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Post by jason1980s on Feb 28, 2024 23:25:08 GMT -5
I'm pretty surprised that there was that much of an age difference between Ole and Arn, but then I never really watched anything from that era of wrestling. I always thought they were related, too, since they looked a LOT alike. But it was just coincidence. RIP Ole. Interestingly enough, they are both left handed as well. Here is a pretty awesome report of two guys and George South going to Ole's house so Ole could sign his books for them, for Highspots. The bit about George sneaking in items in between books, for Ole to sign for George's kids is especially funny. www.midatlanticgateway.com/2017/01/visit-with-ole-anderson.html
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Post by Ludwig Kaiser’s Walk on Feb 29, 2024 2:38:25 GMT -5
He's been living with MS for nearly 20 years so at least he's not in pain anymore. The guy hated Vince so much I reckon he was staying alive to witness his fall from grace and then he felt he could check out. RIP. I read this as “he had been living in MS (Mississippi) for nearly 20 years” And I fully understood how painful that would be Ole was before my time, but I know he was a major, major influence in the south and have always respected how much he hated everybody.
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XIII
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 18,441
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Post by XIII on Feb 29, 2024 5:02:59 GMT -5
Ole hating everyone is pretty hilarious when you think about how he got to the booker spot in WCW. I can only imagine how those meetings went. lol
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Post by "Playboy" Don Douglas on Feb 29, 2024 8:24:23 GMT -5
I went back and listened to these this morning. As always, I can't agree with everything Ole says here, but to me, Dave comes off pretty bad. It can really be summed up with one Ole line from one of the videos, "Are you interviewing me or yourself?"
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tafkaga
Samurai Cop
the Dogfather
Posts: 2,109
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Post by tafkaga on Feb 29, 2024 9:03:15 GMT -5
As much as I liked the Windham horsemen, Ole made the horsemen scary. I'll give this point to Ole, even though I still preferred the Windham lineup. I'll also say that Ole came of legit tough and sociopathic in a way that Arn never did for me.
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Post by "Playboy" Don Douglas on Feb 29, 2024 9:39:24 GMT -5
There's a video of Thunderbolt Patterson speaking on Ole's passing. I thought about sharing it, but it's over 30 minutes long and quite rambling because, God bless him, it's Bolt.
The biggest takeaways was that he had remained in contact with Ole through the end and had even visited him a few times. According to Bolt, they talked about the old days and the fact that Ole was ready to go. He said they even prayed together. By the end, he would call and Ole was nonverbal but would make eye contact with his caretaker and smile while Bolt talked to him.
Interestingly, Bolt said something like, "People have lied on the man, said horrible things that I'm not even going to go into, that I never would have tolerated." The host outright asks him about the allegations of racism, and Patterson emphatically denied it, asking, "Do you think he would disrespect me like that? Do you think I would tolerate something like that?" Asked if he had ever heard Ole use a racial slur, Bolt firmly answered, "No." His opinion was that it came from people who Ole had pissed off and/or wouldn't employ. Obviously, I wasn't there, I can't comment one way or the other. I never heard him say anything, but I'm a white guy. I'm also not calling anyone, on either side, a liar. I just thought it was some interesting commentary from a black wrestler who worked closely with Ole for many years.
And I was glad to hear that someone in the business was there for him in his final days.
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Squirrel Master
Hank Scorpio
"Then the Squirrel Master came out of left field and told me I'm his bitch!"
Posts: 6,643
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Post by Squirrel Master on Feb 29, 2024 20:30:04 GMT -5
My random thoughts on Ole Anderson: Ole was a great promo. He was quite articulate and he did what he said he was gonna do.
Many folks don't know this, but Ole could step in to play the babyface as well as anyone when the booking called for it.
I loved Ole & Arn’s feud with Rock n Roll Express. They put the hurt on those pretty boys, 😂
The Rock’s demeanor with the Four Horsemen was all “My gang’s the roughest, and I am the toughest!” as he punked Sting to set up Sting’s program with Ric Flair. It was like watching real life bully Bluto toying with Popeye.
I knew immediately who was the voice of The Black Scorpion. Ole’s voice was that distinct to me!
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Post by "Playboy" Don Douglas on Feb 29, 2024 22:49:25 GMT -5
After making sure I could post links to WWE owned stuff as long as I didn't embed it, here are some of my favorite Ole promos. A rare babyface run for Ole and Gene. They were feuding with Ric Flair and Greg Valentine, and did an injury angle with Gene (1977). www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvDGIRumSR0"The Big Turn of 1980" - after a year-long run as a babyface, Ole finally convinced Dusty Rhodes to take him on as a partner to face the Assassins in a cage with 2 guest referees: Ivan Koloff (chosen by the Assassins) and Gene Anderson (chosen by Ole and Dusty.) You can guess how it turned out, but I love this promo. If you want to see something Ole booked that wasn't the Black Scorpion, here you go. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCIgLQGruvs&t=301sOle decides he's done being a nice guy and doesn't want to team with Thunderbolt Patterson anymore since Arn is on his way up (1985). Promo follows Ole speaking over a recent Arn match. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCrlYhlcyxsSting gets kicked out of the Horsemen. This one I saw live. Sting accepted a championship match with Ric Flair, which the Horsemen wouldn't stand for. Ole lets him know what it is (1990). www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A_8acA3jm0&t=482s
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jps64
Mike the Goon
Posts: 33
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Post by jps64 on Mar 1, 2024 1:17:27 GMT -5
I saw Ole and Gene back in the mid to late 70's in Toronto. You looked at the two Anderson's and you could imagine them drinking beers and smoking in the garage. You just knew if you stepped on the grass, they would beat the crap out of you without letting go of their beers and cigars. And if your dad tried to intervene, they would happily beat him up as well. Great believable heel.
