AEW on screen coach and former WWE agent Arn Anderson recently discussed IMPACT Wrestling and other promotions outside of AEW.

AEW and IMPACT have now developed a working relationship that has seen AEW Champion Kenny Omega already appear on the AXS TV IMPACT programme. Anderson would however reveal on the ARN podcast this week that he doesn’t watch wrestling outside of what happens in AEW.

Arn Anderson on AEW ‘Being Different’

“I don’t watch a lot of wrestling” Arn Anderson began. “When I’m off? I try to concentrate on just our [AEW] product, on our product alone, without getting so many outside influences. Because we want to be different in AEW, we want to be different than everybody else.”

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Anderson would elaborate further, saying how he wants to impart knowledge to talent but not in a way that belies their own personality. “I want to hand my stuff to the right guy, to where it enhances his character. I don’t want it to be ‘well, all that’s Arn Anderson’s influence on the guy’ you know? It should be things that help them without being so obvious that is something that I showed him.”

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Anderson would finish by re-iterating that he doesn’t watch much pro wrestling outside of the AEW bubble. However Arn would state that he believes IMPACT have some really talented individuals. “So, I don’t watch a lot of wrestling I’m sorry to say. I’m sure they’ve [IMPACT] got some tremendous talent working there.”

Are there any IMPACT talents you’d like to see Arn Anderson’s talent Cody Rhodes face? Let us know in the comments

Arn Anderson has revealed that he was behind the name Evolution. The stable comprised of Triple H, Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Dave Batista. He opened up about creating the name for the group during an ‘Ask Arn Anying’ episode of his podcast, ARN.

“I named them. Vince had us all in there when he listened to us. This was back in a time prior to Randy or Batista or (John) Cena getting their push,” Anderson explained. “He had this new group of talent he brought in from the schools and said, ‘Guys, who are going to be our stars of tomorrow? Who do you guys think so far that has it?’ It was Cena, Randy and Dave.”

Anderson noted how a creative decision was made to have Orton and Batista become a part of the group. Cena, meanwhile, would be kept solo and focus on a singles run.

“[…] Cena was going to be split off by himself. I think the company saw an opportunity to take Dave and Randy who needed to have more seasoned talent guiding them which could be Hunter and Ric,” Anderson said. “They saw an opportunity because those guys looked like a trillion dollars together when they came through the curtain, all four of them. They were dressed to the nines.”

Arn Anderson believed Evolution was made up of a good combination of old and new talent. Their alliance allowed WWE to “get a couple of new guys over really quick.”

Ultimately, Arn Anderson believed that the Evolution concept, coupled with how the men worked with each other, accomplished what it was meant to.

AEW on-screen Coach and former WWE Agent Arn Anderson recently discussed the Nexus faction on his ARN podcast. This week’s episode is focused on the TLC 2010 event, which saw John Cena defeat Wade Barrett in the main event of the show.

At the time the Nexus were one of the top factions in the company, with Wade Barrett looking set to become WWE Champion. The crowning of Barrett would never happen, meaning that he would not become the fabled first-ever British WWE Champion. That honor would go to Drew McIntyre almost a decade later.

Arn Anderson would say that WWE were always looking to make Nexus/Barrett a massive part of the on-screen presentation; but this just never materialised due to a stop-start approach to booking.

Arn Anderson on PG Era

“It was the era of Cena” Anderson would begin on the podcast. “Which meant we were pointing towards children, having a PG product. Which was a far stretch from the Attitude Era, obviously, you know about as far as you can get.”

“I felt like we were trying to go with the Nexus full bore” Anderson would continue. “But it was start and stop. They [WWE] wouldn’t just go ahead and pull the trigger. I think the number of guys that were filtered through a card? There was probably seven or eight of those guys and you would filter them through a card…they were well represented, but they [WWE] weren’t pushing them. They never really pushed some heat on them, and I think that was a big mistake.”

Do you agree with Arn Anderson? Do you think that WWE could’ve made a much bigger deal with the Nexus group? Let us know in the comments

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Remember how huge the Nexus debut was? Weren’t watching WWE at that time? Check out out below.

Former WWE Agent and current AEW on-screen Coach Arn Anderson recently discussed the Royal Rumble concept on his ARN podcast.

This week’s episode was another ‘Ask Arn Anything’ show, with the former NWA/WCW great taking questions from listeners. One question posed to Anderson was the booking of the Royal Rumble match; a bout that he would’ve had a hand in throughout his time agenting at WWE.

