11/29/2025
Again this is one of those writings that was done about 8-10 years ago for a book that was never finished from a section called Famous IWWA wrestlers or stars that had worked for our promotion. This came up in our memories and like Bobby Eaton's article I thought you might enjoy reading it.
Someone a lot of the older Wrestlers didn't like was former wrestler\booker Ole Anderson. He was tough, wanted things his way, and had a direction he didn't feel the need to explain. He would ask you questions he already knew the answers to and would attempt to intimidate you. I however, found him brutally honest and a challenge to communicate with, but found myself laughing at him several times over his animated way of running guys down. You had to be on your toes when you talked to Ole and you better not try BS with him either, or he will call that out. Ole was one of the best tag team wrestler of my era and proved that by winning titles over and over and over with a number of partners which meant he drew money.
His greatest success was with wrestling brother Gene, who Ole also considered a rare friend. They say you either can make money or make friends in the wrestling business and Ole decided to make money, and he did better than just about anyone when it came to earnings. Newsletter writers use to say the Anderson's weren't a Hall of Fame team because they rarely left the south and didn't prove they were winners anywhere else. I use to scratch my head on that one, because no one wanted to leave an area, but had too because of getting stale and losing drawing power. Can you imagine only working for two different promotions from 1968-1986? Not to mention he told me there were years where he and Gene wrestled 8-9 times a week with 6-7 house shows and 2-3 local TV's to do each week. Can you imagine 400-450 matches in a year in those small Carolina and Georgia towns for a couple of decades and never having to leave? Well Ole Anderson did that, and it was because his one of the best characters in the NWA and that is why he and Gene never had to go anywhere. They were first ballot Hall of Famer's and no one can take that from them. I didn't get to work with Ole till 2007. By this time he had MS and was barely able to walk. It was very hard to see him this way, and it bothered me greatly. I had worked with his brother Lars in the early 80's and Gene in the 80's and 90's so I knew all the stories and had even used a lot of their moves and style as a heel. Ole once looked at a match of me and Charlie Fulton tagging against a couple of prelims on a TV show. He said "Looks like an Anderson brothers match, of course but not as good as us." That was Ole, he knew his craft and loved the way things used to be. He wrote a tell all book which was surprising since he rarely spoke out in public about the truths of Pro Wrestling. The book sold well and when he came to our show in Carrollton Ga. he sold all 24 copies he brought in about 10 minutes and of course that made him mad that he didn't bring more. He signed autographs and commentated on the matches with us that night. About half way through the show we presented him with a Hall of Fame award and you could see his eyes wet up a little when the fans starting cheering "Ole, Ole, Ole," I ask Ricky Morton to present it to him since Ricky was a famous tag team wrestler in his own right and I think he had a great time that night. I also believe that his promos on the radio leading into the show was one of the biggest reasons that the show sold out. Ole will always be Ole, and if you know and understand him you wouldn't want him any other way. Ivan Koloff was a comic in the back, Tommy Rich was always a country boy big kid playing ribs to other wrestlers, but Ole Anderson was Ole Anderson 24 hours a day.
If you don't want to hear the truth about how you performed in the ring, then don't ask Ole after the match, because the truth could hurt your feelings. It was a real honor to work with him and the fact that it was recorded made it even better.
