've found it in his heart to build up Flair's sidekick Arn Anderson to be a main event-caliber heel champion in Flair's absence, thus giving Double A a chance to step out of the shadows of The Nature Boy rather than Herd forcing Arn Anderson to pair up with Larry Zbyszko, and in Herd's misguided quest to keep Windham and Arn Anderson as far away from Windham as possible, now that The Four Horsemen had disbanded.

While Luger as the heel World Champion in '91-'92, WCW had Luger, Rick Rude and Big Van Vader as the top heels. They could've groomed Arn Anderson as a main event-caliber heel once Luger left WCW, mailed it in and dropped the belt to Sting at SuperBrawl II in February 1992, so that Sting wouldn't have had to rely on Rude or Vader as his constant challengers when Sting had the WCW World Heavyweight Championship Belt, and likewise The Barbarian and Cactus Jack as Ron Simmons' constant challengers when Simmons held the Big Gold Belt.

How would Arn Anderson as a main event-caliber world champion heel have fared outside of Ric Flair's shadow in 1991-92 (going up against the likes of Sting, Ron Simmons) instead of Jim Herd forcing Flair's friend into a tag team with Larry Zbyszko as part of The Dangerous Alliance led by Paul E. Dangerously, Rick Rude and Madusa with Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Michael Hayes and Larry Zbyszko as the role players?

 

[Makaveli31]

Arn Anderson (by himself as a heel) couldn't sell out a building much less a PPV. Bottom line. Arn was great talker, excellent wrestler, but he lacked the "it" factor. The look. You're seriously going to elevate Arn Anderson who looks like an everyman over a 300 plus pound monter in Vader or a jacked up shredded Rick Rude (who could also talk and wrestle)? There is no way. He is the perfect "Enforcer" just as his nickname entails. The guy who does the dirty work for the group and flies under the radar. I think that is the way he preferred it. I'm not saying he didn't posses the requisite skills obviosly he did but I think his personality fit more as the sidekick role.

 

[World Class Mark]

Arn Anderson in the current "era" of WWE *might* have been able to be pushed as a main event player. The current top stars in WWE are basically indie and internet darlings, which WWE has really only recently done. Double A, I'd like to think, would have been one of those internet darlings back in the 80s. But in NWA/WCW, he would always be a sidekick. A damn good one at that.

I think they showed great respect for him by always keeping him with Flair and making him the veteran adviser after he retired from the ring. They made a point to always portray him as the glue / backbone of the Horsemen (he was, but a wrestling company doesn't always respect the legacy/role/contribution of a wrestler). The win over Hogan was also a great sign of respect, as well as the win over Flair in their first match against each other in the 90s after he split from Flair.

He's one of my all-time faves -- but, I don't think he would have worked as a main event wrestler. *Should* he have been pushed as a main event guy? Probably. But I don't think it would've worked, as much as I'm a big AA fan.










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[Jack-Hammer]

It wouldn't have bothered me to see Anderson get a main event push, but I don't think it would have worked out. By 1991, Anderson had spent so much time in Crockett Promotions/WCW as a mid-card wrestler, tag team wrestler and soul of the Four Horsemen that I have a hard time seeing fans buy into it circa 1991.

The early 90s was a time in which a wrestler's "look" and size were more important than they are today. Anderson was a great talker, great technical wrestler and was a guy who kept in good shape without looking like he lived in a gym or fretted over every single calorie he consumed. At that time, however, you still had guys with these Herculean physiques or guys who just looked/seemed younger in pro wrestling who were upper mid-card to main event level guys like Sting, Lex Luger, Rick Rude, Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart, the Undertaker, etc. You also still had guys who were still highly, highly relevant in pro wrestling who'd been top level names for years like Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Randy Savage running around. Circa 1991, Anderson was only 33 years old but, to me, he both looked and seemed more like he was 40. I don't know if it's just genetics or the Four Horsemen lifestyle or a combination of the two or what, but Anderson never really looked like he was a "young man" to me. Maybe the beard and thinning hairline had something to do with it as well, but Anderson always looked like someone who could pass for a guy in his late 30s even when he was in his mid 20s.