It’s interesting to hear how Anderson would define the intricacies of the bout. With a lot of WWE match concepts feeling overdone, the Royal Rumble still remains arguably one of the best match types in WWE, with surprises and real stakes being on the line every year.

Arn Anderson on The Royal Rumble

“Well, an hour or so is a long time to watch a match” Anderson began on the show. “You’ve got to be careful that you separate your surprises from your superstars. You’re going to have your day to day talent that need to be in there too, that have earned the right to be in the Rumble.”

Arn Anderson would elaborate further, saying how every entrant in the match needs to feel ‘special.’ “Certainly the prize [is special], the main event of WrestleMania? Make sure everybody that comes through the curtain special, it could literally be anybody. The key is not to have the ring too full at any one time. [You need to] figure out what four or five guys you’re going to feature and come up with something, and scatter it through the match to where you have some really big explosions and a roller coaster ride where you really feature some talent.”

Anderson would finish by saying how eliminations in the match are also used as a tool to boost a performer. Arn would reference Kane as having the most eliminations in a single match, however this record was broken by Roman Reigns (in 2014) and Braun Strowman (although that was in the ‘Greatest Royal Rumble’ which had 50 entrants).

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“Eliminations at the Royal Rumble [are so important]. I think Kane had the record? Or it might have moved on to someone else but I think he had it for a long time. You know that’s something you walk away with if you don’t win the match, but if you had nine eliminations? It’s something you can hang your hat on going forward.”

Former WWE Agent and AEW on-screen Coach Arn Anderson recently discussed the FTR tag team on the ARN podcast.

This week’s episode of the podcast was an ‘Ask Arn Anything’ edition of the show. Co-host Conrad Thompson opted to give the podcast this format every other week as Anderson has been involved in the industry at many levels; from the NWA and WCW all the way to the last decade where he worked as an agent for WWE.

One the questions posed to Anderson involved the FTR tag team. Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood are hugely influenced by the team of Arn and Tully Blanchard, and Conrad asked Arn Anderson if he believed the group would ever ‘split’ and have singles runs. The reasoning being that the Brainbusters ‘split’ themselves and had singles runs.

Arn Anderson on FTR

“Backing up a little bit, Tully and never split up” Arn Anderson began on the podcast. “We went separate ways because of business decisions, but it was [cordial]. We never got into a feud or anything of that nature. These guys [FTR] are committed to being a team. I think being the best team, when it’s all said and done? That ever lived.”

Arn Anderson would then make a huge claim about the AEW Tag Team Champions. “I think that’s a very achievable goal for them. And I think it’s a admirable one, because if they do become that team and they do survive the test of time? That’ll mean they’ve been in some incredible tag matches with some of the best teams alongside them of their era.”

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Anderson would finish by stating that he doesn’t see the team ever splitting up. “I don’t see them splitting up, I think their goals are too consistent. I think their friendship is too consistent and they really are tight close friends. And to be honest with you? I don’t want to see them split up. I think the sum of the parts is more valuable than them individually.”

Do you agree with Arn Anderson? Do you think that FTR could end up the greatest tag team of all time? Let us know in the comments

Former WWE Agent and AEW on-screen Coach Arn Anderson recently discussed the Hell In a Cell 2010 PPV. This was part of the ARN podcast and their ongoing look at the landscape in WWE from a decade ago.

One of the topics that co-host Conrad Thompson brought up was the Anonymous RAW General Manager angle that dominated the show at the start of the decade. The angle ran from June of 2010 until July the next year, with it being critically panned and lambasted by a huge amount of the audience at the time.

Arn Anderson on RAW GM Angle

It turns out that the talent and backstage personnel weren’t huge fans either, at least Arn Anderson wasn’t. “It was just when they were…everybody was drawing a blank on what to do next” Arn began on the podcast. “And we’re just running through angles.”

“Like I said, it all stems back to having that big show, that pay per view, every single month” Anderson would continue. “You have to understand. You’ve got to blow off your angles, then create the next week. You got four weeks maybe, or three weeks to get to the next show. You’ve got to start up a brand new set of angles and circumstances and build it and get it to a point to where people go spend $54.99 to get that show all again in three weeks, it leaves you in a position where you got to have something to put some band aids on different stuff.”

Arn Anderson would then address the RAW GM role specifically and the detrimental effect of having at least 12 PPV events per year. “And for that period of time? That was the band aid. When everybody drew a blank? ‘Well why don’t we do this?’ [We] go to that anonymous General Manager and have him to create something goofy.”