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Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
Posts: 121,069
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Post by Mozenrath on Mar 1, 2024 23:20:10 GMT -5
Was it Ole Anderson or Funk who compared Mick Foley's ass cheeks to the McGuire Twins? Either way, great line.
I remember Mick having his issues with Ole, since Ole wasn't keen on pushing him, but he did seem to respect him and recognize that some of it was Anderson trying to look out for him, and not just a lack of appreciation for his style. He certainly had a warmer appraisal of Ole's booking than Ric's, which, yeah, I am inclined to agree with.
No booker has an easy job if they're actually doing it right, and WCW ones had a harder job than most because of the company's perpetual money problems and having to try to thread the needle between appeasing its top acts while still trying to elevate people because you couldn't just run "Four Horsemen win all the time" constantly, it had diminishing returns. Black Scorpion was bad, but I do think Ole was probably one of the stronger bookers that they had, even with all of the hurdles he had to deal with.
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Post by "Playboy" Don Douglas on Mar 2, 2024 0:20:21 GMT -5
Was it Ole Anderson or Funk who compared Mick Foley's ass cheeks to the McGuire Twins? Either way, great line. I remember Mick having his issues with Ole, since Ole wasn't keen on pushing him, but he did seem to respect him and recognize that some of it was Anderson trying to look out for him, and not just a lack of appreciation for his style. He certainly had a warmer appraisal of Ole's booking than Ric's, which, yeah, I am inclined to agree with. No booker has an easy job if they're actually doing it right, and WCW ones had a harder job than most because of the company's perpetual money problems and having to try to thread the needle between appeasing its top acts while still trying to elevate people because you couldn't just run "Four Horsemen win all the time" constantly, it had diminishing returns. Black Scorpion was bad, but I do think Ole was probably one of the stronger bookers that they had, even with all of the hurdles he had to deal with. That was Ole for sure. Terry called him “satchel ass.” 😆 And the thing about that booking tenure for Ole is the constant pressure from Jim Herd to be more like the WWF, which was never Ole’s style. It would be like asking Jim Cornette to book a lucha promotion or Vince Russo to book Mid-South in 1984. Ole told the story in his book that the Black Scorpion came about because Herd was constantly complaining about “needing something new,” so Ole wrote “Sting vs the Black Scorpion “ on a booking sheet as a joke. Herd’s response was, “That’s great! Use that!” Ole said, “Jim, it’s a joke. There is no Black Scorpion.” Herd said, “No, it’s great! Go with that!” Ole tried again, “Jim…there is no Black Scorpion! It’s just a name on a booking sheet.” Herd replied, “But it’s a great name! Use that!” Tony Schiavone said Ole completely checked out and would tell Tony and Jim Ross, “Well, I guess you guys better write TV this week, otherwise we aren’t going to have it.” When asked, “Who is the Black Scorpion going to be?,” Ole would reply, “I don’t know. And I don’t give a shit.” So basically, he was half assed booking a style completely different from his own to keep collecting a paycheck.
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Zen411
Dennis Stamp
Posts: 3,746
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Post by Zen411 on Mar 2, 2024 1:43:14 GMT -5
Never saw an Ole match. Saw him as the heavier set older brother of Arn that mysteriously disappeared to be replaced by Tully. I best remember him for the voice of the Shockmaster.
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Post by "Playboy" Don Douglas on Mar 2, 2024 21:42:41 GMT -5
This was a moment at the NWA Legends Fanfest 2011 in Atlanta that I actually missed. Roddy Piper did his one man Piper's Pit show one night. When the show ended, I went off to have drinks with a friend. Roddy found out that Ole was in the lobby and made it a point to go hug him and thank him for helping him in Georgia. And, just because, my photos with Ole at the event over the years. 2008, my very first Fanfest photo op. I was last in line and after a bit of small talk, he asked, "How old are you, kid?". I told him 25, and he went on to spend about 5 minutes telling me that I was full of shit because of my youth. I thought it was hilarious. 2009. Just because. 2009, Four Horsemen reunion. To my knowledge, this is the only full reunion that Ole participated in. I could be wrong. I had to have my dad jump in with me. 2011, Hall of Heroes dinner in Atlanta. When I got to the table, I noticed Ole sizing me up. He asked, "How old are you, kid?" I said, "Now, the last time you asked me that, you spent about five minutes telling me how full of shit I was." He just laughed a bit, got serious, and said, "Enjoy your youth." Signed 8x10 Another 8x10 Forgive the poor quality, but this is a Horsement poster, I want to say 16x20, signed by all My signed copy of his book
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Post by "Playboy" Don Douglas on Mar 15, 2024 11:20:19 GMT -5
Not related to his passing, but an interesting story I saw today.
In (I think) 2004, Ole was at a convention selling his newly published book. A conversation involving publisher/co-author Scott Teal, Bob Roop, and others came around to the original Mid-Atlantic tag belts, which were missing and unaccounted for. Teal said something about how even Ole didn’t know what happened to them.
Ole, who had been in a separate conversation, overheard, turned, and said, “Who gives a shit? They’re probably still in the attic and went with the house in the divorce.” Everyone went quiet, and a stunned Teal said, “You never mentioned that before!” Ole repeated, “Who gives a shit? That’s probably where they are.”
They have never publicly surfaced, so the person telling the story posed the question, what happened to them? Were they thrown out as junk in the wake of the divorce? Donated to a thrift store? It seems they would have surfaced at some point in that case. Could they still be sitting in that attic somewhere?
I just thought it was interesting. Imagine walking into a Goodwill and finding the Mid-Atlantic tag team titles.
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