Double A: Under Appreciated

[Hanso Amore]

So the Arn Anderson Spine Buster Thread got me thinking....

We often debate who is the greatest Wrestler to never hold a world title, or the most under rated, but Arn never really makes those lists that usually are Dibiase/Scott Hall dominated.

But think about Arn! he is the Greatest tag Wrestler EVER, hands down, every team he was on was great. He had some great singles runs with the TV and US titles, and he was a key member of the greatest group ever.

He has been retired for 10 Plus years, so I guess he is alot less fresh in the minds of alot of people, but Arn is truly one of the biggest names ever. He was the goods on the stick and in the ring, and he was always a threat. I guess playing number 2 to Flair has cost him, but honestly, I put him right up there at the top, on the second tier with guys like Piper and Savage.

I dont think the 4 Horseman would have been what they were without him.

[Vastardikai]

Considering that it was Arn that named the Horsemen, you're right.

Arn, in many ways, was a go-to guy for people who needed to have a good match. He could work with a broomstick and pull out a good match (but not the Renegade, rest his soul.).

[Road Warrior]

Arn's great, a legend, Flair killed him though on the mic, and I can't put him on the same level as Hall and Savage in the ring or on the mic.

[BigDaddyCool]

I think Arn was actaully rated right where he should be because people still talk about him as much as the do past transitional champions. He is still widely repsected and makes a mighty fine spice rack.

[Loose Cannon]

I actually agree with BDC here. He definately gets talked about enough to accomodate his career. I really agree he was the glue that held the Horsemen together. He was such a versitile guy in that he could work anybody and any match and he would excel. He could work babyface, heel, tweener, whatever. There's a reason he was put into various stables because he was so dynamic and flexible. One of the greatest ring general's of our generation.

[Road Warrior]

I actually agree with BDC here. He definately gets talked about enough to accomodate his career. I really agree he was the glue that held the Horsemen together. He was such a versitile guy in that he could work anybody and any match and he would excel. He could work babyface, heel, tweener, whatever. There's a reason he was put into various stables because he was so dynamic and flexible. One of the greatest ring general's of our generation.

I never really bought Arn as a face. Espically spending so may years as "The Enforcer" of the Horsemen. It was a tough sell selling that guy as a face, because you were so used to him being the cold, calculated "Enforcer".

[BigDaddyCool]

Yeah, I wasn't trying to knock the guy, he was good, but not legendary. And too often the icw and wrestling fans in general seem to rate a guy way to high or way to low. Arn is right where he should be, but I've said this.

[Loose Cannon]

keep in mind babyfaces don't have to have one dimension. And what you just posted there is exactly why he worked as a babyface. He wasn't a good guy, which made kind of like "the enemy of your enemy is your friend" sort of character. Where you might of hated him, but you loved him for beating up the nWo or J-Tex Corp

[Road Warrior]

I see what you're saying, but everyone was a face against the NWO. Maybe I watched too much early WCW, because Arn was always the guy you had to go through to get to Flair, that's why he was so hard to buy as a face. I guess you could kind of look at him like a early SCSA without the charisma.

[Vastardikai]

^

He definitely had charisma. Not Steve Austin level charisma, but he definitely had charisma. He could have the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand with some of his actions in, and out of the ring. He was the third best talker in the Original Horseman, in a group that contained Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard. He wasn't over-the-top, but he talked in a way that made you pay attention, and made you give a shit.

I remember a tag match where, Kanyon and Raven were beaten down before a tag team title defense, so Benoit went against DDP and Bam Bam Bigelow alone. His manager, Arn Anderson, was frustrated because no one would help Benoit from his peril. I think it was DDP who slipped on the banana peel. And Benoit went to make the hot tag, but no one was there. In his frustration, Double A pulls off his shirt and hops on the apron for the tag. I was like "holy shit!" Then Saturn comes down and convinces Arn that he'll be Benoit's partner. That added to the match in a huge way, even a couple years removed from his career.

Another thing I always liked was in some of his TV Title defense against jobbers. He made you believe they had a shot. I also remember a couple of times some jobber would try to come off the top rope with an axehandle to put the Enforcer away, only to get countered... into a Spinebuster. The match ended from the dive, but not in the way expected.

He could have been a Transition Champion at the World Heavyweight level, but he never wanted it or so the story goes. Double A deserves mention in the Hall of Fame, for his role as a top notch working heel. Maybe one of the best to ever fit that category.

[BigDaddyCool]

In Batista's book, Bats talked to Arn at length on how to be a heel because Bats was pretty much filling Arn's shoes if Evolution was the 4 Horsemen. Arn told Batista that to be a good heel, he needs to do things a man of his size doesn't need to do. Things like get oncomforably close to his opponets, and stuff like kick them in the fucking shins. Why would a 6'8" 325 lbs pound man kick someone in the shin? Because he is a dirty mother fucker, thats why. Gospel truth coming from Arn Anderson.

[NeanderCarl]

He makes a mighty fine spice rack.

Actually, for your information, his carpentry skills are widely considered simply "average".