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Anderson would finish by confirming that WWE didn’t actually have a plan for the RAW GM to be revealed initially. During the angle a laptop was placed on a podium next to the announce desk, and Michael Cole would read out the messages as they were sent through. “Because there was not a face to it. Then not only that, there was never I don’t think a plan for that to ever become anyone. So there was no grand scheme of things either.”

Do you agree with Arn Anderson? Do you have fond memories of the Anonymous RAW GM (if so, why!?)? Let us know in the comments

Former WWE Agent and AEW on-screen Coach Arn Anderson recently discussed the Hell In a Cell 2010 PPV. This was part of the ARN podcast and their ongoing look at the landscape in WWE from a decade ago.

One of the topics that co-host Conrad Thompson brought up was former WWE CEO Linda McMahon. Linda is arguably the least talked about member of the McMahon family over the past few years; with Shane, Vince and Stephanie having more prominent roles on WWE programming.

Arn Anderson would reveal that whilst Linda McMahon didn’t have ‘deep’ knowledge of the wrestling industry from a booking/creative standpoint? She was a calming and positive influence backstage with the company.

Arn Anderson on Linda McMahon

“I just think she’s a nice person, you know” Arn Anderson would begin on the podcast. “As far as the inner workings of the business? I don’t think she could sit down and tell you how to book a live event, and what names to put down across from each other you know? What matches take place after intermission and what to began with etc.”

“She didn’t know the nuts and bolts of the business” Arn would continue. “But she comes in and she is who she is. She makes a nice impression and she treats everybody like they’re human beings. There’s not this wide economic gap between you and her, you don’t feel that when you’re talking to her.”

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Linda McMahon was named by the Trump administration as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration in 2017, McMahon left the role in 2019 to be officially named Chairwoman of America First Action.

Do you have fond memories of Linda McMahon on WWE television? Let us know in the comments if you’d like to see her back in the company

Former WWE agent and AEW on screen coach Arn Anderson recently answered fan questions on the ARN podcast.

One fan asked The Enforcer what was the best match you’ve ever seen ‘live.’ Arn Anderson would give an interesting and unexpected answer to that question. “I’ll tell you one, it’s a sleeper” Anderson began on the podcast.

Arn Anderson on Kane vs Kurt Angle

“I saw Kane wrestle Kurt Angle, and I hadn’t been with WWE too long. I don’t remember the exact year, but they [WWE] were really high on Angle. They were really building him, and it was when Kane was about 330 pounds with the mask.”

The match that Anderson was referring to is from SmackDown in November 2001. At the time Kurt Angle was the WCW United States Champion and this was right at the tail end of the Invasion storyline.

“They went about 20-25 minutes on TV. With the story being Kane, the monster, tripping up a little bit and allowing that ankle lock to be put on him several times. And I mean several times. Kane obviously did what you thought Kane would, he nodded his head back and forth, saying ‘no no no no way, I’m going to tap out no way.'”

Glenn Jacobs

Arn Anderson would then praise the man behind the mask. “I’m a huge fan of the Kane character, and the person Glenn Jacobs. As we know if you’ve got a mask covering your face? It’s hard to see your facial and facials are where our money lies in this business. It tells you when you’re happy, when you’re hurt, when you’re sad, when you’re hurting and when you’re in trouble. All those emotions are conveyed through your face.”

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Elaborating further, Arn Anderson said “when you got a mask on? It’s hard to do that. But some way, somehow Kane was able to show me his frustration, bobbing his head in pain and the slapping of the mat. His whole body English during the course of that; until finally he did the unthinkable, and it was the first time he’d ever done it. Kane tapped out to Kurt Angle.”

Do you remember the match from ’01? Do you agree with Arn Anderson that it’s a great bout? Check out the match below and let us know what you think in the comments.

Former WWE Agent and AEW on-screen coach Arn Anderson recently discussed the 2010 Night of Champions PPV on the ARN podcast. One of the topics of conversation during the show surrounded WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan.

At the time, Bryan was not long off of his first run with the company on the main roster. When the Nexus debuted on RAW and dismantled the ring, Bryan used then ring announcer Justin Roberts’ tie to choke him. The fall out from this caused WWE to release Bryan; reportedly it was WWE partner Hasbro that was not happy with the incident.

Daniel Bryan

WWE would then bring Daniel Bryan back for SummerSlam 2010, where he would join with John Cena as part of a team going up against his former faction, Nexus. Beyond that, it took a long time for WWE to finally give Bryan the opportunity at the top of the card, culminating in his WrestleMania 30 main event win. Even this scenario only came to pass due to CM Punk leaving the company and plans needing to be changed almost last minute (the rampant fan reaction also helped).

