Arn Anderson

[adamsie]

which episode is the Anderson vs Windham match on pro?

I'll upload it if i have the episode

[Loss]

11/2/91

[Lee Casebolt]

I'm going to have Arn stupidly high. #1 overall is a real possibility. He doesn't have any of the all-time classics other wrestlers have, but he gets points from me for never having had a disappointing performance. Disappointing booking, sure, but you always knew Double A was going to hold up his end and then some.

[BillThompson]

As much as I love Arn I'm not sure if he makes my list. He's on the very edge of the top 100, and I wouldn't begrudge anyone who does have him in their top 100. But, I think he made a career out of doing just what was needed of him and of being consistently very good. Both are admirable qualities in a pro wrestler, but I don't know if they're top 100 material.

[JerryvonKramer]

Arn is so fucking great. I don't care about matches, this guy is a lock for my top 10.

[WingedEagle]

I could very well see Arn ranking higher than anyone who doesn't have a singles MOTY candidate. No clue where he'll place for me, but what's not to love?

[JerryvonKramer]

 

7. Tully

16. Steamboat

I would probably debate these two. Maybe we should do this in Arn's GWE thread?

 

Arn over Tully because while Arn doesn't have the all-time classic with Magnum, I think overall his career was just plain better than Tully's. Not just longevity, but everything he did.

 

I also think Arn overall is a better worker than Tully. Blanchard is great at selling, but not a whole lot else. He's 90% selling and stooging. Arn can do all that but also has killer offense and crisp execution. On top of that he has some GOAT-level facial expressions rivalled only by the likes of Regal.

 

On top of all that I think Arn's an all-time promo, whereas Tully is a B+ on the stick. On top of that again, Arn could work babyface, whereas I don't buy Tully as one, even in his father's South West promotion.

 

------

 

The Steamer case is closer, but I think Arn is better working limbs than him, and has better all-round psychology. Yes, Steamer has "great matches" over Arn, but how many stinkers has Steamboat been in too?

 

I've seen Steamboat matches I've actively hated, but can't think of too many of those for Arn.

 

Arn is clearly a better promo than Steamboat. And better at all the character elements of in-ring work.

[soup23]

 

 

7. Tully

16. Steamboat

I would probably debate these two. Maybe we should do this in Arn's GWE thread?

 

Arn over Tully because while Arn doesn't have the all-time classic with Magnum, I think overall his career was just plain better than Tully's. Not just longevity, but everything he did.

 

I also think Arn overall is a better worker than Tully. Blanchard is great at selling, but not a whole lot else. He's 90% selling and stooging. Arn can do all that but also has killer offense and crisp execution. On top of that he has some GOAT-level facial expressions rivalled only by the likes of Regal.

 

On top of all that I think Arn's an all-time promo, whereas Tully is a B+ on the stick. On top of that again, Arn could work babyface, whereas I don't buy Tully as one, even in his father's South West promotion.

 

------

 

The Steamer case is closer, but I think Arn is better working limbs than him, and has better all-round psychology. Yes, Steamer has "great matches" over Arn, but how many stinkers has Steamboat been in too?

 

I've seen Steamboat matches I've actively hated, but can't think of too many of those for Arn.

 

Arn is clearly a better promo than Steamboat. And better at all the character elements of in-ring work.

First, promos are not being taken into account for me in this poll so that is non-factor.

 

Tully was much more of a credible singles star than Arn for most of his career. Arn was a career lieutenant. Tully was asked and succeeded in being the #2 singles guy on numerous shows and even chip in for spot show main events. Arn from 93-95 is fairly inconsistent with some good, but also some bad. In watching the 1994 yearbook, I never thought Arn made much of a difference when he interjected himself into ECW and SMW for that matter. Therefore, Tully has 84-89 of high end work and Arn has 85-92 so we aren't talking about a huge difference and this is discounting the South West Tully stuff. The Arn and Tully team was great, but numerous times with them working together, I preferred Tully just as much as Arn. Add to that the high end singles stuff and Tully slots ahead for me.

 

Steamboat has far more superior singles matches. He has the feud with Flair but also the feud with Savage. He has great stuff with Bret in 1986. Hell, he was great in 2009 vs. Jericho. Sure, Steamboat has had matches that weren't very good, but I think it is disengenious to say Arn didn't have a glut of ** level stuff. The key is within those matches. I watched the SSlam 1991 opener and while that match wasn't great, Steamboat was very good in it and as far as perfecting his FIP role, he did as much as you could ask of someone like Arn vs. The Patriots. Ditto on Steamboat in the Hollywood Blonds tag from 93 I watched. He made a green Shane Douglas look very credible and added weight to the tag division overall. Say what you will about Arn, he also was given good partners even when he was positioned as the leader such as with Larry.

