Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20 1958) better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is a former American professional wrestler, regarded by some professional wrestling experts as the greatest professional wrestler never to have won a world heavyweight championship (though he did win world tag team titles in WWF and the National Wrestling Alliance). His career has been highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable, The Four Horsemen (4 Horseman or IV Horseman). He currently serves as the senior producer for World Wrestling Entertainment's Raw brand.

Career

Known as Double A or The Enforcer, Anderson is considered to be one of the greatest tag team wrestlers in professional wrestling. He held the NWA Tag Team Championship belts twice with different members of Ron Fuller's Stud Stable in Southeast Championship Wrestling in 1983 and 1984 where he also teamed with Mr. Olympia Jerry Stubbs as Super Olympia. In 1985, Arn Anderson left for Georgia and formed the new version of Minnesota Wrecking Crew with Ole Anderson, and won the NWA National Tag Team Championships; Arn also held the NWA Television Championship throughout 1986, while still one-half of the NWA National Tag Team Champions, as well; the National Tag Team Titles were later vacated, and abandoned, after Dusty Rhodes and Road Warrior Animal injured Ole Anderson. He would become a founding member of the Four Horsemen with Tully Blanchard, Ole Anderson, James J. Dillon and Ric Flair in the NWA and was in each of the group's incarnations over the years. However, his ties with Ole Anderson grew sour after they lost to the Rock 'n' Roll Express at Starrcade 1986, and Ole would take a vacation for two months. After turning on Ole Anderson in February 1987, Arn Anderson teamed with Tully Blanchard and both became the NWA Tag Team Champions. In October 1988, Anderson and Blanchard joined the World Wrestling Federation as the Brain Busters and took Bobby "The Brain" Heenan as their manager, and even won the WWF Tag Team Championship in 1989 as well. While in the World Wrestling Federaton, Arn Anderson suffered a near fatal injury while facing the Rockers in October 1989. After working with the World Wrestling Federation, Anderson returned to WCW in December 1989, and reformed the Four Horsemen. Anderson remained as a wrestler with NWA/WCW until he officially retired from wrestling on the August 25, 1997 episode of WCW Monday Nitro. He was also a member of the Dangerous Alliance in WCW, which boasted some of the biggest talent in the future of professional wrestling. He was a member of the Old Age Outlaws in WCW in 2000 that battled the nWo. He also formed the Enforcers with Larry Zbyszko in WCW.

Along with a DDT for a finishing maneuver, Anderson utilized a familiar array of holds and throws during his career, highlighted by his powerful left-handed punch and a spinebuster. He was renowned for his ability to do interviews to further the storylines he participated in. His ability to improvise in interviews allowed him to coin the "Four Horsemen" moniker for the eventual stable, as he likened their coming to wrestle at an event and the aftermath of their wrath as being akin to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the name stuck.

Anderson retired from wrestling in 1997 due to extensive neck and upper back injuries and is currently working as a road agent for WWE. He does show up from time to time on WWE television trying to, with the help of other WWE management, pull apart brawls. Soon after the WCW/ECW Invasion storyline happened, Anderson did color commentary for a WCW World Heavyweight Championship match between Booker T and Buff Bagwell as well as a WCW Cruiserweight Championship match with Billy Kidman and Gregory Helms, which would be his only appearance as a commentator in the WWE. He made an appearance on RAW in 2002 delivering a video to Triple H before he was suppose to renew his wedding vows to Stephanie McMahon. He was also assaulted on RAW by the Undertaker leading up the Undertaker vs. Ric Flair match at WrestleMania X8. During WrestleMania X8, he made a brief in-ring appearance during the aforementioned match, delivering his signature spinebuster to the Undertaker. Several months later he attempted to help Flair gain (kayfabe) sole ownership of the WWE during a match with Vince McMahon, but backed down from a confrontation with Brock Lesnar, who entered the ring to assist McMahon.

Currently, he is working with WWE RAW Diva Candice Michelle to help her improve her wrestling skills.

Anderson made a special appearance at the October 2006 RAW Family Reunion special, in which he was in Ric Flair's corner for his match against Mitch of the Spirit Squad.

Anderson was in the corner of Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, Dusty Rhodes, and Ron Simmons at Survivor Series 2006, where the four faced the Spirit Squad. However, he was ejected from the arena during the match.

On the March 31, 2008 RAW, Anderson came out to say his final goodbye to Ric Flair and thank him for his career. Then months later at the WWE No Mercy 2008 event, he was backstage congratulating Triple H retaining his WWE Championship.