“Well, whoever knows what the reasons are? There’s really no reason that made any sense” Arn Anderson began on the podcast, saying how WWE should’ve been getting behind Bryan sooner. “Because all you have to do? Is listen to the audience, you know?”

“He was getting over” Anderson continued. “And he was doing it because he was an everyday guy. A blue collar guy that had earned his way and paid his dues in the Indies. And that word, it caught around you know?”

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Arn Anderson would then reveal that WWE at the time didn’t listen to the ‘hype’ coming from the independent scene. “We used to think that indie hotline wasn’t all that powerful, but it is. It gets around and when there’s a new guy out there that the audience feels like should be in one of the the big companies? One of the big shows? They’ll let you know.”

Do you agree with Arn Anderson about Daniel Bryan? Should WWE have gotten behind the YES man sooner in his WWE career? Let us know in the comments

Arn Anderson was recently asked about Roddy Piper on his podcast, the Arn Show. Anderson says he has a lot of respect for Piper’s accomplishments in wrestling even though the two didn’t know each other well.

“Piper was a guy that I didn’t spend any downtime with. I was a huge fan as you will find a lot of wrestlers are fans of Roddy Piper and what he brought to the table.”

“He was just so talented and good on the stick and that’s one of those things that I aspired to do well,” Anderson continued.

“I would just watch Piper and marvel at how good he was and he paid a lot of dues to get where he was in the business. He was just one of those really, really huge superstars. Like a wrestler’s wrestler as far as just being so well-rounded and really a superstar in the business. I miss him, that’s for sure, I miss getting to watch him perform.”

Roddy Piper passed away in his sleep on July 31, 2015. He was 61-years-old at the time of his death. His daughter, Ariel Teal Toombs, made her pro-wrestling debut last year under the name Teal Piper. She was recently spotted training with Ronda Rousey as well.

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Anderson’s comments can be heard in the player below:

Arn Anderson was recently asked about Kamala on an episode of the Arn Show. James “Kamala” Harris passed away at the age of 70 recently. According to Double-A, Kamala was easy to work with and safe in the ring.

“My first booking in Louisiana for Bill Watts was against Kamala,” Anderson said on the show. “For about 5-minutes I was shown that it was his job to get over and me to get him over.”

Anderson continued to talk about how easy it was to work with Kamala in the ring.

“It was the safest, easiest money I ever got getting slaughtered,” Anderson continued. “He slaughtered me and you never forget your first house show in the business and that was against Kamala. I’ll never forget it and so sorry that he passed way too soon.”

“All of his stuff still looked good,” Anderson continued. “That big chop looked like it cut you in half. His stuff looked good but he was very safe. (He) never dropped anybody on their head bad. He was just a great character and he had full control of that gimmick and he got that gimmick over everywhere he went, he drew money.”

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Anderson’s comments can be heard in the player below:

AEW on-air personalities Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard recently appeared on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast.

This episode of Talk Is Jericho saw the iconic duo appear on a podcast together for the first time ever. Tully and Arn would discuss a number of topics from their time together in the ring as well as the current crop of stars appearing on All Elite Wrestling.

One of the questions posed by Jericho revolved around the FTR tag team. Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler have made it abundantly clear in the past that they model themselves after Tully and Arn, but Jericho wanted to know what Arn Anderson saw in the former WWE tag team that set them apart from the rest of pack.

Arn Anderson on FTR

“I think it was an absolute effort on their part to pattern ourselves after our style” Arn Anderson began on the podcast. “But I also saw that they took the concept of, whatever it may be. Sucker punching a guy and making them chase you, then rolling back in [the ring] and getting the referee’s back turned to your opponent. [Followed by] A tag he doesn’t see, the other guy steps in from behind and ploughs him. That kind of psychology, but they put their tweak on it.”

Arn Anderson would then hugely praise Harwood and Wheeler, saying “you know they’re…they’re a hell of a lot; I don’t know if you notice, they’re a hell of a lot more athletic than you [Tully] and me were! But, it’s the same concept, they truly are [like we were]. They give you, at the end of the day, they’re a team that knows what their partner’s doing at all times. That’s what makes a great team I think.”

Do you agree with The Enforcer? Let us know in the comments

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Former WWE Agent Arn Anderson recently discussed WWE’s penchant for shorter television matches in the modern era. Whilst Anderson did talk about the lengthier bouts that go over two segments on the ARN podcast; Anderson also revealed exactly why WWE tries to keep a big proportion of their televised matches as short as possible.