By 1991, I think the time had passed when Anderson would've been viewed as an acceptable main event talent. I think the window of opportunity would've been between 1986 and 1988 when the Four Horsemen were the top heels in wrestling; the problem there, however, was that Anderson was so good in his role as "the Enforcer" and Flair was drawing so much money that it seems inconceivable that JCP/WCW would risk tinkering with what was such a highly lucrative, money making formula.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I once got to see Ric Flair at a bar. Arn was there too. I was with people who didn't follow wrestling. When I pointed out Arn to them they weren't sure who I was describing. That's how non-distinct Arn Anderson is. It would have taken one heck of a storyline, appearance change, character development etc. to put him in a top role.

 

[stingray11214]

Arn Anderson was the perfect muscle for a crew. He was the perfect sidekick for a major star. The Enforcer was just not someone you would pay to see by himself. You PAID to see the Horsemen. The Four Horsemen were a reason you walked through an F-5 tornado, and then through a blazing inferno, to buy a ticket. The Horsemen were a branch of the Federal Reserve: They minted money. JCP would have nuts to have broken that up. Hence why Anderson was never really pushed on his own.

 

[TDFG]

Like the majority I don't think Anderson would ever have gotten over as a World Champ.

Around the time mentioned, The Dangerous Alliance was formed with Rick Rude as the leader, Luger was a big heel in the company, you had Cactus Jack, Vader, Nikita Koloff etc. so WCW had a stacked singles roster at the top of the card and Arn Anderson wouldn't have gotten over as the World Champion with these guys about.

He had a fantastic run as TV Champion in the early 90's and probably deserved to go on a have a reign or two as US Champion, but Anderson was never really considered as a World Champion contender and he seemed happy enough with his role in the mid-card/tag division and as the right hand man in either The Dangerous Alliance or The Four Horsemen.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I think Arn had a shot but things went wrong for him when he left the WWF so quickly - arguably his greatest achievement, being the Enforcer of the Horsemen and Ric Flair's right hand in and out of the ring was great, he benefitted a lot in terms of money, perks of travel/partying and was clearly a bit smarter with his money than Ric.

Going to the WWF with Tully was a brave move and it seemed early on it would pay off... but Tully's failed drug test ruined it... Arn's rep as being The Enforcer off screen as well probably damaged his chances of staying in the WWF or being moved to singles... In effect he suffered for Tully's mistake or at best indiscretions at worst he was considered guilty as Tully for "not stopping it" by Vince. He was like that in those days, think of Duggan and Sheik... in the real world Duggan wouldn't have suffered half what he did as he didn't know... but guilty by being there or "you should have known" are big sticks to beat a talent with... Ironically Vince is now kind of doing it again with Paige...

So when he returned to WCW he was kind of stuck, Flair was not in the strong position he once was and was soon gone completely. Losing Arn and Tully had backfired on the Nature Boy, and Arn had indirectly cost Ric some of his power. Once he couldn't use the Horsemen anymore, crap like the Black Scorpion began to happen. Duthy had the book and wasn't interested in pushing Flair as strongly, preferring Lex Luger, Barry Windham and Jim Herd flat out didn't like Flair... so again by association Arn was going to suffer.

At the same time there was an influx of talent who quickly took the spots he could have had legit claim to had he just stayed put there's no better way to illustrate it than The Dangerous Alliance, where he ended up. Arn was in reality the 3rd string player in that organisation behind Steve Austin and Rick Rude. Had he not gone to the WWF he might have had that second billing or even been built up to be "the guy" by feuding with Flair. With Paul E. being "behind the split". Guys like Jake Roberts came in, Paul Orndorff and Bubba/Bossman who also jumped the queue due to past glories.

Arn's card was marked permanently once the stabbing incident with Sid took place. Rightly or wrongly, Sid was highly marketable and was forgiven quicker by WCW and WWE than Arn would have been. Much as how Jannetty was punished for Shawn being a scumbag, Arn took most of the punishment.