[Meltzing Pot]

I've always heard the knock on Arn as being "if there's a Hall of Very Good, he should be in it", and I've never understood it. I looooove Bobby Eaton, but I think Arn may be slightly better than him as a tag worker, and I would say he's an easy Top 5 Ever promo, as well. Being an all-timer in both promos and tags should make him a shoo-in for any list like this. He's also one of the best tv match workers ever, though I could see slotting him a few notches below your Memphis guys. He is as versatile as anyone I can think of, as he could work heel or face, or even different types of heel. So yeah, at this point I'd say I have him easily within my Top 20, and he could go even higher than that, after checking out some of his stuff I haven't seen.

[shoe]

Might be the greatest worker ever at having fun jobber matches. He'll be high on my ballot. If he was around in the 70's would have been an even bigger star. He was made for the 2 out of 3 format as evidenced by his run on 92 TV.

[DR Ackermann]

I know there are some people who rate Bret Hart over Flair and some people who rate Arn over Bret. So I'm curious, is there anyone who would rate Arn over Flair?

[Matt D]

They will be very close on my list, as things are now. I don't know if Arn makes it over Flair though.

[tjones324]

I don't really consider myself knowledgeable enough to make a list but if I did I have to believe Arn would be on there. I've always enjoyed watching him and I can't remember ever seeing a bad Arn match.

[Wade Garrett]

Arn will make my list with ease. I wish Arn Anderson had debuted in the early to mid 60's and been ready for semi/mains in the 70's. Arn fit in just fine when he got his big break with JCP in 85 but woulda been an upper elite 70's worker in my opinion. Arn coulda been in Harley's spot as far as I'm concerned.

[El-P]

I know there are some people who rate Bret Hart over Flair and some people who rate Arn over Bret. So I'm curious, is there anyone who would rate Arn over Flair?

 

Frankly, I could. Watched so many Arn matches during my WCW watch, and I never ever got bored of it. And that's without taking in account most of the 80's. Arn in the 90's was a much better and interesting worker than Flair to me on average. Not sure I would (I'm still a sucker for great single matches and Flair takes the cake there easily), but I could.

[Tim Cooke]

If Arn had a singles match as good as Tully/Garvin (5/3/86 WWW) he would be an easy pick for my top 20. But without that outstanding singles match, I can't justify a top 20 finish.

[goodhelmet]

I think the Regal match is as good and is a legit MOTYC for Arn.

[JerryvonKramer]

Arn vs. Windham from 92 is a great great sleeper match. I had it ****3/4

 

Aka that one I watched by mistake on WTBBP, where Chad reviewed a completely different match.

[Matt D]

Both of those are very, very good

[TravJ1979]

Has Arn ever had a bad match? I was wondering this last night while watching his match at SuperBrawl I against Eaton.

[PhilTLL]

Well, sure. Has Arn ever been the bad part of a match? Maybe not.

[TravJ1979]

Granted I haven't seen everything, but I've seen a lot and I've never seen one. To say he hasn't been the cause of a bad match is even more reason why he is a solid top tier guy on my ballot.

[Loss]

Has Arn ever had a bad match? I was wondering this last night while watching his match at SuperBrawl I against Eaton.

 

Lest we forget Renegade.

[Jingus]

How do those matches hold up now? I recently saw a newly-released match where Arn carried Tom Magee to something halfway-decent, so Mr. Lund's street cred as a divinely-inspired miracle worker are nearly unimpeachable.

 

EDIT: on a whim, I looked up Magee's profile at Cagematch and they list no less than 117 matches for his career. How the heck is that possible? Every time he stepped in the ring, he looked like it was literally his first day in training class, rather than his real identity of a guy who'd had dozens of matches with Cuban Assassin and should've picked up some clue as to what the hell a wrestler is supposed to do.

[ohtani's jacket]

From memory, Arn was amazing in 1992. I had him and Steamboat as joint MVPs for that year during my WCW viewing. But after '93 he was average by his own standards. Not sure if that equated to bad matches, but nothing I saw from Arn in '95 against Alex Wright, etc. left much of an impression on me and that was a year where I was actively looking for anything good from a severely weak year. There was the Stars and Stripes tag w/Vader, but no singles matches of note.