“Whoever did their research, and I put that in parentheses” Arn Anderson began on the show. “Whoever took their polls and did all that behind the scenes stuff that they need 100 people working for the company to come up with? They figured out a six minute time span. That’s about all the audience’s good for, then they’re ready to switch channels.”

Arn Anderson on Six Minutes

“Well, that that six minute thing? Well that looks good, until you take entrances out of that six minutes. And then you take exit time, aftermath, posing in the ring…that’s another minute. So if I did my math right that six minutes now became what? Three minutes, right? We’re back to that time, that three minute deal.”

Anderson would then talk about why a three minute match is detrimental to the talent themselves. “And the thing about it is, when you give every match six minutes because that’s the brilliant thing that you came up through all your research? When you have every match go six minutes? Then it starts to look pretty uniform, and it’s a bunch of matches that don’t have enough time, except ding ding ding hurry hurry hurry. Then run through a couple spots and get your finish. There’s no story there.”

Arn would finish by saying how even the longer matches on the show are devalued because the talent are being overexposed on RAW and SmackDown. “And some of those guys that are getting the two segment matches later on in the show? When those guys have already been seen twice during the show, and then you give them the two segments, it’s probably too much exposure.”

Do you agree with The Enforcer Arn Anderson? Let us know in the comments

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Arn Anderson was working backstage in WWE in 2010. He recently spent some time talking with Conrad Thompson about the Money in the Bank PPV from that year. During the discussion, Anderson spoke about the state of women’s wrestling at the time.

“It takes a long time to get at this,” Anderson said on The Arn Show. “Let’s just face it, the girls didn’t have enough reps to be polished. They were just beautiful women. They were meant to just be beautiful women out there. And if they were athletic on top of it, then great.”

“This was prior to the really polished ladies that were just world class athletes, got the business, were meant to be in the business, it was ordained probably centuries before they were ever even thought about.”

“Because when the shoe dropped and the ladies were getting all those reps and then you started to see the talent just get better and better and better, it was because of reps.”

Anderson continued to talk about how some women wrestlers in WWE back in 2010 were not as skilled as the wrestlers who would come after them.

“These ladies were just meant to be on TV just not necessarily as wrestlers.”

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Anderson’s comments can be heard in the player below:

A lot of things involving people aligned with Arn Anderson took place last night on Dynamite. Double-A was called into FTR’s contract-signing on the show as the team’s tag-team advisor. It appears Anderson will likely be aligned with the new signees moving forward.

Anderson also manages Cody Rhodes and the Nightmare Family. This week on Dynamite, Cody was rescued from a Dark Order attack by the debuting Matt Cardona (FKA Zack Ryder). Next week on Dynamite, Cardona, and Cody will team up to take on John Silver & Alex Reynolds. The rest of the Dark Order will then take on FTR, the Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega & Hangman Page.

Anderson spoke about the upcoming matches his guys have against the Dark Order on this week’s Coach’s Corner segment. He said he knows they can trust the debuting Cordona, as he and Cody go way back.

“They’ve got the numbers. What do they got, 20-30 guys in that Dark Order?” Anderson asked. “Sides have been chosen. Now, Matt and Cody go along way back, I know we can count on him. I’m going to have to move some chess pieces around to make this thing fly because I’m going to expect the unexpected, I’m going to expect it to be at its worse.”

Anderson then issued a message to the Dark Order.

“Boys, you jumped on Cody at a time when he should have been shaking Warhorse’s hand who gave him a hell of a fight,” Anderson continued. “But now the focus has changed and it’s changed totally. Now, we’re on the attack and you’re going to be in the crosshairs.”

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Double A’s comments can be heard in the below Tweet:

Independent wrestler Warhorse will challenge Cody for the TNT Championship on Dynamite this week. Recently on the Arn Show, Conrad Thompson asked Arn Anderson how Warhorse got on his radar.

“Well, just because I’m illiterate where computers go, I have advanced this far, I can look on my phone, go to a Twitter account, go to an AEW twitter account, go to Conrad’s Twitter account. My go-to ones that I have to go to, I can go to and that name when the fans are talking wrestling and what they hear on our show, the name started to pop up.”

Anderson continued to talk about how Warhorse’s name kept popping up on his feed.

“Apparently this Warhorse kid has developed a pretty good following out there in the independent world. If you think about it, 90% of the talent on the AEW roster was in the same position he was in. They were making the indies, making the circuit, earning their stripes, and paying their dues.”

He continued to talk about how Tony Khan has challenged him with finding wrestlers such as Warhorse to challenge Cody.

“He’s on the radar screen and in this day and time, for a lot of guys who would like to be in that spot, that’s good enough.”

