Ollie Anderson, original member of the Four Horsemen wrestling team, has died at the age of 81

Ole Anderson, the professional wrestler who starred as an original member of the Four Horsemen in the 1980s and later criticized corporate greed in the sport, died Monday. He was 81 years old.

the Carter Funeral Home In Winder, Georgia, he said that Mr. Anderson died at his home in Monroe, Georgia, and that he “died peacefully.” The funeral home did not share the cause of death.

World Wrestling Entertainment, known as the World Wrestling Federation when Mr. Anderson was wrestling, He said in a statement On Monday, he said he was known for his “stern manner and rude behaviour.”

Mr. Anderson wrestled professionally from the late 1960s through the 1980s, after training under WWE Hall of Famer Verne Gagne.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, he was a member of the tag team known as the Minnesota Wrecking Crew, which over the years included Gene, Lars and Arn Anderson, who called themselves the Brothers and were popular throughout the Midwest. They were part of regional circuits such as Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and Georgia Championship Wrestling that were united under the National Wrestling Alliance, which regularly crowned them tag team champions.

In the 1980s, Mr. Anderson teamed with Arn Anderson, Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard to become the Four Horsemen, who went on to dominate the NWA and later World Championship Wrestling, which competed with the WWF.

“The group set a standard of style, behavior and success that inspired all the stables that followed,” WWE said in its statement, calling it “one of the greatest stables in the history of sports entertainment.”

After retiring from wrestling, Mr. Anderson booked matches for WCW in the 1990s, when his popularity rivaled that of the WWF, which later bought WCW

As professional wrestling has become more popular and commercialized, Mr. Anderson has become increasingly disparaging of it. In a 2003 book, “From the Inside Out: How Corporate America Destroyed Professional Wrestling,” written with Scott Till, Mr. Anderson wrote about his disdain for the sport’s corporate transformation and his clashes with executives, including Vince McMahon, the longtime head of the wrestling division. long. WWE

Mr. Anderson has continued to criticize WWE for years. In a 2021 interviewHe said Mr. McMahon made professional wrestling more about entertainment than sports.

“The things that are on TV today I find difficult to watch,” he said.

Mr. Anderson was left out when the other members of the Four Horsemen were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, but he is a member of the NWE and WCW Halls of Fame.

Mr. Anderson was born Alan Robert Rogowski on September 22, 1942, in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Robert Joseph Rogowski and Georgiana Bryant. He became interested in professional wrestling as a career after serving in the US Army. Mr. Anderson, who grew up in Minnesota, said in 2021 that he was exposed to professional wrestling by watching Mr. Gagne, who also grew up in the state.

according to Excerpt from his bookMr. Anderson said he tried out as a wrestler against Mr. Gagne, who was impressed by Mr. Anderson's physical ability. Mr. Anderson said that after doing several exercises, Mr. Gagne asked him if he was tired. Mr. Anderson said he declined to indicate any fatigue.

“I was smart enough to know that you never admit to any wrongdoing,” Mr. Anderson wrote. “Even if there is, you don't admit it. I learned that lesson as an amateur wrestler. Don't let anyone know you're tired. Just keep going until you fall.”

According to Carter Funeral Home, Mr. Anderson is survived by his children: Bryant Rogowski, Christian Rogowski, Fortune Evans, Aaron Rogowski, Ethan Rogowski, Galen Rogowski and Dana Armstrong. He is also survived by his longtime companion, Marsha Cain.