They did give him those TV title reigns and he did a good job with them, and when his injury came people felt the loss... but that it happened so close to losing Rude permanently meant it wasn't as badly felt by the fans.... People missed Rude, Arn was still there, talking all the time so it was "meh" he's old. Even guys previously "career ended" like Hennig were wrestling again by then too.

Arn had such a narrow shot at it, that any miss at all would have not seen it happen, and Arn made a lot of them...few of them were near misses either.

Utlimately he's up there with a Rick Martel, a Tito Santana, Rick Steiner or a Big Bossman... great at what they did, someone you could throw into the odd main event if you needed a great match or to really make a mid card seem like it had depth... but they were never THE guys...nor were they likely to be.

 

[Makaveli31]

Well the story goes the WWE leaked the failed drug test to WCW as punishment for leaving. WCW should never have known about the failed drug test as those type of things were supposed to remain confidential. Vince, though (especially in that era) was extremely retaliatory and even more so when it came to people voluntarily jumping back to WCW.

If you remember Flair got the book in '89 when Arn and Tully decided to go back. Flair convinced Arn and Tully not to re-sign with the WWF (even though the WWF had put the straps on the Brain Busters and gave them a run with Demolition). He secured them lucrative contracts. The drug test leaked and WCW decided to renege on the contracts. Flair convinced whoever was running WCW at the time (it wasn't Herd) to re-sign Arn. Arn re-signs for 1/2 of what WCW originally offered something in the $150,000 range (rumored). The story goes WCW wanted to bring Tully back down the line to re-form the Horsemen in '90 but Flair blocked it causing extreme heat between Tully and the Nature Boy for years.

Like you said, by '91 Flair's power was virtually non-existent but he had allies in Ole Anderson and Dusty Rhodes who kept in cushy main event spots. He had a sweet role as Enforcer w/ the Dangerous Alliance (the top heels at the time). When Watts came in though he was pushed to side but Flair was back. I don't recall Arn taking the brunt of the punishment for the Sid incident. It was Sid who ultimately got fired for stabbing Arn.

All in all Arn had a solid run from '91 until he retired in '97 (when most of the guys mid-carders from his era were gone or in the Indy's by then). So he can't really complain. He association with the Nature Boy really paid him dividends.

 

[ServantofTwilight]

Arn Anderson (by himself as a heel) couldn't sell out a building much less a PPV. Bottom line. Arn was great talker, excellent wrestler, but he lacked the "it" factor. The look. You're seriously going to elevate Arn Anderson who looks like an everyman over a 300 plus pound monter in Vader or a jacked up shredded Rick Rude (who could also talk and wrestle)? There is no way. He is the perfect "Enforcer" just as his nickname entails. The guy who does the dirty work for the group and flies under the radar. I think that is the way he preferred it. I'm not saying he didn't posses the requisite skills obviosly he did but I think his personality fit more as the sidekick role.

I think this post pretty much sums up Anderson, especially in 1991. He had been a tag wrestler or part of a group for so long at this point that a main event run was pretty unreasonable. His run and role in the Dangerous Alliance was pretty much perfect for him. He did get a shot at the NWA World Title vs Barry Windham at Slamboree 93, but even that match was more about setting up Windham vs Flair then Arn getting a title.

Seeing how this thread was neat the bottom of the page and hadn't been posted in for three weeks I would like to take it on a tangent if I could and mention a time when Arn Anderson may have actually been in line for world title shots, though never a run. A chance he lost to an accident.

Once upon a time...

As the summer of 86 ran down the NWAs Great American Bash cards were wrapping up. Dusty Rhodes had defeated Ric Flair at card 13; Baby Doll finally got revenge on Jim Cornette and The Road Warriors battled the Russians in chain matches. But most importantly, Magnum TA battled Nikita Kololf in a best of seven series for the US Championship.

Now, for those who don't know, Magnum TA was champ but had been stripped of the title because he got into a fight with Nikita at a contract signing and struck NWA President Bob Geigel. Geigel held up the title and named Magnum TA and Nikita the two top contenders and...wel, you get the picture.