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Double-A’s comments can be heard in the player below:

Eddie Kingston has shared his thoughts following his AEW Dynamite debut from last night’s episode. Kingston faced off against TNT Champion Cody in a No Disqualification championship bout. Despite his best efforts, Kingston would ultimately succumb to a figure-four leglock.

Speaking with AEW in a Social Exclusive after his match, Kingston stressed how you never lose, you learn. Reflecting on his brutal matchup with Cody, Kingston conceded that Cody was the better man last night.

“I learned a long time ago in this life…you never lose, you learn, and, uh, I learned tonight that Cody is the better man. He’s the better grappler, he was the better fighter—but just tonight,” Kingston stressed. “

I’ve been doing this for a very long time. I’m not gonna say the year, the number or all that jazz, ’cause that’s just pitiful to say, in my opinion. […] I have nothing else in this life that I love doing. So whether AEW brings me back or not, I’m going to keep going. I’m going to keep going until the wheels fall off ’cause I have nothing else but this. I chose to have nothing else but this.”

Kingston reiterated how he has no excuses and that Cody was undoubtedly the better man for the night. Becoming emotional, Kingston then shared how he’s going to learn from his match with Cody and use the lessons to help him move forward. He ended the interview promising how he would be back.

Arn Anderson Comments On Cody’s Defense

In another backstage interview via Coach’s Corner, Cody’s mentor Arn Anderson also shared his thoughts on the No DQ matchup.

Anderson admitted he had no idea who Eddie Kingston was or about his reputation. He acknowledged how Kingston made his presence immediately known, stating how he’s “got a big mouth and a lot of guts.”

He then noted how Kingston sold his wrestling gear in order to afford his mortgage payment. Anderson explained how that was “paying dues in life” for his family. Respecting that decision, Anderson stressed how “underneath that big mouth, Eddie Kingston is all man.”

Arn Anderson then noted how Cody was able to overcome and meet Kingston’s aggression despite having a “back full of tacks.” According to Anderson, Cody showcased the grit and determination that will help him successfully defend the TNT Championship “for as long as he keeps that mindset.”

He then promised how he and Cody have plans to “go to war” next week on AEW Dynamite.

If you use any quotes from this article, please provide a H/T to SEScoops.

AEW on-air personality and former WWE agent Arn Anderson recently discussed when Shane McMahon left WWE back in 2010. Anderson was discussing the Money In The Bank 2010 PPV on his ARN podcast alongside Conrad Thompson this week.

McMahon originally left WWE back in 2010, with his announcement coming in October of 2009. Shane made the following statement at the time: “Having been associated with this organization for the majority of my life, I feel this is the opportune time in my career to pursue outside ventures.”

Arn Anderson on Shocking Shane McMahon Exit

Arn Anderson addressed when Shane left the company back in 2010, saying he was shocked at the decision from the man who appeared to be the heir apparent to the company. “Yeah, I was [shocked]. It was/is a family owned business” Arn began on the podcast.

“I thought he would be there forever, I like Shane, I’ve always like Shane” Anderson continued. “Shane was one of those guys that when he came in the door? He had that gleam in his eye that he was there because he was really having fun and wanting to be there.”

Arn would then discuss how McMahon wanted to be a ‘full-time’ wrestler in WWE. “Shane wanted to be a wrestler. I’m sure if you asked him? He’d say he wanted to be a full time wrestler. And in those days? He was gung-ho for anything. He was just a guy that was glad to be there. You never looked at Shane as just being the boss. I mean, he was like one of the guys.”

Do you think that Shane McMahon could’ve been a full time wrestler in WWE back in 2010? Do you think that the run would’ve been better than his recent time in the ring? Let us know in the comments.

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AEW on-air personality and former WWE agent Arn Anderson recently discussed his first meeting with WWE Superstar Roman Reigns. Anderson was discussing the Money In The Bank 2010 PPV on his ARN podcast alongside Conrad Thompson this week.

“I’ll never forget the first conversation I had with Roman” Anderson began. “It was down at the school [FCW] and he hadn’t been there long. I just said ‘hey, you know, give me five minutes to get to know you.'”

Roman Reigns first signed for WWE back in 2010, joining Florida Championship Wrestling. FCW was the developmental ‘territory’ at the time for the company; with Reigns, then known as Leakee, making his televised debut in August of that year.

Arn Anderson on Roman Reigns

“We had a nice conversation” Arn Anderson continued. “The first thing that popped into my head is ‘this guy’s a star.’ Roman speaks like a star, looks like a star and he carries himself with a lot of poise. He’s respectful.”

