Posted in: AEW, Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: aew, arn anderson, nwa, obituary, Ole Anderson, ric flair, the four horsemen, tony schiavone, wwe

Ole Anderson: Flair, Anderson, Wrestling World Honor Late Horseman

Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and more from the wrestling community honored professional wrestler & famed "Four Horsemen" member Ole Anderson.

The wrestling world lost another legend when Alan Robert Rogowski, better known to fans as Ole Anderson, passed at the age of 81 on February 26th. With a career spanning nearly three decades, Anderson was trained under Dick the Bruiser and Verne Gagne, making his debut in 1967 for the American Wrestling Association (AWA) as "Rock Rogowski" defeating José Quintero. Although accomplished in his own right, Anderson was also best known as part of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew and a founding member of the legendary stable The Four Horsemen – both originating in Jim Crockett Promotions and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

Ole was part of the famous Anderson family founded by Gene Anderson, the wrestler with that actual last name. He joined the Minnesota Wrestling Crew along with Lars (Lars Heiniemi) and Arn (Martin Anthony Lunde) in 1968 for Crockett – which was the time Rogowski adopted "Ole" as his ring name. Ole would have runs in AWA with Crockett and runs with Championship Wrestling from Florida, Georgia Championship Wrestling, and Championship Wrestling from Georgia before rejoining Crockett again in 1985 as it became WCW. Ole would be part of the initial incarnation of The Four Horsemen when it first formed in 1986 alongside Arn Anderson, Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, and manager J.J. Dillon.

The Horsemen was notorious for its several member changes, as Ole was "kicked out" of the group in early 1987 in favor of Lex Luger, and he had his first retirement later that year. As per the nature of the sport, "wrestling retirements" don't typically hold up – with Anderson remaining active off and on while also taking on booking duties for WCW. Unfortunately, backstage politics with some of the industry's biggest figures led to some bad blood, particularly with Smoky Mountain Wrestling's Jim Cornette and WCW President Eric Bischoff – who jettisoned Anderson as part of doing away with what was considered to be the "old way" of doing things.

Anderson remained outspoken when he penned his memoir Inside Out: How Corporate America Destroyed Professional Wrestling, speaking out on the industry's biggest names, including Dusty Rhodes, Michael Hayes, Paul Heyman, Bischoff, Blanchard, Jim Herd, Roddy Piper, and Bruiser Brody. He also refused to work with Vince McMahon as the company was buying up regional promotions and taking the WWF national. Regarding WWE's induction of the Horsemen into the Hall of Fame Class of 2012, Barry Windham was selected along with Flair, Arn, and Tully as Ole remained steadfast in refusing any association with McMahon. Through his final days, Ole Anderson remained a respected figure in the industry as several from across the industry, including AEW, WWE, NWA, TNA & more, paid tribute to the former multiple heavyweight Champion and NWA and WCW Hall of Famer.

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