In wrestling

• Finishing and signature moves

* Gourdbuster (Inverted suplex slam)

* Spinning spinebuster

* DDT

* Figure four leglock

* Hammerlock

* Left-handed knockout punch

• With Tully Blanchard

* Aided piledriver

• Nicknames

* Double A

* The Enforcer

• Managers

Ole Anderson Nancy Daus James J. Dillon Paul Ellering

Robert Fuller Ron Fuller Jimmy Hart Michael Hayes

Bobby Heenan Paul Heyman

• Factions

Alliance to End Hulkamania Brain Busters Dangerous Alliance Enforcers

Four Horsemen The Heenan Family Legion of Doom Minnesota Wrecking Crew

Old Age Outlaws Stud Stable

• Quotes

* Be careful what you wish for! We don't wear white hats, we're not nice guys...

* There are three things you should never do: 1)Don't step on Superman's cape 2) Don't mess with a dog in its own back yard and 3) Don't mess with the Four Horsemen!

* I don't like to toot my own horn.....but: TOOT, TOOT!

* Sometimes you gotta wrestle, and those are the days when you need a hat.

Championships and accomplishments

• Georgia Championship Wrestling

* NWA National Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ole Anderson

• Jim Crockett Promotions | World Championship Wrestling

* NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (2 times) - with Tully Blanchard

* NWA World Television Championship (3 times) (Last)

* WCW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Larry Zbyszko (1), Bobby Eaton (1), and Paul Roma (1)

* WCW World Television Championship (2 times) (First)

• Southeastern Championship Wrestling

* NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Jerry Stubbs (3) and Pat Rose (1)

• World Wrestling Federation

* WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Tully Blanchard

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
• 5 Star Match (1992) with Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Bobby Eaton, & Larry Zbyszko vs. Nikita Koloff, Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham, & Dustin Rhodes (May 17, WarGames match, WrestleWar)
• Best on Interviews (1990)
• Worst Worked Match of the Year (1996) with Ric Flair, Meng, The Barbarian, Lex Luger, Kevin Sullivan, Z-Gangsta and The Ultimate Solution vs. Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, WCW Uncensored, Towers of Doom match, Tupelo, MS, March 24

• '''Pro Wrestling Illustrated
• PWI Feud of the Year (1987) Four Horsemen vs. Super Powers and the Road Warriors
• PWI Tag Team of the Year (1989) with Tully Blanchard
• PWI Tag Team of the Year (1991) with Larry Zybszko
• PWI Stanley Weston Award (1997)

Personal life

Although he was billed as such at various times, Arn is not related to Gene Anderson, Lars Anderson, Ole Anderson, C.W. Anderson or Ric Flair. He was given the Anderson name and billed as Ole's cousin because of his resemblance to Ole in appearance and wrestling style. Flair is a longtime friend of Arn.

As stated in his biography, in a match in 1994, Arn was thrown into the ring ropes. The top rope broke from the turnbuckle, but he was able to land on his feet. Six months later, the same event happened again, but this time he landed full-force on to the concrete and hit his head, neck, and upper back. He never took time off to heal. As time passed, with no down time, the injuries got worse and worse. In his biography, Anderson states that the first sign of problems was, during a match, his left arm suddenly went numb and unresponsive. Later on, they found a rib, possibly torn away from the spine during the accident, was popping in and out of joint, causing shoulder discomfort and weakness.

But, upon seeing his chiropractor in Charlotte, North Carolina, and consulting medical experts in Atlanta, Georgia, the damage was found to be much more severe and surgery was deemed the only option to keep his left arm functioning at all. Surgery occurred in Atlanta in late 1996 (resulting in a left posterior laminectomy of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th cervical bones and a fusion of the 7th cervical and 1st thoracic bones) and was successful in repairing most of the damage, but there does remain some muscle weakness, loss of fine motor control, and loss of muscle mass in his left arm. He spent many weeks in the hospital during that time, crediting his recovery to his wife, his physical therapist, and the fact he did not want his children to be orphans. However, he would be readmitted in March 1997 with symptoms akin to cardiac arrest and pulmonary failure, but was released soon afterwards.

In July 1997, while working out, a friend saw him at a gym and gave him a hearty slap on the back (he recounts this in his retirement speech). He dropped the water bottle he was carrying and could not regain use of his left arm for several hours. He realized that to step back in the ring and take another injury to the neck could leave him paralyzed or worse. Hence, his retirement and subsequent speech on WCW programming.

Notes

Books

Autobiography: Anderson, Arn. Arn Anderson 4 Ever: A Look Behind the Curtain. Kayfabe Pub Group, 1998

External links

• Arn Anderson Tribute Site