Arn Anderson would finish by heaping more praise on arguably WWE’s biggest face. “He’s just one of those guys you look at and go ‘you’ll be hearing about that guy.’ He just jumped off the page to me. He was just really…I mean he looked like a movie star.”

Do you think that Roman Reigns will return to WWE back in the main event scene? Let us know in the comments

This podcast episode as well as a ton of other content is available now on AdFreeShows.com – featuring exclusive content from Grilling Jr. What Happened When (w/ Tony Schiavone), 83 Weeks (w/ Eric Bischoff), ARN and Something To Wrestle with Bruce Prichard.

Also Check Out:

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Arn Anderson’s in-ring career ended in 1997 due to significant neck and upper back injuries. He actually participated in two wrestling matches in the year 2000, however. Both matches took place on Thunder.

Anderson was defeated by David Flair on the May 9th, 2000 episode of Thunder. He then teamed with Ric Flair and defeated Crowbar and David Flair on the next week’s episode. Anderson wasn’t cleared to compete and had limited physical involvement in the matches.

On a recent episode of the Arn Show, Double-A spoke about working the matches.

“I told them ‘guys, I should warn you, I haven’t been cleared and I won’t get cleared because I already tried to get cleared once before,'” Anderson said on the show.

“Whoever it was I just said ‘I’ll do whatever I can to help David,'” Anderson continued.

He then spoke about a rather reckless moment that happened in one of the matches.

“Here’s the crazy thing. They had a gimmick, they had a vase or something but they hit me right on the scar with it. Now, I know that was to get sympathy but it seemed kind of reckless afterwards, you know? Why would you hit me anywhere lower than that?”

He continued to mention that he was fine after the spot.

Arn Anderson On David Flair

Double-A and Conrad Thompson continued to talk about David Flair. They concluded that David should have been trained beforehand but that WCW was simply throwing everything against the wall at this point.

“This was a time when there was a mad scramble on and I got a feeling that David was caught up in that mad scramble,” Anderson continued.

• Arn Anderson Remembers Dusty Rhodes

Anderson’s comments can be heard in the player below:

All Elite Wrestling’s Arn Anderson has reflected on the Nexus invasion angle, which saw them attack John Cena. Speaking on his ARN podcast, Anderson noted how NXT wasn’t a strong brand at that time. Instead, it was viewed as being WWE’s “school.”

According to him, the initial idea was to have NXT’s students “combine forces” and have Wade Barrett act as their spokesperson. He believes this would have led to “as formidable a force as you have in the entire company.”

Although believing the angle to be excellent, Anderson stressed how it “got cut off too short.”

He argued how WWE should have allowed Nexus to go on a tirade and garner as much heat as possible: “They should have been able to slaughter anybody at any time. You’re talking about an invasion.” 

By developing a storyline with John Cena, Anderson noted how it would only be a matter of time before Cena had to get some momentum on his side. Given how the Nexus was a full stable against one Superstar, this posed a problem.

“When you see that you have something, let’s sit down and see what we have for these guys and think our way through this and see how much mileage we can get out of these guys. If they would have got red hot, they could have attacked heels and babyfaces. That’s a what if? I personally thought it was a great gimmick that got cut off too quickly.”

Arn Anderson On Daniel Bryan’s Firing

Following the Nexus invasion, Daniel Bryan would be fired from WWE. This was because Bryan choked Justin Roberts with his tie during the angle. Anderson argued how they were given “carte blanche” to destroy everybody and everything. He believes those involved were instructed to “go out there and get yourself over.”

Arn Anderson described how, when Bryan choked Roberts, “The guy in the big chair saw it and probably went ape sh*t.” This reaction eventually led to Bryan’s release.

He argued that the only reason he was brought back was because letting him go after those instructions was a “lousy thing to do.”

“For him to be held responsible and lose his job when nobody told him not to do it, most guys were not even aware that the rule existed. They were all told but it was not something that was right in their prefrontal lobe every minute of every match. I think the only reason Daniel Bryan was brought back was because of the groundswell of the audience that was pulling for him. They knew he got screwed and they wanted him back. That’s the reason he came back, and the only reason.”

All Elite Wrestling’s Arn Anderson believes that WWE missed an opportunity to turn Kevin Owens into one of their top babyfaces. Speaking on his ARN podcast, Anderson spoke about how WWE and Vince McMahon should have leaned into the reaction Owens received after he defeated John Cena at 2015’s Elimination Chamber event. 

“If you’re going to listen to the audience throughout this thing, then Kevin Owens became a star that night,” Anderson explained. “If you don’t listen, no matter what you have booked or written down for the next 3 weeks, don’t you switch your plans too: here’s my new baby face?”