What does this have to do with Arn Anderson you ask? Quit interrupting and I will tell you.

In the series Nikita went up 3-0, Magnum TA battled back to tie it at 3-3, they had a match that ended in a no contest. Finally, on August 17th, 1986 the series ended with Nikita Kololf winning the final match and taking the US Championship.

As I said earlier, about a week after this Dusty beat Flair for the NWA Championship. Flair would regain the belt two weeks later. Why is this important? Because of what comes next.

See, now that Flair was champ again he was set to enter into a feud with Magnum TA over the NWA World Championship. The feud would go for the next two months when, according to plans, Magnum TA would win the title at Starcade 86. But unfortunately it was not to be. On October 14, 1986( the 30 year anniversary is coming up) Magnum TA was involved in a car accident that ended his career. And also, though much less important, his run at the title. The NWA pushed Nikita into a face role, teamed him with Dusty as the Super Powers and gave Nikita Magnum TA's shot at Starcade.

By now you may be scratching your head wondering what I am blathering about. GET TO ARN!

Lets pretend Magnum TA never had the accident and went to Starcade and won the NWA World Title. Magnum TA was, at the time, second in popularity only to Hulk Hogan( maybe third behind Andre also ). Unlike Steamboat and Sting years later Magnum TA could have had a lengthy run with the belt rather then drop it right back to Flair. At this time, if Magnum had won the title he would have had three ready made feuds plus some minor ones that could have been used in the house circuit. Lets look.

Feud #1- Ric Flair: Flair would of course get rematches in an attempt to retrieve his belt. Flair and Magnum TA had a bunch of good matches and I see no reason why they could.nt put on more.

Feud #2- Nikita Kololf: Perfect scenerio for Kololf as he just beat Magnum TA for a title and as US Champ he was #1 contender. The feud ended with the heel having the upper hand so allowing Magnum to defend against Kololf would give him sense of revenge.

Feud #3- Tully Blanchard: It was just one year prior that Magnum and Tully battled in their classic I Quit cage match. Magnum and Tully had kept the fires going, battling each other in matches and tag matches with the Horseman battling Americas Team. Easily could push Tully into world title matches.

Feud #5- Manny Fernandez: Who? Well, those who followed back then know that Manny was good friends with Dusty and Magnum until he turned heel and aligned himself with Paul Jones. Former friends battling over ones title.

Feud #6- Ric Rude: Now, before THTRobtaylor comes on and says Rude should have won the title, NO. However, Rude was new to the area after successful runs in Florida and World Class. He was also aligned with Paul Jones and would have been a good filler challenger for the new champ.

But wait, Servant. You forgot feud #4. No, I just wanted to save that one for last.

Feud #4- Arn Anderson: Yes, here is the time and place in history were Arn could have had a run at a world champ and he would have been a credible challenger. Anderson had just finished a run with the World Television Championship, had feuded with Dusty and The Rock and Roll Express, so he could work with the top tier. He was a member of the Horsemen so title shots would be easily explained. Arn and Magnum TA had wrestled and feuded, much like Magnum and Tully, over the summer. Arn would never win the title, but he may have had a place at the top for a little while.

Of course, this is all make believe. Magnum TA did get into the accident. Flair kept the title. Arn formed a tag team with Blanchard and the rest is history.

The End.

 

[Nature Boy]

Sort of...

I absolutely LOVE Arn Anderson and I'm obsessed with anything to do with Ric Flair and The Horsemen.

However, I say 'sort of' because I don't think Arn would have been the right pick for a World Champion.

Like most have said, he's the perfect guy to be with the World Champion.

But in terms of being a top Heel who chases for the World Title without winning it?

Yes, he probably could have pulled it off.

After all, he did have matches for the World Title.

However, when you have Ric Flair, Rick Rude, Vader, Jake Roberts, Stunning Steve all in the locker room at or around the same time Arn kind of gets a bit lost in the shuffle on his own.

A US Title run or two could have been awesome though!