Anderson highlighted how Kevin Owens is capable of delivering both in the ring and on the mic. He stressed how he is a perfect anti-hero and can play an everyday man that packs a lot of power: “[Kevin Owens] doesn’t look like he can pop-up power bomb Mark Henry, but he can, I’ve seen it, more than once.”

He spoke about how the audience reaction to Kevin Owens was so positive, WWE should have switched gears “the very next day.” Anderson noted how by beating Cena acted as a major launching pad for his main roster debut and that WWE should have given the fans what they wanted to see.

Following his successful Elimination Chamber victory, Kevin Owens would subsequently lose to Cena at both Money in The Bank and Battleground. Having him lose remains a decision that Anderson feels hurt Kevin Owens initial push and momentum. He explained how Owens never should have lost those two matches and that his push should have been “first class, steam roll, straight ahead.”

Arn Anderson worked in WCW when Vince Russo was brought in during the promotion’s final years. Russo signed with WCW on October 3rd, 1999. The final episode of Nitro would take place 18 months later on March 26th, 2001. On an episode of “The Arn Show,” Double-A talked about what it was like working with Russo.

“He’s one of the guys that I worked for instead of with,” Anderson said regarding Russo. “When he came in a lot of guys started going home, the regular guys, the big stars, because there was a creative difference in what they had in mind and what he had in mind.”

Anderson continued to say he just tried to do what he was told at this time.

“All I did as an agent at the time was exactly what he wanted. Him and Ed Ferrara because they were writing the show and from my perspective, they had absolute autonomy. What they said went.”

“Was Vince Russo in some areas very creative? Absolutely.”

Double-A would continue to say that he believed strongly that the product needed to make sense. He perhaps insinuated that WCW storylines at the time did not do that.

“It shouldn’t dumb the product down, it shouldn’t be so outlandish that nobody is going to buy it. It can be as creative as you want it to be but, at least, at the end of the day when it’s all said and done, have it make sense.”

“To answer the question, I worked for him, what he said he wanted I did my best to give him and that was the extent of our relationship to my memory,” Anderson concluded.

• Arn Anderson Gives His Thoughts On Enzo Amore

Anderson’s comments can be heard in the player below:

Arn Anderson will be part of the AEW family for several years to come.

The Four Horsemen alum made the announcement during a special edition of his Coach’s Corner web series. Anderson said that last year, he told himself that he does not want to be anywhere that he’s not wanted. This was a reference to his time as a backstage producer in WWE. Today, he does feel wanted in AEW.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be here with all this young talent and watch this company blossom into being the platinum of all of our industry,” he said.

Anderson feels the next few years will see some big changes in the world of professional wrestling. They plan to ‘mix some old in with the new’ and the AEW product will shine as a result of having capable people working towards their goals.

Anderson currently serves as the personal advisor and ‘head coach’ to AEW TNT Champion Cody Rhodes.

In addition to working for AEW behind the scenes, Arn Anderson hosts is the host of the popular Arn Show podcast along with Conrad Thompson.

Enzo Amore was with WWE from 2012 until 2018. He made his main roster debut in 2016 along with his tag partner, Big Cass. During that time, Arn Anderson was working backstage in WWE. Recently on the Arn Show, Double-A gave his thoughts on Enzo.

“Enzo was a guy that put a long time in down at NXT with his partner, Big Cass, and they had a pretty schtick going down there,” Anderson began. “Once they came up to the main roster, though, you go into a whole different learning phase, or you’re supposed to. If you’re going to be hanging around, you’re going to go through a whole new ‘let’s start over, here’s the way we do things on RAW, here’s the way we do things on Smackdown.'”

Big Cass and Enzo Amore arrived on the main roster with a great deal of fan fare. WWE fans knew who they were and knew to chant along with their catch phrases. Unfortunately, according to Arn Anderson, Enzo in particular might have had some issues with maturity that hindered their success.

“You can’t be too hardheaded about that because there are people trying to help you. If you don’t listen to those people and you fail, it’s on you. If you do listen to those people and do everything you can possibly do to pull off what they are telling you to pull off, then you got a shot at it. I just think Enzo might have been a little too headstrong about how he felt things should go.”

• Enzo Amore Talks Big Cass’ Ongoing Battle With Depression

Arn Anderson’s comments about Enzo can be heard in the player below:

During his time away from pro wrestling, Enzo Amore has crossed over to the world of hip-hop music. He performs under the name real1. You can listen to his latest song, COVID19 ANTHEM, below: